All new businesses open their doors gunning for success, but a new Cornelius concern is taking that phrase literally.

The Range At Lake Norman is locked and loaded and taking dead aim at filling what its owners, Brian and Tricia Sisson along with Dave and Trish Stukbauer, say is a void in the marketplace. The state-of-the-art indoor firing range and gun shop is set to open this Saturday on Bailey Road.

On Tuesday, members and others got their first look at the range’s 15 shooting lanes, retail space, members lounge, classroom space and the main attraction — a law enforcement training simulator — during a reception and “ribbon shooting,” during which Cornelius commissioners Lynette Rinker and Thurman Ross, Mayor Jeff Tarte and North Carolina Speaker of the House 
Thom Tillis loaded up and took out, rather than cut, the ceremonial ribbon.

As tricky as the ceremonial Chamber of Commerce scissors can be from time to time, the ribbon shooting was even more so. It took two full rounds of ammo to take down the ribbon stretched across four lanes at about five yards away.

Prior to January 2010, the Sissons had no idea they’d find themselves involved in a firing range. And the Stukbauers were tending to their own business, owning and operating Lake Norman Sporting Arms in Jetton Village, where they offered conceal/carry classes that required a shooting range session for completion.

It was at one of those classes that the Sissons met Dave Stukbauer for the first time.

“We took the course and Dave told everyone to load into their cars and drive to Rowan County to a shooting range there — an outdoor range in January,” says Tricia Sisson. “Brian started asking Dave questions about why there wasn’t an indoor range around here, and he said with Mecklenburg County zoning, he didn’t know if he would even want to deal with that.”

That conversation was the beginning of a sequence of rapid-fire events that eventually led to a partnership, and the construction of the range. It was about that same time the National Rifle Association held a seminar in Charlotte, highlighting what entrepreneurs needed to know about owning and operating a gun range, which Brian Sisson, who otherwise runs his own business as an IT consultant, attended.

“Brian was between contracts,” says Tricia Sisson, “so he took a week to go to Charlotte and did the course, came back and said, ‘I think we can make this work based on the numbers and everything they told me.’ I said what I always say when he has one of his brilliant ideas, and that was write me a business plan.”

Which he did. The numbers appeared to work and the hunt for a location began, first for an existing building to retrofit, but settling on a piece of property in foreclosure on Bailey Road. And as it turned out, neither Mecklenburg County nor Cornelius zoning requirements were a significant hurdle. The biggest issue during the range’s public hearing and approval process was
the color of the building, which resembles a Southwestern lodge.

Like any solid business plan, Tricia Sisson says the impetus for The Range At Lake Norman was need driven.

“There was a market for this, and at the time there weren’t any indoor ranges in this area,” she says. “Since then, Point Blank opened in Mooresville and Eagle (Gun & Range) opened in Concord. Both of them, from what we can tell, are doing well, but we’ve gotten so much positive feedback about our facility and our location, and with some of the nuances and differences we have in this facility versus the others, I think we are going to have a real good turnout.”

Not shooting blanks

Early indications are she could be right. Nearly all of The Range At Lake Norman’s $10,000 equity memberships have been sold. Similar to those at country clubs, the equity memberships are lifetime memberships that are actually a partial ownership share of the facility. Tarte was the first equity membership holder, and no more will be offered once the doors open to the public on Saturday.

The Range offers several levels of individual and family memberships, but only equity, lifetime and annual members will have access to the exclusive members lounge with its bistro tables, leather sectional sofa and wide-screen TV. Those membership levels will have priority use of the lounge for private events as well as the police training simulator.

The simulator projects hundreds of scenarios on a giant screen, many of them featuring variables, to provide for training with a variety of weapons from an automatic rifle to pepper spray. It’s designed for law enforcement training, and the owners intend for it to be used as such, but it’s also available to members, groups and the public as well. The public does have access to the store — the Stukbauers have relocated their retail operation there — and the range. For $17 per day, following a brief background check requiring a driver’s license or other valid ID, anyone can use the range if they purchase all of their ammunition from the retail store. The Range is a low-lead/no-lead facility.

“We are trying to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing the use of lead,” says Tricia Sisson. “We have a state-of-the-art HVAC system that virtually will take any dust from the guns firing out. You’re not going to breathe that. The reduction of lead eliminates lead buildup over time. In addition to that, we are the first solar-powered range in the country. We will have solar panels on the roof to help offset our energy use. We are replacing all the halogen light bulbs in the range with LED lights to reduce the amount of power we use.”

The Range At Lake Norman has 15 25-yard firing lanes, six of them tactical lanes specially designed for police training. The partners hope to draw the three north Mecklenburg towns’ police departments, who now travel to Charlotte or other locations for weapons training and certification, as well as any other regional law enforcement agencies to train at the range. The tactical lanes allow for turning, approaching targets and other needs for police training. Rifles can be used on the tactical lanes, handguns only on the others.

And more than a firing range, retail store, training center and alcohol-free lounge — “We don’t mix alcohol with shooting,” says Tricia Sisson — The Range At Lake Norman will offer classes in conceal/carry and advanced weapons, self-defense, women’s self-defense, stun guns and pepper spray, and more. “We want to offer classes for high school seniors who are going off to college on how to protect themselves on campus, and to Scouts, home schoolers and others, teaching them about firearms safety and self-defense,” Sisson says.

A range officer, one of at least 10 full-time employees, will monitor all lanes when in use. The staff will include two gunsmiths to clean, repair and inspect guns, as well as restore antique weapons. There will also be two trainers as well as retail staff. All employees either already have or will have their conceal/carry permits, and they will carry weapons openly inside the facility.

Members will have lockers available to store their guns on site and all shooters have use of a cleaning station if they choose. The Range also offers gun rentals for those who don’t have their own.

Along with the staff, Sisson says they will have “a lot of help from a lot of family.” But the family labor won’t come free. “They’re all charging us in one way or another.”

Want to shoot?

For more information about hours, rates, memberships and other services offered by The Range At Lake Norman, visit www.therangeatlakenorman.com or call 704-895-3155. The Range At Lake Norman is at 10913 Bailey Road.