The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office plans to construct a new indoor gun range on 17 acres of county-owned land at Business 21 and Goldfinch Road, south of Hwy. A, in Hillsboro.
On March 2, Sheriff Dave Marshak presented plans for the project to the Hillsboro Board of Alderpersons. He told the board he estimated the shooting range could cost between $5 million to $6 million, and he noted $6 million from the Sheriff’s Office’s capital funds have been set aside for the project. He expects construction to begin next winter, with an estimated completion date sometime in 2027.
The 17 acres, which has the Jefferson County Juvenile Detention Center on site, has enough remaining space to accommodate the proposed gun range, as well as a new jail or other building needs in the future, the sheriff said on March 13.
Marshak said law enforcement agencies throughout the county have relied on a limited number of outdoor door firearms ranges, which were not built to meet department needs.
“We have 175 officers, and we can’t get the training qualification time that we need,” he told the board. “A lot of these ranges are weather dependent, if you had snow on the ground for three weeks, that further compresses the time and availability for law enforcement to do the kind of things that they need.”
Previously, the Sheriff’s Office used an outdoor firing range off Hwy. BB next to the Hillsboro water treatment plant. The facility closed in early 2025 due to noise complaints from residents.
“This concern intensified with the expanded use of rifles over the past decade,” Marshak said. “There were also community concerns regarding errant rounds. While no property damage was ever definitively attributed to activity on the range, the perception of risk contributed to growing unease among nearby residents.”
Following the closure of the range in Hillsboro, Marshak said the Sheriff’s Office and the Jefferson College Law Enforcement Academy began using the outdoor training facility in De Soto off Hwy. P.
“The increased volume of shooting, however, quickly generated similar community complaints,” he said.
In September 2025, the city of De Soto voted to limit its shooting range hours to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays after residents complained about frequent usage of the range during irregular hours.
An outdoor gun range for the Festus Police Department drew similar concerns from residents and local officials last year due to proximity to the Blue Ridge Terrance subdivision. The city of Festus ultimately scrapped the project as a result.
“The closure of one range and the restriction of another have severely compressed local training and qualifications,” Marshak said. “As a result, agencies like ours are facing increasing difficulty in maintaining mandated qualifications and essential safety training. The current situation is no longer sustainable.”
Marshak said the Sheriff’s Office currently uses a range in Fredericktown, as well as the Arnold Rifle Pistol Gun Club and Top Gun Shooting Sports.
He said a “modern, professionally designed” indoor firearms training facility could be the solution.
“The indoor ranges offer year-round training capacity, they’re controlled environments and offer ADA accessibility,” he said.
Marshak said agencies across the county could partner with his department or enter into user agreements to help offset maintenance costs.
“I do not have a fee structure established yet,” he said.
He said he has been talking with officials with the Jefferson College Law Enforcement Academy about a user agreement.