Posted on 06/09/2012 6:00:19 AM PDT by billorites
LEWISVILLE -- Instead of a groundbreaking Friday afternoon, David Prince had a block-breaking.
He and his investors used hammers to crush concrete blocks, similar to what he'll install along the walls of a building inside a Lewisville industrial park. Prince is building what he is proud to call "one of the highest quality state-of-the-art air-conditioned gun ranges in Texas."
There are still office cubicles inside the 17,000 square foot facility, but he's about to transform it all into a 24-lane indoor firing-range aimed at experts and novices.
Real novices.
Eagle Gun Range will host birthday parties for kids.
"One of the reasons we're doing this is, when I had my boys, I didn't have a place to take them and educate them about how to handle a gun safely," Prince explained. "I really want families to be able to take their kids here and teach their young shooters how to shoot safely."
Two rooms will be available for birthday parties.
"The age limit is eight years old. You have to be tall enough to get above the shooting table,” Prince said. “They're not gonna be left unattended. Parents are gonna be one-on-one, or if there's not enough parents we'll have range safety officers here to show them how to do it safely."
"We're gonna do a lot of education here at this range," he added.
The kickoff party Friday drew a big crowd and Prince was being well-received by his neighbors in Lewisville.
Denton County Commissioner Hugh Coleman said he was happy to have the facility in Lewisville.
"I am thrilled to add jobs and add to the tax base, and I think gun rights are for everyone," he said.
But some see things in a different way. Dawn McMullan is a mom raising two sons in East Dallas, and she's done some gun control advocacy in the past.
"It makes me very nervous," she said. "I think eight-year-olds, developmentally, can't tell the difference between play and reality sometimes."
"And also to put it in a party or game atmosphere just seems to not respect a gun as much as we should respect guns," she said.
But Prince said respect is exactly what he'll be teaching.
"We truly believe it's a right and a privilege to shoot and to bear arms," he said. "But you have a responsibility to know how to do it well. It's your responsibility to know how to take care of your gun and know how to use it."
"Ignorance is not bliss in this situation," he added. "Until they outlaw guns, people are gonna have access to them and should have access to them. And they need to be educated. Take the mystery out of the guns."
Eagle Gun Range expects to open for business sometime in the late summer or early fall.
Good for them. My Dad was a lifetime NRA member and started me with a Daisy BB gun when I was 4 - he put a sawhjorse in the attic with a blanket backdrop. I had to rest the gun on the sawhorse to learn the basics of using a sight. When I was 6. he started me on a .22 rifle. By the time I was 10, I had fired his model 1911 .45 ACP. He also got with a shop teacher in my High School and started a gun club/gun safety extracurricular activity. I still remember being 10 and learning to break down the .45 - he demonstrated and handed it to me to try. He had squatted down on the floor (had plans for me) and I did so too. My butt experienced a sharp pain as he kicked me (enough for attention - not an act of cruelty). I asked “What the hey”, and was told I hadn’t checked it to see if it was loaded. I said I had just watched him do it and knew it wasn’t loaded. He pulled the mag out and showed me the dummy load he had inserted (did his own reloading) and let me know that you never knew a gun was not loaded until you personally checked it. I still remember the event like it was 2 hours ago and have never assumed an unloaded gun again in my life. Teach them young and they not only remember, but they develop safe habits.
24 lanes...nice.
The displeasure of nanny-staters is the best birthday present ever. :)
Which is scarier: a kid learning to fire a gun under the close supervision of parents and trained, professional instructors? Or a kid allowed to grow up assuming operating a firearm to be as simple as the tap of a button on a game controller? Nothing taught me “a gun is not a toy” like the first time I felt a kickback in my shaky, stubby little hands.
Having fun, developing a skill that will be in high demand if we continue toward Greece. This is a great idea.
It's okay to hand out condoms to a 12 year old without parental consent, but can't stand PARENTS who teach their kids about their 2nd amendment rights.
Going through the same with my stepson. He only knew about guns from TV and video games. When he was finally old enough to become a member of the local range he got his first lessons about real shooting. He started with an old .22 rifle. He wanted to shoot something bigger like in the games. So I took out the FN FAL and the recoil pounded his skinny little body a bit. After 5 rounds he was done. It wasn’t like the game. The deprogramming continues bit by bit as every time we go to the range but progress is being made. By the time he is old enough for a pistol permit (NY) I should have him completely deprogrammed.
Perfect, when they open it’s date night for the Mrs and I.
Bump
Awesome news! I’ve been wanting to find a place where I could take the kids shooting. They’ve really missed it since we moved to the city. Perfect!
Geez! An air-conditioned indoor range for birthdays! Kids get all the cool stuff now-a-days! I wanna’ do-over!
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