“Action Target engineers are doing more on the beaches of Florida this spring than just surfing or getting a tan: they are designing the biggest bullet trap ever built.” So says the press release posted over at ammoland.com. Which leads me to believe that someone at the range-building company is trying to justify the fact that they’re surfing and getting a tan in Jensen Beach, Florida while their corporate compadres are freezing their collective asses off in Provo, Utah. Not a crime, surely (and yes I’m calling you Shirley). Anyway, Lotus Gunworks is set to unveil their new Action Target-crafted double-decker shooting range next month, complete with a two-story steel funnel bullet trap . . .
“Nicknamed the Lotus 8/11 for the number of steel panels used to create it (eight panels on the bottom slope and 11 panels on the top slope), this version of Action Target’s Total Containment Trap is the first of its kind.”
And the first time the company has attempted to name anything for marketing purposes, clearly. Uh, I think I’ll let the press release take it from here, lest I become an action target for Action Target.
“No one has ever seen a range like this before,” Lotus Gunworks’ Director of Operations Robbie Abell said. “We’re truly making industry history.”
Abell stumbled into the gun industry a few years back when he and a family member decided to go in on a gun store. It seemed like a crazy idea, he said, but with a little bit of luck and ingenuity, they just might be able to make it work.
“We spent about eight months riding around different areas and looking at gun ranges,” Abell said. “After some research, we ran into Action Target and were introduced to the local shooting range consultant Robb Anderson. After that it was a no-brainer, so we freight trained forward.”
They found an existing building in Jensen Beach that met their needs but quickly ran into issues when it became apparent there would not be enough room for two adjacent ranges and a gun store. Abell did not want to cut back on the number of ranges, so the only option was to make a double-decker range where both levels shot into the same bullet trap.
“It hasn’t ever been done before, and at first, the answer was that it couldn’t be done,” Abell said. “I believed there had to be a way, and after three weeks of pushing, I got a call from Robb at Action Target saying, ‘We think we might be able to do this.’”
The answer was to extend the Total Containment Trap (usually just 8 feet tall) to a whopping 19 feet and to mount steel cross beams to support the Mancom Touch ‘N’ Go target retriever system.
With the equipment issues resolved, the next hurdle was proper ventilation to prevent customers and employees from being exposed to hazardous lead dust. The sheer size of the room presented a unique challenge, so Lotus Gunworks enlisted the help of industry ventilation specialists Carey’s Small Arms Range Ventilation.
Despite doubts that a range that tall could be ventilated at all, Carey’s managed to create a system that not only met environmental standards, but exceeded ventilation standards for even federal shooting ranges.
“The air flow in the upper level was the best I have seen on any range, and the airflow on the bottom was also very good,” Carey’s controls and commissioning tech Mark Hanson said. “This was one of the easiest range ventilation systems we’ve installed.”
Aside from being environmentally safe by completely replacing range air every 80 seconds, all of the filtered air pumped into the range is refrigerated, which, according to Abell, is a pretty big deal in Florida.
“We want this to be the most comfortable range possible,” Abell said, “and we’re doing that with refrigerated air, great lighting, great service and friendly employees. We want people to come and stay. We want this to be a destination point where you hang out for the day.”
This is the ‘free market’ at work. When supply and demand are allowed to act unfettered in the marketplace those offering goods for sale and those willing to purchase those items arrive at a mutually agreed upon exchange of money for goods and/or services this is the price you pay. If the market continues to be so robust for the suppliers there are only two possible outcomes, prices will rise to cause a decrease in demand, or new players will enter the marketplace to take advantage of the large profits to be made in the supply of the high demand which will cause competition to drive the price down again. This is how it SHOULD BE! Yes the government interferes with the market in many ways but don’t piss and moan about being a part of the best marketplace in the world with almost uncountable variety of products available when it is working the way it should. Most of the people I know that are pro-gun love ALL of the freedom we have in this country. If you want to be angry with someone be angry with your fellow enthusiasts that are hoarding ammo supplies way beyond their needs, this is the true cause of the high demand and high prices. If you don’t like the price don’t buy. It’s your choice, remember its a free country…. well, it used to be. 🙁
Excellent counterpoint to a generally accepted perception.
Stop bitching about prices that’s capitalism dont like the price then dont buy. You want to complain about them backing down to liberals fine, but stop complaining about prices Somebody must be buying it otherwise the price would be lower.
CTD’s numbah one pimp? Glen Beck. Maybe someone needs to give him a nudge.
Once more. The clutch is on the left, the brake in the middle and the gas on the right. How did you ever get out of deputy school……….on the short blue bus?
Absolutely amazing. A collection as such, would make for a great firearm museum in and of itself. Individual sales of these guns will likely draw staggering amounts of money…….
Had the chance to stop by Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach. I took my girlfriend and her mother. It was ‘ladies night’ so the girls shot free. It was clean, comfortable, and welcoming. It was her mother’s first time shooting and the range officer was nice to offer some free instruction for her before we went in. We shot my firearm and the range officer recommended two more for the girls, for a fair rental price. The range ammo was also very fair given the current prices. We spent an hour, got a free t-shirt and some basic instructions for the girls. We will be going back. I’ve shot in New England, and much of the South and I would say for new shooters or experienced, this is where to shoot.