Mills Inddor Range & Archery Multi Gun Invitational

[Payne]

This was a fun match at an awesome location. It will help to make the Minnesota winter seem a little shorter.

MILLS INDOOR SHOOTING & ARCHERY
MULTI GUN INVITATIONAL SHOOT


This is just a brief overview of the match that was held last Saturday.

I was invited to the match by Stewart Mills and Dave Timm. I wanted to thank them both for the invite. I have shot with both men in the past and really enjoy the chance to compete with them because they are both very good shooters, but also very good ambassadors for the sport.

The day began at 0800 hrs., with the shooters bringing in their equipment and then checking in. The match fee was $50.00 that was going to be given to a local charity. At check in we signed some waiver forms and also checked our desired lunch off of a provided menu. This lunch would be brought to the range later. After check in we were given a power point presentation that stressed range safety precautions and also gave us descriptions of the upcoming stages and how they were going to be set up. Using a combination of mobile bullet target traps and unique polymer reactive targets, some very innovative stages had been planned. My initial thoughts when I was invited to this match involved how were we going to have multi gun stages at an indoor range? My thinking was based on shooting at other indoor ranges that required shooting straight down range only. With the mobile bullet traps and ballistic materials on the walls, we were able to shoot across the range and literally be able to use an almost 180 degree firing zone. This indoor range was also over 50 yards long, and I later found that this allowed for a little more movement during the courses of fire than I had been prepared for.

The other shooters at this match were a unique mix of people, with a wide range of ages (youngest was 12yrs and the oldest 62 yrs.) and occupations. Being a Chief of Police myself, it was really nice to see the number of other Law Enforcement shooters that showed up. It is always nice to see the members of our law enforcement community coming out on their own time and expense to increase their skill set with firearms.

We were able to set up and shoot five stages in the time we had to use the range. All of the competitors worked very hard on reset after each shooter had completed the course of fire, as well as tearing down the stage after completion and putting the next stage together. There were several off the clock competitions to see who could get down range the fastest to reset targets. I am not ashamed to admit that Stewart Mills is a lot faster than I am when it comes to a foot race. This is the same person that is running (literally) for a position in Minnesota Politics. I wish him well because America would be a better place if we had more politicians like him holding office.

I am not able to remember the exact stages that we ran. I will say that they challenged about every fundamental shooting skill you would need to be competitive in any Multi Gun match in the country. I was able to witness some exceptional shooting skills exhibited by shooters of all skill levels and I was able to learn a lot from the other shooters. If you were to check the Facebook Page of Mills Indoor Shooting & Archery you would see the list of shooters that participated. At the end of the day we were given an awards ceremony. The top three shooters were awarded trophies the like I have never seen handed out at some of the major matches in the country. I was lucky enough to place high enough to win a trophy and it is proudly displayed in my office as I type this.

This day will be a cherished memory not just because of the trophy (even though it is really nice), but because of the fun day spend shooting with new friends, at an awesome facility that allowed shooters to come together to challenge themselves to become better 3-gun shooters. Even though the outdoor temperatures hovered in the -5 degree range, the facility allowed us to shoot in comfort.

Here are my final thoughts on this great facility. During the dinner break, I took the time to look around the retail portion of the range. I saw a huge selection of rifles, shotguns, and handguns on hand at reasonable prices. I also noted a very good selection of ammunition for sale at fair prices, with quantities on the shelf. When speaking with the people behind the counter I found them to be very friendly and very knowledgeable. As we were completing our shooting competition I observed a permit to carry class being taught in the classroom section of the facility. I didn’t see a shooting need that this facility couldn’t help you with. I would have to give this facility a five star rating and must say that Fleet Farm has really done a good job, I only wish there was a facility like this closer to my home.

Brian Payne

[bstrawse]

I have been to this facility previously and shot there. It's an awesome place to both shoot & shop.

Great recap - thanks for sharing this -
Bryan

[jonahk]

An indoor multi gun match in the middle of winter sounds like an awesome idea! Thanks for the writeup, and congrats on your finish!