As we age in the firearms world, it is often easy to forget the challenges presented to someone new to shooting. I live in the West with miles of public land. I have my own pile of steel and targets from when I ran a training company. When I learned to shoot a pistol, it was from professionals in the military. This was all part of the benefits package from giving up your youth to play hardball in all away games. It is very easy to overlook the cost and time barrier for someone just starting, not to mention the lack of access to shooting areas for most people. So while I am normally not a user of indoor ranges, I was excited to see the new system Action Targets is installing across the country.
Though I initially saw the system at Action’s Headquarters in Provo, Utah, I got a chance to play with it in depth closer to home. Independence Indoor Shooting opened not long ago in Meridian, Idaho, and they let me come in after hours to film a segment on the new range. Action Targets has always been an industry leader in indoor ranges, it is their core business. But this year is something special. Gone are the dim lights and clothesline target hangers. This isn’t your grandfather’s indoor range, hang onto your hats.
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The first difference you notice with the new system is the robust I beams in the target carriages. Not only does this make for smooth target movement, it ensures the range isn’t going to shut down every five minutes for line repairs. It also makes target movements that otherwise wouldn’t be possible a reality. The lighting is well engineered, with enough LED lumen power to perform surgery if needed. I took a SIG Sauer P320 X-Five with fiber optic sights as my test gun specifically to test this. Not once was the lighting a problem. Just as important, the lighting can be controlled to simulate any environment you like. I could run the pistol through its paces in all conditions. Low light, no light, even sirens, and strobes.
The best part, by far, is the new computer control system. The problem with indoor ranges has always been, what if you don’t know how to train? You’re stepping up to a range for the first time and aren’t sure what types of drills to run. Maybe you’re a seasoned shooter, but remember when you were a new shooter. How did you know what to do? You buy a gun and some bullets, learn to put those bullets through cardboard, with no idea if you are improving on speed or skill.
Enter the Action Targets system. It has onboard training drills that range from beginner to advanced. It is a system that grows with you, steady progression from Barney Fife to John Wick. The beginner modules are simple, but they do build on fundamentals with both speed and accuracy. The advanced models are challenging, even if you have been at this for a while. And if you do get past the advanced models, you can always program your own. The training includes both rifle and pistol drills, and the range reaches all the way to 100 yards. Also included are several Federal Agency qualification sequences, a good check on progression. A very far cry from the indoor ranges I have seen in the past.
In the very near future, Action Targets will have a link on their website showing you the indoor ranges with the upgrades in your area. If you train by yourself, this is an awesome resource to use.
For more information about Action targets, click here.
For more information about Independent Indoor Shooting Range, click here.