About Church Camp Road Recreational Shooting Site
Church Camp Road Recreational Shooting Site stands as one of Arizona’s premier public shooting resources, distinguished by its combination of accessibility, quality infrastructure, and responsible community stewardship. Operated by the Bureau of Land Management’s Hassayampa Field Office near Peoria, this facility has earned a robust 4.5-star rating across nearly 200 reviews by offering serious shooters a well-maintained, completely free alternative to commercial range operations.
Located in the desert north of Phoenix in Maricopa County, the site represents a unique intersection of federal land stewardship and recreational shooting accommodation. Unlike proprietary ranges requiring membership or daily fees, Church Camp Road operates on a true first-come, first-served basis with no financial barrier to entry. This accessibility principle extends to the facility itself: parking is free and abundant with ADA-accessible spaces, amenities include shade structures and functional restroom facilities, and the grounds are consistently described as clean and professionally maintained.
The shooting infrastructure reflects thoughtful range design. Three dedicated shooting bays feature permanently installed steel targets at precisely measured distances - 50, 100, and 200 yards - catering to multiple shooting disciplines. The presence of concrete shooting platforms and metal tables at longer ranges demonstrates that this is not a casual dirt range but rather a developed facility designed for serious marksmanship work. Shooters particularly praise the ability to conduct rifle zeroing at 100 yards and the satisfaction of steel target feedback, which allows shooters downrange to observe hits clearly without expensive target stands or electronic systems.
What distinguishes Church Camp Road in the broader ecosystem of Arizona shooting venues is the character of its community. Multiple reviews emphasize that despite the absence of on-site Range Safety Officers - a deliberate design choice that removes staffing costs and maintains the free model - the site maintains high safety standards through self-governance. Visitors describe a community where experienced shooters mentor newcomers, where firearm safety discipline is observable and enforced by peer expectation rather than authority, and where the mood is consistently respectful and collaborative. This represents a form of bottom-up range culture that only functions when drawn from a fundamentally conscientious user base.
The facility’s operational model includes intentional boundaries that reflect professional management. Hours are 7 AM to sunset (closing Wednesdays for maintenance), a maximum occupancy of 50 people ensures the site doesn’t become dangerously crowded, and ammunition restrictions (prohibiting steel core, armor-piercing, incendiary, and tracer rounds) balance shooter freedom with environmental responsibility and range longevity. The restriction on bringing personal targets and prohibition on shotguns are likewise choices that simplify operations while protecting the facilities. Rifles are capped at .50 caliber, a practical limit that encompasses the vast majority of civilian shooting disciplines while preventing extreme outliers.
The most recurring piece of tactical advice in visitor feedback centers on arrival timing. Multiple reviewers recommend getting to Church Camp Road early in the day, particularly on weekends, to avoid the surge of people that accumulates as the day progresses. The 50-person cap, while reasonable for safety, becomes constraining during peak hours. Conversely, post-noon weekday visits offer a more intimate shooting experience with better facility access.
The BLM’s stewardship of this site has created something increasingly rare in American shooting sports: a resource that combines professional infrastructure, genuine community, zero financial friction, and committed management. For Arizona shooters seeking practice facilities without the commercial overhead, Church Camp Road represents exceptional value and a compelling model for public lands management in the shooting sports.