A November 2025 view of a portion of the Pete Lien & Sons Shooting Sports Complex, about 10 miles north of Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
The state of South Dakota opened its $20 million, 400-acre shooting range complex Friday.
Members of the state Game, Fish and Parks Commission and other dignitaries were on hand for a grand opening ceremony.
“On behalf of the commission, we are excited for what the Pete Lien and Sons Shooting Sports Complex will mean for South Dakota’s outdoor future,” Commission Chairwoman Stephanie Rissler told South Dakota Searchlight in advance of the event.
The complex, located about 10 miles north of Rapid City, is one of the largest public shooting ranges in the nation. It includes rifle, pistol, shotgun and archery ranges, and will host recreational shooters, safety programs, marksmanship competitions and law enforcement training.
The location of the Pete Lien and Sons Shooting Sports Complex.
The complex is open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. May through August, and from 8:30 a.m. to sunset September through April.
The facility’s 50-, 100- and 300-yard shooting bays and archery range are free to use on a first-come, first-served basis. Memberships are required for the long-range bay, shotgun area, sporting clays course and north range. An individual membership is $100, a family membership is $150 and a day pass is $20.
Rissler said the facility gives new and experienced shooters a place to learn and practice in a safe environment.
“This complex will serve outdoor enthusiasts today and for generations to come,” she said. “A big thank you to all the partners and sponsors who helped make this vision a reality and continue to showcase the incredible outdoor opportunities South Dakota has to offer.”
The project did not have a smooth path. Lawmakers refused to appropriate state money for it, and some were angered last year when they learned that then-Gov. Kristi Noem gave the project $13.5 million from the governor-controlled Future Fund.
South Dakota employers pay a fee to the Future Fund when they submit payroll taxes to the unemployment benefits program. State law says the Future Fund must be used “for purposes related to research and economic development for the state.” Unlike other funds administered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Future Fund expenses don’t go through a board of citizen appointees for vetting or approval.
An additional $6.6 million of funding for the shooting range complex has been given or pledged by a total of 58 donors. The Department of Game, Fish and Parks said this week that $3.4 million of the donations are in hand, and $3.2 million are pledged.
The donations include about $2 million from gun-industry companies or organizations, including Smith & Wesson, a Tennessee-based gun manufacturer, and Glock, an Austrian gun manufacturer.
Pete Lien and Sons Inc., a mining, concrete and construction aggregate company based in Rapid City, obtained naming rights for the facility with an $800,000 donation and an additional $1.2 million pledge, to be paid within three years.
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