There are a lot of gear considerations for a day at the range. Safe carry for weapons, ammo storage, tools, carry accessories like holsters and safety equipment. Shooting Range Industries has prepared a helpful list of shooting range gear you may need.

Shooting Eye Protection

Eye protection is a primary concern. You need polycarbonate lenses and either the ability to change lenses or two pare of glasses. For low light conditions yellow or amber improves the contrast allowing for more accurate shooting and still protecting your vision. Polarized lenses will cut glare while glasses with a smoke tint are good choices with polarized lens being preferred. Reddish tint lenses are great for clay shooting. Glasses tend are subject to personal taste and preference. Interchangeable lens may prove problematic in the field as some models are difficult to change in the field. A clear range lens is a good backup. Your eyesight is a one-time issue. No reset button if you lose an eye. Wear eye protection even in the field.

Ear & Hearing Protection for Shooting

Hearing loss over time and tin ear are the results of lack of protection when in a high decibel environment. There are two categories of hearing protection. Passive and electronic. Passive are earplugs or muffs, using bulk to decrease the effect of the loud noise and the sonic shockwave of weapons fire. The electronic version allows common conversation, some magnify the sound, but use electronic circuits that shut down the volume if the sounds go over a certain decibel limit. These are more expensive but are preferred by some. For shoots hearing will degrade overtime without ear protection. The loud sounds destroy the fine hairs used to detect sound, and damage the eardrum. More aggravating is tin ear, the detection of a high-pitched ring that never goes away. Wear your ears at the range.

Shooting Range First Aid Kit

Safety is basic, for all shooters. Some extras to consider is sun screen and a basic first aid kit to treat minor injuries that are sometimes encountered. In warm climates hydration is important as well, heat stroke is no fun. Even in moderate environments we tend to dehydrate, make sure to have some water or sport drinks on hand as well as munchies to tide you over. A cap or other head covering is a consideration as well. Though safety and health gear are standard across the board, the remaining items becomes more personal. If you are shooting handgun, MSR (modern sporting rifle i.e. AR15, etc.) shotgun or a more conventional platform will dictate your equipment.

Firearm Multi Tool

Tools for the hand gunner should include a multitool. Avid Real is dedicated to producing the optimum in multitools for range and field. Tools for the pistol-revolver afficado, MSR or general tools for the other shooting options. Leatherman has the MUT for the AR15 buff, CRKT and Crimson Trace Corp (CTC) who use CTC’s laser sights. Designed for the EOD tech, PowerLock EOD also includes tools to maintain the AR series of rifles. SOG, Leatherman, Gerber and many others have survival tools that will handle many firearm maintenance functions. But can’t beat the dedicated tools for covering the bases.

Gun Cleaning Kit

Cleanup. A good compact cleaning kit for field and range is the Otis Tactical Cleaning System. More in depth cleaning at home can be accomplished there. But at the range and in the field, you need some means to clean and service the gun whether piston, rifle or shotgun. This is a good compact kit that will keep your shooter shooting. Gerber offers the 22-01105 universal cleaning kit that is also compact with a multitool, and flashlight for bore inspection, with lube. The problem with these compact kits there is no storage for bore solvent or patches.

Custom Modular Shooting Ranges for Practice, Training & Enjoyment

Just some things to consider, bags and cases are another subject all together. Shooting Range Industries designs and builds custom shooting ranges; the perfect place to try out all your new gear. Contact us today.