The Alberta Provincial Rifle Association (APRA) has announced 2015 will be the final year of the Homestead Range, the free public hunter range located west of Calgary near Highway 68, and users of the range fear the decision will create new problems.

“If it’s not here, I think the risk is that it’s going to be everywhere,” said Gerry Brunka. “People are going to go up to Waiparous, or (some other) place, and do exactly the same thing.  Better to figure out a solution to how to keep this thing well-maintained and safe than to shut it down.”

Trash litters the grounds of the public rifle and shotgun range and the debris includes bullet riddled televisions, propane tanks and appliances.

In an offical notice, APRA explained its decision to close the popular range.

"When the APRA took on the lease at Homestead, provision was placed in the lease to provide a place for the general public to use for such activities as sighting in of rifles prior to hunting season. Over the intervening years, that responsible use has been largely overshadowed by range users who have taken to using the range as a place to shoot up and dump items they'd rather not take to the landfill..."

Brunka says the decision is shortsighted and will force hunters elsewhere.

 “We’ve got to practice,” said Brunka. “You can’t go out and hunt for game without practicing. You’ve got to practice somewhere.”

 “Let’s find a solution to make this work instead of shutting it down.”

 Mike Traynor has been visiting the range nearly every week for the last four months as he awaits his spot with a private club.  He says the public range provides a much needed service for target shooters.

 “This is a lot safer,” said Traynor.  “There’s a backstop, there’s benches that you shoot at. It’s a controlled environment, everybody knows all the rules and we sort of self-police each other that way.”

In February, a man suffered a wound to his neck during a shooting incident in the area. An RCMP investigation into the incident determined a bullet had ricocheted off of a piece of metal.

RCMP members do not patrol the public range as the property is leased by the Alberta Provincial Rifle Association.

With files from CTV's Alesia Fieldberg