Resident tells Casper council public access to Stock and Offshooters shooting complex is being limited

Robert Taylor, a Mills, Wyoming resident, told the Casper City Council on Aug. 5 that portions of the Stock and Offshooters shooting complex have been locked and are not available to the public despite a deed restriction. "The warranty deed states that the property is to be granted to the city of Casper upon express condition to be used as a shooting range for the citizens of Casper and Natrona County," Taylor said during the public comment period.

Taylor said the facility is managed by the Casper Shooters Club, a nonprofit that holds a lease from the city, and that he has observed the action pistol range and the long-distance range kept locked since 2023. He raised particular concern that some user groups — which he described as having exclusive keys — have effectively restricted public access even when the lease lists specific public hours.

The issue matters, Taylor said, because his reading of the 2019–2023 lease required that the facility be available to the public without a membership requirement. Taylor also cited terms in the 2024–2025 lease that require the operator to submit a use-operations plan specifying months, days and hours that the property "shall be available to the public for related public use activities."

Council members asked details about how the facility is being operated. Councilor Kelsey asked whether a nonmember who shows up during posted public hours still must pay the leaseholder's admission fee. Taylor said the public pays a $15 day fee to use the facility, and members of the Casper Shooters Club have key-card access seven days a week.

City Manager Carter Shriffman said the operating entity uses prearrangement and fees to manage access. "The reality is that this is all about prearrangement and being willing to pay a fee," Shriffman said, adding that the long-range portion of the facility is managed similarly. He said the operating entity has arrangements with user groups such as Ghost Town Shooters and with Casper College.

Shriffman and other staff told the council they had met repeatedly with Taylor and with the operating entity and that the city believes the facility is available to the public "but they have to be willing to pay the fee and arrange for it ahead of time." Councilors and staff noted that the facility's independent website lists rental rates and that rental of a pistol range bay is shown as $50 per day, with a $15 per-person nonmember fee applied to shooters; the site also lists a long-range key fee (described in the site text as $35) and a 30-day advance notice for rentals.

No formal council action was taken at the meeting on the matter. Mayor Pacheco and staff asked Taylor to remain after the public comment period so city staff could collect his contact information and follow up.

Why it matters: Stock and Offshooters is city-owned land leased to a private operator; questions about whether the operator is meeting deed and lease conditions raise potential oversight and access issues for residents who expect a public recreational amenity to be available. The discussion during public comment prompted staff to confirm they have engaged both the resident and the operator and that the current operating practice requires prearrangement and payment.

What remains unclear: Taylor said the pistol and long-distance ranges have been padlocked since 2023 and that some members and nonmembers have been denied access; staff confirmed that the ranges are available for public use under rental/prearrangement terms but did not say the city had taken or would take any enforcement action at the meeting. The exact terms of the current lease and whether they conflict with the deed restriction were not resolved at the council meeting.