It's pretty tough to find a place to go target shooting. My wife wanted to sight in her deer rifle and I have always been used to just going out into the desert and plinking away.

The way the Boise area has grown over the years, it's pretty tough to find a secluded place to shoot. Heck, I remember you used to be able to go a few miles up Bogus Basin Road to shoot but it's all houses now. Areas off Bogus Basin Road are closed for a long ways up there until you start getting into national forest lands.

Anyway, we headed out to the Blacks Creek Public Rifle Range to sight in her rifle. I hadn't been out to the range in years. This place is really cool.

It was pretty crowded because of all the other hunters that were sighting in rifles, but the range managers keep everything safe and running smoothly.

The range has measured distances that make it easy to sight in your rifles at the distances that are important.

We had a fun time out there and before we knew it, we had shot up a box of shells. There was also a dad and his son and a grandfather and his grandson out there plinking away with .22s and having a blast. It's a great place to teach youngsters gun safety and proper shooting techniques.

The fee at the range is $8 per shooter per day. Range fee includes your first paper target. Additional targets cost 50 cents each. Spotting scopes are available for rent at $3. You can't beat that.

The range is open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are some special closures for matches. See the range's Web site

The range is at 2420 E Kuna Mora Road between I-84 and Pleasant Valley Road. You can see a map on the range's Web site.

Good shooting.