The Wyoming State Shooting Complex south of Cody has the potential to be a special place that serves both area communities and brings everyone from professional shooters to families from all over the world.  

 It has the potential, but there’s still a long road ahead to get to fruition, and the hope is the members of the Wyoming State Shooting Complex Joint Powers Board continue to listen to all those in the communities who are interested or concerned with various aspects. 

It was good to hear at a Thursday night open house, once again, of the need to make the complex self sufficient. That’s possibly the most important goal that needs to be met before too many years after opening to really call this project a success. 

However, this also can’t be a place that caters solely to jet set travelers and professional shooters. This is still Wyoming’s range and therefore should offer opportunities for locals as well. It should be an additional benefit, not a replacement, for the ranges in Park County’s towns (in the interest of disclosure, I’m a member of the Heart Mountain Rod and Gun Club). 

It was good to see the emphasis being placed on education (the plan is to include classroom space in the events center), as board member Danny Michael, firearms curator at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, said at the open house in front of a packed crowd at the county courthouse in Cody. 

“That has been a clear and I think, well received message from the state, from the get-go, from members of the community: This has to promote education,” he said.  

Like the wonderful Center of the West, the complex should be both a magnet that brings people into the communities of Park County to provide more revenue for local businesses. And like the museum, it should be a place as welcoming to locals who may want to experience something a little different from their home range. 

With the ability to hit gongs beyond a mile, and to experience incredible vistas while you’re tracking a clay pigeon or lining up a shot at a 3D target with a bow, this complex can be that place. 

Now, however, much more hard work needs to be done to ensure this vision, and these goals, match up with reality.