Safety is the first and last consideration at the Whistling Pines Gun Club. There are no exceptions!
Safety is a two-way street: the range itself must be safe and operated in a safe manner at all times, and the members must shoot safely at all times.
Without a doubt, the range is the safest and cleanest in Colorado. The air handling and other range mechanical systems exceed OSHA standards. Every molecule of air brought into the range is flushed within 85–90 seconds, then HEPA-filtered before being exhausted from the building. The net result is that no lead dust is present in the air at the shooting line, nor is any lead dust introduced into the surrounding environment. The range floor is cleaned each evening. The club recycles over 3,000 pounds of lead and lead compounds each month, as well as hundreds of pounds of cartridge cases.
Each staff member is a shooter of many years’ experience and thoroughly familiar with all aspects of shooting safety. The range is monitored by recording closed circuit television at all times. The club staff is always available to answer questions and assist with problems. When in doubt, please ask!
Membership in the club is contingent upon reading and agreeing in writing to abide by the safety rules, which are clearly posted (see below.) Affordable introductory courses are available for novice shooters, as well as additional courses for intermediate and advanced shooters.
Any member, guest, or student who engages in unsafe practices may immediately forfeit membership in the club, along with all shooting privileges. The final decision is left up to the senior staff persons discretion.
Unsafe practices include, but are not limited to careless shooting, unsafe firearms handling, and disruptive behavior. The initiation fee and dues will not be refunded if membership is revoked for unsafe practices.
Whistling Pines Gun Club safety rules
- Shooting safety is ultimately the responsibility of each individual member, guest, and student. The Whistling Pines Gun Club (WPGC) does its utmost to promote and ensure safe gun handling, but must rely on the members to bring unsafe behavior and situations to the staff’s attention.
- All members and their guests are required to conduct themselves in a sensible, responsible, safe manner at all times. Unsafe, disruptive, disrespectful, or unruly behavior is not tolerated. Members are responsible for the behavior of their guests.
- There’s no age limit for children, as long as parents ensure the club’s high safety standards are upheld. If there is any doubt about a child’s safe gun handling skills, the parent must be directly supervising the child at the shooting position.
- Members are responsible for the safety and proper functioning of their firearms and ammunition, as well as their appropriate use.
- Sight and hearing protection are required on the range at all times.
- Firearms may be brought into and taken out of the building only in the following manner:
• Holstered: loaded or unloaded, concealed or unconcealed. Holstered firearms may not be drawn until the club member or guest is on the firing line.
• Boxed, bagged, or otherwise completely enclosed: unloaded only.
• Unboxed, unbagged, or otherwise unenclosed firearms may not be carried in hand, loaded or unloaded, in any portion of the building. Carrying a loaded firearm in hand will result in the immediate revocation of membership. - WPGC reserves the right to inspect firearms and ammunition for safety purposes prior to allowing their use in the facility. Use of armor piercing and tracer ammunition is prohibited, since they can damage the backstops.
- On the range, all firearms must be kept on the individual shooting positions, in boxes or other closed containers, or holstered at all times. Guns at the shooting positions must be positioned with muzzles facing the backstops. Shooters may reload magazines at the tables behind the shooting positions; all unboxed and unholstered firearms, however, must remain on the individual shooting positions with muzzles pointing downrange.
- Members are expected to sweep up their fired cartridge cases before leaving the range, since they constitute a hazard underfoot. Containers are provided for brass recycling; alternatively, members may simply sweep empty cartridge cases forward from the shooting line. Shooters whose cartridge cases fall behind the shooting line may take them home for reloading. Cartridge cases that fall in front of the firing line may not be retrieved, but become the property of the WPGC, and are recycled.
- Targets must be taped to cardboard backing sheets provided by the WPGC. Small targets must be positioned with their centers at the member’s shoulder height to prevent damage to the baffles and floor. It is the shooters responsibility to ensure that all rounds land in the steel bullet trap.
- Only one door to the sally-port (the small square room between the retail area and the range) may be opened at a time, since gunfire is injurious to human hearing.
- All ammunition used in WPGC rental firearms must be purchased from the club.
- Rental firearms are reserved for the exclusive use of WPGC members and their guests, as well as students enrolled in WPGC courses. Damage to rental firearms or associated accessories such as laser sights is the responsibility of the member.
- Member and guest use of the range may be limited to one hour and one lane during peak use periods. The WPGC accepts reservations from members in good standing by telephone, in person, and through this web site.
- Members who experience problems with firearms while on the firing line are required to leave their firearms at the firing line, pointed downrange, and seek assistance from the WPGC staff. No firearm, loaded or unloaded, may be carried by hand from the firing line or anywhere else in the building at any time.
- All damage to the building, including range facilities, through accidental or negligent actions is the financial responsibility of the member.
- WPGC reserves the right to revoke any membership at any time for any violation of a posted safety policy by the member and/or his or her guest without refunding the member’s initiation fee. Monthly dues are not refundable.
- WPGC reserves the right to revoke any membership at any time for any reason or no reason whatever by refunding the member’s initiation fee. Monthly dues are not refundable.
- Firearms stored at the WPGC must be retrieved by the same person who left them for storage. Proper identification (government-issued, with photograph) and documentation in a bound acquisition and disposition book are required by B.A.T.F.E. regulations.
- Firearms left for repair overnight or longer must be retrieved by the same person who left them for repair. If the person who left them for repair presents a signed release, another person may retrieve them, but a B.A.T.F.E. form 4473 and background check are required by law to release the firearm.
- WPGC reserves the right to make and enforce additional safety rules as needed.
