A History of Montana Shooting Ranges
and the Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA)
by Gary Marbut, President, MSSA
1987 – I met with leaders of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to suggest that a small amount of FWP’s hunter license income be used to make matching grants to local clubs to establish or improve shooting ranges. If people are not shooting, I argued, they will not be hunting and not be buying hunting licenses to financially enable FWP. FWP was entirely disinterested in this idea, maybe even hostile to using any of “their” money for a purpose not invented at FWP.
1989 – Because of FWP disinterest, we went to the Legislature asking for an appropriation of funds for FWP grants to local shooting ranges. FWP opposed the request but the Legislature liked the idea and made the first appropriation for this purpose, over FWP objection.
1991 – MSSA proposed a bill for the Shooting Range Protection Act, to prevent closures of shooting ranges due to noise complaints, planning and zoning action, or allegations of lead or copper deposition. The Legislature passed the bill and the Governor signed it into law.
1993 – MSSA proposed a bill to allow the use of easements to secure a shooting range safety zone. One major barrier for shooting ranges is land acquisition, especially for the acreage needed for a safety zone around a range. An easement can often be obtained for a fraction of the cost of property purchase. The Legislature passed the bill and the Governor signed it into law.
1995 – MSSA got a bill passed and signed to protect firearm instructors from liability, making instruction more doable at Montana shooting ranges.
1989 to 1999 – MSSA continued to seek increased funding for shooting range development grants in every session of the Legislature. FWP continued to oppose the idea and funding for it. One aspect of that opposition was FWP mismanagement of the program, including using appropriated funds for other purposes and making the grant application process difficult. To resolve that, MSSA proposed, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed the Shooting Range Development Act. Of course, FWP opposed the bill, asking the Legislature instead to allow FWP to continue to manage the program “administratively”. This new law specified how FWP must administer the program and the criteria for grant applicants to meet.
1999 to present – MSSA must still go to the Legislature every two years to push for appropriation for the Shooting Range Development Program (SRDP). After three decades of implementing the program, FWP has finally warmed up to the idea and recognized the program’s value. FWP has finally come to consider the program to be “theirs,” including more than a lowball request in their proposed budget. Since the program’s inception in 1989, an estimated $25 million has been invested in shooting ranges in Montana.
2011 – An existing law allowed shooting ranges to be attacked as a “nuisance”. A bill brought by MSSA clarified that shooting ranges cannot be deemed nuisances.
2013 – A bill brought by MSSA clarified that discharging firearms is not “disorderly conduct” under Montana law.
2019 – MSSA advanced a bill for a legislative referendum, LR 130, to remove all authority for local governments to regulate firearms. LR 130 passed the Legislature and subsequently at the ballot. While not specific to shooting ranges, this broad prohibition does prevent Orwellian and novel measures tried elsewhere, such as requiring that all privately-owned firearms must be stored and secured at an approved shooting range.
2025 – A joint resolution (SJ7) brought by MSSA encouraged units of the Montana University System to ramp up various shooting sports for students, and to work cooperatively with local shooting ranges to make that happen.
2025 – A bill was proposed by the National Shooting Sports Association of Connecticut to establish a task force to find a location for a giant “central shooting sports complex” somewhere in Montana. MSSA opposed this bill, explaining that what Montana needs is NOT one central shooting sports complex that is four or more hours drive away from most people in Montana, but a distributed system of safe and suitable places to shoot that are managed locally and are a 15-minute drive from where most people live. Because of MSSA’s objection, the bill was amended to have the designated task force evaluate the situation with ranges in Montana. Nevertheless, actors are still at work trying to morph this process into ending up with state investment into one central shooting sports complex. If this is the outcome of this process, it will surely compete for funding with the highly successful SRDP that MSSA kicked off in 1989.
1989 to present – MSSA has mentored and advised scores of local clubs across Montana about shooting range development and about preparation of fundable grant applications for development.
End
Gary Marbut has visited or fired matches on hundreds of ranges across the U.S., from southern California to New England and from Florida to Washington, both civilian and law enforcement ranges and both as a competitive shooter and as a manufacturer of shooting range equipment. It is because of this extensive experience that Marbut became committed to fostering shooting range development in Montana.