The Windham Indoor Shooting Range and Retail Store (WISR) had a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house to mark the official opening of the store and range at 999 Roosevelt Trail. This was an opportunity for the community to come into the new space and explore what the company had to offer in terms of the fully stocked store, the twelve shooting bays, the training sessions and the programs it offers. WISR is planning on staying involved in the community with classes for women, letting the youth from the Scarborough Fish and Game Club use their space, and allowing local law enforcement agencies to train in the “largest commercial indoor shooting range in Southern Maine.”
People in attendance were able to see
and speak with the highly qualified staff, ask questions and the whole event
put emphasis on education and safety.
“We really scoured the state to look for
staff that was at the highest caliber out there for the kind of interactions
that we need to have at an indoor shooting range,” Warren Dyke, president of
WISR. The goal of WISR is to help the community learn safe firearm habits and
use that knowledge every time someone handles a gun. The company has a long
list of trainings it offers, from introduction to modern handgun and practical
handgun to practical rifle, and even an interactive home defense and trauma
first aid course.
As explained by WISR General Manager
Peter Joyce, “the way the shooting drills are designed is to educate the
students on how to run the gun safely, and be accurate with that, use the
proper techniques when their body is under stress or when they're stressed
out.”
WISRs Women Shooting Club is another program WISR
is running, that stresses the involvement of any women, younger or older, with
no experience up to sharp shooters. The women’s club as of Saturday had 32
shooters show up to the handgun class that was offered. They expect upwards of 60
at the next meeting, and safety is stressed there as well. They plan on meeting every Tuesday
at WISR. Joyce is also planning on getting a co-ed shooting league up and
running to have “competitions, socialization, and fun in a safe environment.”
Theresa Sampson spoke about her relative
inexperience with handguns, and her gradual progress and enjoyment of target
practicing at WISR. Her daughter-in-law Corinne Sampson wanted to learn more
about handguns and how to use them safely.
The range has state of the art equipment
to keep the air clean, the lead down range, and the targets just where a
shooter wants them. The total containment trap or TCT consists of steel plates
at the end of the range that captures the bullet and brings it to a stop, then
drops it into a bucket for recycling.
The air system is known as a HEPA air
filtration system. Vents at the far side of the range suck the contaminated air
into filters to become purified before being released back into the
environment. A blowing system against the wall behind the shooters pushes the
air down the range. WISR also plans on recycling the brass casings that are
left when someone is done shooting.
WISR offers memberships, classes and
open shooting times seven days a week. To find out more, visit www.WindhamIndoorShootingRange.com,
find them on Facebook or call 892-0274.