The westernmost main entrance to the Ben Avery Shooting Facility is now closed and will remain closed until late 2007. Closure is due to construction of the new Arizona Game & Fish Department headquarters building. The eastern entrance – the one closest to I-17 – remains open. Officials have also opened the Long Shot Lane entrance, the one between the two main entrances and directly behind the 1,000-yard Highpower shooting line, so shotgunners headed for the clay target range can enter there. If you're shooting archery, you might as well use the eastern main entrance because you'll have to stop at the Main Range and pay your fee there. Check the AZG&F map above for details.

Click for a map - Courtesy of Arizona Game & Fish. 

“First Shots” classes offered Feb. 9-11 at Ben Avery Shooting Facility

Are you interested in learning about firearm safety, handgun ownership and recreational shooting, but don’t know where to start?

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is partnering with the National Shooting Sports Foundation to offer an introduction to the safe, recreational use of handguns. First-time or novice shooters can attend a free four-hour “First Shots” class consisting of classroom instruction and supervised hands-on shooting on the range.

Each class covers the rules and regulations of handgun ownership, instruction in firearms safety, and information on shooting sports opportunities. Participants also have the opportunity for hands-on shooting in a safe environment on the shooting range, supervised by qualified instructors.

Classes are at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility (BASF)  in north Phoenix on the following dates:

Friday, Feb. 9 – 5 to 9pm

Saturday, Feb. 10 – 8am to noon

Saturday, Feb. 10 – 1 to 5pm

Sunday, Feb. 11 – 8am to noon

Sunday, Feb. 11 – 1 to 5pm

The class is free, but you must pre-register by emailing Tristanna Bickford at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or  by calling (602) 789-3241. Please provide your contact information, and indicate which class date and time you would like.

To get to BASF take I-17 south (a total of about 70 miles from Prescott), get off at Carefree Highway Exit 223, go right, and the entrance is about a quarter mile down on the right.

For more information about the First Shots program, visit the First Shots website at www.firstshots.org.

Yeah, baby – that's silhouette shooting.

Every year, most of us don't get drawn for javelina, turkey or sheep. There's no draw in Arizona to hunt chickens, but if there was, I'm sure I wouldn't get drawn for that, either. I still get lots of shooting in, though, and the critters I shoot don't require stalking, trailing, field dressing or butchering. OK, I also can't eat them, but then life is full of trade-offs, isn't it? These critters are steel, making them imperturbable to bullets and happily reusable.