I am just back from a few days at Gander
Mountain Academy in Lake Mary, Florida. I was among a group of
eight writers invited down by Blue August to look at some
products from ATI, Kahr, I.O. Inc., Magnum Research, Auto
Ordnance, Cross Breed Holsters, Wolf Performance Arms, Core 15,
AWC Suppressors, and FMK Firearms. I am planning to do reviews
on several of the products shown, but right now, we are looking
at the facility in which we enjoyed the presentations.
Josh Sykes, Chris Harless, and Monica Arnold
of Blue August met us at the airport and hauled us to Lake Mary,
putting us up at the Hilton and treating us very well for the
time spent in Florida. The use of Gander Mountain Academy was
the best part of the trip. The purpose of the trip was not to
review the Gander Mountain Academy. It was just the facility
which we used to try out the products, but I was impressed
enough with the place that I wanted to let our readers know more
about it, especially those readers who live close enough to a
Gander Mountain Academy to take advantage of the facility and
the services offered.
I have heard of Gander Mountain, and know
them as a chain of sporting goods stores similar to Bass Pro
Shop and Cabela’s. However, I was unaware before this trip
that Gander Mountain had a training facility. In fact, they have
several across the nation, with more planned to open in the
future.
Gander Mountain Academy offers concealed
carry permit classes, hunter safety classes, women-only classes,
shotgun classes, and other classes to help shooters in any stage
of their development. Gander Mountain also offers one-on-one
instruction for those who prefer such detailed attention, and
that is highly recommended for those who are just getting into
shooting, whether for recreation or for more serious purposes.
Gander Mountain’s indoor range has state-of-the-art electronic
equipment, a well-ventilated shooting area, and targets that
come to the shooter. The digital controls send the target out
and bring it back again. Each shooter has his own separate lane,
shooting from a booth in which he stays during the session, with
instructors behind the shooters to ensure safety and an
enjoyable and productive shooting session.
Before entering the shooting range, shooters
watch a safety video in a comfortable room, sign a waiver, and
are issued eye and ear protection, if the shooter did not bring
any. The range is equipped to handle handgun, shotgun, and rifle
fire, and is surrounded with sound-buffering materials.
At the Academy, we would listen to and enjoy
hands-on presentations from the manufacturers present, then take
those weapons to the range to send a few rounds into some
targets. After our range sessions, we had the opportunity to try
out Gander’s Virtual Range. This area consists of a simulated
shooting range with screens out front. Upon those screens are
various targets and shooting drills, all fired with guns that
have been adapted to simulate recoil and noise from an actual
live-fire drill. While the recoil is not exactly like shooting
live ammo, it does give the shooter some of the feel of live
fire. This range simulates various distances, and also times and
scores the shooter on the range session, recording an image of
every round fired as a bullet hole on the target.
Next we went into the SIM 180 range, where
three screens run from floor to ceiling, covering 180 degrees in
front of the shooter. Here we shot pepper poppers, along with
other real-life simulations, with some targets simulating real
threats, and others being no-shoot targets. After that, we went
into the SIM 300, which is very much like the SIM 180, but with
300 degrees of targets. In here, the scenes are as real as they
can get, with the scene running continuously from one screen to
the other. The images are real videos, using actors to simulate
threats. One situation was a parking garage, another was a
hallway with several doors. Other scenarios are outdoors, such
as coming home at night and surprising someone at your back
door. The shooter is under pressure to know when and when not to
shoot. The shooter has to determine if the person is holding a
gun, knife, or something else, such as a telephone. A woman
could open a door, look innocent, and then draw a weapon and
fire. Women are sneaky that way. A man might run at you with a
knife in hand. Is that person on the screen about to shoot the
clerk, or just buying a lottery ticket? You have to decide, and
react quickly. Even if someone is armed, do you shoot, or run
away? In one scene a woman appears in a doorway and pulls a gun.
In another, she is holding a baby. Regardless of how an FBI
sniper might handle the situation, most reasonable folks do not
shoot a woman holding a baby, and most of us would go to prison
for the rest of our lives, instead of being promoted as was Lon
Horiuchi for his murder at Ruby Ridge.
We each got to spend some time in the
simulator, as our friends, colleagues, and instructors watched
our performance. In one situation, I was in a parking garage,
and was confronted by three young men, each approaching from
three different directions. I was surrounded, and they were
closing in. I shot them. Turns out they were unarmed, and it
might have been hard for my lawyers to convince twelve people
who were not clever enough to get out of jury duty that I was in
grave danger, and fired to protect my life, had this been a
real-life situation. The men were not armed, but could have
still done me a lot of harm, but convincing a jury of that is
not a sure thing. Maybe I should have turned and ran. In another
case, I was covering a man who was coming at me, and his comrade
shot me in the back. Each of these situations makes the shooter
think, and to think fast.
The best part of the Gander Mountain Academy,
in my opinion, is the simulator, and the price is quite
reasonable, especially considering the cost of the equipment,
the facility, and the instructor. At the Lake Mary location, as
of the date of this writing, the cost is $35 US per half hour in
the 180, or $45 US per half hour in the 300. For this, you get
to do a lot of shooting, practicing on pepper poppers, or to go
through various scenarios of a street fight. You do not have to
buy any ammo, and there is no brass to pick up when you are
finished. The instructors have the ability to change up the
scenarios, and to add stress to the situation with sounds of
barking dogs, sirens, approaching helicopters, etc. If I lived
close to Lake Mary or any of the other Gander Mountain Academy
locations, I would be there as often as I could. It is very
good, very realistic training, at a cost that most folks can
easily afford. I took a few pictures, but for more detail, watch
the videos in the Simulator section of the Gander Mountain
Academy website for a closer look at the realism of the
simulators.
The Gander Mountain Academy is a great
shooting facility, and you can shoot at your leisure on the live
range, get personalized instruction, or try your skills and test
your street-smarts in the simulator. It is a great place to
shoot, and a great place to hone your skills. The instructors
are there to help you, whether you have been shooting for many
years, or have never pulled a trigger.
Check out the Gander Mountain Academy online
at www.gandermtnacademy.gandermountain.com
for locations and hours of operation.
Jeff Quinn
