Busch Area lakes open to canoes, kayaks

The Missouri Department of Conservation has created an opportunity for personal canoes and kayaks to be used on designated lakes in the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area in St. Charles.

Visitors are now allowed to use their own hand-launched canoes or kayaks on Lakes 6, 34, 35, 36 and 38.

From April 1 through Sept. 30, users will be required to register their canoes or kayaks and obtain boating tags at the onsite concessioner, All In

Shooting ranges add evening hours

Shooting enthusiasts may now take advantage of longer daylight hours at both of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) staffed shooting ranges in the St. Louis region.

The August A. Busch and Jay Henges ranges and outdoor education centers’ summer schedules will include evening shooting opportunities during the week. The Jay Henges Range will be open until 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings and the Busch Range is open until 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

Summer hours for each range are running April 1 through Aug. 31 as follows:

BUSCH RANGE

• Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Thursday, 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

HENGES RANGE

• Wednesdays, 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The ranges will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays for maintenance and special use. Both ranges offer shooting lanes for rifles and pistols up to 100 yards. User fees are $4 an hour at both facilities and include paper targets and eye and ear protection if shooters don’t have their own. Both shooting ranges feature trap fields, static archery ranges, and shotgun patterning boards.

The Busch Range also offers skeet shooting. A round of shotgun shooting and clay birds at either facility, or an hour at the patterning board will cost $4.

The Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center is at 3550 Route D, five miles west of Highway 94 in Defiance. The Jay Henges Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center is at 1100 Antire Road, just off I-44, exit 269 in Eureka.

5-STAND

Opportunities

Also this summer, shotgun shooters and game bird hunters will have a chance to hone their skills at 5-Stand shotgun at both ranges.

5-Stand is a discipline of clay bird shooting that simulates realistic scenarios to help prepare hunters for going afield, to be offered as follows through Aug. 31:

• Busch, from 1 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

• Henges, 1 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays.

Targets in 5-Stand mimic flight patterns of popular game birds. Shooters rotate through five stations and will see clay targets flying left and right, toward and away from them at different angles and speeds. This discipline is an excellent preparation for beginning shooters looking to get into game bird hunting.

5-Stand fees are $4 per round, which includes clay birds. Both ranges offer eye and ear protection if shooters don’t have their own.

Bait and Tackle Shop. The concessioner is adjacent to the MDC St. Louis Regional Office, located near the area’s entrance.

Boating tags will be issued for a specific canoe or kayak and are valid only for the specific lake designated on the tag. The tag must be returned to the concessioner immediately upon leaving the water during the concessioner’s daily operating hours, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If users exit the water after the concessioner has closed for the day, the boating tag should be deposited in the after-hours drop box.

There will be no charge for a daily boating tag, but the number of tags is limited and available on a first come, firstserved basis only. The number of daily boating tags issued will vary depending on the size of each lake.

From Oct. 1 through March 31, daily boating tags are not required to use canoes and kayaks launched by hand on Lakes 6, 34, 35, 36, and 38.

Boat Rentals

For those who do not have their own canoe or kayak, MDC will continue to provide aluminum boats for rent via its onsite concessioner for 11 lakes on the Busch Conservation Area. Rental boats will be available April 1 through Sept. 30 for a $5 rental fee.

The August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area is located at 2360 Highway D, two miles west of Highway 94.

Tips, Tricks and Thoughts for the Great Outdoors