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I
,
BY VERNE CARLSON
G
OOD timing, cooperation and a
doseofshooterinitiativehavegiven
birth to a new IO-point rifle and pistol
range for the city of Willmar, Minn.,
population about 17,000.
Instead of building a shooting facility
limite<! to the needs of the city police
i '
department, Willmar officials incorpo-
rated a range into the city's rather
complete recrealiunal program. And
thoughopentothepublic, the50-ft. range
is managed by trained members of (he
NRA-affiliated Willmar Rifle and Pistol
Club.
The need for a new range was brought
to the attention of. theWillmar City
Council in 1977. The City/County Law
Enforcement Centerneede4 the basement
space occupied by a training range for
expansionofofficespacefor bothdepart-
Till; county's proposed building
remodeling plan required all available
space be utilized for offices. Theexisting
. 'range had to go.Willmar's police chief
the council that either the range
would have to be replaced or his men .
wouldhavetotraveltoSt.Cloud(60miles
distant) and.firc monthly toqualilyunder
state minimum training requirements. To
meet this dilemma,councilauthorized the
City Engineering Dt:partment, which I
head, to proceed with preliminary cost
estimates and a feasibility report for the
remodeling ofa portion of the City War.
46
MemorialAuditor.ium basementforuseas
a rifle and pistol range.
This area had been used.as an indoor
range in the I940sand50sby the WiUmar
Rifle and Pistol Club. More recently, the
100 x 150 ft. auditorium basement was
being used forarchery, a Golden Gloves
boxingarea and as a weight lifting room.
Most of the city's other indoor recrea-
tionalprograms are offered on .the
auditorium'smainfloor,includingbasket-
ball, volleyball, tennis, jogging.and gen-
eral exercisc. Only a very limited number
of non-recreational rentals or uses are
permittedforthefacility.
Our engineering report to the council
indicated the project was feasible, would
require only relatively minor altt:raLions
and would cost $50,000. The preliminary
report, rather than justifying the range
:o;olely onlawenforce.mcnt training needs,
advised the council of the broader com-
mllnity lIj;es for a public range. These
included Department ofNatural. Resour-
Ct:S (j.lcanrn;safetyhainingfor 11.- and13-
year-old boys and girls, marksmanship
training forjuniors, home saretyandself-
.defense courses for women, open public
and league shooting and varsity school
programs.
The report, prepared in.conjnnction
with tht dty's Park and Recreation
Departmenl, indicaled a wide range of
interest with :i large potentialexisting
an"open to the public" rangc.
City council accepted thc reportand
authorized the engineering departmentto
pioceedwiththefinal design,construction
RI!Y
plans andspecifieations. Council also
authorized a request to thecity's Housing
Redevelopment Authorityfor inclusionof
the project in the 1977-78 Community
Block DevelopmentProgramunder
the 1974 HousingandCommunityDevel-
. opment Act. With the assistance of the
city police chief,we wereablt;: lu.convince
the J-lRA Citizens Committee of the
worthiness ofthe project for inclusionin
its recommen<;tedprogram.
Theprojcct hadtobe approvedby
the Federal Department of Housi.ngand
Urban Development (HUD). Federal
guidelincs for such projects require thal
they benefit all people (especially low
income), be ina centrallocationandthat
they be proposedas a strictlyrecreational
facility: The future use for law- enforce-
ment training was minimized as"inciden-
taL" The project was duly approved by
HUD, funds encumbered, final plans
completedand bids taken.
.Construction oftherangewasbegunin
the faH of 1977 and completed inMay,
1978. A breakdown of the total cost of
$55,000.included: .electrical - $6,700,
ventilating equipment - $7,700, gem:ral
construction - $12,600 and range equip-
ment---' $28,000. All workwascarriedaut
by a single genenll ranr:e
equipment was furnished by Caswell
Equipment Co. Inc. of Minneapolis and
installed by theCity..
Particulardcsignattcntionwasdevoted
to air and noisc considcrations. Ventila-
tion was accomplished with two exhaust
systems(onein thetarget area taking600/0
AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
' ", . -
"
.. one 16 ft . ofthe firing . combat shooting, . training and ajr
-,,;. ..'
,--
Mlnneeota youngst .... leam safe (lun
ling on acIty owned, printery nm nlnge;
paid forWtIh both local and feder'81 tundS.
!IITGBAIT.
I
points, taking 40%) and fresh air
supply system behind the shooters. Make-.
up . supply, aircorneS from tbemain
auditorium 1100r. The airis ' not redrcu-
lated. Use to date l"ndicates the target
texhaust system alone is
tfor most shooting; but for prolonged
, firing of large calibers or blackpowder, use
( of the other twosystems may.be required.
To lessen noise levels, carpet was laid on
the floor and walls in the area behind the
shooters, eliminating the need for shoot-
ing mats and making prone rifle shooting
easier and Ulore inviting. , The shooting
; and observation areas are separated by
sound-proofmg glass, with the rangemas-
ter controls. in the latter. Ear . protectors
with audio harness and plug-ins . provide
communication witb each shooter and are
especially useful in training, Ieague -or
tournament shoots. . .
Irtdividual separator stalls are proVided
for each of '\0 shoOtrng pomtsand
equipped with a rangemaster call switch,
electric target retrievers, shooting bench
and barricade and prone and pistol target
t holders. The range is a standard 50 ft. with
f intermediate ' stops at 21 and 33 fl. for
f From building basement to to-point range,
cItizens ofWHlmar, MInn. convertedexcess
spac.10amuch-usedpublic sportsfllcllty.
MARCH 1980
rifles. The range is designed for .22 cal.
(ijles and all calwerrim-fire and center-
fire handguns, including :357 and .44
Mag. ' . .. . . . ,
One of the unique asPectsof the range is ' '
. its management. Although under the .
general direction .ofrhe city's park and
recreation director, range management is
provided at nocostto the city by members
of the Wilhriar Rifle and i>istol Club.
Pursuant to a signed a$reementwitb the
' city, the club, anon-profit corporation (it
. also owns and a trap range and
outdoor rifle . and: pistol range near
Willmar), agreed tdproviderange mariag-
ers and instructors at the range for open
shooting. This relieves the city from the
problem of providing fun-time qualified
employees to run .the rimge. ' Nineteen
members of the 140-member club took a
16-hour NRA Rifle and Pistol InstruCtors '
Course in preparation for management .of
the range. The club also, by agreement,
has offered various programs using
range such as slate safety, NRA and
Director of Civilia,n and
women's safety-tn\ining, self-defenSe and
home-safety in firearms. In return
for 'providing the city with 'raQge manag-
ers, the club is allowed to use the range
facilities for club meetings and storage of
club equipment, including rifles, targets
and ammunition. Much ,club equipment,
including .22 and .30 cal. riflcs, targcts and
.22 cal. ammunition, is provided by the
DeM for use in marksmanship training
for 'junior club members.
Use of the range by law enforcement
agencies is by separate agreemerit between
the police or county and the City Park anlJ
Recreation Department, and such use is to
be at times other than when it is open to
the public or used for tmining or other
programs. The county will be charged a
fcc for of thl': facility of :!
delay ill lhe: building plaus, both
the d,ty and county law enforcement
agencies have continued use ' of their
previously existing range. '
The city charges per half hour for
open shooting. The range is open for
public shooting every Tuesday evening
between 7 and \0 p.m., October through ,
April. Othcl ;cveningli ctHi available fVI
training programs. During the first 'season
of "petillioll, 40 10 50 pill liiii-
patcdsomc evenings, resulting iJlwaitiilg.
A maximum of 60 shooters could 'be
accommodated in one three-hour evening
.if each used a stall for 30 minutes. PlallS"
forlCaguc shooting are still progressing.
Revenue fTOm shooter's fees' goes to the
city. Shoote'rs provide their own firearms;
the club sells targets and ' receives any
revenue from salvaged brass and lead.
Cities for some time have provided
parks, softball and baseball tennis
courts, ice rinks, swimming beac;:hes, golf
courses and many other types of recrea-
tional facilities. Those who enjoy shooting
may have to impressuj>on their cities the
need for range facilitics in thcir commun-
ity. The City of Willmar found oJ1e Way to
provide range managers at a minimum
cost, somewhat in the same ma!1ner that
most city recreation depar;tments secure
little league baseball coaches and football
coaches - through the volunteer .effort of '
concerned and interested citizens. Viewing
a rifle and pistol range asa recreational
facility and placing the operation under .
the city's recreation department offers the
p(ltenti'll to m:!ny people in II .
community. If, however, the range is used
. exclusively only by 10Cll1 law enf(lrC.\"rilenl
agencies and locked up or unavailable for
9,5%of the time, the public has suffered an .
unnecessary loss. Public facilities shoutd
be made available, as much as possible to .
those who have paid for them - the
people.
Persolls wanting more information on
either the plans for the Willmar ,
01 IIIC prugram Lan CvJl-
tact ci.thcr . Willmar .City Engineer
Verne Carlson .or Park and Recreation
Director Dale johnson. The address is
City. Office Building; Box 755, Willmar. ,
Minn. 56iOl. ..
47