Proud to Be a Five Star Shooting Range
Smokin’ Gun Worx is proud to be a NSSF 5-Star Facility for indoor shooting ranges in Illinois. We have held this rating for multiple years. As such, we are the gold standard for the industry and guarantee you will have the best possible shooting experience.
For a range to meet the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s criteria for a 5-star facility, it must demonstrate excellence in all aspects of appearance, management, shooting sports development and amenities.
You can learn more about the NSSF’s requirements for gun range safety by visiting their website.
SGW Indoor Shooting Range Design
Our indoor shooting ranges are outfitted with some of the best equipment in the industry. Everything has been designed for your safety and enjoyment.
Please join us as we walk you through some of these features.
Shooting Range Air Filtration – Inside
One of the most important safety features for indoor target shooting is proper air filtration. This is key to limiting gun range lead exposure. Our top-of-the-line purge ventilation system ensures you are breathing air fresher than you would find in an outdoor range!
The air enters the ranges via a large diffuser. It is pressurized behind the shooter and then “vacuumed” at midrange, picking up all the impurities and transporting them to an outdoor filtration system before being released into the atmosphere.
With the air movement always being downrange at a speed of 74 cubic feet per minute, you never have to worry about inhaling any particulate matter or gases of any kind.
Gun Range Safety Measures
Our firing range booths are designed in accordance with safety rules and regulations.
When you enter the booth, you will notice walls on either side of you for protection from other shooters. While they may look decorative, these walls can take a 50 BMG round point blank.
The target is fully adjustable to the distance you desire. The ranges are well lit for superior visibility, and each bay is equipped with individual booth lights that you can adjust to your personal preference.
Indoor ranges can be quite loud, but Smokin’ Gun Worx has taken steps to minimize this. The walls are outfitted with foam board for sound reduction and ear protection.
We have also installed baffles to prevent back echo from your round. These baffles serve two purposes: sound abatement and protection. They are armored to ensure that all rounds shot downrange are angled down into the horizontal opening of our deceleration unit.
Gun Range Wheelchair Accessibility
Smokin’ Gun Worx was built with every individual’s needs in mind. Our entrances, restrooms, and elevator are all wheelchair accessible.
In addition, we have wheelchair accessible bays. These are designed so the shooter can wheel right up to the bay and rest their arms comfortably on the table. The target controller has been lowered for easy access.
What Happens to the Bullets at Our Indoor Gun Ranges?
The bullet trap, or deceleration unit, at the end of the range has a horizontal opening at the top of a capture barrel. The bullets are angled down into this opening where they decelerate and are captured.
Once the rounds enter the barrel deceleration unit, they tumble in the barrel and gravity pulls them down into the capture buckets. This is a completely sealed system with good air filtration, so there is no risk of a bullet escaping or lead contaminating the air.
Standing outside the building, you will find the duct collection unit or DCU. The DCU takes the dust from the deceleration unit, pushes it through a separate filtration system, and then stores the lead dust in air-tight barrels. Again, these barrels are part of a sealed system and pose no threat to the environment.
The barrels take several years to fill with lead dust. Once full, this dust can be repurposed into ammunition, car batteries, and more. Our goal at Smokin’ Gun Worx is to recycle everything, from the brass that hits the floor, to the lead and copper in our bullet trap, to the smallest speck of lead dust. Nothing goes to waste.
Shooting Range Ventilation System – Outside
Adjacent to the DCU, you will find the exhaust side of our ventilation system. Smokin’ Gun Worx has both an upper and a lower range, so you will notice two ventilation pipes that converge here to filter the air.
Before the air is released into the great outdoors, it goes through 20 paper pre-filters to remove heavier particles before entering 20 HEPA filters. This is a rapid process but when finished, the air released will be cleaner than when it first entered our building.
Then there is the inlet side of our ventilation system, where air is captured to bring into our shooting ranges. The first step is a very coarse filter, which will prevent debris such as leaves and dirt from entering the system.
From here, the air is ready to be pumped into the building and complete the cycle again. While our ranges are not air conditioned, we do have the option to heat the air at this point to make them more comfortable during the cooler months.
You Can Feel Safe at Smokin’ Gun Worx!
We maintain a rigorous maintenance schedule of all our equipment and spaces. Our goal is to make sure everything is in pristine condition with no threat to the health of our workers or patrons.
We regularly test the floors and walls for lead as well as testing air quality, filtration and movement throughout the shooting ranges. You can feel confident that you are safe at Smokin’ Gun Worx!
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