This is a great little gem in the DFW area. It is a private club but they do have public range days…read morewith a little casual shooting contest almost every weekend (check out the calender on their website). Most shooters there are guys and they are all very helpful towards new shooters, especially new female shooters. Don't worry if you don't own a gun. Most of the guys there are real friendly. Just buy 3 boxes (150 bullets) of 9mm ammo at your local sporting goods store and bring it there. Then, nicely bat your eyelashes at any guy there and he'll loan you his gun. About 95% of the guys there shoot 9mm because it is the cheapest. About 80% of the guys there shoot Glocks. A Glock 19 is a great gun for female shooters with small hands. If you discover you don't like the Glock, then you may want to go to a gun store and rent a 1911 or a .38 revolver to try before you decide what to buy. Glocks and clones such as the S&W M&P, 1911 and derivatives, and .38/.357 revolvers are all that you'll see on the range at the Dallas Pistol Club weekend shooting contests, so I take it that these guns are probably the easiest to shoot and the most reliable.
Anyways, why is the Dallas Pistol Club such a gem? In the heart of the metroplex, you have an OUTDOOR gun range. Most other ranges in the metroplex are indoors so you can't do redneck stuff like shoot reactive steel targets (steel pigs, goats, and other animal silhouettes that fall down when you shoot 'em). If you're handicapped, you could drive your car on to the range and literally roll out of your car directly into the first seat on the firing line. This is also the only gun range in the DFW area that allows rapid fire and draw from holster. If you draw from your holster, rapid fire, and do a mag dump at other ranges, the range master will have a cow and boot you from the range. The range master here would just smile and give you a thumbs up ;0)
The weekend shooting contests are very fun. If you've ever been to an indoor range, they are no fun. At indoor ranges, you shoot a a stale paper target a couple dozen times. That's it, sigh..... However, here you are timed while you run towards a wall with a window in it. You poke your head out the window and fire a couple shots at a dummy. Then, you run behind another wall, poke your head out from behind the wall and fire some more shots. You reload from behind the wall, then run behind a trash can and fire at some more dummies. Careful! Some dummies are NOT bad guys and if you shoot them then you lose the contest! There are 5 different stations, each with a different scenario for you to shoot and run through while being timed. It is athletic and fun, unlike indoor ranges. Also, you get to meet lots of helpful and friendly guys. It's a great way to spend 5 hours on Saturday or Sunday morning.
This place is easy and quick to get to because it is next to HWY 190. Also, it is very inexpensive for members. For about $23 a month, you have unlimited use of the range. If you go there once a month, you break even as most other gun ranges charge about $20 for a range fee. If you shoot more than once a month, then you've come out ahead.
Caveats; They are really strict about keeping the gun pointed forward downrange. If you are caught pointing the gun at the sky, you will be permanently cast out from the club. This is because a couple years ago, someone pointed a gun up, the gun went off accidentally, and when the bullet came back down, it ended in tragedy. So, they're really serious about safety and will kick you out if you point the gun in an unsafe direction. Also, because it is in the city of Carrollton, you are only allowed handguns and 22 caliber rifles. Shotguns are only allowed during supervised monthly contests. This is because higher caliber rifle bullets may ricochet over the targets and end up causing a tragedy. Because they are a limited membership private club and their prices are so low, the waiting list is 4+ years to join. I am still waiting to join.... Until I am a member, I will continue to go to their weekend bullet fests! Yee, haw, pardner!