Panther Top Shooting Range
Cherokee County, NC
Near Murphy
About Panther Top Shooting Range
This range has a 100-yard firing line for rifles and a 25-yard firing line for pistols. This range features directional signs, graveled parking area, vault toilet, bulletin board, six rifle shooting lanes (100 yards) with shooting benches, four pistol shooting lanes (25 yards), backstop berms, garbage containers, a covered concrete shooting pad, one picnic table with grill, and target stands are available on site.
It is open year round during daylight hours only. Only paper targets or manufactured metal silhouette targets are allowed. Shooting at bottles, cans, or other unsuitable material is not permitted. Use of archery equipment, hunting, use of fully automatic weapons, use of incendiary or tracer ammunition, or firing at any airborne target is prohibited.
At a glance
- Operated by
- USDA Forest Service, National Forests in North Carolina
- Access
- Open to the public
- Cost
- Fee or pass required
- Longest distance
- 100 yards
- County
- Cherokee County
Range details
- Range type
- Firearms
- Funding
- Built or improved with federal Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) funds
Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service (Wildlife Restoration program), retrieved October 23, 2026. Details change; confirm with the range before you go.
- Fees
- $5 day use fee may be purchased online .;; $30 annual pass may be purchased online or at the Tusquitee Ranger District Office located at 123 Woodland Drive, Murphy, N.C. The annual permit will allow shooters to use all three ranges on the Nantahala National Forest.
- Rules
- Alcoholic beverages are prohibited
Source: USDA Forest Service, National Forests in North Carolina, retrieved October 23, 2026. Details change; confirm with the range before you go.
- Shooting
- range
- Fee
- Yes
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), retrieved October 23, 2026. Details change; confirm with the range before you go.
Shooting and services
Location
Cherokee County, NC