The Public Range is now 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
and 25 yard target positions. 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 locations 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. I know one pilot
who almost lost his job because he participated in regular shooting events at an
indoor range with inadequate ventilation. The company did a physical on
him and found his lead count to be five times higher than normal.
When he stopped shooting indoors, his
lead count went down and he got to fly again.
There are 12 concrete benchrest tables for shooting both handguns and rifles.
In front of the tables are 25, 50 and 100 yard target
positions. The shooting positions are under a nice cover that gives you
some cool shade on those hot days.
Here you can see where the targets are set up. In front of the handgun
area, the railroad ties protect the target supports. We
provide you with a target stand, you take it to
where you want to set up your target, and slide it into the supports, then
staple your target to the cardboard backing on the target stand.
This is the view from the parking lot when you arrive.
The backstop is about 60 feet tall and 110 yards from
the tables.
The office where you sign in has been spruced up and a ton of merchandise my
members told me they wanted here has been added. Here you will find ammo
for most of the common calibers at really good prices, targets for $.50 each
(big targets like the B-27), reloading supplies, cleaning supplies,
range hats for sale, and tons of neat odds and ends.
Don't forget to pick up your range hat. An
embroidered range hat is available for $12.00.
The big clock on the wall on the Public Range will remind shooters of the proper
range condition... When the minute hand hits the red area, the range is
cold. This will give the range a hot for 20 minutes, cold for 10 minutes
cadence. This works well at other ranges around the country and will work
here too. While 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. When the range goes cold, safely unload your firearm and leave
the action open. 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.
What are your choices for places to shoot? Do you want
to commit to a membership with dues that are going to have to be paid every
year, whether you made it out to the range 25 times or
none during the last year. Are you willing to pull member work days where
you are required to cut the grass, build target stands, weed eat, paint, rake
gravel or shovel ditches? (If you cannot make the scheduled work day, you
are billed for the missed chores. You have to pay someone to do the things
you were assigned to do.) Are you concerned about the level of lead in
your body? Do you want to expose your family to an environment where
they could have high lead exposure? Do you want to shoot indoors next to
the guy sighting in his 7mm magnum rifle? Do you have a four wheel drive
with big tires and a lift kit to get from pavement to the range when it rains?
To me, the choice is clear. There is only one 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 my 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.? $10
per day during the week, $15 per day on the weekends, bring your kids (up to 20
= kids) for half price. Yes it is affordable. Yes it is much
nicer than the other ranges. 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 at 100 yards,
just want to shoot that old revolver they have had by the bed for the last 20
years to see if it still works, that want to shoot that new gun to make sure it
is accurate and working right. 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. You are all welcome here.
Yep, it'll work fine. See me if you have a problem or question.
