Build a Safe, Reliable Commercial Shooting Range with Intelligent Range Construction and Design

How do you build an “intelligent” shooting range? Focus on construction and design. And in doing so, there are structural, environmental, and safety considerations.

In this blog post, let’s take a closer look at each.

Structural Considerations

When we say structural considerations, that mainly puts the focus on the design and construction of walls, floors, and ceilings.

For walls, your first choice should be poured-in-place or tilt-up concrete panel walls for maximum noise attenuation and ballistic security; your second choice would be concrete masonry units (CMU) filled with cement or grout. Do not use gravel or sand as filling material for concrete blocks, since they can leak onto the range floor if the wall is cracked or breached. If you will be using an existing structure with inadequate wall material, steel plating can be applied to the side walls downrange.

When a bullet hits an object downrange, it may be deflected from its original path — traveling in a different direction such as the floor. This is why a hard and smooth floor is best since it makes for less erratic ricochets. Non-absorptive hardened concrete is the recommended flooring from the firing line to the bullet trap since this area will get a lot of low-angle impacts. For the area behind the firing line, vinyl, rubber, or any non-slippery flooring material can be used for shooter comfort and safety.

Regarding the ceiling, go for a smooth concrete surface — such as slab or precast — on the range side (underside) of the ceiling and route all your lights, plumbing, ducting, and range ventilation on the outside. If a slab or precast ceiling is out of the question, use a truss ceiling with redirective guards and air-space baffles to protect ceiling fixtures.

Environmental Concerns

Establish environmental soundness from the start. Make sure that you maintain all regulations and eco‑friendly standards, from lead abatement and air quality to acoustics and appropriate zoning. A smart training solutions provider like InVeris Training Solutions has decades of experience in helping commercial, law enforcement, and military training institutions and shooting ranges in ensuring these standards.

To further address environmental concerns, InVeris also installs noise absorbent indoor ranges with the highest air quality by engineering ballistic baffles and guards to contain misdirected shots and maintain ballistic integrity as well as bullet traps that reduces lead dust (more on the lead dust later). These engineered baffles and guards not only absorb noise for the sound level inside but also prevent noise transmission outside the range.

When dealing with environmental concerns, also consider the location of the property. Consider the intended site’s current zoning, any special-use permit process, ease of access, existing utilities, and any signage limitations.

Safety

Whether you’re building an indoor shooting range from the ground up or repurposing an existing space, one of your foremost considerations should be the overall safety of your customers, trainees, and staff.

This is another area where InVeris’ experience shines. Commercial shooting ranges can protect their customers and range by capturing and containing the entire bullet. This is possible through the GranTrap™ rubber bullet trap’s patented stair‑step design, which uses unique GranTex™ granulate rubber material to stop incoming rounds mostly intact. That action minimizes airborne lead dust, averts back splatter, avoids ricochets, and reduces impact noise. Plus, the GranTrap’s rugged design stands up to busy ranges.

Leverage Turnkey Range Solutions

InVeris Training Solutions, makers of FATS® and Caswell technologies, draws on a 90+ year history and comprehensive knowledge of live fire ranges to do something that hasn’t been done before: provide an end-to-end range that meets the needs of a commercial shooting range.

InVeris professionals will design, equip, and provide training for your best-in-class commercial shooting range on time and within budget, meeting your end user’s requirements.

For more information on how you can get help in building a safe, reliable commercial shooting range without cutting too many corners, contact InVeris Training Solutions.