Shooter's Station In Conroe, TX

[dws1117]

Here is an article about Sooter's Station that was in the Houston Chronicle a couple of days ago. this is the range where I do most of my shooting.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/ ... 16049.html

April 24, 2006, 4:58PM

Local shooting range attracts all stripes with knack for guns
Some women, men say firing at targets eases stress, helps practice methods of protection
By CHARLIE BIER
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Loud, concussive reports ring out as sparks of flame shoot from the barrels of handguns and the smell of gunpowder hangs in the air.

A heaping mound of spent brass shell casings has been swept against a wall.

It's league shooting night at Shooter's Station Indoor Range and Gun Store in Conroe.

Rita Rushing is ready to contribute her share to the pops and bangs, pile of casings and that oh-so-distinctive smell of gunpowder.

The Conroe resident loads her magazine, jams it into the Kimber brand Desert Warrior semiautomatic handgun, sidles to the firing line and lets loose a volley of shots.

Stress relief
The exercise is something Rushing has been doing regularly since she started attending Shooter's Station about four years ago, aiming to learn how to use the gun she bought for protection.

"I wanted to become more proficient with my gun once I had my license, so if I ever was in trouble and needed to know how to use it that I wouldn't be fumbling around trying to figure out how to load it and what to do with it," Rushing said.

Rushing said although she originally started shooting to brush up on her skills, now she just plain enjoys the stress relief and camaraderie of excursions to the shooting range.

"Once I found out how fun it is and how much more interesting it is, I joined a league and have been coming ever since. Some people bowl, we shoot," Rushing said.

If Rushing's found a home at Shooter's Station at 13748 Texas 105 West, it's partly by design. Co-owner Danny Benoit said while doing research for the store and range, which opened in 1998, he visited about 20 similar outlets around the state, taking mental notes on what he liked and didn't like.

His chief complaint was the way most of them treated women.

"The women would walk in and these guys would act like they didn't even have time to talk to them. Probably 20 percent of our business now is ladies, and they're always better shooters than the men. Always. Never fails," Benoit said.

With posters for ammunition advertisements lining the walls and enough guns and accessories to outfit a small army, the Shooter's Station decor is decidedly Southern good-old-boy. But Benoit's clientele definitely comes from all walks of life, all genders and all ages.

"We're just local guys and ladies. What we do helps them if they had to defend themselves," Benoit said.

Range of customers
Benoit has entertained the gamut of prospective marksmen — and markswomen — including a kindly, 69-year-old grandma.

"It was kind of funny. She had never shot a gun before and wanted to learn how to shoot for protection. Her husband had passed away. She hadn't had any problems, she just wanted to be prepared," Benoit said.

The woman took private lessons, including coaching and classroom instruction, and left with not only the know-how to fire her .380-caliber handgun but state-certified paperwork allowing her to carry a concealed handgun.

"She shot a 240 out of 250, and we've got big, burly outdoors types who don't shoot that well," Benoit said.

On the other end of the spectrum, 19-year-old Scott Sanne of Montgomery is a regular at the range who has been shooting since he was 15. Sanne said he doesn't hunt, but simply likes the methodology of and thrill he gets from firing a gun.

"I was up here shopping around and I asked about competitions and they told me about their shooting scenarios. I came one time, liked it, and have been coming back ever since," Sanne said.

Sanne's father, Tom Sanne, said he often accompanies his son for a night of father-and-son activity.

"It's fun. I shot for years and years in the Air Force. I'm doing terrible here, but I'm having a good time," Tom Sanne said.

Protection and recreation
Others come simply for the thrill of squeezing off a few rounds. Glenn Powell of New Waverly began attending to take the courses for personal protection.

"I've shot rifles and shotguns all my life, but I was the worst shot in the world with a pistol until I came here and they showed my how to shoot it. I couldn't hit the side of a barn," Powell said.

He stayed on for the gun talk he gets at shooting sessions. "They know a lot more about handguns than any other place I've talked to," Powell said.

Powell said since he's not a golfer, the weekly shoots have become his recreational outlet.

"It's a blast. I can't wait for Wednesdays to come around," Powell said.

Neither can Ronnie Rushing, who comes along with wife Rita.

"It's a social event. Everybody with the same interests comes out and gets together for a good time. That makes it a lot of fun. We don't take the competitive end of it too seriously, about who scores better than the other. We're all out here enjoying the sport and being safe," Rushing said.

Cameras are mounted in every range. People not practicing safe gun etiquette get dressed down. For extreme violations or repeat offenders, rude or otherwise offensive behavior, the penalty could be banishment.

Gung-ho, hard core or careless attitudes are out of place at Shooter's Station, Benoit said.

"We're more the local, easygoing types who just enjoy shooting," Benoit said.

Ben Young, a co-owner of Shooter's Station with Benoit, said the range draws in customers from throughout the county, including tourists to Lake Conroe and a large number of residents of The Woodlands, Oak Ridge North, Shenandoah and other areas of South County.

"We get a lot of them from The Woodlands. A big percentage of our traffic is from The Woodlands," Young said.

One South County regular is Ed Chance, the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner, who said shooting is a hobby he enjoys. When law enforcement ranges are too crowded, Chance often stops at Shooter's Station to fire off a few rounds. "It's great facility. It's an indoor range with a good target system that's well-run and well-maintained," Chance said.

Learning the basics
No matter their level of experience, all who come to Shooter's Station are brought along at a controlled pace.

Shooters start off simple, plinking at stationary paper targets. Next, when they've proven their proficiency, the difficulty of the exercises progresses. Shooters may be forced to drop a magazine and pick it quickly before loading and firing or have to lean around a post or some other obstruction to fire at hard-to-hit bowling pins or moving targets.

"This is opposed to all of a sudden being thrown into some sort of situation where they don't have a clue what's going on. This training may flash back and they may realize they can change a magazine, or move or spot a target," Benoit said.

Another staple of training is use of light and dark, where lamps are turned on and off or positioned strategically to simulate an atmosphere someone roused from sleep by an intruder might experience.

"Everything we do is from a defensive standpoint. This just helps them to figure out what's going on. We want people feel they can use their guns with confidence," Benoit said.

Range setup
Benoit and Young started Shooter's Station after they had accrued enough startup capital to ensure they wouldn't get buried in debt.

The stock of almost 500 handguns, which includes a small amount of rifles and shotguns, is paid for.

The store also deals in ammunition, grips, scopes, paper targets and anything else you can think of that's a firearm or related to shooting.

"We're not set up to handle the heavy-duty rifle stuff. The way things are right now, as far as shooting outside, the cleanup is unreal, so we're totally self-contained," Benoit said.

Bullets fired into targets lined across Shooter's Station's 12 indoor shooting lanes are caught by traps behind them. The backstops are made of battleship-grade steel. The lead bullets swirl around and fall into a bucket. Brass shell casings are ejected onto the smooth concrete floor, then swept into bright gold heaps.

Every so often, recyclers come by the range and buy the lead and brass, "so we're not putting anything out in the environment here," Benoit said.

Gun club
Benoit said he won't mix his politics and pistol-shooting, but one group that does is the Second Amendment Academy, a club at Montgomery College in The Woodlands. The club provides access to information and discussion regarding the political and legal issues concerning the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which among other things grants citizens the right to bear arms.

The club, which participates in a range of shooting events throughout the semester, does its pistol and night shooting events at Shooter's Station.

Matthew Heck, a teacher at the college and the club's faculty adviser, said the attention to detail students get at the range can benefit them for years to come in terms of safety and responsibility.

"We try to do three to four events per semester, and at the last event, we had a girl who had never even shot a gun before. She learned how to load it and shoot it safely, as opposed to just grabbing a gun and starting to shoot," Heck said.

charlie.bier@chron.com

[XD_Dan]

Wow!

What a great article! I wish there were more written like it. It's nice to read something from any media source that seems to be "pro-recreational shooting." This is much better than the typical 'automatic handgun' or 'assault pistol' rubbish that is usually reported.

Well done, Mr. Bier!

[dws1117]

Yeah, I was shocked by the article.

The reporter is spot on though. I shoot in the league, which they are now offering on Wednesday and Thursday because of the ammount of intrest, at least twice a month. Unfortunately finaces don't allow for every week. It is a lot of fun. Good people and they are more concerned about learning than scores.

[longtooth]

Good article overall. Only complaint I have is a BIG one for me. Our 2nd Amendment to the Constitution does not "grant citizens the right to bear arms." It does guarantee that inalienable (undisputable, irrevokable) right SHALL NOT be infringed by the Fed Govt or State Govt. Big difference. Had a politicion accuse me of splitting hairs & parsing words over that.

[gigag04]

The Conroe resident loads her magazine, jams it into the Kimber brand Desert Warrior semiautomatic handgun, sidles to the firing line and lets loose a volley of shots.

Stress relief
The exercise is something Rushing has been doing regularly since she started attending Shooter's Station about four years ago, aiming to learn how to use the gun she bought for protection.

I don't think Kimber desert warriors were around back then, but I could be mistaken.

[nemesis]

I don't think Kimber desert warriors were around back then, but I could be mistaken.

The woman took private lessons, including coaching and classroom instruction, and left with not only the know-how to fire her .380-caliber handgun but state-certified paperwork allowing her to carry a concealed handgun.

[gigag04]

I don't think Kimber desert warriors were around back then, but I could be mistaken.

The woman took private lessons, including coaching and classroom instruction, and left with not only the know-how to fire her .380-caliber handgun but state-certified paperwork allowing her to carry a concealed handgun.

Yup I was mistaken.

[dws1117]

It's league shooting night at Shooter's Station Indoor Range and Gun Store in Conroe.

Rita Rushing is ready to contribute her share to the pops and bangs, pile of casings and that oh-so-distinctive smell of gunpowder.

The Conroe resident loads her magazine, jams it into the Kimber brand Desert Warrior semiautomatic handgun, sidles to the firing line and lets loose a volley of shots.

Rita picked up the Kimber somewhat recently. She has become a very good shooter.

I don't see where in the article it made any reference to a timeline with the Kimber.

[Edit] Now I see what you'r talking about. I think the reporter was saying that Rita has been shooting at Shooter's Station for four years, not that she has had the Kimber that long.

including a kindly, 69-year-old grandma.

"It was kind of funny. She had never shot a gun before and wanted to learn how to shoot for protection. Her husband had passed away. She hadn't had any problems, she just wanted to be prepared," Benoit said.

The woman took private lessons, including coaching and classroom instruction, and left with not only the know-how to fire her .380-caliber handgun but state-certified paperwork allowing her to carry a concealed handgun.

The bit with the .380 handgun was refering to the 69 year old woman. As an aside, I'd bet that the .380 was a Bersa. Shooter's sell a lot of those.