FYI

Once the site for a shooting range is chosen, Clark Vargas builds a thorough master plan. It’s a critical step that he encourages every range to take.

The Master Plan

Legendary shooting range designer Clark Vargas looks to the future. He likes what he sees.

Modern shooting ranges continue to push the boundaries of the shooting experience. From turning targets to increasingly complex tactical setups, ranges offer training opportunities unheard of just a

few years ago. At the same time, massive shooting sports complexes are sprouting up across the country. Shooters can thank legendary range designer Clark Vargas for helping usher in this golden age of training. For over 20 years, Vargas has played a key role in developing industry-leading facilities. When it comes to the modern range experience, there are few people more knowledgeable than Clark Vargas.

Getting Started After serving as a U.S. Army engineer during the Vietnam era, Vargas founded the engineering firm C. Vargas & Associates, LTD in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1978. He and his team provide engineering consulting services for civil works, land development, transportation facilities, water supply, wastewater management, and more for government agencies and private developers.

While in the military, Vargas began developing master-level shooting skills. He went on to successfully participate in high-power rifle, conventional shotgun, rifle silhouette, NRA action, and IPSCstyle pistol competitions.

“I was shooting competitive-enough scores to be invited to be on the national team for the Olympics,” Vargas recalls. “I trained very hard. I was an expert or master rank at that time.”

Eventually his shooting and engineering expertise combined to form the foundation of his most important contribution to the shooting sports industry.

Turning Point As Vargas became actively involved in the shooting sports industry, he served in various roles, including president of the Florida Sport Shooting Association (FSSA). During his tenure at the helm of FSSA, an event occurred that would forever change his path as a professional engineer.

“There was a Tampa police range that had been operating the Midwinter Pistol Championships for about 36 years that went to court, and they closed that range down,” Vargas says. “I went ballistic. How could this be? I joined NRA in the defense of the club. They made a good effort, but not good enough.”

To help other shooting ranges avoid the same fate, Vargas shifted his company’s focus and began designing ranges in 1989. He developed the “no blue sky” design method, based on the concept that a bullet will be contained inside the facility if the shooter cannot see the sky. He worked closely with the National Rifle Association to develop the NRA Range Manual in 1990.

Since then, C. Vargas & Associates has designed numerous ranges across the country. At the same time Vargas has conducted national presentations and symposiums on shooting range design. As a result of his efforts, he received the prestigious NRA 1999 Achievement in Range Development Marlin R. Scarborough Award.

A Master Plan The design of an outdoor range is largely determined by the natural features of the site. Vargas advises his clients to find a property that offers the best advantage for both safety and containing noise. Once the site is chosen, Vargas builds a thorough master plan. It’s a critical step that he encourages every range to take.

“You have to master plan the site, even if your budget doesn’t allow you to utilize the

Clark Vargas has helped usher in a golden age for shooting range owners.

entire site initially. Eventually, that site becomes forever, and there is going to be more demand on it,” he says. “You have to predict the demand, put your long ranges in, make sure that they fit, and then develop phase one for the client to begin with. It has to support the future needs that they don’t realize they’re going to have. If you build a phase one and operate it successfully, then you’re going to grow. If you’re full, what are you going to do?”

The Future is Here Vargas believes the range technology that shooters will be using for the next two to three decades has already been developed and is being implemented at many ranges. While it may sound exciting, many long-time competitive shooters have been slow to embrace the changes.

“We’re doing those now, and they’re not being accepted by the purists. It’s the dinosaur syndrome,” he says. “We used to have fixed targets and now we have electronic targets. We’re having a hell of a time getting the prima donnas of the sport to transition to that. They’re purists. These people are masters. These are people who have developed their sensitivities and their ability to shoot to a very high level—and then we’re asking them to change their methodology.”

Shooting sports technology will likely follow a path similar to that of other industries. As the older shooting pros eventually age out, Vargas predicts they will be replaced by a younger generation who will prefer the technological advancements.

DIVERGING INTERESTS One of the hottest trends in shooting sports over the past few years has been the rise of defensive, practical, and tactical shooting. Vargas believes the migration to action-oriented shooting will continue, but he also sees a place for precision shooters as well.

“The future is going to be electronics. We may be doing laser only, but we’ll be shooting. I don’t think that the love for gunpowder and lead is going to go away, but there’s going to be diverging utilization. On one hand, there will be the purist who wants to shoot accurately; on the other hand, there will be the one who wants entertainment.”

Clark Vargas believes ranges will continue evolve to accommodate both types. That they will is a testament to his vision and enthusiasm for the shooting sports.

One of the hottest trends in shooting sports over the past few years has been the rise of defensive, practical, and tactical shooting.

Editor’s Note: Additional research for this article conducted by Miles Hall.

(cvaltd.com)

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