Shooting range

A shooting range or firing range 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 are followed at all times. In some countries (like Finland), it is, however, common to have shooting ranges without supervision. Ranges are usually situated in distant places in forests, and people can use them on their own, without any supervision.

Shooting ranges can be indoor or outdoor and may be restricted to certain types of arms: bows, handguns or rifles, or they can specialize in certain shooting sports such as Skeet shooting or 10 m Air Pistol/Rifle.

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 instead for "shooting range" practice. By their nature, "shooting ranges" for Airsoft competitions may be located nearly everywhere, even in-doors, 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.

Indoor ranges usually have a back wall with a sloped earthen berm or bank, with reinforced baffles additionally situated along the roof and side walls. Ranges with proper ventilation pull smoke and lead particles away from the shooting line and discharge them from the building to reduce potential lead poisoning. When ranges lack proper ventilation, employees and users are exposed to lead dust from bullets or cartridge primers. It can be inhaled or can settle on skin or clothing. Additionally, discharge of firearms in indoor ranges can produce noise levels of over 140 dB sound pressure level. To combat this, it is commonly recommended to "double up" ear protection by using both earplugs and over-the-head earmuffs. To protect range bystanders from sound exposure, many modern ranges have an air-locked corridor for sound-proofing, with two doors at opposite ends of the egress corridor. Most indoor ranges restrict the use of certain powerful calibers, rifles or the use of fully automatic weapons. In many shooting ranges, .50 caliber or higher bullets are not allowed.

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