NRA American Rifleman from March 1980

8/14/2019 NRA American Rifleman from March 1980

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I..KJI -Ri M KING


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The A t m ~ C i t i z e nA Place To ShootReaders WriteFrom The loading BenchDCMNotes

qlubs InActionNRAOfficialJournal.Institute RepOrts'Dope Bag , 'Data,& CommentQuestions& AnswersIn My ExperienceBooks In Brjef ' .Shooting EventsMixed Bag

C U T ~ All technIcal data . , ~ 1 8 1 1 yfor handloadlns. p, .sentad, In .NRA pu b..., ~ t l o n s ti.'fI.ctsIti9' I I l q I C I t I ~ U 1 C C ; : of. ind.lvld-l uals using sp8c/fic eql.llpn1erit and com-.ponents under .Paclfic clrcumstanCII$.Such 'Imonnatlon rS.lntandad . ~ I e l y a s aguide and should , be used with c:.utJon., ~ accepts no responsibility for: results Io b t a l ~ using these data:;

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Y VERNE C RLSON

GOOD timing, cooperation and adose of shooter initiative have givenbirth to a new IO-point rifle and pisto lrange for the city of Willmar, Minn.,population about 17,000.Instead of building a shooting facilitylimite

state minimum training requirements. Tomeet this dilemma, council authorized theCity Engineering Dt:partment, which Ihead, to proceed with preliminary costestimates and a feasibility report for theremodeling of a portion of the City War.46

Memorial Auditor.ium basement for use asa rifle and pistol range.This area had been used .as an indoorrange in the I 940s and 50s by the WiUmarRifle and Pistol Club. More recently, the100 x 150 ft. auditorium basement wasbeing used for archery, a Golden Glovesboxing area and as a weight lifting room.Most of the city's other indoor recreationalprograms are offered on .theauditorium's main floor, including basketball, volleyball, tennis, jogging .and general exercisc. nly a very limited numberof non-recreational rentals or uses arepermitted for the facility.

Our engineering report to the councilindicated the project was feasible, wouldrequire only relatively minor altt:raLionsand would cost $50,000. The preliminaryreport, rather than justifying the range:o;olely on law enforce.mcnt training needs,advised the council of the broader com-mllnity lIj;es for a public range. Theseincluded Department of Natural. Resour-Ct:S (j .lcanrn; safety haining for 11.- and 13year-old boys and girls, marksmanshiptraining for juniors, home sarety and self.defense courses for women, open publicand league shooting and varsity schoolprograms.

The report, prepared in .conjnnctionwith tht dty's Park and RecreationDepartmenl, indicaled a wide range ointerest with i large potential existing ~ > ran "open to the public" rangc.City council accepted thc report andauthorized the engineering department topioceed with the final design, construction

RI!Yplans andspecifieations. Council alsoauthorized a request to the city's HousingRedevelopment Authority for inclusion ofthe project in the 1977-78 CommunityBlock r a ~ t Development Program underthe 1974 Housing and Community Devel. opment Act. With the assistance of thecity police chief, we were ablt;: lu.convincethe J-lRA Citizens Committee of theworthiness of the project for inclusion inits recommen


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"o ( t h ~ - a j . r a n d one 16 ft . h e ~ d of the firing . combat shooting, . o ~ ~ training and ajr -,;. ..

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Mlnneeota youngst ... leam safe (lun u i ~ -ling on a cIty owned, printery nm nlnge;paid for WtIh both local and feder'81 tundS.

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points , taking 40%) and O l ) ~ fresh airsupply system behind the shooters. Make-.up . supply, aircorneS from tbemainauditorium 1100r. The air is ' not redrcu lated. Use to date l"ndicates the targett exhaust system alone is g e n e ~ l l Y a d e q l l 8 t et for most shooting; but for prolonged, firing of large calibers or blackpowder, use( of the other two systems may .be required.

To lessen noise levels, carpet was laid onthe floor and walls in the area behind theshooters, eliminating the need for shooting mats and making prone rifle shootingeasier and Ulore inviting. , The shooting; and observation areas are separated bysound-proofmg glass, with the rangemaster controls. in the latter. Ear .protectorswith audio harness and plug-ins .providecommunication witb each shooter and areespecially useful in training, Ieague -ortournament shoots. . .Irtdividual separator stalls are proVidedfor each of ' \0 shoOtrng pomtsand

equipped with a rangemaster call switch,electric target retrievers, shooting benchand barricade and prone and pistol targetholders. The range is a standard 50 ft. withintermediate stops at 2 and 33 fl. forFrom building basement to to-point range,cItizens of WHlmar, MInn. converted excessspac 10 a much-used public sports fllcllty.

MARCH 1980

rifles. The range is designed for .22 cal.(ijles and all calwerrim-fire and center-fire handguns, including :357 and .44Mag. ' . . . . ,One of the unique asPects of the range is ' '. its management. Although under the .general direction .ofrhe city's park andrecreation director, range management isprovided at nocostto the city by members

of the Wilhriar Rifle and i>istol Club.Pursuant to a signed a reementwitb the' city, the club, anon-profit corporation (it.also owns and o ~ t s a trap range andoutdoor rifle . an d: pistol range nearWillmar), agreed tdproviderange mariagers and instructors at the range for openshooting. This relieves the city from theproblem of providing fun-time qualifiedemployees to run .the rimge. 'Nineteenmembers of the 140-member club took a16-hour NRA Rifle and Pistol InstruCtors 'Course in preparation for management .ofthe range. The club also, by agreement,

has offered various programs using t ~ erange such as slate safety, NRA andDirector of Civilia,n ~ a r \ c s m a n s h i p andwomen's safety-tn\ining, self-defenSe andhome-safety C O U I l l ~ in firearms. I n returnfor 'providing the city with 'raQge managers, the club is allowed to use the rangefacilities for club meetings and storage ofclub equipment, including rifles, targetsand ammunition. Much ,club equipment,including .22 and .30 cal. riflcs, targcts and.22 cal. ammunition, is provided by theDeM for use in marksmanship trainingfor 'junior club members.Use of the range by law enforcementagencies is by separate agreemerit betweenthe police or county and the City Park anlJRecreation Department, and such use is tobe at times other than when it is open tothe public or used for tmining or otherprograms. The county will be charged afcc for I I ~ of thl': facility R ~ r . l l l l ; t ' of :delay ill lhe: c u u n l y ~ building plaus, boththe d,ty and county law enforcementagencies have continued use 'of theirpreviously existing range. '

The city charges per half hour foropen shooting. The range is open forpublic shooting every Tuesday eveningbetween 7 and \0 p.m., October through ,April. Othcl ;cveningli ctHi available fVItraining programs. During the first seasonof "petillioll, 40 10 50 ~ h o o ' h ; n ; p l l liiiipatcdsomc evenings, resulting iJlwaitiilg.A maximum of 60 shooters could 'beaccommodated in one three-hour evening.if each used a stall for 30 minutes. PlallSforlCaguc shooting are still progressing.

Revenue fTOm shooter's fees' goes to thecity. Shoote'rs provide their own firearms;the club sells targets and ' receives anyrevenue from salvaged brass and lead.Cities for some time have providedparks, softball and baseball f i e l d ~ tenniscourts, ice rinks, swimming beac;:hes, golf courses and many other types of recreational facilities. Those who enjoy shootingmay have to impressuj>on their cities theneed for range facilitics in thcir community. The City of Willmar found oJ1e Way toprovide range managers at a minimumcost, somewhat in the same ma 1ner thatmost city recreation depar;tments securelittle league baseball coaches and footballcoaches - through the volunteer .effort of 'concerned and interested citizens. Viewinga rifle and pistol range asa recreationalfacility and placing the operation under .the city's recreation department offers thep(ltenti'll to r ~ l I r . h m: ny people in II .community. If, however, the range is used.exclusively only by 10Cll1 law enf(lrC.\"rilenlagencies and locked up or unavailable for9,5 of the time, the public has suffered an .unnecessary loss. Public facilities shoutdbe made available,as much as possible to .those who have paid for them - thepeople.Persolls wanting more information oneither the plans for the Willmar r a n g ~ ,01 I I IC I I 1 H u a ~ t m e t i l prugram Lan CvJl-tact ci.hcr . Willmar .City EngineerVerne Carlson .or Park and RecreationDirector Dale johnson. The address isCity. Office Building; Box 755, Willmar. ,Minn. 56iOl ..

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Documents

NRA American Rifleman from March 1980