BONUS: Pull-out Poster Vol. 13 No. 4 Fall 2010
NSSF’s Magazine for Shooting Facilities
Promote a Theme and Pull in Customers Breathe Easy: Update on Vent Systems The Survey Says: You SHOULD Survey
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The Range Report
Fall 2010
www.nssf.org • www.wheretoshoot.org • www.rangeinfo.org Vol. 13 No. 4 Fall 2010
Features
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Breathe Easy A helpful update on ventilation systems for indoor ranges By Carolee Anita Boyles
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Promote a Theme
Special events can enhance the bottom line. By Mike Zlotnicki
Be Part of the College Scene Join NSSF in helping students enjoy organized shooting. By Bill Brassard and Glenn Sapir
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Survey Your Customers Communication tells you how to provide better service. By C. Douglas Nielsen
Bonus
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Special Pull-out Poster Wear Eye & Ear Protection A message worthy of posting
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Letter from the Editor
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Sighting In
The number$ game By Glenn Sapir
Scoping out news for the shooting range community By Glenn Sapir
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Q&A What has been your most successful promotion or program to attract youth to your range? By Glenn Duncan, Hall Rogers and Charles Swanberg
The Undercover Shooter Sighting in a slug gun in Connecticut
Home on the Range First Shots, 2nd Round By Cyndi Dalena
On the cover:
Themed events, like Deep River’s Side By Side expo, bring customers and exposure. Photo by Mike Zlotnicki
The Range Report
Fall 2010
© 2010 National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Range ReportSM, SHOT Show® and all other trade names, trademarks and service marks of the National Shooting Sports Foundation appearing in this publication are the sole property of the Foundation and may not be used without the Foundation’s prior express written permission. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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Letter from theEditor G l e n n
S a p i r
www.nssf.org
The Number$ Game
W
hether the game is skeet, trap, sporting clays or a three-gun match, or deer, squirrels, turkey or ducks, or any other game one recreationally shoots with a firearm, each person pulling the trigger makes a positive impact on our nation’s economy. In late April, National Shooting Sports Foundation staff members and key executives of voting member companies of NSSF as well as officials of NSSF met with the U.S. Senate majority leader, minority leader and other members of Congress to discuss key issues facing the shooting and hunting, firearms and ammunition industry. By releasing results from a newly commissioned report detailing the significant economic impact the firearms and ammunition industry has on the nation’s and each of the state’s economies, NSSF delivered a message that drew attention. It’s a message of which you are a part, of which you should be aware and to which every shooter that goes through your facility contributes. In 2009, jobs in the firearms and ammunition industry rose to 183,424 (88,200 people who manufacture, distribute and sell firearms, ammunition and hunting equipment and 95,250 jobs supplying goods and services to manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as those that depend on sales to workers in the firearms and ammunition industry). The total marks an increase from 166,200 in 2008. That work force’s collective wages amounted to more than $8.2 billion, and the combined economic impact on the nation was nearly $28 billion. What’s particularly noteworthy is that a significant increase occurred while the nation battled a sagging economy. “During difficult economic times and high unemployment rates nationally, our industry actually grew and created 16,800 new, well-paying 4
jobs,” Steve Sanetti, NSSF’s president and chief executive officer, told the gathering on Capitol Hill. “Our industry is proud to be one of the bright spots in this economy.” Let’s look at other numbers coming out of that and another report that should be of interest to you and your patrons. The workforce cited above paid taxes—property, income and sales— somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 billion. Another extremely significant financial contribution the industry made to the nation’s economy came in the form of an excise tax manufacturers pay on firearms and ammunition purchased. That money, commonly called PittmanRobertson dollars, goes to state agencies that provide public ranges and manage the wildlife within their borders. Larry Keane, NSSF’s senior vice president and general counsel, told the congressmen that in 2009 our industry increased this contribution to wildlife conservation [as well as shooting range management and hunter education] by more than 37.6 percent, which translates into sportsmen contributing more than $7.5 million dollars daily to these efforts. Another significant number came out of yet another study commissioned by NSSF, and that finding resulted in the poster you can find as the centerfold of this issue. The study was conducted in March by Harris Interactive, one of the most highly regarded companies doing public opinion surveys. The number was 44 million. That’s how many people expressed some degree of interest in going shooting and/or hunting if invited by a friend or family member. It’s time to remind your customers and club members of this fact. We can all play a part in adding to the growing number that are getting in the game. R R
The Range RangeReport, Report,published published four four times times perper year by by the the National NationalShooting ShootingSports SportsFoundation, Foundation, is dedicated is dedicated to serving to serving the needs the and needs to helping and to helping meet the meet challenges the challenges of today’s shooting of today’sfacilities. shooting facilities. The Range Report encourages letters, The comments, Range suggestions, Report encourages questions letters, and tips. comments, Material to be suggestions, returned should questions be accompanied and tips. Material by a stamped, to be returned self-addressed shouldenvelope. be accompanied The by Range a stamped, Reportself-addressed does not assume envelope. responsibility The Range for the loss Report of unsolicited does not assume graphicresponsibility or written for material. the loss Correspondence of unsolicited graphic should be or sent written to: material. Correspondence The Range Report should be sent to: The c/o NSSF Range Report c/o 11 Mile NSSFHill Road 11 Newtown, Mile HillCT Road 06470-2359 Newtown, Fax: 203-426-1245 CT 06470-2359 Fax: E-mail: 203-426-1245 rangereport@nssf.org E-mail: rangereport@nssf.org We reserve the right to edit for clarity and space. We reserve Director the right to edit forMark clarityThomas and space. Managing
Glenn Glenn Sapir Sapir Chris Chris Dolnack Dolnack Deb Deb Moran Moran
Editor Editor Advertising Advertising Director Director Art Art Director Director
Advisory Committee Don Turner - president of NSSF’s Association of Shooting Ranges Shooting park manager Clark County Shooting Park North Las Vegas, Nev. dmturner@cox.net Robin Ball, owner Sharp Shooting Indoor Range and Gun Shop Spokane, Wash. Robin@sharpshooting.net Brian Danielson, sales manager Meggitt Training Systems Suwanee, Ga. brian.danielson@meggitt.com Glenn Duncan, owner Duncan’s Outdoor Shop, Inc. Bay City, Mich.
gcduncan@concentric.net
Jon Green, director of education and training Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) Northborough, Mass. jongreen@goal.org Bill Kempffer, president Deep River Sporting Clays, Inc. Sanford, N.C.
bkempffer@deepriver.net
Holden Kriss, director Indian River County Public Shooting Range Sebastian, Fla. kriss3051@bellsouth.net Barry Laws, CEO Openrange Inc. Crestwood, Ky.
barry@openrangesports.com
Phil Murray, national sales manager White Flyer Houston, Texas Tim Pitzer, president Oregon State Shooting Association Albany, Ore.
Murray826@aol.com
timpitzer@comcast.net
The Range Report
Fall 2010
Sighting In
Scoping out news for the shooting range community
By Glenn Sapir, Editor
Federal Grant Reminder Several states offer funding to shooting-range facilities with money from their Pittman-Robertson allocation of federal excise taxes on firearms and ammunition. Though it may be too late to take advantage of 2010 grants, ranges should contact their state wildlife management agency to learn of opportunities available in the coming months. In recent months, press releases from at least three states promoting their range grant programs have come to the attention of The Range Report. The Washington (State) Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the
availability of approximately $50,000 in competitive grants, with individual awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. The grants were for construction, maintenance or expansion of public shooting-range facilities. Prospective applicants were even offered a mandatory grant-writing workshop. For more information about this grant program, call 360-902-8111, e-mail huntered@dfw. wa.gov. In 2010 Nevada had up to $80,000 available for shooting-range construction or enhancement. Ranges open to the public and that are able to provide a
minimum of 25 percent matching funds were encouraged to contact John McKay (775-668-1553, e-mail jmckay@ndow.org) at the Nevada Department of Wildlife for details. He may have details about upcoming grants availability. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources announced the launching of its Shooting Range Grant Improvement Program designed to encourage the improvement of shooting ranges and to enhance their safety and operation. For further information, contact Chris Saunders, hunter education coordinator, at 802-241-3722.
Shooting Program Reaches Milestone
program in 1978 for the Central New Jersey Council of the Boy JU NIO R Scouts of America. For the last six years, he has been offering the Junior USA ShootT EAM ing Team patches as 2010 part of the program. Fourteen-yearold Matt Jaszyn recently served as a milestone in Kauza’s program when he became the 5,000th rifleman to complete the course. To incorporate Junior USA Shooting Patches, which are updated annually, into a shooting program at your facility, visit www.nssf.org/ JrUSA.
Recommended Reading
The Junior USA Shooting Team patch program, administered by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, awards an attractive patch to youth who demonstrate a basic aptitude with rifle and shotgun. The program requires the supervision of an adult. The patches, provided free to individuals and organizations that have embraced the program, have proven to be popular offerings for ranges. John Kauza, of Alexandria Township, N.J., began a rifle and shotgun shooting
Arizona Bill Offers Tax Relief for Non-profit Ranges SB 1005, which exempts trap and skeet shooting clubs meeting certain requirements from property taxation, was signed by Gov. Brewer on April 26, reports the Arizona Citizens Defense League. Arizona SB 1005 exempts trap and skeet shooting clubs that teach, train, sponsor, coach or host clinics, shooting leagues and competitive tournaments or other events, including hunter education and firearm safety classes, from property taxes if the buildings are used for education practices and not used or held for profitable purposes. The Range Report
Fall 2010
A beneficiary of this bill is the Tucson Trap and Skeet Club, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, which is under consideration to host the 2012 Shotgun World Cup and to become the winter training center for the U.S. Olympic shotgun team. In order to accomplish this, the club must make significant improvements to the range and purchase the adjoining property. Once these improvements are made the club would face an increased tax burden that would likely have tripled the current property taxes it pays. SB 1005 exempts the club from having to pay the higher tax burden.
The Future of Hunting and the Shooting Sports is a 261-page, researchbased book that condenses the findings of one of the largest, most comprehensive studies ever conducted on factors related to shooting and hunting participation, motivations of shooters and hunters and satisfaction with recruitment and retention programs. NSSF members can order this book at a special price of $20, with free shipping. A bulk order of 25 or more by members brings the price down to $15 per copy A free PDF download is also available at http://taskforce2020.org/download.cfm. Nonmember price is $225. Contact Dianne Vrablic, 203-426-1320, e-mail dvrablic@nssf.org, with any order questions. To become an NSSF member, contact Bettyjane Swann, director of member services, at 203-426-1320, e-mail bswann@nssf.org.
Correction In the Spring 2010 edition of The Range Report, the article, “Break-in!” covered KA Display Solutions secured gun cases. Actually, the company now offering those cases is Display Solutions of Topeka, telephone RR 800-444-9685, www.dstopeka.com. 5
Q&A Your questions answered
Glenn Duncan Owner Duncan’s Outdoor Shop Bay City, Mich.
Hall Rogers Manager Rocky Creek Sporting Clays Richburg, S.C.
Charles Swanberg Treasurer Fur, Fin and Feather Club Millis, Mass.
Best Ways to Attract Youth Q. What is your best promotion or program to attract youth to your facility? A. Glenn Duncan, owner, Duncan’s Outdoor Shop: We have three effective programs. One is the busing of students from local schools to the range for an afternoon introduction to firearm safety and instruction. Students view safety videos and receive instruction on firearm safety and marksmanship under the direct supervision of NRA-certified firearm instructors. Annually, 300 to 400 students, with parental consent, go through this program. In fact, parents must accompany their son or daughter and stay during the first day of classes. Second, we set up a separate corporation to build, maintain and run portable, properly ventilated trailers with four air-gun shooting lanes. These trailers are completely self-sufficient, featuring air rifles that meet state law, targets, pellets, televisions, generators, etc. These trailers are used for in-store promotions and local community activities to introduce shooters to the shooting sports. These trailers operate under the supervision of certified instructors, and up to 500 juniors per year In Q & A, The Range Report invites NSSF’s Association of Shooting Ranges advisory committee members past and present, and others with special expertise, to provide their answers to questions of interest to our readers. If you have a question you’d like to see addressed, submit it to rangereport@nssf.org. If you would like to comment on the answers given in this edition’s Q&A, or if you have related follow-up questions for this team of experts, please share your thoughts at the same e-mail address. 6
are exposed to the shooting sports through this program. Last, Duncan’s supports junior competitive shooting activities on Thursday nights. Juniors receive instruction in safety, the proper handling of firearms and marksmanship. Shooters start out with air rifles and progress through the NRA’s qualification program. Finally, they may make the traveling teams. Many of the shooters have gone on to make national teams and obtain college scholarships. Approximately 20 to 30 participants are in this program throughout the year. As an added benefit, we employ some of these young people part time in the shop where they can learn the business while in high school and/or college, and we, of course, follow all federal and state laws regarding their employment. The bottom line is that these programs are good for the young people, good for our future and it’s good for business.
A. Hall Rogers, manager, Rocky Creek Sporting Clays: Rocky Creek Sporting Clays tries to strengthen families through their participation in an enjoyable recreational activity by concentrating on the basics of providing a safe, fun, affordable venue where families feel welcome. Last year the Superintendant of Education in South Carolina announced an endeavor to introduce sporting clays as a team sport into the public schools of South Carolina. We have spoken to many coaches, schools and parents in supporting that effort. The instructors, staff and other volunteers donate their time here to work with our youth on teamwork, self-discipline self-confidence and problem solving, while also working on firearm safety, sportsmanship, character building, leadership abilities, citizenship responsibilities and appreciation of our natural resources. Our greatest assets, perhaps, are our volunteers and community that support our youth and facility.
A. Charles Swanberg, Fur, Fin and Feather Club: Four years ago, shortly after introducing my 12-year-old son, Tyler, to trap shooting, he said, “Dad, I like shooting, but there are only old people at the club.” I knew something radical needed to be done to keep him in the sport. First, I asked a few of his friends to come along. I was pleased to find parents very receptive to shooting, and my son resumed going to the club. Thinking that a good thing could be made better, I hit upon the idea of starting a youth trap team at the Fin, Fur and Feather Club. I solicited the help of a member of our board of directors who expressed interest in my idea. Together, we persuaded the board to underwrite 50 percent of the team’s ammunition and target expenses. Next, we began to recruit shooters and coaches by means of advertising on our club website and on neighboring club’s bulletin boards. Additionally, we made presentations to local Boy Scout troops and contacted more of Tyler’s classmates. Soon, we had a team of seven dedicated, novice trapshooters and three coaches, all three of whom took the NRA Coaching Class to improve their instructional skills. We solved the problem of finding other youth clubs with which to compete when we came across the Scholastic Clay Target Program website. This national program of youth clay target shooters was just what the doctor ordered. The SCTP provided a full-blown “league” of youth teams in Massachusetts. By joining the SCTP, our club found worthy opponents, removing a major organizational headache. Today, through our own hard work, collaboration with SCTP and effective “word-of-mouth” advertising, our program boasts 31 youth shooters and 11 NRARR certified coaches. The Range Report
Fall 2010
The Range Report
Fall 2010
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Breathe Easy A helpful update on ventilation systems for indoor ranges By Carolee Anita Boyles
Photos courtesy of Carey’s Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.
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good range ventilation system is essential to your operation. Without it, you can’t pass the necessary inspections to open your doors, and it certainly won’t protect you or your customers from emissions if it isn’t installed correctly Unlike a regular air-conditioning system, a range ventilation system isn’t something you can just call your local HVAC company to install. Only a handful of HVAC companies nationwide know how to properly design and install a ventilation system on a shooting range. Fortunately, however, they’re available to either install a system anywhere in the United States, or work with your own HVAC company to get one installed for you. Not many changes Ventilation systems for ranges have changed little for the past 40 years, and they aren’t likely to change in the near future. This is good news for ranges for a couple of reasons. First, that means that systems are designed well and still function properly to filter air. Second, range operators whose systems meet current standards won’t be faced with expensive retrofitting in the near term. William Provencher is president of Carey’s Range Ventilation in Tinley Park, Ill. He does installations for all the ranges built by Advanced Interac8
tive Systems and regularly presents the section on range ventilation at the National Rifle Association’s Range Development Conference. “NIOSH—the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health—came out with the standard in 1975 that still is the standard today,” Provencher said. “It’s the basis of the Air Force’s Engineering Technical Letter, the Navy’s Unified Force Criteria and the U.S. General Services Administration criteria for indoor ranges. It’s still the basis of design for all ranges, and it always works when applied properly.” The specific standard is that the velocity of air at the firing line must flow at an average of 75 feet per minute and no less than 50 feet per minute at any point. Besides the NIOSH standards, Provencher said, there are two other sets of standards of concern to ranges. One is from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the other is from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Provencher says that, in essence, the standard from OSHA regulates the air quality in the range. The EPA standard regulates what a system can emit to the outside. “If you were to shoot the most offensive ammunition you could find into the worst bullet trap you could hit, 24 hours a day and seven days a week,
you couldn’t produce enough pounds of lead thrown outside to violate the federal EPA emissions standard,” Provencher said. “However, on your exhaust duct, it is possible to get surface contamination that could exceed the surface contamination level allowed by EPA,” he continued. “Our opinion as a contractor is that if you don’t conform to the applicable standards, obviously we would strongly counsel you to take appropriate steps to address the issue.” Provencher said he doesn’t see anything coming that would change any of those standards. Three types Provencher said there are two reasons ranges need a different kind of HVAC system than any “average” business does. “The first reason is to keep the contaminants created during the firing of an arm out of the respiratory zone,” he said. “The second reason is to keep a negative pressure to the rest of the building, so that contaminants created on the range don’t leach into the rest of the building.” Installing a range ventilation system doesn’t require any special licensing, Provencher said, but it does require special experience. “The average HVAC contractor may see one shooting range in his lifetime,” he said. “Installing one isn’t The Range Report
Fall 2010
that hard, but without experience it’s kind of an experiment. It would be like me trying to design a system for a high-rise. I have no experience at it, and I would mess up something. People who do those for a living are experts at it, and people who install ventilation systems for shooting ranges are experts at what they do.” In fact, he said, both he and other suppliers work nationwide because there are so few resources for shooting range ventilation systems. Provencher said there are three types of ventilation systems, only two of which are of serious interest to private or public indoor ranges: 1. Purge or straight-through system “This type of system is 100 percent outside air and 100 percent exhaust,” Provencher said. “This is the least expensive kind of system to install.” A purge system can use a lot of energy, depending on where in the country you’re located. “For instance, if you’re in an area like San Diego that’s 79 degrees yearround, it’s an ideal system,” he said. “And in drier climates where you can use evaporative cooling, like Colorado or New Mexico, it’s a very good, efficient system.” If you’re in an area with extremes of temperature or with high humidity, however, it’s not as efficient a system, said Provencher. “In those areas, the operating costs are more expensive,” he said. One big plus is that it’s the safest type of system to install. “With outside air and 100 percent exhaust, even if you goof up a filter change, you won’t contaminate the range,” Provencher said. This type of system has a twostage filtration process. “The first stage is a two-inch thick pleated filter like you’d use in a standard commercial system, and it catches 30 percent of the contaminants,” Provencher said. “The second stage is a HEPA filter, which stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air filter, and which is 99.97 percent efficient. That’s the type of filter you use on The Range Report
Fall 2010
incoming air in the surgical suite in a hospital. It keeps all the contaminants from either going outside, or from recirculating, depending on the kind of system you have.” 2. Recirculation system “A recirculation system brings in a minimum of 25 percent outside air to dilute contaminants and odors,” Provencher said. “This system is good because by recycling this much air you’re saving 75 percent of the energy needed for heating or cooling.” However, both the installation of and the maintenance on this type of system is more expensive, and there may be a nine- to 12-year investment return on a recirculation system in most areas. “With this type of system you must maintain it properly, or you could bring contaminants right back into the range area,” Provencher said. In a recirculation system, the filtration aspect is very similar to that of a purge system, except that there’s a middle stage. “The middle filter is 60 percent to 80 percent efficient,” Provencher said. “That’s just an extra stage for safety.” 3. Energy recovery system This type of system can use 100 percent outside air, but it recovers the energy from the heated and cooled air from the range through some type of exhausted air exchange. “These systems are very expensive,” Provencher said. “Typically, only the federal government can afford to build them. On a commercial range, if you can’t see a two- to
Range Ventilation-System Suppliers C. Vargas and Associates, Ltd. Consulting Engineers 8808 Arlington Expressway Jacksonville, FL 32211 904-722-2294 cvargas@cvaltd.com www.cvaltd.com Carey’s Heating & Air Conditioning 7301 W. Duvan Drive Tinley Park, IL 60477 708-532-2449 jmckay@careyscentral.com www.careyscentral.com Shooting Ranges International (a Div. of Advanced Interactive Systems) 3885 Rockbottom Street North Las Vegas, NV 89030 702-362-3623 info@ais-sim.com www.ais-sim.com Super Trap, Inc. Art Fransen, CEO 1601 Commerce Street Corona, CA 92880 951-736-9440 Phone Info@supertrap.com www.supertrap.com
five-year payback, you don’t have any interest in building it. But the federal government uses a 25-year return on investment to make its decisions. So, it would consider anything that pays back in less than 25 years because it has the ability to do longer-term investments. These are very safe
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systems, and they save energy, but they have a very high initial cost.” Getting the job done If you’re building a range and need a ventilation system, you have two options for getting it done. One is to have someone from the resource list (see sidebar) build it for you. The other is to have one of these companies act as a consultant to your local HVAC contractor. Mike Halverson is president of Shooting Ranges International in North Las Vegas, Nev., which is a subsidiary of Advanced Interactive Systems. He said he often works with local HVAC contractors to get ranges built anywhere in the country. “We design the system and provide a full set of plans,” he said. “Then the range owner can take those plans to local contractors
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and get competitive bids. We’ll also sell them the equipment directly to help them keep their costs down. When we do that we offer a full set of plans, we give a quote for the major equipment and then we let the range owner find The chilled-water recirculation system seen from the top a local contractor to do of a range in Montgomery County, Pa., above, suggests the ductwork and instal- the immensity of a ventilation system. At top, the diffuser lation.” plenum, one component of a range-ventilation system, Shooting Range gives an indication of the overall complexity. International also offers complete modular range,” he said. “You should always shooting ranges in both purge and vacuum. And you should have the recirculating configurations. system running while you’re cleaning, so the contaminants you stir up Take care of maintenance go downrange and stay away from With all of that said, there’s no the respiratory zone. When changing point in going to the trouble of installfilters you should be wearing a Tyvek ing a good ventilation system if you suit, a mask and gloves, so you don’t don’t maintain it properly. get contaminants from the dirty filters “It’s not hard to maintain your on your hands or clothes. These are system,” said Eileen Reig, one of the just common lead-handling procedures.” owners of Reig’s Gun Shop in Orlando, The key to the whole thing, Reig Fla. “Once you get your standard oper- said, is recycling. ating procedures in place, it’s simple. “Everything, including your mask You wear a white suit like painters use and gloves, goes in bags and goes to and you wear a respirator and gloves. the recycler,” she said. “So, you aren’t You don’t sweep; you vacuum. All throwing anything away. Once you your lead waste goes to a recycler.” find a good recycler, you’ve got it Provencher agreed. made, because they’ll take everything; RR “You should never sweep inside a that’s what makes it easy.” The Range Report
Fall 2010
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Fall 2010
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Promote a Theme
Real-life Scenario
Special events can enhance the bottom line. By Mike Zlotnicki
Photo by author
The 11th Annual Southern Side by Side Championship & Exhibition brought 77 exhibitors and nearly 2,000 people to Deep River.
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t sounded like a war—or the opening day of dove season—in the red clay hills north of Sanford, N.C., last April. The cacophony of shotgun blasts rolled over the countryside as Bill Kempffer, owner of Deep River Sporting Clays in Sanford, N.C., ambled among a crowd of shooters— predominantly out-of-towners—taking a lunch break, shaking hands and patting backs. The happy gunners and the sound of distant reports meant that the 11th Annual Southern Side By Side Championship & Exhibition was in full swing, and Kempffer’s bottom line would get a boost from the themed event, capitalizing on some hard work and creative thinking. Each year for the last 11, owners of side-by-side shotguns have converged at Deep River Sporting Clays for three days to compete in many of the 30 shooting events being held, visit with vendors of the esteemed shotguns and ancillary products and services, enjoy food served
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on the premises and sit back and take in a blue grass concert, along with the many other social highlights that naturally pop up when a group of shooters with a common interest get together. Kempffer is no stranger to range management. His father owned trap clubs in South Carolina and Missouri, and after a stint as a Marine Corps helicopter pilot in Vietnam and 16 years with Merrill Lynch as a stockbroker, Kempffer opened Deep River in 1989. After consulting with industry colleagues such as Chris Batha of Charles Boswell and Ken Duglan of Atkins, Grant & Lang (who is still the primary sponsor), Kempffer held his first Southern Side By Side Championship in 2000. It was a less than rousing success. “We had about 65 shooters, and it rained all three days,” said Kempffer. “The shoot was a disaster, but the exhibition was great. The rain killed the shooting profit.” A decade later, Kempffer has an event that has grown to 77 exhibitors
(about $480 per table/booth), 400 shooters representing more than 1,400 event entries (about $50 per entry; more for championship qualifiers) and almost 2,000 total bodies (admission is free) on site for the three-day show. “I learned to treat the shoot and the exhibition separately; they’re two different components” he said. “The exhibitors require covered space and infrastructure. The exhibition has to financially cover itself, and the shoot needs to be priced to cover itself in the event of marginal weather conditions.” The learning curve takes some… learning. Putting on an event the magnitude of the Southern Side By Side is not just a matter of ordering more than 66,000 clay targets. Kempffer’s to-do list is long and varied. There’s marketing to exhibitors and advertising to participants before hand. He must provide 26,000 square feet of covered vendor space, order decorative awards for 30 different shooting events and commemorative pins The Range Report
Fall 2010
and hats, hire 26 extra field judges, arrange catered food for 2,000 people, provide toilet facilities and hire a bluegrass band for the Saturday evening’s entertainment. Site security and trash removal must be lined up, too. One frame tent can run $8,000. Port-a-johns run $70 or so for the weekend per unit. Security is negotiated with off-duty sheriff deputies. Someone has to haul garbage. Kempffer shares some of what he’s learned from the Southern Side By Side Championship & Exhibition. Be true to yourself. “Don’t be what you’re not, “said Kempffer, who queried vendors and shooters about hits and misses after his first event. “Be proud of what you are and showcase it. For instance, the first year I had a sit-down banquet. For our crowd, it doesn’t work.” Now, local ladies provide a Carolina pig pickin’ and other Southern church social hall fare. The ladies sold about 2,000 meals this year and got to keep the profit. It works out well for them and Kempffer. “There’s only so much I can do,” he said. “They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. That’s one less thing I have to worry about, and they are making money. They feel like they have a stake in the event and a stake in the business.” Another thing Kempffer learned was more shooters were interested
Jim Carmichael, former shooting editor for Outdoor Life magazine, and Bill Kempffer, owner of Deep River Sporting Clays, do a photo shoot for Garden & Guns magazine. The annual Side by Side event garnered a lot of coverage — and free exposure.
in the social aspect of the event more than the competitive side, so he factored that into his plan. He built it, slowly and deliberately, and the shooters have responded. “Instead of squadding different groups of shooters, I let the groups shoot together in European rotation,” he said. “I also lay out the course so small-gauge and large-gauge shooters can walk together. I try to meet the desires of customers.” In fact, planning for the following year starts during the event. “I use the current show to query participants and exhibitors to improve next year’s,” said Kempffer.
A Southern pig pickin’ was part of the daily lunch choices. Food was catered by locals, freeing Kempffer of the catering aspect of the Side by Side.
The Range Report
Fall 2010
motioning to the parked vehicles. “Three years ago I didn’t know these people. Camaraderie is such an overused word, but this goes beyond that. I could have gone to the Grand Canyon [on vacation], but I wouldn’t have
Word from the range One group of this year’s customers was the Candler family—father Charles of St. Simons Island, Ga., mother Becky, daughters Lucy, 12 Rebecca, 22, and Paxton, 25, and Paxton’s fiancée, Jamie Keegan. Charles had inherited an L.C. Smith shotgun, and his desire to learn more about it led him to the event. “Look around,” Charles Candler said, 13
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Create Your Own Event Need ideas? Think small, think fun and think outside the box. You have your regulars; keep them interested and target beyond them. Themed events can be based on seasons, holidays, equipment – the list is endless. Bill Kempffer of Deep River Sporting Clays has a group of locals who meet to shoot black-powder shotguns. Envision a black-powder tournament with a prize for best period costume. Speaking of costumes, what about a Halloween shoot? Independence Day? Memorial Day? Contact the local Boy Scout council and host a clinic for Shotgun Shooting or Rifle Shooting merit badges. What about a modern sporting rifle event? Revolvers only? A Cowboy-Action weekend? Pump-action shotguns only? Many shooters have old single-shot smoothbores. What about a single-shot trap/ skeet/sporting clays shoot with time for reloading? For help in event planning, the National Shooting Sports Foundation offers a package called Countdown to Success that Kempffer uses. Go to http://www.nssf.org/PDF/ ASR_catalog2010.pdf to print an order form. It’s free to NSSF members and $25 for nonmembers.
known a soul there.” Candler estimates that he spent $2,000 on the trip, with about $800 of that on site. Elizabeth Lanier of Sandy Hook, Va., shares the enthusiasm for the event. A shotgun instructor, she said, “I love this event. I love to shoot and can’t stand to compete, but I love to come here.” Lanier brought eight women age 47 to 63 with her in April and said that she personally spent $250 on shooting fees alone. Another event About 600 miles north of Sanford in Millbrook, N.Y., is Orvis Sandanona, where Peggy Long, general manager, and her husband, Brian Long, senior manager of sporting tradition, have nurtured the multifaceted Orvis Cup into an annual destination. Instead of a niche event like the Southern Side by Side, the Longs have spent four years promot16
ing an outdoors-lifestyle product, combining shooting competitions with falconry, hunting dog and fly-fishing demonstrations among others. The Orvis Cup is a two-day event, and though it is still a fiscal infant, the Longs see long-term promise. “The premise is not just with shooting, but with showcasing the sporting lifestyle and bringing traffic to the vendors,” said Brian Long. Peggy Long said a shooter’s spouse can keep busy, too, alluding to the peripheral activities. Last September the Orvis Cup had about 80 shooters in main event competitions and about 1,000 bodies through the gate. The Longs see the down-the-road potential. “We’re maybe break-even, but we’re trying to expose [our event] to new customers for long-term growth,” said Brian Long. “We have two shooting stations for novices or new shooters.” The Longs said that sponsorships,
shooting fees and vendor fees are crucial to support the event. Extra labor is an issue. The Longs prefer to pay cash for extra workers, while Kempffer taps range members to work for cash or credit on memberships and shooting. “Sweat equity” is always an option. Intangibles While attending the Southern Side By Side, I noticed Jim Carmichael, retired Outdoor Life shooting editor, on assignment for Garden & Guns magazine. In addition, the Charlotte Observer, Fayetteville Observer and Sanford Herald newspapers covered the event, as well as Clay Shooting USA, Parker Pages, Shooting Sportsman and The Range Report. It’s hard to buy that kind of exposure, regardless of your marketing budget. “Call and invite the press,” said Kempffer. “The exposure is priceless.” You need to host a quality event, however, no matter the size. Those seeds grow Both the Longs and Kempffer believe in long-term plans, three years at a minimum. “You have to go into this thing with a longer vision,” said Peggy Long. “You have to have a quality event. If you’re going to lose your shirt, lose it in style,” she laughed. One key point both the Longs and Kempffer made is that while immediate return on investment is nice, a lot of your return is in the future. Kempffer said of his 11 Side By Side Championships, four were breakeven and two lost money – and he said the two losers were still worth doing for the exposure. His three-day event last April, however, earned immediate profits better than the two weeks of the Christmas/New Years holiday season, normally his strongest seasonal retail and shooting stretch of the year. In others words, start small, partner with a primary sponsor, think quality, listen to your market—and dare to dream. With those directives, your shirt is probably safe, unless you want to replace it with something RR nicer at a later date. The Range Report
Fall 2010
The Range Report
Fall 2010
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Be Part of the College Scene Join NSSF in helping students enjoy organized shooting By Bill Brassard and Glenn Sapir, NSSF Communications
A new round of grant proposals will be considered for 2011, and shooting facilities should work with local colleges to launch new or strengthen existing shooting programs.
O
n college campuses across the country, men and women are taking up target shooting in increasing numbers. From Harvard to Jacksonville University to the University of Colorado, the shooting sports are “in” as students discover how they can enjoy these safe, fun activities with their friends. To encourage this growth trend, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms and shooting sports industry, last year began providing grants through its Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative (CSSI) to support the development of varsity teams for those students interested in competition and create clubs for students interested in the recreational and social benefits of target shooting. “After just one round of grants, NSSF has seen participation in target shooting grow significantly at colleges,” said Zach Snow, NSSF’s senior shooting sports coordinator. “We’re just getting started, so the sky’s the limit.”
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The second round of grants will be decided upon soon. However, it is not too soon to think about next year’s awards. “All it takes to form a team or club is for a dedicated coach, faculty member or student to step up and lead the way” Snow added. “Once that happens, participants follow.” That coach could be a representative of your shooting operation, and your facility could become the home range of the club or team you help to
create or strengthen. Other facilities have already seen that occur during the first year that grants have been offered and put to use. The Range Report (Summer 2010) has already documented the success of one club in building college programs and attracting shooters. Hank Garvey, a member of the Minute Man Sportsman’s Club, which is located 20 miles northwest of Boston, embraced the CSSI concept by working with students at local universities such as Harvard and Northeastern to recruit and develop active collegiate shooting clubs. In one year, with the support of a couple of students, he helped build two official clubs at Harvard—one for undergrads and one for Harvard Law School students—and now more than 300 students have shown an interest in joining and are on the clubs’ mailing list. And that is only one of the universities that calls Minute Man “home.” Here’s how NSSF’s Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative is making target shooting a common activity on other campuses: • Jacksonville University began a sporting clays, skeet and trap club program thanks to the work of master-level instructor David Dobson, who will join the university’s faculty this fall to teach a class on the theory of wingshooting and continue as the program’s head coach. Dobson’s work at Jacksonville inspired one of his shooting students to launch a clays shooting club at the University of North Florida, a team Dobson also coaches. Said Dobson, “NSSF’s grant
Visit the CSSI Website Remember, all of the details on the Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative can be viewed at the CSSI website, www.nssf. org/college.
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Fall 2010
program has energized both coaches and student participants to promote collegiate target shooting. In NSSF, we now have a resource to turn to for funding and nonmonetary assistance, particularly in the early stages of creating a program when support is most needed. NSSF’s support will be significant to our success moving forward.” • Trinity College and Schreiner University promoted introductory seminars where new shooters learned how to safely handle firearms and were introduced to shooting games for rifle, shotgun and handgun. • The first New England Collegiate Clay Target Championships, supported by NSSF, featured teams from Harvard, Harvard Law, Yale, Brown, Tufts and the University of Vermont. • Last month’s ACUI College Clay Target Championships were the largest ever with 40 teams participating, some teams being new or expanded programs thanks to grants from NSSF. • The University of Arkansas Fort Smith, assisted by a grant from NSSF, finished as the fourth-ranked air rifle team in the country at the inaugural NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship at Purdue University. “We hope these success stories will give interested students or prospective coaches the incentive to start a varsity team or a club shooting group at their college or university,” said Snow. “We’re here to assist them in getting the activity established.” NSSF developed the Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative to provide a “next step” for hundreds of thousands of students already participating in youth programs such as the Scholastic Clay Target Program, Boy Scouts of America and 4-H. “When these students go off to college, many will want to continue participating in the shooting sports — just like athletes in other sports want to,” said Snow. “We have a great feeder system in place, but opportunities to shoot at the college The Range Report
Fall 2010
level have been limited. With the Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative grant program, we’re expanding opportunities for experienced shooters and newcomers.” Snow said NSSF developed the Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative for the following reasons: 1. Raise awareness of shooting sports and firearm safety at the college level 2. Provide financial and nonfinancial assistance in developing college shooting clubs or teams
3. Serve as a resource for colleges and students interested in learning more about the shooting sports 4. Help grow the shooting sports at the college level Get details on how to apply for a Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative grant from NSSF at www.nssf.org/ college. Though it is too late to submit for 2010 grants, start thinking about the next round—Round 3—of the CSSI grant program. Lay the groundRR work now.
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©iStockphoto.com/William Britten
Survey Your Customers Communication tells you how to provide better service
M
iles Hall spends his days managing the H&H Gun Range, the Five Star facility he founded in Oklahoma City. However, if you ask him, he’ll describe his job as keeping shooters happy. To do that, he says, you have to ask a lot of questions, not only about any changes you are planning but also about the day-to-day service at your facility. “In order to grow you really need to ask the people who are going to be affected by your business,” said Hall. “Who better to ask than the 20
By C. Douglas Nielsen guests of your own establishment?” Survey brings surprises Hall began asking questions with the help of graduate business students from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1988. The students worked with Hall to create and complete a survey regarding specific things they thought the customers might want to see at H&H, but they were surprised to learn the customers had no interest in those things at all. “We thought lockers would be the next logical step, but out of 1,540
people only two thought lockers were a good idea,” Hall said. Instead Hall learned what his customers wanted were more and longer shooting lanes. Two years later Hall moved his range to another location that would accommodate his customer’s expectations. In the years since, Hall has continued to ask his customers questions. Though he typically performs formal surveys every two or three years, Hall said, “The key is to find a pattern, a process if you will, that asks the fewest amount of questions to get the most results.” He believes you have to ask all of the time. In addition to written survey cards, Hall takes advantage of every opportunity to speak directly with his customers. His list of questions includes, “Tell me what you want? Tell me what we need to do? How do we address this?” He wants to know whether they are happy with the way they have been treated, if something could have been done better or if something else is needed. The Range Report
Fall 2010
Hall also is a strong advocate of focus groups as the means of discussing customer needs or wants in an open, small-group forum. He recommends having 10 to 15 prepared questions and then letting them have a roundtable discussion. Silence in not golden “Ask questions only if you want to succeed,” Hall said. “If you don’t want to succeed, don’t ask any because you will fail. You’re in the business to serve the guest. How can you serve the guest if you don’t know what they want?” Holden Kriss, manager of the Indian River County Shooting Range in Sebastian, Fla., agrees with Hall. His focus is on venue improvements and customer service, so Kriss asks, “What would you like to see added? What would you like to see improved? Did you have a good experience here?” The Indian River County facility has only been in operation since 2001 but already boasts 58,000 registered shooters who travel from as far away as 100 miles to shoot. “We average 100 new shooters a day on the weekend and have never used paid advertising. We depend on word of mouth,” Kriss said. A large part of that word of mouth advertising Kriss attributes to his facility’s survey efforts. Customers can find survey cards at collection sites located throughout the facility, not only in the office—but you won’t find them there every day. Kriss recommends pulling survey collection boxes at various intervals so customers don’t grow complacent. Moreover, he has multiple survey cards and rotates them. “If they (always) see the same comment card, they tend to forget about it,” he said. Provide your contact information In addition to asking questions, Hall and Kriss strongly suggest that you provide customers with your contact information so they can talk with you directly if they feel the need to do so. Joining Hall and Kriss in the survey realm is Don Turner, manager of the new Clark County Shooting The Range Report
Fall 2010
Gather Internet Intelligence Since 1988, Miles Hall has used traditional paper and interview surveys to build his customer base at the H&H Gun Range in Oklahoma City. In recent years, however, Hall has discovered that the Internet offers yet another avenue for gathering intelligence – the online forum. ©iStockphoto.com/enot-poloskun Hall created a forum page on his facility website and compares it to the electronic bulletin boards of days gone by. Monitoring this and other related forums within his market area provides Hall with valuable information. “People are not ashamed at all to tell you if you’ve got something going on internally that you need to address or if there is an opportunity that you’re not addressing,” Hall explained. “Monitoring those sites has been an eye opener. It’s like being a fly on the wall in a room full of people, and you just get a chance to listen. Hopefully you won’t get swatted too damn bad.” The H&H Online Forum offers such subject areas as Introductions, where new members can share a little about their shooting interests, Announcements, Handgun and Archery Discussions and General Discussions. Thanks to the forum, Hall now knows that newcomer Michael is “fairly new to guns. My parents have just recently naturalized to the USA as citizens. My parents were/are not gun people… I somehow became a fan of guns... I am a fairly new family man and want to protect my little crew… My CCL should come in the mail any time, and I want something to carry conveniently. Any suggestions?” No doubt Hall & company had an answer to Michael’s questions and the ability to help him find the carry firearm he was looking for.
Park in Las Vegas, Nev. He, too, utilizes customer comment cards available at collection sites scattered throughout the park and has done so since the facility opened to shooters in December 2009. Kristen Siquian, park public information specialist, said, “We’re trying to find out what’s working, and if something happens to not be working, we definitely want to know so we can change it.” What you don’t want is for your survey to be a burden on your customer, said Rob Southwick of the research firm Southwick & Associates, so he 21
recommends that you avoid inquisitive questions about things like their income or their age. If you already have their address in your database, don’t ask again. What you want to do is word your questions to elicit more than a yes or no answer. You want to know the degree. Also, provide your customers with an opportunity to give credit where they believe credit is due. If you are going to survey your customers, you have to be willing to do something with what you learn. “First, you need to be willing to listen to the answer, period. All criticism is constructive no matter what it is. The second thing is you’ve got to be willing to change your operation to serve those needs. Then you have got to be willing to let them know you reacted. They will respond by letting RR other people know,” said Hall.
Why Survey Your Customers? If you are thinking about surveying your customers, a good place to start is asking why. Why survey your customers in the first place? “To know the demographics of your current customer base,” said Jim Curcuruto, director of industry research for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “That way when you want to market – to increase the customer base that you have – you can tailor your marketing toward a particular type of individual, and even those areas those individuals live in.” Surveying your customers not only lets you know who they are, but it also lets you know who and where they are not. Range managers “really need to get an understanding of who their customers are compared to the rest of the community. That way you can see who you are missing as a customer,” said Rob Southwick of the research firm Southwick & Associates. “By arming yourself with this information you will be able to get more for your advertising and marketing dollar.” Southwick is quick to point out that there are no stereotypical firearms enthusiasts. “What we’ve seen in research is that interest in firearms is in all different types of communities – urban, rural, suburban, higher income and lower income – all sorts of people. So if your business tends to be catering toward that 50-year-old white male as 75 percent of your customers, then you are probably not doing a very good job of making your business friendly to others.”
Ready. Aim. Click! National Shooting Sports Foundation®
Be Where Shooters Go. As a range owner, you know shooters drive your business. Wheretoshoot.org has thousands of shooters who visit the website each month. Reach those shooters by registering your range today…and best of all…it’s FREE! This is one way NSSF fulfills its mission of promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports.
www.nssf.org 22
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Sighting in a Slug Gun in Connecticut A ‘novice’ seeks help at two ranges
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ublic availability of shooting ranges in Connecticut is limited. Yet, my search at the “Find a Range” feature of the NSSF website listed more than 50 facilities. My assignment was simple: Feigning novice status, find two Connecticut ranges to offer assistance in sighting in a scoped 12 gauge shotgun. It took several calls, but I soon hit pay dirt with affirmative responses from facilities located 50 minutes apart. Both cautioned that I might need to wait an hour or more for individual instruction if the range was busy, a likely scenario for my planned Saturday visits.
Range A Rustic and supportive Located in Wallingford, Conn., Blue Trail Range and Gun Shop has been open since 1945 and advertises itself as the largest and safest commercial shooting range in the Northeast. Lush green hills serve as a backdrop when you pull into the large, red cinder parking lot. Both the outdoor range and clubhouse/gun shop/snack bar are within a few yards and easily accessible. A shotgun field is located across the street. Relaxingly rustic is a fair description of the grounds and facilities. Stepping into the gun shop, I was immediately greeted by a friendly and helpful staffer. When I mentioned that I had called previously to request aid sighting in my scope, he immediately offered to use a collimator (bore sighter) to “get me on the paper.” This cost $5 and took less than five 24
minutes despite my having grossly misaligned the scope on purpose. I then asked if I could get help fine-tuning on the outdoor range but was politely informed I would need to do it myself as, being the only shop staffer on duty this day, he couldn’t leave the counter area. The one outside range officer on duty, I was further advised, could not provide first-hand instruction as he needed to attend diligently to his own job priorities. The shop staffer did take time to explain clearly and accurately how to make the proper adjustments, offered plenty of moral support and told me to return for more advice if needed. He provided a good start, overall, but a true novice might have yearned for more hands-on help at the range.
Range B Simplicity is a plus Covering eight acres, not quite all of it available for shooting, Wooster Mountain Shooting Range, in Danbury, Conn., is operated by the Danbury Shooting Association and is neither large nor complex. Then again, it is the simple organization, park setting and smooth operation that give this place an “outdoorsy” quality despite its location less than a mile south of the Danbury Fair Shopping Mall, a major shopping hub. Nestled into the side of Wooster Mountain State Park, substantial berms serve as your shooting backdrop. Access is via a smooth dirt road that leads to a dirt parking lot. You’ll need to walk 50 yards or so to reach
the range and small supply shop, which offers basic eye and hearing protection, targets and ammo. At the center of operations, you’ll spot a table with a picnic umbrella. Sign up here, pay the $15 daily use fee and then head over to the red barn to gather a target stand. When I arrived on a Saturday afternoon, most of the 48 wooden table shooting stations were already occupied, and a cease-fire period was minutes from ending. I explained to the officer of the day that I wanted to sight in my shotgun but was unsure how to go about it. He smiled and noted the range was pretty busy, but then instructed me to grab a target, get my gun and follow him to an open station. We were ready to shoot with a target placed at approximately 30 yards before the cease fire ended. Once firing was allowed to commence, the range officer inspected my shotgun and scope, assumed a three-point position while seated at the wooden bench rest and fired off four slugs. He paused following each shot and used binoculars to carefully inspect the placement of each round before adjusting the scope. He then announced that I should learn how to sight in myself by fine-tuning his rough adjustments. He continued to stand by and offered instruction as I fired off four rounds before he eventually moved on to other duties. He returned several minutes later to check my progress and offer moral support. After firing 10 slugs, my Browning shotgun and Bushnell scope appeared to be in perfect alignment, and I left quite RR satisfied. The Range Report
Fall 2010
BLUE TRAIL RANGE & GUN STORE 3116 N. Branford Rd. Wallingford, CT 06492 www.bluetrailrange.com 203-269-3280
WOOSTER MOUNTAIN SHOOTING RANGE 74 Sugar Hollow Rd. Danbury, CT 06810 www.pahquioque.com 203-794-9821
Scorecard
Editor’s note: The Undercover Shooter is an experienced recreational shooter but is not trained in technical aspects of range design and operation.
Each category is rated on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest score.
Blue Trail Range and Gun Store Customer Satisfaction Rating Signage, Visibility
3
• No signs leading up to the facility from either direction on North Branford Road. Large wooden entrance sign is easy to spot. • Website directions (www.bluetrailrange.com/ Directions.html) are simple and accurate
Exterior Appeal
3
• Pleasant, rural setting. Rustic is a plus in my book, but clubhouse and shooting stations could still use a coat of fresh paint. Large trees around the clubhouse provide nice shade. Ample parking.
Interior Appeal
3
• Office and clubhouse were dimly lighted and, although clean enough, could use a general sprucing up. Gun Shop is bright, easily accessible and smartly organized. I might order a burger at the snack bar, but would probably eat it outside.
Retail Product Availability
5
• Well-stocked gun shop sports a full line of protective equipment, shooting clothing, ammunition and
firearms ranging from pistols to shotguns
Staff Friendliness
5
• Exceptionally friendly and patient on all levels.
Range Safety
4
• No visible shortcomings. Range officer was focused and in control at all times. Berms seemed more than adequate behind all target areas. Range rules list ear and eye protection as “highly recommended.” They should be mandatory. More staff on duty would be a plus.
Programs/Membership
5
• Open to public seven days a week, 9 a.m - 5 p.m • $29 per day, weekdays; $29 first hour, $10 each additional hour on weekends • $575 yearly membership • Range includes 10-point, 50-foot indoor range; 15-point, 33-foot indoor air rifle range;19-point, 25-yard outdoor pistol range; 120-point, “50-ish” and 100-yard outdoor rifle range; a field for shotgun use, where you throw your own clays. You can
rent a mechanical thrower for $35 per hour, or a hand-held thrower for $2 per day. • Offers a wide variety of competitive shooting programs; junior rifle club for more than 40 local school teams ranging from elementary to high school; hunter safety classes, firearms safety, plus NRA pistol class and rifle instructor’s courses; women’s pistol, children’s birthdays, outdoors sports fair, pig roast, more
Cleanliness
3.5
• Grounds are generally clean, as is the clubhouse, gun shop and snack bar. Disappointed in the preponderance of spent shotgun shells at the trap field located across the street.
Comments, Impressions • Public shooting on a daily basis scores big bonus points. Plenty of shooting opportunities and programs from which to choose. Beijing Olympian Emily Caruso trained and competed here. Exceptionally friendly staff, but more would be merrier. Overall, an enjoyable and productive visit.
Wooster Mountain Shooting Range Customer Satisfaction Rating Signage, Visibility
3
• A small wooden sign at the Wooster Mountain State Park entrance on Sugar Hollow Road indicates the range is ahead. Although the dirt entrance road is easy to spot, there are no other signs indicating the presence of this facility. • The facility is located just inside Wooster Mountain State Park and is not visible from Sugar Hollow Road.
quite busy. Staff seemed to make a strong effort to work with novice and young shooters.
Range Safety
3.5
• Small supply shed stocked with basic eye and ear protective equipment, targets and ammo.
• Range officer was clearly in command at all times and used polite yet stern language to keep all shooters in check. Stepping anywhere near a firearm during cease fire was not tolerated, and at least two clearly stated verbal warnings were issued. • Due to close proximity of shooting stations, hot brass is a concern. I was struck on the back and arm several times by shells from a semi-automatic rifle at the next station, making it difficult to stay highly focused while sighting in. Regulars here consider this routine. Eye and hearing protection are required but a brimmed cap and tight-fitting shirt should also be considered to reduce the possibility of a hot shell sliding between your clothes and skin or under behind your protective glasses
Staff Friendliness
Programs/Membership
Exterior Appeal
4
• Mountainside parkland setting. Ample parking. Wooden shooting stations are solid and in surprisingly good shape considering heavy use.
Interior Appeal
N/A
Retail Product Availability
2
4
• Friendly and willing to explain range rules, expectations and functionality in detail despite being
4
• Open to the public, $15 per day; first come, first served. Children under age 14 pay $5; $125 yearly
membership Open trap on Tuesday, 10 a.m. - sunset Rifle and pistol on Wednesday, 1 - 7 p.m. Rifle and pistol on Saturday & Sunday, noon - 6 p.m. Range consists of four trap fields, 24 shooting benches, 48 shooting stations at 25 to 100 yards • Various events include trap shoots and other target shooting competitions. • • • •
Cleanliness
4
• Grounds are very clean. Spent shells at all stations but all else seems to end up in the several large trash cans supplied.
Comments, Impressions • Fun and friendly outdoors setting. Few amenities, but operation is well organized and adequately staffed. Staffers are willing to provide some individual instruction and shooting tips if requested, as time allows. Consider a brimmed hat and tight fitting shirt as necessary protective gear due to close proximity of shooting stations. Arrive with time to spare, for shooting stations can fill up quickly.
All reports, comments, impressions, opinions or advice expressed in the Undercover Shooter column are solely those of independent, recreational shooting range consumers and do not necessarily represent those of the National Shooting Sports Foundation or its affiliates. Neither the NSSF nor its affiliates make any warranty or assume any liability with respect to the accuracy or reliability of any information provided by Undercover Shooter contributors. Readers are encouraged to and should perform their own investigation of the information provided herein. The Range Report
Fall 2010
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Home on the Range Views from NSSF staffers and guest contributors
First Shots, 2nd Round A great new program picks up where First Shots leaves off By Cyndi Dalena
N
SSF’s First Shots program has been and continues to provide many first-time shooters the opportunity to learn more and get started shooting at their local range. With 40 percent of attendees returning to the range, ranges are seeing increased participation and continued opportunities to sell their services, in the form of range rentals, equipment sales and personal and class training. We at NSSF thought about the other 60 percent that weren’t going back to the range and asked ourselves, “Why?” For many people, finding time and someone to shoot with were top reasons, along with not feeling experienced enough to continue on their own Though many different types of shooting activities are available, the truth is that most of them require knowledge or skills more demanding than what the First Shots experience provides. Certainly, First Shots helped them get started and introduced them to basic safety and shooting fundamentals, but they still may be unsure of what type of firearm is best for them, or they may not understand the rules/requirements for specific activities such as action handgun or clay-target games. Enter First Shots, 2nd Round, designed to add an additional layer of knowledge onto the base of the First Shots program. 2nd Round provides ranges with another opportunity to bring new shooting enthusiasts back to the facility and get them shooting tailored more to their individual interests. The core of 2nd Round is based on the foundation of First Shots, providing basic safety and shooting fundamentals along with details about a specific topic. Ranges can run First Shots, 2nd Round for any activity they would like to promote—any handgun activi26
ties from IDPA, USPSA and steel to long-range rifle and clay-target games. 2nd Round seminars can also focus on personal protection or simply be a “trya-gun” seminar allowing the attendee to shoot various types of firearms. First Shots partner ranges have already seen early success with this new effort. 2nd Round seminars have been offered in personal protection, skeet and try-a-gun, with classes being filled and attendees purchasing range membership
2nd Round — Moving Forward and joining league activities. Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center held its inaugural First Shots 2nd Round for personal protection, specifically for women, in March. The center sent special invitations to these ladies and quickly filled the seminar. Instructors reviewed basic safety and shooting fundamentals, introduced centerfire handguns and discussed carry options and basic draw technique. When heading to the range, attendees were provided with belts and holsters for draw and dry-fire activity that consummated in live-fire exercises, providing them both experience and skill drawing from a holster and a new confidence in enrolling in a defensive techniques class to improve on this new skill. “I have been shooting sporadically for about two years, but was on the fence about the type of gun I should purchase,” said one attendee, “I’m tickled that the class helped determine a semi-auto would be best, and I plan to buy one in the next month.” Another was thrilled with the chance to get to know other local ladies interested in learning more about personal protection with a firearm.
By Cyndi Dalena Cyndi Dalena is NSSF’s manager of the First Shots Program. Before introducing First Shots and dedicating her services exclusively to this introductory program, she directed the Scholastic Clay Target Program while it was still being administered by NSSF. Cyndi has been a regular at ranges for years, earning dozens of honors as one of her state’s most accomplished sporting clays shooters.
“Now I have a few new friends I can get together with for shooting!” she said. The center recently held another First Shots 2nd Round try-a-gun, where participants practiced shooting fundamentals with various centerfire calibers and firearms. This four-hour seminar covered revolvers and pistols, as well as practical use and application of various handguns and calibers. For many of the attendees, it was the first step in making a purchase decision based on a solid foundation of knowledge and consideration of how they might use their firearms. Seymour Fish and Game, a private sportsman’s club in Connecticut, has offered 2nd Round for skeet shooting. This seminar provided an overview of skeet as well as live-fire instruction. More than 60 people attended, including families, and each had a chance to shoot a round of skeet, learning the rules, seeing the targets and getting some great instruction as well. “At the end of the day, we had several new members signed up and lots of skeet enthusiasts,” said Al Anglace, club president. “The support from NSSF in the form of ammunition and targets helped us keep our costs and attendees’ costs to a minimum.” As part of the First Shots program, ranges that offer 2nd Round seminars also receive the same type of support – planning assistance, customized ads, cooperative funding for advertising, loaner firearms, ammunition and targets. For more information or to get started on planning First Shots 2nd Round at your facility contact Cyndi Dalena at firstshots@nssf.org or RR 203-426-1320. The Range Report
Fall 2010
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