I shot at the Heartland Outdoor range yesterday and I gotta tell ya, it's nice!
Earlier, I watched a shooter on the CCTV and watched his smoke instantly disappear. This is good, of course, but since he was shooting at the firing point, it was not unexpected. I've been told the ventilation system itself cost $276,000, so it had dang well better keep the firing line clear of smoke!
However, I was interested to see how well it cleared the smoke forward of the firing line. Since it was near closing time, no one else was there. With permission from the management, I went forward of the firing points and fired some lead bullets to see how quickly the smoke cleared......or if it cleared at all. Happily, it cleared quickly and completely.
The range at Heartland Outdoors has the best lighting, best sound reduction (no reverb!) and best ventilation I've ever seen in an indoor range.
Understand, I've been inside a lot of indoor ranges. Some downright SUCKED, others were actually dangerous. Bob Howards was notorious for throwing bullet bits back at you. I can show you the scar....
One in the Chicago area was not only very dirty, but seemed to be run by gang-banger enablers.
One in Memphis was loud, unkempt and dirty.
One in Denver had exposed dirt for the "floor" and zero ventilation. Bring a flashlight to find your brass or light up the target if you didn't want it to be right where they'd dug their "light trench" in the dirt.
One in Aurora had all of 15 yds, semi-decent lighting, but minimal ventilation and total A$$wipes running the place.
Another in Denver had a full 25 yds, but the lighting and ventilation was nearly non-existent.
The range in Hinton is a very nice facility, but may not be convenient for those living close to or east of the I-35 corridor.
Everyone reading this is familiar with H&H, so no need to discuss it further here.
Bottom line, if you're near the Edmond area and you're a shooter, you owe it to yourself to go check out Heartland's range at least once.
Earlier, I watched a shooter on the CCTV and watched his smoke instantly disappear. This is good, of course, but since he was shooting at the firing point, it was not unexpected. I've been told the ventilation system itself cost $276,000, so it had dang well better keep the firing line clear of smoke!
However, I was interested to see how well it cleared the smoke forward of the firing line. Since it was near closing time, no one else was there. With permission from the management, I went forward of the firing points and fired some lead bullets to see how quickly the smoke cleared......or if it cleared at all. Happily, it cleared quickly and completely.
The range at Heartland Outdoors has the best lighting, best sound reduction (no reverb!) and best ventilation I've ever seen in an indoor range.
Understand, I've been inside a lot of indoor ranges. Some downright SUCKED, others were actually dangerous. Bob Howards was notorious for throwing bullet bits back at you. I can show you the scar....
One in the Chicago area was not only very dirty, but seemed to be run by gang-banger enablers.
One in Memphis was loud, unkempt and dirty.
One in Denver had exposed dirt for the "floor" and zero ventilation. Bring a flashlight to find your brass or light up the target if you didn't want it to be right where they'd dug their "light trench" in the dirt.
One in Aurora had all of 15 yds, semi-decent lighting, but minimal ventilation and total A$$wipes running the place.
Another in Denver had a full 25 yds, but the lighting and ventilation was nearly non-existent.
The range in Hinton is a very nice facility, but may not be convenient for those living close to or east of the I-35 corridor.
Everyone reading this is familiar with H&H, so no need to discuss it further here.
Bottom line, if you're near the Edmond area and you're a shooter, you owe it to yourself to go check out Heartland's range at least once.
