New Jersey Adds An Indoor Shooting Range & Firearms Training Facility
Friday, November 25th, 2011 at 11:28 AMNorthern New Jersey Adds An Indoor Shooting Range & Firearms Training Facility
Northern New Jersey Adds An Indoor Shooting Range & Firearms Training Facility
AmmoLand Gun News
Manasquan, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- A new, state of the art, indoor range had its grand opening this past weekend in Morris County.
RTSP is a modern spacious, complete firearms training facility, including a range and retail store, conveniently located on Route 10 in Randolph, NJ. The mission of RTSP as described by one of its owners, Rick Friedman, is to educate people to safely own and enjoy firearms for hunting, sporting and defensive purposes. Among the four owners, Rick, Dieter Decuba, Brad Tremaroli and Peter Miscia is combined experience in law enforcement and firearms instruction. Their goals for RTSP include providing firearms training that will build strong skills and promote responsible firearms ownership.
The first step in the three year process of bringing a facility like RTSP close to home, was finding a location that would be range-friendly, which could have been quite a hurdle given the current gun climate in the New Jersey. The location on Route 10 was being developed at the time and the owners discovered the land on which the complex was being built had originally been zoned as a range in the 1960s and 70s. When they went to the landlord and presented the idea of building the range within the new complex they discovered the landlord is a hunter himself and he readily gave his consent to the partners to build. Permission to begin construction was then approved with the full support of the town council as well as the local police department.
The partners began planning what is now RTSP, a beautiful, spacious state of the art shooting, teaching and retail facility.
The Range
The range itself is 25 yards long and consists of nine ports all with electronic keypads and turning targets. Each port is large enough to accommodate more than one shooter at a time as would be ideal when teaching, and there is plenty of room on the bench for firearms, ammunition and shooting gear without feeling crowded. The entire area behind the shooters is clear back to the large ballistic rated viewing windows which are set in the rear wall of the store. A staging table is set just below the windows inside the range.
Jointly designed by Action Target and Carey Ventilation, safety and healthy air quality were top concerns when outfitting the range. Action Target’s shooting stalls are designed with an impenetrable barrier between the shooters to stop handgun rounds when fired even at point blank distance. The range is equipped with a negative pressure, lead free HEPA filtration system designed and maintained by Carey Ventilation. The system directs an even air flow down range past the firing line and away from the shooters, allowing for the best possible, contaminant free environment for an indoor range.
The range is also a contained environment with an outer door leading from the store to the range, then opening to an inner space which leads to the range door. It’s impossible for both doors to be open at the same time offering a safer atmosphere overall.
The Training Center
The training center includes a spacious 30 student classroom where a variety of classes are set to begin this month, running on a two week schedule – they will include for example, First Steps Pistol and Utah CCW classes. A full schedule of classes will be available on the website at www.rtsponline.com and the offerings will continue to expand to meet the needs of the members and interests of the customers.
Plans to build a five room Simunition Shoot House on the premises are also in the works. Simunition provides realistic training situations to individuals and teams to improve tactical skills and conditioned response to fear. Used as a training tool since the 1980s to help law enforcement officers, military personnel and emergency response teams it is now available to civilians at qualified ranges in the area.
There will also be classes and events planned for women and taught by women. Look for them on the class schedule in December/January.
The Retail Store
The store is open and inviting, offering a woman friendly and family friendly environment. Included in the merchandise are shooting and self defense products specifically for women. A “kitchen” corner with chairs and a table offers customers a place to relax and take a break or have a cup of coffee with other members or friends. It is obvious much thought was put into creating a comfortable space for customers right down to the restroom facilities.
As the store just opened, the inventory will be built up over time and the owners will stock the store based on input from their customers .
Membership and Pricing
Now for some details – RTSP is easy to get to. It’s located on Route 10 in Randolph close to Route 80 in Morris County. There is ample parking right in front of the range entrance. The weekday hours are Monday through Wednesday and Fridays from 10 am to 8pm, Thursdays from 10 am to 10 pm, Saturday 10 am to 6pm and Sundays 10 am to 5pm. Additionally, members only have hours from 8am to 10 am on Saturday and Sunday.
Membership costs $350 for the year which includes unlimited access to the range and a store discount (excluding firearms). Additional family members can be added on for $75.
The range is open to non members at $20 an hour for handguns and $25 for rifles. All calibers up to 50 BMG can be fired at the range. Only slugs are allowed to be fired from shotguns. A variety handguns are also available for rental.
Visit: www.rtsponline.com
About Shari Spivack;
I am a wife, mother and firearms instructor who has my own passion for shooting, teaching and continuing to educate myself with all types of firearms in a safe and responsible manner. It is always my pleasure to talk to other women gun owners – please feel free to email me at Shari@shootstraightnj.com
