whitebear
Member
This was in the Tulsa World this morning - though you all might be interested:
$1.5 million shooting academy to be built at industrial park
By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
11/16/2005
Plans will be unveiled Wednesday for what is billed as the nation's largest law enforcement training and competition shooting facility.
United States Shooting Academy, a $1.5 million project on 90 acres in Cherokee Industrial Park in north Tulsa County, will host professional competitions that will draw thousands of shooters to Tulsa after it opens in May, said Tom Fee, president of Fee Oil and Gas Ltd. and owner of the new business.
"There are other training and competition ranges out there, but nothing is going to touch this one," Fee said.
The Tulsa Metro Chamber has scheduled an official announcement for the project at 1 p.m. at the chamber's offices, 2 W. Second St.
Fee, who said he started participating in professional shooting after he obtained his "concealed carry" firearms license two years ago, wants the facility to assist both those who share his pastime as well as law enforcement agencies.
"There are people out there putting their lives on the line so we can sleep at night, and the fact that many of them aren't getting enough training is troubling," he said.
Much of facility will be designed specifically to accommodate a wide range of law enforcement
agencies, from police and sheriffs' departments to federal law enforcement agencies and military branches.
Fee said he consulted with Tulsa Police Chief Dave Been as well as other area agencies on the project.
"I've been asking them what they need that they don't already have," Fee said.
The Tulsa Police Department's training facility at 6066 E. 66th St. North is near the academy site.
Been was unavailable for comment.
Training areas will include 30 pistol bays, a police area, rifle range, shotgun range, hostage rescue area, an urban area with simulated houses and streets, a hand-to-hand combat section and two helipads for helicopter instruction.
Fee said he wants to equip the range with environments that law enforcement personnel encounter when pursuing criminals, including terrorists, so he will bring in old automobiles, an aircraft fuselage and a subway car.
"You have to be able to recreate exact scenarios for this to do any good," he said.
The facility will also include a main lodge, 10 guest houses capable of accommodating a total of 100 people, and an armory.
Though most of the facility will be devoted to law enforcement and competition, Fee said staff members will teach classes to private citizens as well. Classes will cover handguns, shotguns, concealed carry and competition.
He also wants to bring in top-ranked shooters from across the world once a month for private lessons.
"You won't have to travel to where they are in order to train with them," he said.
However, Fee said the academy will not operate as a recreational shooting range or gun club.
In addition to the facility's size, Fee said the main advantage will be its proximity to Tulsa, as most other training facilities are in rural areas.
"You can bring your family, and they'll have plenty of things to do," he said.