how to set up a shooting course

by Francis Corwin 7 min read

way to develop a course is to approach the siting of each shooting lane systematically. The sequence of events to develop a course is; 1 - Siting the shooting lanes. 2 - Siting the trail. 3 - Assess the overall course plan. 4 - Making amendments to the course as needed. 5 - Proofing the course to verify safety.

Full Answer

How do I set up a shooting range?

 · Your shooting range’s ventilation system must be separate from your home system because it filters out harmful lead particulates and heavy metals. Ideally, your ventilation system should achieve a laminar negative airflow of 75 FPM, but not less than 50 FPM, and use an air filtration bank of HEPA filters.

How do I get better at shooting from my gun?

 · When I repaired the main berm on our Tactical Rifleman range complex, a lot of viewers were asking "Karl, how did you make your berm?" and "Wow, could you he...

What is it like to go to a shooting range?

 · Here where I live there is zero shooting competitions or schools to participate in so me and my friends are wanting to set up our own shooting course like the competitions and the like have but on a smaller scale. We mostly have shotguns and .22s except for me (Ive got all the "evil black guns") and we're wanting to set up a course we could run ...

Why choose our shooting range administrative software?

 · Wherever you decide to set up your range, be sure you are in a safe location. Be positive of what lies beyond your target. Either set your target stand in front of a proper backstop, or take the time to build one. Mound up dirt or a wood pile. And of course, always wear hearing and eye protection. Tony Smotherman's Take on Shooting Practice

Why Build Your Own Range? Is it Worth It?

At first glance, the answer to this question seems obvious, right? Well, maybe, maybe not. The reason I say this is because there’s a lot that goes into building and maintaining a range – even a simple one – both in terms of time and money.

Considerations for Building an Outdoor vs. an Indoor Gun Range

Regardless of whether you choose to build an indoor range or an outdoor range, there’s one consideration that you must factor in before making any other decisions, and that is: is it legal? Make sure you’ve consulted with any and all local laws, ordinances, etc. to ensure that whatever kind of range you want to build is legal and allowable.

Essential Shooting Range Components

Shooting ranges are made up of two different types of items: those that are essential and those that are optional, but nice to have. First up, let’s tackle the essentials.

Optional Shooting Range Components

Now that we’ve got the essentials out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the nice optional features you can incorporate into your range.

Shooting Range Layout and Design

There’s a lot that goes into building a shooting range, and some of the most important aspects of that take place before you start building. Let’s take a look at a few, and then explore how to proceed once those decisions are made.

Ready to Build?

Hopefully, this has helped you decide whether or not a home shooting range is right for you. If it is, that’s great! Now it’s time to get building! When you get to the safety gear stage of your range design, let us know. You’ll definitely want to include a suppressor or two or three in your plan.

What is the National Shooting Sports Foundation?

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, exists to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. A large part of their mission is making sure there are plenty of places to shoot.

How to set up a target range?

Be positive of what lies beyond your target. Either set your target stand in front of a proper backstop, or take the time to build one. Mound up dirt or a wood pile. And of course, always wear hearing and eye protection.

Why are shooting ranges so popular?

Shooting ranges are nice for a number of reasons. They usually have quality shooting benches and target stands set at established distances. There’s also the camaraderie. Chances are there will be other shooters at the range.

Who is Tony Smotherman?

Tony Smotherman. Realtree pro-staffer Tony Smotherman is a leading expert when it comes to shooting and hunting with muzzleloaders. His career as an outdoor communicator depends on putting game on the ground, and a house full trophies proves he’s getting the job done. Tony takes no chances with his gear.

1. set the Date and time

Creating a date and time for the training seems like an easy task, but there are a lot of considerations. Arranging for range time can be easy for a large agency that has its own firing range, but for smaller agencies that share range facilities, you will need to book ahead to get the dates that work for your agency.

2. establish the Ammunition budget

Creating an ammunition budget can be complex. The easy solution is to take the amount of ammunition you wish to use for that training and divide that by the number of students (members of your agency).

3. outline training goals

Any good training begins with goals and objectives. While it seems easy to establish goals and objectives that cover the critical elements that need to be reviewed during training, you must also consider the needs of the agency and students when creating the objectives.

4. Create a lesson plan

A good lesson plan is the backbone of any training. This will be the document that is subpoenaed into court if you and/or your agency is ever sued for anything related to firearms training. It is the written documentation of what the training is covering, how it is being covered and why it is covering it.

5. get Approval

This is probably the easiest part of creating the training. Organize the information and present it for approval.

6. Execute the training

Arrive early so you can make sure you have all the necessary supplies on hand to conduct the training. You will want to have a folder containing all of the necessary paperwork to conduct the range (qualification forms, range safety plan, a range rules sign-off sheet, lead safety handout and weapon inspection form).

7. Finalize the training

All of the necessary paperwork such as student rosters, student critiques of the course, a copy of the range rules signed off by the students, a copy of the range safety plan, copies of the qualification paperwork and a finalized copy (with notes) of the lesson plan should be turned in to your department/training academy.

1. Start with the space

Where does one start when it comes to building their own shooting range? You start with the space or land, you want to ensure that where you want to put the range is an adequate place to put a shooting range.

2. Plan your range

There are many ways you can build a range from simple to advanced. Depending on what kind of shooting you want to do will dictate how your range is setup. For my range I wanted to have not only a deep backstop but I wanted two side walls that would allow me to do moving shooting drills.

3. Pick your range purpose

This will largely depend on what kind of shooting you’d like to do on your range. This can vary from long gun/hunting rifle shooting to handgun/combat pistol shooting. The man difference in the two ranges is the rifle/hunting rifle range doesn’t need as much space but could still require a good but of work if you plan on adding side barriers.

3. Pick your target types

There are many different targets you could use, prices vary, on your shooting range. A popular option is to use paper targets, as you can use silhouette targets or your favorite zombie targets. For paper targets you can use two posts, depending on how wide your range is you may need more than two posts.

5. Build your range

This is the part that will require the money and the physical labor but is the most rewarding part as you see your planning turn into to a finished product. You will need something to move dirt, such as a tractor or something with a front bucket, in order to build your backstop and side walls (if applicable).

Summary

While this post was not full of ground breaking ideas it at least gives a road map of some of the things to be considered when building a personal firing range. If anyone has any ideas or ways I can add to this post I’m all ears! You can add them to the comments section or feel free to email us!

REV-Arms out of Business?

There has been a lot of talk of Rev-Arms lately with their sponsorship of the 3-Gun …

CONNECTING GUN OWNERS TO TRAINING

ShootingClasses.com is a quick way to connect with firearms instructors in your area, and find the gun classes you need to meet your training goals - whether that means concealed carry, tactical shooting, self-defense training or simply gun safety.

OUR PARTNERS

Learn more about Boon and Tanto, Benghazi heroes and ShootingClasses.com partners.

Boon Talks About Firearm Training on Empty Cases Podcast

Get administrative management software and marketing support for your firearms training business.

image