The marketing research company IBISWorld reported that in 2019, there were more than 7,000 gun ranges located in the U.S. We’ve narrowed down the list to our five favorites. The USCCA will also be sending 10 individuals to these ranges (five winners plus a guest to each range) to train at! What’s so great about these ranges is that they make training fun for shooters. Each has unique features that make it the best. Read on to see why.
TNT Guns & Range (Murray, Utah)
TNT Guns & Range is the largest indoor shooting range in the Mountain West. The range accommodates everyone: kids, beginners and experts. This is a recurring theme among the ranges listed here. TNT prides itself on treating every customer with respect. It has fifteen 25-yard traditional pistol lanes, five 100-yard rifle lanes and six shotgun lanes. The shotgun range is the nation’s first indoor clay pigeon range. Each shooting lane is private, spacious and comfortable.
Preserve Club & Residences (Richmond, Rhode Island)
The Preserve Club & Residences has the longest and largest automated underground indoor range in the country. It has an innovative tactical lane to do tactical training that includes flickering police lights and blowing horns. There’s no better way to prepare yourself for a stressful self-defense incident. The Preserve has 24 gorgeous lanes for rifles, pistols and bows. Four of the lanes are longer than 150 yards! Like TNT, it has a simulator room. The firearms are loaded with computer chips instead of real ammunition. The shooter can increase or decrease the intensity and personalize each scenario based on his or her skill level.
Defender Outdoors (Fort Worth, Texas)
Defender Outdoors was named Texas’ Best Indoor Gun Range. There are more than twenty 25-yard pistol and carbine lanes and six 85-yard rifle lanes. The lanes are spacious so shooters aren’t cramped and crowed. They also have target retrievers with digital readouts, lighting effects and automated pivoting. The range’s Clay Sports Ranch is its most unique feature. The Sporting Clays “course” is designed to simulate field shooting. Each of the 12 shooting stations offers different challenges catered to every skill level. If you don’t want to shoot flying clay, the Five Stand has trap arranged in challenging locations. The Stand is meant for everyone at all skill levels, especially for those that have mobility issues. For those who favor bow hunting, the ranch has an archery range with five bag targets and four 3D targets.
West Orlando Firearms Training (W.O.F.T.) (West Orlando, Florida)
W.O.F.T. is a 20-acre facility that specializes in customized safety scenario training. Our own USCCA Founder and President Tim Schmidt recently traveled there to do some tactical low-light training with his oldest son. “We had an amazing day of essentially going through different scenarios,” Schmidt stated in a live broadcast. “We would walk into a simulation of a darkened parking lot and get accosted by someone. It’s amazing how much power a tactical flashlight and your voice have to get a person to do what you want them to do.” Training at W.O.F.T. is tailored to each student. Training areas include:
- Low Light: teaches the fundamentals of situational awareness in transitional spaces, the importance of decision-making and stress inoculation
- Liberal Tears Scenario Coffee Shop: teaches critical thinking as an incident unfolds at an everyday coffee shop
- Combative Training: a climate-controlled building that has heavy punch/training bags, fully padded floor and walls, and a knife training and throwing area
- Pistol: a range set up to run two groups simultaneously or one group with a maximum distance of 50 yards
- Rifle: 100-yard steel rifle range set back 25 yards inside a building to avoid exposure to Florida’s harsh elements
- Shoot House: teaches the fundamentals of room-clearing and situational awareness
Keystone Shooting Center (Mars, Pennsylvania)
Keystone Shooting Center is a veteran-owned indoor range and training facility focused on being customer-driven and having a friendly atmosphere. Firearms courses offered range from those for inexperienced shooters or youth to those for retired officers or women only. It has 24 climate-controlled lanes and more than 100 firearm rentals available. Its TI gunfighter simulator is probably the best shooting simulator among the ranges listed here. It features 200-plus scenarios — from home invasions to zombie attacks. The guns use laser inserts. Police departments and military units around the world use this software to train.
Enjoy Training
Who said training can’t be fun? These ranges listed aren’t your typical ranges. They each strive to take your shooting experience to the next level and make it entertaining.