W-a-a-a-y down a dirt road inside the North Spring Shooting and Recreation Area about ten miles outside Price, Utah, is a spectacular Cowboy Action Shooting Venue, Castle Gate. It was built with public funds by the county, flush with funds from gas wells that dot the countryside on public lands. Cowboy Murderin' Maude became the bane of the contractors and sub-contractors working on it. They didn't know what Cowboy Action Shooters needed. She did. She was there daily keeping them straight and giving them nightmares.

I walked up to it with no prior briefing, expecting the usual CAS facility. I was quickly bowled over.

It seems to have everything necessary for putting on a big event.

This view is inside one facade, looking at another, one that serves dual purpose. When needed, and only when needed, targets are put in the windows and shot at from the floor above me (with the area below the shooter roped off.) The range is open to the public, and shooters were shooting at the targets from the ground. You can see over the horizon, so you know they would be shooting over the berm. Not a good thing to do. They prosecute people for deliberately shooting over the berm here.

 

This is a loading table. Loading and unloading tables were afterthoughts, as they were at Tin Star Ranch and Texas Historical Shootists Society and other CAS towns. I don't know why. Some of the tables are big enough. Some aren't. All are padded with an outdoor grade grass-like carpet.

 

Lots of targets, mostly close, at least pistols and shotguns. Some of the stages are P-traps anyway. Some people remember "It's a gunfight, not a memory contest." Others think they have to write difficult stages one way or another

 

 

All of the targets are Action "Evil Roy" targets. The manager says they ring well. I've yet to see an Evil Roy target that rang well, so I'm looking forward to it. They have a LOT of Evil Roy targets

 

Some side walls have armor plate. Some are filled with gravel. Some walls were put up as splash shields. Posses are kept one stage apart. There are stairs on the scaffold stage that will keep me spurless, but all in all it looks safe and interesting.

Not your average SASS jail, is it?

Some of the two story buildings are set up to shoot from the second floor

 

The manager told me some of the things weren't well built (lowest bidder), and they were having to redo some things. This banister is aging quickly and moves a lot if you try to use it.

lots of Evil Roy Targets

I would hope so!

Looks like a bank alright! I'll let you know more after I've actually shot there.