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 traffic light on the wall on the Public Range will remind shooters of the proper
range condition... When the light is green, the range is hot. Shooters
may load and engage their targets. The light stays green for 19 minutes. The
light will go yellow for one minute between green and red. Yellow gives you notice
that the range is about to go cold. When the light is red, the range is cold, every
one clears their chamber, opens the action, and benches their gun. While the light
is red and 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. This works well at other ranges
around the country and will work here too. 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 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 your 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.? $15 per day
during the week, $20 per day on the weekends, bring your kids (up to 20 = kids) for half
price. Yes, it is affordable. Yes, it is a really nice place to enjoy
your firearms. 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, who just want to shoot that old revolver they have had by
the bed for the last 20 years to see if it still works, who want to shoot that new gun to
make sure it is accurate and working right or who want to bring a family member and
introduce them to firearms and sport shooting. 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 right now. You are all welcome here.
Yep, it'll work fine. See me if you have a problem or question.
