HOLDEN, Maine — Maine firearms enthusiasts who want to sharpen their skills, try out a gun they are thinking of buying or even rent a machine gun can do so at a new state-of-the-art indoor shooting range that opened recently at Maine Military Supply.
Customers also can take classes or, for an hourly fee, get private instruction.
The shooting range marks the third phase of owner Frank Spizuoco’s vision for the business he started more than a decade ago.
The first phase was a move from the store’s former location on the backside of the Wilson Square Shopping Plaza on Wilson Street in Brewer to the former Swish Maintenance location at 179 Main Road in Holden that he purchased along with 10 acres of land.
Next came an outdoor paintball course that opened last year.
Two weeks ago, the gun shop and military supply owner opened up the only indoor public firing range of its kind north of Poland Spring, where the Top Gun shooting range is located. The closest other indoor ranges belong to the Hampden Rifle and Pistol Club and the Penobscot County Conservation Association in Brewer, both of which are private.
The range represents an investment of about $1 million, Spizuoco said last week.
“You can rent [range time] by the hour. We rent machine guns that are fully automatic,” Spizuoco said. “If people come in hemming and hawing and they’re unsure [of which gun they want to buy, they can] try a couple of handguns at a minimal cost.”
Spizuoco said the indoor range also is proving useful to law enforcement.
“We just did a deal with the Maine State Prison [personnel],” he said. “They’re going to use the [range] exclusively just for training for a few days.”
The Brewer Police Department also will conduct training there, Deputy Police Chief Jason Moffitt confirmed.
“We think it’s a nice facility,” Moffitt said. “We did enter into an agreement with Frank to use the indoor range. From an educational aspect, it’s nice to have a safe place to go and shoot.”
The new addition also houses classroom space for up to 12 students and a workshop for Maine Military Supply’s inhouse gunsmith.
“It was badly needed,” he said of the shop.
According to Spizuoco, no separate license or permit is needed to operate a shooting range.
But as a gun dealer and business owner, Spizuoco said, “I’m already about as regulated as you can get. You have [environmental regulations to comply with, including those addressing lead] and you still have all those other regulations that everyone else has to comply with,” he said. “That’s the hardest part, the most costly I guess.”
The new range has eight lanes, one of which is handicapped accessible. It is wider than the others, has a bench that swings away and lower controls for moving targets to the shooter’s desired distance.
“That was important. You don’t really have to but we get a lot of customers in [wheel]chairs,” Spizuoco said.
“As far as safety, you know, all [firearms] have to be holstered or cased. We don’t allow them to load or unload unless they are at the bench. Ears and eyes all the time. You know, the usual stuff that goes along with a range,” he said.
In addition, everyone who enters the range area must wear ear and eye protection, he said.
“If you take steps and put procedures and policies in place, you can limit liability,” he said.
The range also has an air handling system that sends gunsmoke down the range as opposed to into the faces of shooters.
To abate noise, Spizuoco used acoustical foam specifically designed for shooting ranges and created multiple layers of air space to help deaden the sound. The range was constructed with mortar filled concrete blocks. Baffles down range catch the bullets.
Thanks to technology, Spizuoco can monitor what’s going on at the range through his home computer and cellphone.
To prepare for building the indoor range, Spizuoco went to a weeklong seminar in Texas where he learned about design, materials to use, what type of products to carry, and about other features. He also visited other indoor ranges.
“Everyone does it different,” he said. “You can do it a lot of different ways.”
Range time costs $15 per person per hour, according to Maine Military’s website. A $200 annual membership fee gets you half off on range time and 10 percent off all ammunition, except for bulk ammunition.
Don’t own a gun? You can rent them for $10 each if the gun’s retail value is under $1,000, $25 for guns that sell for more than a $1,000. Machine gun rentals are $40.
Shooters can bring their own ammo if they want but can’t use it in Maine Military’s guns.
“Try before you buy” costs $25 and includes the range fee and the rental of up to three guns of any caliber. If a purchase is made, the buyer gets a $10 credit on that purchase.
Holden Town Manager Benjamin Breadmore said the Maine Military range project went through the usual approval steps, including reviews by the town’s planning board and the state fire marshal’s office.
“It’s a lot like any other project, only it’s a lot more fun,” Breadmore said last week. “There’s been a really good turnout there from what I can tell.”
Breadmore recently got an after hours tour of the new range and says he liked what he saw.
“I went over last week for about 45 minutes and got to try it out. I’m a fan,” he said, adding that Spizuoco’s employees are range certified.
“With the whole rental business and the try a machine gun hook they have, for a lot of people that’s kind of a once in a lifetime thing,” Breadmore said. “It’s just very nice to have them in Holden.”