Local shooters with itchy trigger fingers will probably have to wait until late spring before they can satisfy their urge in a new indoor range.
But they’ll be able to get a jump on the action next month at the Red Deer Sportsman & Outdoor Adventure Show.
Red Deer Shooting Centre Inc., which is building a state-of-the-art indoor range at McKenzie Industrial Business Park, plans to sell a limited number of memberships during the March 1 to 3 show at Westerner Park. It will also begin booking spots for firearms licence courses.
Derek Bostock, president and CEO of Red Deer Shooting Centre, said the building that will house the range is quickly taking shape.
It will contain a dozen shooting lanes, with half of these 25 yards in length and the remainder 50 yards.
There will also be teaching space and a retail area.
“We’re working on buying inventory for the store and making sure we’re going to launch with a decent selection,” said Bostock.
Features will include high-efficiency ventilation and noise suppression systems, computerized target retrieval, a rubber berm backstop to absorb and allow for the recycling of spent ammunition, and 10-foot baffled ceilings.
Rifles, shotguns and handguns will all be permitted, with recreational shooters and professionals like law enforcement officers and security guards expected to use the facility.
“We’ve been getting good feedback,” said Bostock of the shooting community’s reaction to the project.
Future plans call for a 25-yard training range, and a 360-degree shoot house where users will be able to move through a simulated building and clear threats.
McKenzie Industrial Business Park is located in Red Deer County, south of the city.
Additional information about Red Deer Shooting Centre can be found online at www.rdshootingcentre.ca.