Many gun enthusiasts were disappointed when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources closed the Echo Point Shooting Range but it's back better than ever.

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Why Did Echo Point Shooting Range Close?

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Echo Point Shooting Range is located at the Allegan State Game Area at 3682 Monroe Road in Allegan, Michigan. Echo Point is a very popular shooting range for those who like to target shoot and have those firearms sighted in for deer, elk, and bear season. It closed but for some very good reasons.

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The DNR wanted to make additional improvements. There are residential areas not far from the range and even after the improvements that were made in 2018 and 2019, the DNR felt more was needed to be done so Echo Point was shut down back in May of 2023 to install acoustical improvements to keep down the gun noise.

Echo Point Shooting Range Is Back Open and Better Than Ever

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
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One of the first improvements was building an automatic gate at Echo Point in order to have set times for when people could target shoot. The gates are set on timers The new hours are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The park is not open Monday through Wednesday. The DNR is discussing shortening the shooting hours to close at 5 p.m. because days get shorter in the fall and they do not want target shooting at night for safety reasons.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
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Soundproofing was a big deal in the latest renovations at Echo Park. Don't let the sound baffling fence in the picture above fool you, a lot of science when into created a much better environment for residents in the area as well as for the ones target practicing. Sound levels were taken with decibel readers, acoustical measurements were taken, and even computer modeling was used. This is one high-tech shooting range.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
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On the inside of Echo Park, a lot has gone into the design and soundproofing of the shooting range. Even if you don't live in Allegan but like to shoot, this is a pretty sweet range with 10, 25, and 100-yard ranges designed for rifle and handgun shooting.  Looks like I may be making a road trip with my 30.06 and muzzleloader the next time I need to fine-tune them.

You can learn about the new improvements from the DNR by clicking here.

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