The NRA Whittington Center in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of

Colfax County, New Mexico Colfax County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,750. Its county seat is Raton. It is south from the Colorado state line. This county was named for Schuyler Colfax (18231885), sevent ...

, is one of the largest and most comprehensive shooting facilities in the United States. Ten percent of the site has been developed to include twenty-three shooting ranges, an administration building, a cafeteria, a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, classrooms, and full-service hookups for 175 recreational vehicles. The remainder of the site provides wildlife habitat at elevations above with primitive campgrounds and remote back-country cabins for hunting, bird watching, wildlife viewing, photography, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.

History

Whittington Center includes a segment of the historic Santa Fe Trail near the trail landmark Red River Peak. Land including the

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

of Van Houten, New Mexico, was owned by the National Rifle Association and named for former association president George R. Whittington. Development began in 1973 for competitive shooting events, firearms education, and outdoor recreation. Whittington Center operates as an independent nonprofit with a mission of education and outdoor recreation. NRA membership is not required to visit the center, and many visitors arrive from the nearby

Philmont Scout Ranch Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, near the village of Cimarron; it covers of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the east side of the Cimarron Range of the Rocky Mountains. Donated by oil baro ...

. The nearby community of

Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city and the county seat of Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Colorado border and 85 miles west of Texas. His ...

estimates an annual revenue of seven million US dollars from Whittington Center visitors.

Range facilities

* archery * benchrest shooting * black powder * high power rifle to * high power rifle

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

* hunter pistol silhouette * hunter sight-in * long range pistol silhouette * Precision pistol competition (PPC) * practical pistol * skeet shooting *

small-bore Small-bore refers to calibers with a diameter of .32 inches or smaller. It may also refer to small-bore rifle competition. The medium-bore refers to calibers with a diameter between .33 inches up to .39 inches and large-bore refers to calibers with ...

rifle * smallbore rifle silhouette * sporting clays *

trap shooting Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays. They are disting ...

Other facilities

The Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest located on the property includes a research library and a large firearms exhibit. Temporary living facilities on the property include lodges, cabins, tent sites, and recreational vehicle pads and hookups. Two consecutive two-week Adventure Camps are offered in June and July for boys and girls aged 13 to 17 to learn gun safety, shooting fundamentals, and

marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than- ...

ship.

External links

Official Website

Sources

National Rifle Association Resorts 1973 establishments in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Colfax County, New Mexico {{Coord, 36, 46, 25, N, 104, 29, 9, W, region:US-NM, display=title