Shooting ranges can be intimidating, especially if you’re looking to find reputable firearm training.
Step into the wrong range, and it feels like walking back into the gym after taking a few months—or years—off. There’s always SOME guy grunting in the corner, you don’t recognize a soul … and everyone looks at you like just walked in the door without wearing any pants.
On the flip side of that, walking into the right shooting range for firearm training is like strolling into your favorite coffee shop: a half-dozen people call you by name before the door even closes behind you, and your drink is already half made by the time you reach the counter.
That is exactly how a shooting range is supposed to be, and that is exactly what it’s like walking through the doors at Stock & Barrel.
For the Brand-New Shooter
The most difficult part of any new endeavor is trying to figure out where to start, and the intimidation factor often creeps in when you don’t know what you don’t know. As a state-of-the-art shooting range, Stock & Barrel’s model is a simple one: Cater to each and every shooter based on their individual skill and comfort level.
In a shooting range, the experience should be like ordering that favorite cup of coffee: You call the shots, and you order it however you like it. When it comes to firearms training, safety always comes first. But aside from that, there’s no template to follow except for your own comfort level. In fact, the training part comes only if and when you’re good and ready.
In the name of full disclosure, here’s what a new shooter class looks like at one of Stock & Barrel’s shooting lanes:
Introduction To Handgun Safety Class (1.5-hour class) Eagan / Chanhassen
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Beginner handgun safety and range safety
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Important factors in selecting a handgun
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Overview of handgun grip, sight picture (part of the aiming process), and trigger control
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Range time with an instructor
If you’re a new shooter, walk through the doors, find any employee and tell them this: “I have an interest in guns but I don’t know much about them.” Watch their face light up with excitement.
For Those Interested in Permit to Carry
Thinking about heading to a local shooting range and learning more about obtaining a permit to carry a handgun? How do you pick the right shooting range?
That question needs to be answered much differently than did just a few years ago.
Don’t settle for anything less than a range that caters to your personal safety—and that safety must go way beyond firearms.
If you walk into a gun club and get a strong smell of gun powder, they’re doing it wrong. Stock & Barrel built each shooting range around top-notch air purification systems, which means you can stand at the firing line and breathe easily. Plus, that means you can stop into the range for a session or a class … and still be fit for a night on the town when you’re done. No smells.
Covid-19 also changed the way Stock & Barrel addressed public safety. In addition to the air purification systems, each shooting range has been outfitted with a UV-C Disinfection System, which is medical-grade lighting designed to kill viruses. How’s that for state-of-the-art?
And just in case you’re still toeing the line about where to go for your personalized concealed carry training, here’s a peek into a few classes offers at the Stock & Barrel shooting ranges, for shooters of all skill levels looking to either obtain their permit to carry or new permit holders seeking additional training:
Permit to Carry (4-hour class) Eagan / Chanhassen
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Handgun and shooting range safety
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Basic shooting skills
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Laws pertaining to handgun ownership
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Range time with an instructor
Draw from the Holster (2-hour class) Eagan / Chanhassen
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Proper holster fit
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Holster placement considerations
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Fundamental five-step drawing technique
Judgment Skills 1.5 hour class) Eagan / Chanhassen
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Virtual range session
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Scenario-based decision-making
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Virtual range time with an instructor
Remember that coffee-shop feel? With a focus on student comfort, Stock & Barrel offers one-on-one training in addition to the small group experience, which is perfectly suited for a husband/wife combo or a group of friends all wanting to learn together.
For Those Interested in Home Defense
One of the fasted-growing reasons for buying a firearm is for home defense purposes, so if you land in this category, you’re far from alone. And when it comes to selecting a firearm dedicated to this purpose, opinions differ widely. Very widely.
For instance, should you use an AR-15, a shotgun, or a handgun? And if you choose a handgun, are there any drawbacks to using the same gun you USE for concealed carry? Ask three different gun owners and you’re very likely to receive three different responses.
So, that decision is yours alone … but how do you make the right call? Head to a local shooting range. The internet is a place to start, but it’s possible to trip on some bad—and potentially dangerous—information.
Stock & Barrel is staffed only with knowledgeable—and approachable—employees and instructors. Pick someone with an S&B shirt and start asking questions. Better yet, start with the conversation and solidify your decision with a home-defense-focuses course or two:
Surviving a Home Invasion (2-hour class) Eagan / Chanhassen
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Firearms selection
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Set up your residence to defend itself
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Contingency planning
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How to train family and other residents
Close-Quarters Shooting (2-hour class) Eagan / Chanhassen
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Learn to move, reload and find cover
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Low-light shooting instruction
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Shooting from seated positions
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
The first step of any journey is always the hardest, and the most challenging part of any shooting range experience is stepping through the front door.
If you’re willing to take that first step, everyone inside at Stock & Barrel will help ensure you fall in love with your firearms journey.
You May Also Be Interested In These Classes…
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Introduction To Handgun Safety in Eagan and Chanhassen
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Intro To Competition Shooting in Chanhassen
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