Went shooting with the Son&Heir last Sunday morning, both to have some quality father-son time and to remind myself that I need to shoot more (because I really don’t like being humiliated at the range).
As always, his one-handed groups were about 50% tighter than my two-handed groupings grrr grrrr grrrrr so clearly MOAR PRACTICE is needed. Then he switched from the High Power to his little Marlin .22 rifle, clucking that he was only able to produce 1″-2″ groups at 25 yards… shooting offhand, with iron sights. (He thinks scopes are “cheating” — we’ll see how he feels when his eyes start to age.)
Anyway, the point of this post is to tell my North Texas Readers about an excellent little range in Lewisville, on the southbound frontage road of I-35 just south of Corporate Drive. It’s called Shoot Point Blank, and it’s much better than the large, impersonal corporate ranges that seem to be springing up all over the place nowadays. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and the 20-bay range itself is great: no-frills lanes (a single rocker switch to move the target clip to and from the bench instead of those pointless computerized gadgets which break down all the time), and a shelf underneath the bench itself to stow bags and such.
Oh, and there was a stainless Springfield 1911 which had us both drooling. (S&H tried the trigger of that Springfield, a Colt Government and a CZ 97, and pronounced the Springfield to be the best.)
There seem to be a bunch of these ranges springing up all over the country (scroll down), so if one’s anywhere near you, give it a try.
I will be back to this one. Often.
Kim,
The good folks at Shoot Point Blank tried (and failed) to get a facility built in Lake Zurich, about 15 minutes drive from me … but the red-shirted “Moms Demand Action” and other weenie groups howled to no end … even suggesting the facility not put a street-facing marquis on the building. The rep from SPB told the complainer … if we’re gonna spend more than $2,000,000 on a project, we’re putting our name on the building. In short, the conditions put forth by the Lake Zurich village board (of idiots) was more than the business could stomach, and they pulled their application for business license.
I still have three decent indoor ranges within less than a 30 minute drive, but damn, 15 minutes would have been nice.
I also have membership at an outdoor club with pistol, rifle, and shotgun – Wisconsin Sportsman’s in Union Grove. For your readers, that’s just west of Kenosha. The club is friendly, the rules are reasonable, and the annual cost is downright affordable. Did I mention they allow guests? All day at the pistol / rifle side is $30 for non-members, so you can “try before you buy.”
https://wisconsinsportsmansassociation.com/
And before you admonish me … I know I should move to Free America. Not possible right now for many reasons, but as retirement gets closer … you bet your ass.
Stay safe / stay sane / go shoot something – you’ll feel better.
+1 for Shoot Point Blank. There is a new(er) one ten minutes south of me on Cooper in south Arlington. They had a coupon in May for 25% of the first month of your membership. Their basic level Defender (veteran) membership is $14.99/month. Cancel at any time. With the coupon, I got my first month for $11.24+tax.
A week ago Thursday, I finally hooked up with a buddy who has a piece of ground just outside Hillsboro. He is a native born Texan who retired out of Kalifornia about 10 years ago. Before that, he and I shot Highower Rifle matches together for several years. Hadn’t seen him since 2014. On his property, he has built a rifle range with firing points at 200, 300, 600, and 1000 yards. We set up at 200 and I was able to confirm/establish a solid zero for several rifles.
We have a Shoot Point Blank near a major mall just south of Dayton.
Nice facility, friendly folks that seem to know what they are doing, and are willing to admit when they don’t know something rather than try to cover their ignorance with bullshit.
We are lucky in that we have 3 indoor ranges in the general metro area, all of them staffed with good folks. The closest one however is member only and I don’t have the cash for an annual membership (although Darlin Daughter took her CCW class there). SPB is the next closest and has daily rates.
SPB (at least locally) has a good range rental program. You basically pay for the ammo and time, and you can exchange firearms during the rental period. Allowed Darlin Daughter to try a variety of guns until she settled on the Glock 26 as what worked best for her. (Since her a**hole of a Dad won’t share his Browning Hi Powers and hasn’t yet had the grace to die so she can inherit them).
Don’t forget to train up the New Wife(tm). You need to make sure you’ve always got someone who can have your back.