Lack of Good Ranges Hurts Dallas
Recently, Shot Show was held in Las Vegas. Shot Show is the leading hunting and shooting trade show in the world. It is also the 11th largest trade show in North America. Shot Show requires three things to be held:
- A gun friendly location.
- A space large enough to hold the show.
- A shooting range large enough to hold the media shooting demonstrations which kick off shot show.
Dallas definitely has 1, probably has 2, but does not have 3. This does not just affect Dallas’ ability to attract Shot Show. It also affects Dallas’ ability to attract shooting competitions. Some of the fastest growing sports in the USA are cowboy action shooting, International Defensive Pistol Association competitions and three gun tactical shooting. As far as I know, there are no ranges where anyone can even practice for these competitions in the Dallas area (with 30-45 minutes drive), much less host one. I would love to see such facilities in the immediate Dallas area, but doubt I ever will.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some decent ranges in the Dallas area. They are fine if you are wanting to sight in a firearm, practice bench-rest shooting and work on your accuracy by shooting slowly and methodically. But, there is very few locations that allow you to practice any of the action oriented shooting sports. And, these ranges are generally very small. I can think of one range open to the public that even has steel plates for pistol shooters (www.elmfork.com). I would like to see more ranges with reactive targets. For a new shooter, there is nothing like a target making a sound or moving because they hit it.
Originally published at Gun Totin' Hippies. You can comment here or there.