Shooting-ranges

For the film, see Shooting Range (film). for the video game, see Shooting Range (video game)

A shooting range or firing range or archery range or pistol range or rifle range or shooting gallery or shooting ground is a specialized facility designed for archery or firearms practice. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, called variously a range master or "Range Safety Officer" (RSO) in the US, or a range conducting officer (RCO) in the UK. Supervisory personnel are responsible for ensuring that all weapon safety rules and relevant government regulations are followed at all times. In contrast, in some countries (like Finland), shooting ranges commonly do not have supervision; unsupervised ranges are usually situated in distant places in forests, and people can use them on their own.

Downrange is the direction towards the targets, while uprange is the direction back towards the shooters. Shooting ranges can be indoors or outdoors, and may be restricted to certain types of arms, e.g.: bows, handguns, or rifles, or they can specialize in certain shooting sports such as skeet shooting or 10 m Air Pistol/Rifle.

In the US, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides recommendations for protecting workers and shooters from hazardous exposures at indoor and outdoor firing ranges.

This article discusses shooting or firing ranges in a general sense. For more specific discussion of shooting ranges in specific countries, see:

Likewise, in countries with gun laws heavily restricting the ownership and use of actual firearms, Airsoft guns often are used for "shooting range" practice. By their nature, "shooting ranges" for Airsoft competitions may be located nearly everywhere, even indoors, with no significant restrictions other than the wearing of protective face masks. This article, and the articles for specific locales, do not address "shooting ranges" intended for Airsoft guns.

In urban areas, most shooting ranges will be at indoor facilities. Similarly, in less-populated areas, shooting ranges are often at outdoor facilities. Many amusement parks and carnivals formerly provided shooting galleries.

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