Month: August 2011
Range Project Spotlight: Junction City, KS Commercial Range
Action Target is widely known for constructing the toughest and most challenging shooting range projects in the world. Working together as a team allows us to overcome various obstacles we face as we design, build, and create ranges for our clients. For example, Action Target was approached by the Federal Reserve Bank to design and build a shooting range on the 17th floor of a major office building in Chicago, Illinois. When considering the noise, ventilation, and other items associated with a range, constructing a range in a skyscraper surrounded by offices was a challenge, but not an impossible task for Action Target. Through careful planning and execution, we created a .50 BMG rated shooting range complete with three lanes, stalls, and retrievers.
Action Target’s challenging builds don’t end there. When Chris Hart, Action Target Range Consultant of the South Central Territory, was approached with an equally challenging range project, he welcomed the opportunity by stating, “It’s not every day that you install a modern shooting range in a building from the 1800’s.”
Every commercial shooting range project requires two key elements to get it off the ground- passion and hard work. When it comes to Godfrey’s Indoor Range, Todd Godfrey had plenty of both in reserve when he embarked on this project. Todd, an officer with the Junction City Police Department, envisioned opening a commercial indoor shooting range to serve not only the citizens of Junction City and his fellow police officers, but also the soldiers stationed at neighboring Fort Riley.
In 2008, Todd toured Kansas City PD’s 30 lane tactical indoor range with ATI Midwest Range Consultant Chris Hart and Bill Provencher from Carey’s Heating and Air Conditioning, as the two companies worked together to build this range several years earlier. After viewing the range, Todd decided that Action Target was the partner to have. With a visitor’s pass from Action Target, Todd attended this year’s SHOT Show where he secured everything he needed to run his range business, from firearm distributors to inventory software (we are also happy to help all of our future range clients attend the SHOT Show with us).
For this commercial range, Todd secured some prime real estate in downtown Junction City–three vacant buildings totaling 20,000 sq-ft. on a main thoroughfare. However, this perfect location came with one catch–the building dates from the 1800’s. Building a range in a building this old would be challenging, but not impossible, for Action Target. Using ATI’s detailed range drawings, Todd began building out the structure to accept the modern range equipment. His company (yes, Todd has three jobs!), Godfrey Construction and Renovation, LLC, installed new ceiling trusses and concrete work. He also remodeled the building with a new store front that includes a luxurious lounge area for those waiting to shoot.
To accommodate the expected high volume of shooters, Todd chose Action Target’s Total Containment Trap with Dust Collection Unit, Rifle Rated Ceiling Baffles, Digital Smart Target Retrievers with SmartRange Master Control System and Level III clear Ballistic Glass Shooting Stalls. To enhance the realistic training environment, he connected the SmartRange system to his P/A system so he can broadcast sound effects such as gunfire, screaming, and sirens. The range also has police light bars to simulate felony vehicle stops. Carey’s provided a fully automated range ventilation system guaranteed to meet all OSHA and EPA regulations.
Godfrey’s Indoor Range opened to the public on July 31, 2010 and was named Junction City’s 2010 Business of the Year within five months of opening. However, that wasn’t enough for Todd–he then got creative with his extra space and installed a state of the art 6,000 sq-ft. 3D archery range. To further service his range customers, Todd leases 4,000 sq-ft. of retail space to Quantico Tactical.
If you’re ever near exit 296 on I-70 west of Kansas City, do yourself a favor and stop by to meet Todd and his great staff and send a few rounds downrange while you’re there. Todd is currently available for consulting on range franchise opportunities and the construction of range facilities.
www.godfreysranges.com
Godfrey’s Shooting and Indoor Archery Ranges Facebook Page
Other recently completed projects include:
- Smith & Wesson Range – Houlton, ME
- Watts Bar Nuclear Range – TN
- Triad Gun Source Range – NC
- Denton County Sheriff’s Department Range – TX
- Atlanta State Penitentiary Range – GA
Rangemaster of the Quarter – Nicholas Roberts
We were astonished at the number of submissions we received for our Rangemaster of the Quarter award. After careful consideration, Action Target is pleased to announce that Nicholas Roberts of the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, UT has been selected as Action Target’s National Rangemaster of the Quarter for Q2-2011.
The National Rangemaster of the Quarter program obtains feedback about individuals worthy of consideration from the Action Target staff, but most importantly, from other Rangemasters. These peers have a deep knowledge of the individuals being considered and play a significant role in Action Target’s selection process.
Rangemaster Roberts has been an active member of law enforcement for over 32 years and currently serves as Rangemaster for the Office of the Sheriff of Salt Lake County and the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, UT. He oversees all firearms-related training for the following organizations:
- Unified Police
- Protective Services Officers of Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office
- All the weapons-certified Corrections Officers for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office
He has also provided instruction to the following:
- 3rd District Court Judges and Juvenile Court Judges
- Salt Lake County Fire Department
- Salt Lake City Division of the F.B.I.
- Union Pacific Railroad Police
- Salt Lake City Airport Authority Police
- 625th Military Police Company of the Utah National Guard
- West Valley City Police SWAT team
- U.S. Army Special Forces
- Weber County Sheriff’s Office
- U.S. Coast Guard Unit small arms training program.
- Firearm instructors and armorers for other outside law enforcement agencies
Captain Kendra L. Herlin of the Unified Police Department and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office stated, “Rangemaster Roberts is a very proud member of the Unified Police Department and the office of the Sheriff of Salt Lake County. He represents the departments well and is a fine example of a member who has dedicated his career to public service. His passion for safety and exceptional ability for all those who train under his direction is unmatched anywhere.”
Rangemaster Roberts began his service in this field as an armorer and firearms instructor in 1978 for the Riverton City Police Department. In 1989 he was transferred to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Firearms unit. In 1990 through 1993 Roberts was promoted to Corporal of the Firearms Unit and served as the Firearms Unit Supervisor from 1993 to 1996. He has served as the director of the Firearms Unit and Rangemaster since September of 1996. He graduated from Session 192 of the F.B.I. National Academy in March of 1998 and is a Master Instructor for Colt LLC, Sig Sauer, Pepper Ball Tec., and Security Equipment Corp. (Sabre). As such, he protects officers throughout the country by teaching all over the United States to increase the knowledge of armorers and instructors. Roberts is also a certified NRA Instructor and was invited to Israel where he trained with I.M.I. and Sturm Ruger to develop a new police carbine.
Rangemaster Roberts also serves on the National Institute of Justice TWG regarding body armor. He was selected to sit on this board when the failure of soft body armor occurred in 2002. Rangemaster Roberts was influential in the new standards for the NIJ 06 Body armor standard throughout the law enforcement community.
Rangemaster Roberts has benefited the Office, community and surrounding states by designing and building the first environmentally safe firearms range in Utah, and has been invited to teach at both the state and federal levels. He is responsible for donations of land and continued construction of new range facilities in Salt Lake County. Furthermore, he instituted new non-lethal weapons systems for the 2002 Winter Olympics that were later used in patrol functions.
Rangemaster Roberts has been recognized for his service and training by many citizen groups. Some of these groups and individuals include U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, the Utah Law Enforcement Olympics, the Salt Lake City YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Murray City Civil Service Commission, the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance Board, and the Salt Lake Community Advisory Board.
Responsible for instituting training that exceeds the required legal standards of POST, Rangemaster Roberts also directs all personalized training not only on firearms, but other weapons as well. Recently, Rangemaster Roberts supervised the implementation of the training of additional firearms instructors to increase the number of instructors to trainee ratio.
With Rangemaster Robert’s extensive experience and training, he is commonly called upon as an expert witness in numerous firearms, OC, and Taser incidents involving police agencies. He has testified in front of city, county, state and federal courts. He is also considered an expert in these areas for development of new and better firearms and related products to increase the safety of officers in the field.
With such an impressive career, we want to congratulate Nicholas J. Roberts for being selected as the Q2-2011 Action Target National Rangemaster of the Quarter!
About the Rangemaster of the Quarter Program: Prior to launching this award program, Action Target spoke with many industry professionals to help establish aspects a nominee must have to qualify. Each nominee should have at least several of the following:
- Lifetime of service/years of Service
- Contributions to their department’s firearms training
- Contributions to their region, state, and industry in firearms training
- Changes to POST requirements
- New/innovative training standards
- New/innovative tactics
- Expert witness testimony
- Subject Matter Expert for firearms and/or training
- Active resource for feedback on training, tactics, equipment, and standards
- Partner to develop/modify equipment to enhance training effectiveness
This recognition program is not exclusive to law enforcement or Action Target customers. It is for Rangemasters of U.S. Military and Law Enforcement organizations in the U.S. Those selected for the award receive recognition in the Action Target weekly newsletter, the Action Target website, and travel to the Action Target main office to receive a personalized award.
If you would like to nominate a peer, first provide some preliminary information located at the Action Target Program Page. Second, send a letter written on your organization’s letterhead via email to Action Target’s National Rangemaster of the Quarter detailing your nomination’s qualifications and accomplishments. We look forward to getting more nominations for Quarter 3.
YouTube Training Videos with Rob Leatham
Action Target has recently released the first of five training videos on YouTube featuring world champion shooter Rob Leatham. The videos feature instruction from Rob and the drills he uses in his own training. Each video showcases a different type of steel target in Action Target’s Portable Target line.
The first video includes drills and skill demonstrations as Rob practices on the PT Plate Rack 
. The remaining four videos, to be released in the upcoming weeks, will emphasize how to train on other steel targets like the PT Static and PT Dueling Tree . This group of training videos was filmed at Rob’s home range located at the Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club in Mesa, AZ.
“The cool thing about these videos is that they are real training videos and not some promotional piece where we only talk about Action Target,” said David Mathis, Marketing Director at Action Target. “Rob shows you some of the drills he uses in his own practice, and explains the purpose and relevance of each one.”
Rob’s resume proves that these drills work. Rob began shooting in the late 70’s and soon became one of the top shooters to watch at local and national competitions. He currently holds 24 national titles, including five world titles and 16 consecutive years as the Single-Stack National Champion. A professional shooter for over 20 years, Rob currently shoots for Springfield Armory and Safariland. When Rob is not competing, he is a sought after firearms instructor for both law enforcement and military.
“Working with Rob on this was a great experience and it really showed his level of skill,” added Mathis. “Except for one or two drills later in the day when we were all hot and tired, each of the drills you see was shot in one take. Rob is just that good. And his level of understanding of the mechanics and what is going on while you are shooting matches his shooting ability.”
We are excited to bring this form of virtual firearms training to shooters around the world through the Action Target YouTube page. Whether viewed by a law enforcement officer, a casual shooter, or a serious competition shooter, these training videos are designed to help all shooters increase their skills when using a pistol.
Go to www.youtube.com/actiontarget to view the first training video with Rob. To receive updates on when other videos are released, visit the sign-up page for the free Action Target Journal newsletter or subscribe to the Action Target YouTube channel.
End of the Fiscal Year Drawing Near
With the end of this fiscal year right around the corner, now is the best time to obtain one of our innovative training solutions with your remaining budget. At Action Target, we understand that each company’s internal dynamics have different needs and time lines. That is why weapons training units, Rangemasters, firearm instructors, and others associated with their organization’s training division continually reach out to us during this critical time of year.
Spending your remaining training budget at the end of a fiscal year – to minimize the risk of losing it next year – sometimes takes creativity. Last year, we worked with an agency whose training budget consisted of five different accounts. Each account had varying levels of funds still available requiring an invoice for each one. With a little strategic planning, this agency placed five different orders with Action Target that were shipped at same time but charged to their different training accounts. Our dedicated sales staff helped this agency with their complex purchase and provided them with the equipment they needed. We are ready to do the same for you.
Whatever your training needs, we have the solution. If you are under a significant time constraint, we can help. Call us today and let our sales staff help you maximize your remaining budgets by providing the best training solutions available.
For an immediate purchase, visit our online store: www.shopactiontarget.com
Our current online specials:
- August Steal Deal – AT Plate Rack for $899
- Promo Code: RACKDEAL2011
- Steel Target Package – AT Plate Rack, AT Hostage & Dueling Tree (AR550) for $1500
- Promo Code: STEELSPECIAL2011
- Tactical Application Scenario Kit (TASK) – Get 10% off when you order eight individual pneumatically operated portable targets
- Promo Code: ALL10
- Combat Paper (assortment pack of 200) – $76 with free shipping
- Promo Code: FREECPSHIP
For product requests not available through our online store, please contact the Range Consultant for your geographic territory. They will work with you to stretch those last few budget dollars into your training solution.
Go online or call today!
AT Plate Rack for Only $899
During the entire month of August, we are offering our AT Plate Rack for only $899 as part of our Target of the Month program! This offer is available at the Action Target Store or by contacting the Territory Manager for your region.
Regular Price: $999
August’s Price: $899
Coupon Code: RACKDEAL2011
Don’t wait any longer! Purchase your AT Plate Rack today. Visit our Action Target Online Store and use the appropriate coupon code to receive your discount. Offer ends August 31, 2011. Only one coupon code may be used per order.