Indoor gun range slated for outside Lewes

Looking to meet the demands of the growing gun-owning population of eastern Sussex County, West Rehoboth gun shop owners Ron Hagan and Hank Rickards are opening an indoor shooting range outside Lewes.

In the past 18 months, there have been 10.5 million new U.S. gun owners, said Hagan. Some of those folks are from this area, and some have moved to this area recently, he said.

In addition to the growing population, Hagan said there has been a lot of development in the area over the last 30 years, and a lot of firearms enthusiasts have lost use of the farmland they were once able to practice on.

“We saw a need for a facility like this,” said Hagan. “This will give people who own guns the ability to train in a safe and secure environment.”

The new building will be located on the northbound side of Route 1, just north of the Nassau Bridge, on land that’s been in the Hagan family for generations. There’s a house on the property now that Hagan said he expects to be demolished in the next couple of weeks.

The new building will be one story, just under 10,000 square feet in size, said Hagan. In addition to the retail shop featuring the same items as the West Rehoboth location has, there will be two bays – one 15-yard bay that has seven lanes and will be used for pistols and shotguns, and another 25-yard bay that can be used for pistols, shotguns and rifles.

Hagan said the building will feature a state-of-the-art ventilation system to remove particulates from the air and a layer of high-tech rubber along almost all the walls of the ranges to dampen the noise coming from rounds of fired bullets.

“There will still be some reverberation, but not like shooting in a room with just concrete walls, which is what most indoor ranges have,” said Hagan.

Hagan said the range will be open to the public, but will also have membership offerings. There will be firearms rentals and training services too, he said, adding there will also be four units next to the range that will be available for rent.

In addition to the new building and services, Hagan and Richards have changed the name of their already-existing gun retail store from American Responder Services to Best Shot.

Hagan said the name change was done to make it easier for customers to know what kind of business they are running. People were getting confused, thinking that American Responder Services was for first responders, he said.

Hagan and Rickards opened American Responder Services in May 2018 on Hebron Road in West Rehoboth. Hagan said he’s not sure if the original location will remain open after the new building is operational. Some of it will depend on the ability to staff both, he said.

If all goes as planned, said Hagan, the new building will be open almost exactly four years after the West Rehoboth opening – May 2022.

“It’s exciting, but I’m scared to death, too,” said Hagan, laughing. “I’ve never owed so much money in my life.”

For more information on Best Shot, go to bestshotde.com or call 302-567-2530.