It has been two years coming, but the South Plains College Firearms Range is open, with perhaps the most important part of that is that the range is open to the public on Mondays from 4-7 p.m. while school is in session.
The range is a vital part of the college law enforcement program according to Program Chair Kenny Burns. While it was out of service, law enforcement academies were forced to find other places to train, which wasn’t convenient.
The repairs to the range began with replacement of the backstop to remove shrapnel in 2021. Shortly after that, it was discovered that the ventilation system needed work and so that project was undertaken in 2022.
It was supposed to be completed in March of 2023, but supply chain problems slowed the work. There remains one switch to be installed, but that is a minor inconvenience.
“We have to walk to the back of the range to turn the vents off,” he said. “Once the switch is in place, we can do everything from the control room.”
The new backstop is also an upgrade. The old wall was only suitable for handgun and carbines of handgun caliber. The new backstop is suitable for rifle rounds. This allows training with patrol rifles, something that has become a regular part of law enforcement training in recent years.
“You can shoot rifles in here,” said Range Officer Mark Wittie, “but it’s loud.”
Civilians using the range need to check with the range master before shooting a rifle on the range, however, as not all rifles are allowed. The new system can be set up for police firearms qualifications on all five lanes at the same time. Some of the electronics were done in house. One upgrade would have cost $10,000 for a contractor to complete, but Bill Tackett from the college IMET program was able to set it up for $139.
“It’s a real plus having a genius working at SPC,” said Burns.
In addition to the new ventilation and back wall, the acoustic tiles were replaced, lighting was upgraded to LED and the range was repainted.