ProTeQ?

[stchas]

A friend of mine mentioned this place, which turns out to be like 5 minutes from my house. I found the place but am a bit confused, this sounds so stupid , what is the process with this place? I got there and it looks like someones home. I knocked on the door and no answer. I went down to the range and found the shooting bays with a sign on the board that said fill out the sheet, pay, etc. I didn't see any sign up sheets. Went home and figured I would call a little later before heading back. I called about an hour later to no avail and things got busy so I was unable to try again. Anyone shoot here regularly that could help me out? Thanks.

 

[Scutter01]

Here's another thread with just as much confusion:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...sion/72268-brazil_indiana_shooting_range.html

 

[canav844]

If you find out the deal please PM me, I made the drive up one day when I was in Brazil for other things, talked to someone that happened to be shooting there, he gave me some directions; stupid me didn't go get the paperwork that instant, figuring I could handle it when I returned with some ammo a few days later; and I couldn't find the barrel the forms are supposed to be in, so after an hour drive to get their I ended up calling it and was unable to get to my regular range before it closed as a result.

 

[stchas]

WIll do. I asked my buddy but he said he's never shot there, just new it was there, lol.

 

[sharkey]

When you pull onto the property, take the left drive up behind the house, which ends up on your left. There are steps leading down to a door on the lower level, the barrel (actually a trash can) with forms is down there.

 

[stchas]

Really. Just fill it out and leave the money there with it as well? And thanks!

 

[CountryBoy19]

Really. Just fill it out and leave the money there with it as well? And thanks!

Yes, just fill the paper out, and leave the money in the bucket inside the can (should be a small icecream type bucket in there).


BTW, the owner is a great personal friend of mine, and his son and I are both great friends. I go pheasant hunting with them every year. If anybody has any questions about ProTEQ or the owner I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

I'll get a few out of the easier ones out of the way here.

Don, is a wonderful guy when he is happy but can be a thorn in your backside if you make him mad.

For years he has made it his mission to provide an affordable place for beginners to learn, and more advanced shooters to continually practice. His idea is that the more people we can introduce to shooting sports the better chances we have of our sport continuing on once we're gone. On that note, Don graciously allowed the Rose-Hulman Gun Club to shoot on his property and he was very active in the club. He assisted the club in cleaning and repair of firearms, and he took great lengths to not only help the club but to TEACH the members about everything from reloading to practical shooting. And that doesn't just stop at the RH gun-club (no longer in existence). Several surrounding LE agencies use his range for practice.

What does Don ask for in return for all that he has done? A measley little fee $5-$30 depending on which category you fall into per year to use his range, and a little respect. He has rules on the range (like any range does). Most every single rule has been a result of something stupid that somebody has done.

Examples:
Lay a tarp down, resulted from people not picking up their brass.
Don't shoot trash, resulted from people shooting trash and leaving the mess
Don't shoot anywhere other than target backers that are directly in front of backstops, resulted from stupid people shooting elsewhere.
You must sign in, resulted from too many people breaking the rules. Now you sign in so he knows who was there when damage occurred or rules were broken, and if you're caught there not signed in you're in trouble (goes back to the thorn in your backside thing).

A couple words of advice, be courteous and respectful, treat his property better than you would treat your own property and you won't have any problems. I don't say the above things to scare anybody, because Don really is a wonderful guy. He will go way out of his way (if he has time) to help anybody out. But he is hard to get ahold of, he has a lot of irons in a lot of fires so be patient if you're trying to reach him.

Another word of advice, put your email on the form when you sign up. That is how he communicates with the range members. Otherwise, some weekend you're going to plan out a great range-trip and you're going to show up to find out that the range is closed for maintenance or some other reason.

 

[stchas]

Awesome. I appreciate the input. Next time I have some free time I'll have to head over. Will def be nice to have a place to shoot so close to home.

 

[ddb40]

The Gun Range 4 miles north west of Brazil Indiana is ProTEQ Firearms Academy. It has just opened a website that will answer your questions. The web address is ........proteq.us