Pistol and Rifle Range
After many bumps in the road, dirt finally started getting moved yesterday! The long-awaited construction project has FINALLY begun. We won’t have an official reopen date for a few weeks, but if things go as scheduled, we’re looking at sometime in mid-May. Stay tuned!
Understandably, we’ve been getting questions about updates on the construction progress. Unfortunately, we don’t have much to update at the moment or an estimated re-open date. We thought all the permits were in place, but there was one we had that wasn’t the “right” one. So, we’re delayed until that gets straightened out. We have people much smarter than us in these matters working on it. Unfortunately, due to the agreement that was signed, we are unable to operate until the project is complete, even when there is no work taking place. :(
All memberships that were active as-of November 2020 will be extended for whatever period of time we are closed and any gift certificates that were due to expire during this time will also be honored for a similar extension.
We miss seeing our members and regulars tremendously! And rest assured, Lance Corporal Chesty McBoomstick is being spoiled and getting all the attention he wants.
Due to upcoming construction on the range, Sandhill Shooting Sports will be closed for live-fire on the range for approximately one month, beginning November 9, 2020. The one-month timeframe is an estimate. Unfortunately, we will not know the exact date we will be allowed to resume live-fire activities until everything is actually completed
We truly wish we had more advance notice for this, but without going into details – which we’re not at liberty to do at this time – suffice it to say everything came to a head this week and we have no say in when this happens.
We will let you know when we are able to resume live-fire events at the range. You can also keep up with the goings-on via our website, Facebook, and Instagram.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we look forward to seeing you at the range once the construction is complete.
Governor McMaster issued another Executive Order today. This latest executive order is entitled the “Stay at Home or Work” order. After reading through the order, shooting ranges, and firearms and ammo dealers are still considered essential, and as such, we plan to remain open our regular hours to continue to allow you to train with your firearms and exercise the natural rights reaffirmed by the 2nd Amendment.
We began limiting the occupancy of the retail and check-in area to 4 customers last week as well as cut our pistol range capacity in half, and we will be continuing those limitations. We will be evaluating the capacity of the rifle bay and that may be reduced as well.
You can read the entire executive order at this link. Here are some relevant excerpts as they apply to us. [Emphasis is ours.]
Section 1. Home or Work Order
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B. I hereby order and direct that effective Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at 5:00 p.m., any and all residents and visitors of the State of South Carolina are required to limit social interaction, practice “social distancing” in accordance with CDC guidance, and take every possible precaution to avoid potential exposure to, and to slow the spread of, COVID-19, and shall limit their movements outside of their home, place of residence, or current place of abode (collectively, “Residence”), except as allowed by this Order, for purposes of engaging in Essential Business, Essential Activities, or Critical Infrastructure Operations, as set forth below and as such terms are further defined herein.
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E. For purposes of this Order, Essential Activities shall mean and include as follows:
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2. Obtaining necessary supplies and services for family or household members, such as food and supplies for household consumption and use, medical supplies or medication, supplies and equipment needed to work from home, and products needed to maintain safety, sanitation, and essential maintenance of the home or residence. Preference should be given to online ordering, home delivery, and curbside pick-up and delivery options and services wherever possible as opposed to in-store shopping.
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3. Engaging in activities essential for the health and safety of family or household members, such as seeking medical, behavioral health, or emergency services.
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F. For purposes of this Order, Critical Infrastructure Operations shall mean and include as follows:
1. Individuals operating commercial vehicles transporting essential goods and products, such as food, water, medicine, medical supplies and equipment, fuels and petroleum products (to include fuel oil, diesel oil, gasoline, kerosene, propane, and liquid petroleum), livestock, poultry, feed for livestock and poultry, and crops and other agricultural products ready to be harvested (to include timber and wood chips); individuals employed by airlines; and individuals otherwise engaged in commercial transportation activities.
2. Individuals performing or assisting with military, healthcare, public safety, or emergency response operations, as well as any other operations or services identified by the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in its March 28, 2020 Memorandum, or any future amendments or supplements thereto, as essential to continued critical infrastructure viability. [Firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges are listed as essential critical infrastructure in the March 28th memo, which can be viewed here.]
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I. … 1. Emergency Maximum Occupancy Rate. The business shall limit the number of customers allowed to enter and simultaneously occupy the premises so as not to exceed five (5) customers per 1,000 square feet of retail space, or twenty percent (20%) of the occupancy limit as determined by the fire marshal, whichever is less.
J. This Section shall not be interpreted, applied, implemented, or construed in a manner so as to suspend, restrict, or otherwise limit the sale or transportation of firearms or ammunition or any component thereof.
If you’re like me, you’ve grown weary of seemingly everything online and on the news being about COVID-19. However, I realize it’s not going away anytime soon. Before all this became a “thing” we averaged about 5 or 6 phone calls per day. The past week or two we’ve been getting 3-4 times that many. The majority want to know the same thing…“Are you open?”
The short answer is, yes, we are operating under our normal business hours.
The long answer is, as of the writing of this post, the governor of South Carolina has not issued a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order. Even if there were one issued, the Department of Homeland Security has identified “workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” as Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce. We have made it clear to our staff it is NOT mandatory for them to come to work. If at any point our critical staff does not feel comfortable coming in to work, we will not open. Being primarily an outdoor venue, it’s possible to exercise your 2nd Amendment freedoms while practicing the social-distancing suggested by the CDC.
The next most common question is about ammo. Currently, we are running very low on handgun rounds, .223/5.56, & 7.62×39. What we have been able to get our hands on has cost us approximately 40% more than we were paying just 2 months ago. We use over a half-dozen suppliers, and none have any of the common ammunition calibers in stock. We would like to thank The Gun Vault on Two Notch Road for helping us get some 9mm & .223 last week. Their satellite location here at the range sold several handguns last week and all but 2 of the long guns in stock. I went by there today and they got a shipment of handguns yesterday & are expecting some long guns later this week.
Since we are running so low on ammo, the purchase of ammo at our location has been limited to what you use on-site only. We are allowing only 2 boxes at a time. Once you’ve shot those two boxes, you can come back in and get 2 more. It’s unfortunate that we’ve had to go to these extremes, but with the panic-buying of guns and ammunition that has taken place these past few weeks, it’s become necessary in order to keep anything in stock.
Classes that have been previously scheduled are still being conducted and we are keeping our calendar updated. We have always limited our classes to 10 students.
If anything major changes, we will send out another email and update our Facebook status, web site, and voicemail message.
We hope you all stay healthy, and remember, WASH YOUR HANDS!
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