Public Range Info Page

 
Our Public Range is open to anyone who wants a safe place to shoot.  Here you can see the 9 handgun shooting positions.  In front of them are 12 yard target positions with target stands and steel plate racks for your use.  The offhand shooting stalls will help remind shooters which way to keep the gun pointing... downrange.  This is just one of the safety considerations taken into account during the design of this range.  This range is sorely needed in the Birmingham area.  The choices in the area for ranges for anyone who wants to shoot rifles and handguns without having to purchase membership are very slim.  There are a few private gun clubs within a 30 minute drive of Birmingham but they all have membership requirements, a membership committee to get through, referals from existing members required, work days required, competition participation required, NRA membership required.  Here, the only requirements are that you be able to legally possess a handgun, that you are safe while you are here, and that you pay a small daily use fee.

There is one other commercial range in Birmingham that allows the public range use.  It is a nice indoor 25 yard facility.  They have automated target retreival systems, ammo and targets.   Indoor ranges must have really good ventilation or your lead exposure goes up.  Outdoors, the breeze that God gives us takes care of the ventilation.  If you have been shooting indoors for a while, have your doctor pull a blood sample and do a lead exposure check.  Most people who shoot regularly indoors have lead levels much higher than those who shoot outdoors. 

The big traffic light on the wall on the Public Range will remind shooters of the proper range condition...   When the light is green, the range is hot.  Shooters may load and engage their targets.  The light stays green for 19 minutes.  The light will go yellow for one minute between green and red.  Yellow gives you notice that the range is about to go cold.  When the light is red, the range is cold, every one clears their chamber, opens the action, and benches their gun.  While the light is red and the range is cold, there is no weapon handling allowed... period.  Set up your target, replace your target, or take a break until the range is hot again.  When the range is hot, you may handle your weapon... get it out, set it up on the rifle rest, load and shoot until the range goes cold again.  This works well at other ranges around the country and will work here too. Keep the firearm pointing downrange at all times.  See the range rules link on the left side of this page for a look at all the range rules.

To me, the choice is clear.  There is only range in the Birmingham area that has full service, supervision, no work days, ample room to shoot at distances out to 100 yards, no membership requirements to be able to shoot, no membership committee to evaluate your worthiness in their club, no NRA membership requirements, ammo and targets at really good prices, eyes, ears, staplers, spotting scopes, rifle rests, handgun rests and sandbags available, restroom facilities, a nice road to the range, low fees, low dues for those who want to be members and shoot more and pay less, open 7 days a week with long hours...   I could go on and on...

What does it cost to use the Public Range at the F.O.P. Range Inc.?  $20 per day, bring your kids (up to 20 = kids) for half price.  Yes, it is affordable.   You can also join for only $20 a month with a single membership and get use of the whole facility.  Yes, it is a really nice place to enjoy your firearms.  Yes, you can shoot here.  Yes, you can join if you want to, but you don't have to.  There are tons of people who just want to shoot their deer gun to see if the scope is still on, who just want to shoot that old revolver they have had by the bed for the last 20 years to see if it still works, who want to shoot that new gun to make sure it is accurate and working right or who want to bring a family member and introduce them to firearms and sport shooting.  Then there are those people who would join the range so they can shoot as often as they like, but are having financial troubles and can't afford the full membership right now.  You are all welcome here.