Chapter 3 Planning the Program IDENTIFYING RANGES AND FACILITIES
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aving a suitable place to shoot is critical to any shooting program. The location may be as informal as a temporary air gun range set up in an empty classroom, or as elaborate as an indoor or outdoor facility that can accommodate any number of shooting disciplines. Many schools have suitable indoor ranges for smallbore rifle, smallbore pistol, and air gun. Some ranges may still be under a school’s ROTC department, or in disuse because many were built decades ago to meet ROTC requirements. Over the years, a number of schools discontinued their cadet programs and others dropped marksmanship as a mandatory requirement. As a result, some range facilities may be used for shooting, but others may have been adapted for other campus uses. While extremely popular, shotgun competition is limited to outdoor facilities which demand a relatively large amount of space. For this reason, many collegiate shotgun programs share trap or skeet fields with community organizations. Many collegiate shooting programs complement on-campus facilities by gaining permission to use ranges at nearby military posts, National Guard armories, local high schools, private shooting clubs, YMCAs, or local community centers. Here, too, the National Rifle Association or a state rifle and pistol association may help in finding a suitable range close to campus. An air gun range can be set up anywhere, provided there is a safe backstop. This range can be set-up in a classroom, gymnasium, or on a shooting range. The easy set-up/take-down of an air gun range allows the room to be multi-purpose and go from classroom setting to shooting range and back to classroom. Specific information on ranges for each sport included in the campus program is available from the NRA, including outdoor ranges for high power, silhouette, and pistol, indoor ranges, running target ranges, and shotgun fields. NRA range materials include information on zoning and local ordinances, and the evaluation of safety, environmental, and construction problems. Range regulations for each shooting discipline are suggested. These regulations demonstrate to school authorities that the program is serious, will run safely, and that those who participate in any sanctioned shooting activity will follow safe and sound procedures. If a range exists on campus, find out who maintains it. The proposed program may be allowed to share available range time. On the other hand, if the range is closed, learn the reasons why. If the cause was due to technical problems, such as faulty ventilation or equipment, contact the NRA Range Development Program at http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/ for information, help, and support.
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