GJM
12-18-2016, 08:28 PM
With an unexpected weekend to kill in Wichita, Kansas, my wife and I did the shooter version of a pub crawl, visiting local gun shops and ranges. Wichita has a bunch of both.
In any event, the best surprise, was our visit to Thunderbird Tactical today. Fairly new place, in a beautiful facility, best retail selection of soft goods I have ever seen in one location, good firearm selection, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and very nice range. This is a must visit for folks in the general area.
We ended up shooting 150 rounds of their ammo there, through our pistols. This was our first time shooting indoors in a while, and it was very different than our typical outdoor shooting experience. We watched the safety video, learned the rules for those not having taken their course -- no drawing and no shooting faster than a shot a second. They put us in lane 14, next to a shooter in lane 15. First shot fired in lane 15, almost sent us through the roof, as it turned out our neighbor was shooting an AR-15. We moved as far away as possible. It was pretty easy shooting to 20 yards, but at 25 and 30, it was hard to see the upper A in the USPSA paper target we were shooting. Apparently tape is not common in Wichita, as none was observed on or available at the range. At some point, doing failure drills, I was admonished for shooting faster than a shot a second, and I then finished out shooting failure drills support hand only.
If I had to shoot indoors, this is a place I would frequent. With a temp around 0F when we went in, this was a great day for an indoor range. I hope their business model works and wish them a lot of success.
In any event, the best surprise, was our visit to Thunderbird Tactical today. Fairly new place, in a beautiful facility, best retail selection of soft goods I have ever seen in one location, good firearm selection, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and very nice range. This is a must visit for folks in the general area.
We ended up shooting 150 rounds of their ammo there, through our pistols. This was our first time shooting indoors in a while, and it was very different than our typical outdoor shooting experience. We watched the safety video, learned the rules for those not having taken their course -- no drawing and no shooting faster than a shot a second. They put us in lane 14, next to a shooter in lane 15. First shot fired in lane 15, almost sent us through the roof, as it turned out our neighbor was shooting an AR-15. We moved as far away as possible. It was pretty easy shooting to 20 yards, but at 25 and 30, it was hard to see the upper A in the USPSA paper target we were shooting. Apparently tape is not common in Wichita, as none was observed on or available at the range. At some point, doing failure drills, I was admonished for shooting faster than a shot a second, and I then finished out shooting failure drills support hand only.
If I had to shoot indoors, this is a place I would frequent. With a temp around 0F when we went in, this was a great day for an indoor range. I hope their business model works and wish them a lot of success.