Hap Baker Range

Went for the first time today. I thought it was great. It’s the kind of place that I bet never gets toobusy because it’s not to well labeled. The pistol range is all you need to get proficient. The rifle range has 25,50,75,100,200. $ 10 for locals and $ 15 for out of county. I’ll def be making this a more regular stop.

I used to like this place about 14 years ago. It was literally 5 minutes from my house (not counting the long gravel road though). Gun safety rules were the thing, a couple of housekeeping rules and the fees were manageable. Unfortunately, this got progressively (pun intended) worse as the hysteria about guns in Maryland worsened.
Full disclosure, I’ve probably only been to less than 10 ranges in my life, and I haven’t been back to this particular facility in the last 4 years, so I don’t know how it is right now.
I know they used to let you bring your own targets back in the day. I don’t know if that is true anymore. But about 10 years ago I made some targets with A couple of dictator’s faces on them and one of the big terrorist chief we just killed a few years ago (you know who he was), and they told me I couldn’t put them out there. I complied politely but I asked why. Their reasons were basically because if they let me put those out there, then things could escalate and people would begin putting up pictures of their ex-​wives and things like that. Really… a dictator or a terrorist is not ok to shoot at because someone might put up a picture of their ex-​wife? Huh? As if there was no difference — as if you couldn’t stop the other guy from putting pictures of his ex up there? Also, the targets I made weren’t obnoxious or anything, they were pretty nice targets. Still not good enough though.
The rate of fire limit used to be no rapid fire, one every second. I see now they changed it to every two seconds. Ok… why? You can forget about rock and roll for sure. Sorry folks, no freedom here, please move along.
You used to be able to bring your high capacity magazines that you got before the ban since they’re not illegal to own, just to buy… and now you can’t even bring those because of the «perception» that you might be doing something illegal. So a rule being enforced in the perception that you might be breaking one. Gee, thanks, thought-​police much? I wonder what they think of standard AR-​15 platform rifles since they’ve become illegal to buy since October of 2013, but still legal to own? I take it back, I don’t want to know.
Hunting season — hunters, you better get in early, or you will be waiting in line for literally over 2 hours to sight in your rifles. I don’t particularly blame the facility though, it’s how things go. Just letting hunters know.
The fee used to be somewhat reasonable, now they’ve increased it. I guess that’s inflation for you, but this range doesn’t have that many amenities that it could charge the way it does. I think it’s just that they suffer the same issue as any too-​big government does — they make so many rules that they have to get more enforcers of those rules and they burden people with fees and costs in order to pay for the enforcement. But you would think, that in the gem of Maryland, Carroll County, that this kind of hysteria shouldn’t stand. But there it is, Hap Baker Firearms with its litany of rules in all its glory.
I’m glad I don’t live in a place like that anymore. I wish the people in Maryland the best of luck. They certainly will need it if a place in Carroll County could be this bad.

This range was great. We shot rifles and handguns here. It is a clean range and had what we needed for a great day of shooting. I loved the booths setup and they provided scopes for spotting.
My only wish was that they had a store of some sort so you could buy cleaning supplies, ammo, etc if needed. That’s not a big deal though.

I’ve only been here once, but I’ll probably return in the future. As far as outdoor ranges in Maryland, you’re very limited on where you can go. Most places are private clubs that can cost hundreds of dollars in annual fees and have very strict rules. Hap Baker, as a county run facility, is probably one of the cheapest options in central and northern Maryland. There are a few downsides or warnings, though…
1) It’s far. Unless you live in Carroll County, plan on at least a half-​hour drive to get there. The nearest major populations are the northwest suburbs of Baltimore (Owings Mills, Randallstown, Pikesville, etc.). Towson is 35 minutes away… Columbia is 40 minutes… past that and you’re looking at almost an hour to get there. Obviously, the majority of clientele will be from Reisterstown or Westminster.
2) It’s hidden. You can easily miss the turn into the area, and that’s not even the facility itself. The turn is also for the local dump and a methane treatment facility. You end up driving a good mile and a half, past all of that, down a winding road that’s part gravel and part potholes, until you eventually reach the range itself. By the time you’re done you feel you’ve driven into the boonies.
3) It’s staffed by the not-​so-​friendliest people. Mostly these seem like retired volunteers, and they are sticklers for range rules. They’re pretty quick on the trigger (no pun intended) about even the smallest safety violation (keeping your chamber locked open, firearm pointed at the ceiling, etc.). I understand completely, especially given the stigma firearms receive in Maryland, but they need to lighten up a little. Sometimes it’s not that the person is stupid, they just may have forgotten or not been used to some strict rule.
4) Speaking of which, rules are pretty strict. Overall they’re not bad, such as ears and eyes on, muzzle kept in the box when on the line, listen to the range officer, etc. Some rules are a bit limiting, though, like no rapid firing (2 seconds minimum between shots) or no more than one person near the firing line (even if handing off equipment or helping to sight). I blame the strictness on idiots ruining it for everyone, but it definitely can restrict the usual stress relief one gets from shooting.
Even though there’s some issues, I can see myself going back. If it was slightly closer, it might be worth some of their strict rules and gruff demeanor. Unfortunately, because of all of these combined I might make it out there once every month or two (rather than the every couple of weeks I used to shoot). Still, if you’re looking for an outdoor range and its not too far from you, check out Hap Baker.

I grew up shooting at outdoor ranges and this place is probably the nicest public range around. They have targets that go out to 200 yds for rifles and maybe 25 yds for pistols. They have targets u can buy along with eye protection and ear plugs in case you left them at home.
So why only 3 stars?
The range officers are the pits… about half of them are horrible rule nazis. They are downright rude, grumpy old men who need to be put out to pasture… which may come from overuse of the range or dealing with people not knowledgeable of firearms.
Then theres the 2 second rule between shots…
Keep the gun in the firing box…
Dont touch ammo, load magazines or place firearm in case during cease fire…
Police your brass at all times…
It just makes it not fun, again its not all of the range officers. I suspect their bad attitudes came from a fire that burned the range down a couple years ago due to their negligence.
It gets very busy here on the weekends and before hunting season. You will be waiting for a lane to shoot a rifle.

I’m giving this a 5 because it is what it is. You take a long gravel road along side the landfill to get to this bare-​bones shooting range. It DOES NOT smell like garbage though, thank goodness. The attendants are awesome! really nice, friendly and helpful. Really pleasant people.
The price is right — $ 15 per person — all day. Of course you may be limited depending on how many people are waiting, but theoretically it could be all day. They also have an annual membership for $ 85. It’s cheaper for Carroll County residents.
They allow anything up to 50-​cal rifles, AR’s are fine (so long as they are legal you can shoot’em there) but they do require a 2-​second delay between shots. They also allow black powder and smokeless muzzle loaders. Targets are at 25-​yd, 50, 100 and 200. The long gun shooting is done in 30-​minute sets with strict cease-​fire rules for target placement/​retrieval.
Handguns are in a separate area with target pulleys, so no need for the ceasefire. I don’t believe there were any restrictions on handgun size, type or caliber.
All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this place. It’s not elegant, but it’s a ton of fun. Do NOT forget ear protection even for spectators. It sounded like some people were shooting elephant guns there!

Very nice public shooting range in Carrol County– only a short jaunt up 795. On landfill property– easy to find. Open air, seperate pistol and rifle ranges. Full rifle range, which is nice– the ranges closest to my house are pistol and shotgun only. 15 for whole day non – county resident, 10 for Carrol County resident. An aboslute bargain. This is bare bones — there are range attendants, but the bathroom is a porta potty, and there are no supplies other than paper targets for sale. I’d give it 5 stars– but sometimes its nice to have ammo for sale if you run out! Otherwise, solid, great range.