Bullet Trap

[Napier]

I love shooting at the 'Rap because it is as close as I think I can get to high stress conditions. It's blazing hot? My glasses steam up and I can barely see the target or the sights. It's freezing cold? My hands are so numb it's hard to operate the gun controls and I'm shaking so bad I can't aim well. And if I am really lucky, on a really good day, the place will be full of noob idiots booming away erratically with pistolas too big to carry and scaring the pants off me. They should charge extra!

[03Lightningrocks]

I love shooting at the 'Rap because it is as close as I think I can get to high stress conditions. It's blazing hot? My glasses steam up and I can barely see the target or the sights. It's freezing cold? My hands are so numb it's hard to operate the gun controls and I'm shaking so bad I can't aim well. And if I am really lucky, on a really good day, the place will be full of noob idiots booming away erratically with pistolas too big to carry and scaring the pants off me. They should charge extra!

LOL...I never thought of it like that...but you are 100% correct! I may offer to pay extra the next time I am there, choking on the poorly ventilated air while fighting off frostbite or clearing the fog created by the sweat on the safety glasses. I like the noobs. They keep you on your toes. One never knows when one of them is going to let off a round while holding the weapon in a way to point it to the side instead of downrange.

Seriously though... I can deal with most of those problems. They have got to do something about the ventilation in that place. I can taste the powder coming up from my lungs for hours after leaving. It is real bad. I bet it is at a hazardous level if one were to check it with the proper instruments.

[MasterOfNone]

Seriously though... I can deal with most of those problems. They have got to do something about the ventilation in that place. I can taste the powder coming up from my lungs for hours after leaving. It is real bad. I bet it is at a hazardous level if one were to check it with the proper instruments.

You don't keep a respirator in your range bag? Perhaps next to the battery-operated fan?

[03Lightningrocks]

Seriously though... I can deal with most of those problems. They have got to do something about the ventilation in that place. I can taste the powder coming up from my lungs for hours after leaving. It is real bad. I bet it is at a hazardous level if one were to check it with the proper instruments.

You don't keep a respirator in your range bag? Perhaps next to the battery-operated fan?

We use this model, but the smoke just hangs on the firing line so bad, even this doesn't help a lot. When my son comes into town from Houston and we go shooting, he has problems with it also. He shoots at some place in Houston that has great ventilation so I know it can be done properely.

[TxDoubleAgent]

Bullet Trap and Target Masters are dutch ovens in the summertime. IMOP Target Masters was even worse, not seeming to even have positive pressure ventilation or a RO on duty. It's a dump and will never return there.

The most pleasant indoor experience I have had was a place in Sherman, Red River Firearms. Heated/AC, excellent ventilation, clean, and great people/owners to boot. Is well worth a trip on a rainy day.

[Napier]

Re the comments about smoke at The 'Rap, I can see it coming a mile away - a new range rule (this will be Number 87, I think, following Number 86 banning stripping to your skivvies to stay cool): "No dirty powder on the range. This includes Yugo, Russo, Argentino and WWB cartridges."

[MasterOfNone]

Re the comments about smoke at The 'Rap, I can see it coming a mile away - a new range rule (this will be Number 87, I think, following Number 86 banning stripping to your skivvies to stay cool): "No dirty powder on the range. This includes Yugo, Russo, Argentino and WWB cartridges."

Or they could require 30 seconds between shots.

[sjfcontrol]

Re the comments about smoke at The 'Rap, I can see it coming a mile away - a new range rule (this will be Number 87, I think, following Number 86 banning stripping to your skivvies to stay cool): "No dirty powder on the range. This includes Yugo, Russo, Argentino and WWB cartridges."

Or they could require 30 seconds between shots.

Or... they could give each shooter a Japanese fan. Then require that each shooter "fan" their smoke downrange after each shot!

[AEA]

The most pleasant indoor experience I have had was a place in Sherman, Red River Firearms. Heated/AC, excellent ventilation, clean, and great people/owners to boot. Is well worth a trip on a rainy day.

Musta' been a cool day when you were there. Although their fans and circulation is good, they do not have air conditioning (on the Range).
I agree though it is one of the nicest, cleanest and friendliest ranges I have ever been to, I go there often.

[drjoker]

DFW Gun Range ( http://www.dfwgun.com/ ) is heated in the winter but I don't think any ranges are ever air conditioned in the summer. If it bothers you, bring a fan. That's what I do when I shoot on the hottest day of summer: I bring a fan and ask to be positioned at the last firing lane so nobody trips over my fan's electrical cord.

One range in China I went to was air conditioned, but the membership fee is almost $20,000 per year. http://www.chinagunclub.com.hk/english/ . So, I believe it when the other posters are saying that it would be prohibitively expensive to air condition an indoor gun range. Unless, y'all are willing to shell out some serious dough, just bring a fan and ask the range master really nicely if you could plug it in.

[TCooper4653]

Is Bullet Trap even open? I have emailed and called several times over the past two weeks and have not had a single response.

[Dave2]

Is Bullet Trap even open? I have emailed and called several times over the past two weeks and have not had a single response.

They were last week. I was thinking about swinging by today, but they normally close eight minutes ago so I don't think I'll get there in time.

[C-dub]

Is Bullet Trap even open? I have emailed and called several times over the past two weeks and have not had a single response.

I have never tried to e-mail them, but they have had some phone problems in the last few months. They are usually fixed within a day or two, but when it happens the phone will just ring and ring and ring and they cannot call out either.

[Powder Puff Club]

I too have been a member at the Bullet Trap and no longer shoot there. I would not recommend anyone go in there without knowing facts about the safety and ventilation system of the facility.

I have been there for their random safety calls. Men training their significant other, with her closing her eyes and pulling the trigger. the muzzle flipping toward the ceiling. On numerous occasions they would allow up to 4 or more shooters in one bay, not monitoring them while they passed around a single loaded gun back and forth to each other standing well beyond the safety position. Along with the sweltering heat in the summer and freezing cold in the winter, I've been pelted with shell casings from the bay next to me. How about having the shooter two bays down from me hitting my target!!!!

The RO's dry sweep the shells with the toxic lead down in front of the shooter, all the while you'll be inhaling in the dust. As an NRA Certified Instructor, CHL Instructor and competitive shooter, they have taken issue with me coaching female friends on the proper stance and grip, as well as strong arm, weak arm shooting, and transition shooting from left to right circle targets. I am a female instructor and they would prefer that women spend a hideous amount of money having one of their trainers train them. Women prefer to learn from women.

They are well familiar with my proficiency, as male shooters have gathered behind me to watch me shoot and have commented to the staff that I shoot better with one hand than the do with two. It was their animated, erratic, aggressive, intimidation tactics that have caused me to look further into the regulatory issues of indoor shooting ranges. I'm convinced the guys that work there have toxic lead levels and this may be the cause of their behavior. On the other hand they do have a monopoly but not for long.

There is a new facility that will be opening in Lewisville called Eagle Gun Range. Check it out at http://www.eaglegunrangetx.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. There is also another $9 million facility opening late this year and you can google Frisco Gun Range.

Having done extensive research on lead exposure and the Bullet Trap, it is a toxic waste facility. I decided to look into the ventilation, or lack there of, and since January I have been working on an inspection of the Bullet Trap by the proper authorities. In the meantime, consider the information I am sharing with you: After contacting the CDC, the health department sent an inspector in to check out the information I had given them regarding the density of lead dust in the range.

He inspected the ventilation system and said that it is a straight out venting system. Drawing air from the outside in, and blowing the leaded dust out of the building. There are NO filters on the inside or outside, ultimately you are inhaling the lead dust without even firing your gun. They are also polluting the air outside of the building. As an avid, competitive shooter I didn't have any idea how toxic even small amounts of lead can be. Even worse is the transference from anything you touch, your clothing, your hair, your mustache, everything. We are clearly deficient in AWARENESS of lead and the proper clean up methods.

For your own Safety and Health you should take the time to google lead at indoor and outdoor ranges. I will be posting a page of the cumulative and comprehensive information regarding Children and guns, Range Safety that is specific to lead dust. Feel free to check out my website at: PowderPuffDefesnsiveShooters.com.

Whatever you do, the Bullet Trap is NOT a safe place to take children under the age of 12, you can read why on my site.

Be safe my fellow shooter enthusiasts and know the hazards and how to prevent them.

[Napier]

Thanks a lot! I would rather have a range nearby that I can take my own informed risks at than no range at all! You sound like the kind of do-gooder liberal who would ban lead bullets, too. Carried to extremes, your attitude would leave us with NO shooting ranges at all, anywhere. Regarding idiots on the range, other than myself, I never hestitate to walk out to the desk, cite the rule infracted (if that's a word) and tell the senior man present (usually Lonnie) to tell them to cut it out.