The Nimrod Complex, the newest addition of the John A. Halter Shooting Sports Center, is now welcoming the public to apply for memberships.
“We offer all of the shotgun disciplines and competition, as well as air precision, smallbore, centerfire rifle and pistol opportunities, archery, and action shooting practice and competition,” said Action Shooting & Training Coordinator Zechariah Steiger. “We have several membership opportunities available tailored to specific interests with a 50% discount for staff and faculty.”
The Nimrod Center includes 60 indoor precision lanes, 20 indoor archery lanes, 24 smallbore lanes, 12 covered retractable centerfire pistol lanes, a 24-person classroom for Concealed Pistol License and college courses, seating for 300 in the main room, storage space, and a viewing area overlooking the ranges, according to the college’s press release.
Steiger said visiting the Halter Range is a great way to get a feel for what the Halter Shooting Sports Education Center has to offer.
“It is also home to our partner pro-shop, Liberty & Co., which can help you with all of your firearm and firearm accessories purchases, questions, or needs,” Steiger said. “It also has 12 covered and heated outdoor firearms lanes that will be particularly handy in the winter when the weather turns cold.”
Guests will receive an initial safety brief and are required to fill out a waiver, according to Steiger. New members will also receive a walk through to help them get a feel for the range.
“The Halter Center has a fantastic range of capabilities for anyone interested in the shooting sports disciplines, whether practice, competition, or recreation, and we look forward to helping facilitate any questions or opportunities people have interest in,” Steiger said.
Junior Zakira Masslich, a member of Hillsdale’s precision shooting club, said she is grateful to have more space to practice with her team in the complex.
“It’s been helpful, just to have extra space so we can all shoot at one time,” Masslich said. “Last year, we were having to have half the team practice for a few hours and then switch so then the rest of the team could practice, just because we did not have enough lanes.”
With the addition of the Nimrod Complex, Masslich said her team is able to host matches and events, which have brought more interest in shooting, both at the college and in the surrounding area.
“We even have space for a locker room. It just makes the whole overall practice a lot more efficient,” Masslich said. “We also have a smallbore range, so we can shoot smallbore in addition to the air guns that we have. So it’s really nice to have another discipline.”
Additionally, the Nimrod Center has electronic targets, according to Masslich.
“The electronic targets make it very important for practicing and being able to just to get immediate results and see how our shooting has been,” Masslich said. “It’s been able to help everybody on the team improve. I think pretty much everybody saw immediate improvements to the shooting and basically just learned about what they’ve been doing wrong, what to do right as soon as we switched ranges. And also a lot of the matches we shoot at are electronic, so it’s good prep for that.”
The Nimrod Center also has a locker room and classroom that can be used for various gun classes, Masslich said.
“The Nimrod Complex allows us to offer even more opportunities for education, training, competition, and recreation for shooters of all levels,” Range Director Matt Little said in the press release. “We hope that these new membership options will enable even more people to enjoy the shooting sports at the Halter Center.”
For more information, contact the front desk of Halter at 517-610-5593 or stop by the range.
