F O P Range Inc

Information may not be reliable

Welcome! The F.O.P. Range is the nicest family oriented shooting range around. The F.O.P. Range is located just outside Birmingham, Alabama, in Pleasant Grove. The Range facility has eight outdoor ranges, each with a covered shooter's area up-range to permit year-round use in all weather. It is located about 15 minutes from the I-59/65 interchange, making it a short drive from anywhere in Birmingham. See Virtual Tour for a guided tour of the range or see Range Features for detailed info about each of the Ranges or take a look at the aerial photos.

Public Range Open!!! Yes, we have a great place to safely enjoy firearms. The big range beside the office is a "Public" range that is open to the general public for a small daily fee and staffed by friendly Range Officers who will ensure the range is safely run. The rest of the facility (the other 7 ranges) is a members only use area. The only requirements for range use are that you legally possess the firearms you are shooting and you are safe while you are here. See the "Public Range" link for pictures and more info.
Is this going to be your first trip to the Range??? Check out the First Range Trip page for tips and instructions what to expect when you get here and how to get the most out of your day at the range. Please take a few minutes to review the Public Range Safety Rules posted there.
Gun Rentals Available!! Due to the high demand, we now are able to offer guns for rent. About 1 out of 10 calls I get here asks me if we rent guns. The answer to that question is YES. We have got several for you to chose from. The rental fee is only $10. Wanna shoot but ain't got a gun yet? Come on out to the range anyway and use a one of ours. We'll even clean it when you're done. We have handguns from .22LR to 44 Magnum ready to go.
Sight in your rifles... The Public Range is ready for you to use to sight in your rifles. The best time to come is during the week. On weekends, it gets a little busier. We have a dozen concrete benchrest tables on the Public Range and another 6 on the Members Range for this purpose. We open at 9:00 am but if you get here a little earlier than that, we will get you signed in and set up, ready to make some noise at 9:00. The range fee is only $20 per person with kids at 1/2 price with a paying adult. There is no limit on how long you can use the range, the number of guns you shoot or number of shooters with you. Shoot all day if you want.
If you arrive late in the day, after 3:00, you can come the next day for free...
"after 3, next day free!"
Your range fee gets you use of the public range for a full day, should you need it. We'll loan you use of a rifle rest and spotting scope if you need them. Targets and ammo at reasonable prices are also available. A Range Officer is always on site, watching for safe gun-handling, assisting you with any problems you may be having and keeping it safe for everyone to enjoy. See the Rifle Sight's Info and Rifle Sight's Tips pages for more info.
Public Range use fee increase...Due to the current state of the local economy, we have had to make a the hard decision to increase the fee we charge to use the facility. In order to keep up with the rising costs of keeping the facility open, the rate increase is the only feasable solution. The new rate is a flat $20 per day. The old rate was $15 on weekdays and $20 on weekends. The increase is reasonable and necessary for the continued operation of the facility.

The best deal going is the new monthly payment memberships(see below). For $15 a month, you get a single membership that provides use of the entire facility for you and any guests you bring. For $20 a month, you will have a family membership, providing range use to you, your spouse and kids up to 20 and any guests you want to bring. The initiation fee to get a membership started is only $50. The dues payments are collected automatically on the first of each month using the debit or credit card number you provide. The is no cancellation fee, termination fee, or bounced transaction fee. Stay a member as long as you want. We need and have plenty of room for more members. This is a great place for you to enjoy your guns with your family and friends.
NEW!! Monthly Payment Plans for Memberships AvailableMonthly Memberships are back!!! Anyone can join the range as a member and now pay for thier membership monthly. Joining is now easier than ever. This is how it works... Come to the range, tell the guys you wanna join, fill out a membership application and agreement, pay a $50 up front initiation fee, get a range safety orientation and you are in and have use of the whole facility. Then, on the first business day of each month, a dues payment is collected using a debit / credit card transaction.
There are three types of memberships, Limited, Single, and Full.

Its a great way to get use of the full facility for a month for what it costs to shoot for one day on the public range. Joining the range is a no-brainer. There is no long term contract or commitment. No early termination fees. Stay a member as long as you want. Quit when you need to. Call the range or see the range web site membership page for more info.

You can join the range and have full use of the entire facility for an annual fee. There are several options for you to choose from. See the Membership Info page for more information about these plans. The first table below lists the new prices. Once you join, your annual range dues will not change as long as you maintain your membership.

Range Newsletter '09This is the 2009 Range Newsletter. I have a few updates and info about things happening at the range. I'll update the range newsletter periodicaly so check it often.
Range Newsletter '08I know this is now 2009, but, the '08 page has a ton of good information about problems we are having at the range. There are tons of pictures of the intentional destruction of stuff here by our members. The solution to the destruction is education. We have to get the word out about what is cool to shoot here and what is not. See this page for an illustrated page filled with what is not cool to shoot here.
I was moved to crank one out after filling my digital camera with pictures of stuff damaged here at the range by our members. See the Range Newsletter '08 by clicking here or the link in the top of the stack to the left.
***** UPDATE***** Due to the theft of hundreds of loaner staplers, eye protection and ear muffs over the last few years, we no longer provide them for members. I lost 9 staplers last weekend. Enough is enough. I even tried painting them pink so no one would want one away from the range. If you didn't buy it and still took it home, you stole it. Members who shoot paper targets will need to bring their own staplers or buy one at the range office. We stopped loaning out eye and ear protection a few months ago for the same reason. They also are available for purchase at the range office if you did not bring your own. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. If you see a guy dig a pink stapler out of his bag, thank him for screwing up a good thing for everyone else here.
Big Changes occurred on June 1, 2002... There are some big changes to the range and the way things are done here that went into effect June 1, 2002. All the changes are designed to bring more shooters to the facility so we can grow, improve the facility, and ensure a long future for the range. These changes have been very beneficial so far. See the "Big Changes" link for full details.
Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary Gifts... There still is no better gift than a membership to the range. Got a birthday or special event coming up for someone who enjoys target shooting? Now is a great time to ask for or give the best gift you can lay your hands on... a membership to the range. It is a gift that gives for the whole year. The details about the different memberships are posted below. Can't swing the membership? That's OK, get them a day on the Public Range for them to enjoy. Gift Certificates are available in any amount. Call the range for more info. 205-744-2600. A range membership is a gift that will give all year long and will be enjoyed by the whole family.

Online Gun Store Open for Business!!! The F.O.P. Range Inc. has partnered with Davidson's Gallery of Guns to provide you with a powerful shopping tool and really good deals on the firearms you want. Take a look at the Online Gun Store page for details. All guns are priced at 10% over dealer cost with 1000's to choose from. This is a cool place to see what all guns should cost. Guns are shipped to the range where we handle the transfer to you. It is super easy to get the gun you want at the best price in town.

The Range is always staffed by friendly people knowledgeable in the safe use and care of firearms who can help you with just about any problems or questions you may have.

The Range has regular hours; open 7 days a week, from 9:00 AM until 6:30 PM Monday through Saturday and from 12:00 noon until 5:00 PM Sunday.

The Range has running water, electricity and restroom facilities (not port-a-potties or a designated tree) as well as air conditioning or heat in the well stocked Pro Shop / Office.

Everything you could need at the Range is here for you. Rifle rests, pistol rests, target stands, and a chronograph are available for you to use for free. Ammo, targets, staplers, eye and ear protection are available at reasonable prices in the range office.

Range Web Site Goodies... The "Swap Meet" is a classified page for you to look for, sell, swap or trade firearms related stuff. No SPAM please. I will check them both often and delete postings in poor taste, with swearing, SPAM, etc. to keep this a great family oriented shooting site. Use them both as often as you want. They are here for you.
The "Range Puzzle" page is for those who are really bored and want to kill some time. The puzzles are from digital pictures I took of events at the range. Some are pretty funny. The Self Defense Handbook is an excellent guide to useful self-defense tactics and awareness of what is going on around us and how we should prepare for any encounter. Take the time to read it and tell others about it. The Guns and Gear section... Here you can check out what guns we are using in competition, what modifications we made, and why we made them. The intent is not for a braggin' page about the guns the competitors have but to inform those interested in competition what works and why. Many of us have learned the hard way what works. We have spent thousands on guns and gizmos that now gather dust or were traded off so we could try something else. I have taken some digital pictures or the shooter's guns and added a detailed text about each gun, its modifications, the costs of the modifications, and why the modifications were made. The Guns and Gear Section is under Competition Events to the left. This web site is growing. As I have more participation from the competition shooters, I will add more guns and gear for you to read about. I want to add worthwhile content to the range web site. Some of these pages use BraveNet's free service and we will have a few ads to put up with. I will continue to maintain this site, improving it as I am able. Enjoy.

NEW! Top Shot Match!!! (as seen on TV...)
We were looking for something to do as a match to keep things interesting. Banging on steel plates has always been fun but after a while, it gets stale. Then the "Top Shot" tv show came along on the History channel. If you have not found it, check out the History channel online and on Youtube.com. After much discussion, planning, and hard work, we are able to hold a monthly event here that uses a similar match format. All competitors shoot the same gun at the same targets. All the targets are falling or frangible. If you hit it, it falls or busts. Each hit counts for score. Top score wins. The targets are the same for each competitor. The challenge is the same for each competitor. We have several stages that will challenge the best marksman. This match is designed to test marksmanship ablility. Focus, aim, hold, squeeze. At the first match held, 09-11-10, we had a handful of competitors who heard about this match and came to see what it was about.
We shot a .22LR handgun stage shooting falling NRA Silhouette steel targets, the chickens, pigs, turkeys,and rams, at 8, 10, 12, and 15 yards. No body cleaned it. The best we could do was 16 out of the 20 plates. The gun used was a Browning Buckmark Target semi auto with a bull barrell and adjustable sights. The shooter got one mag, with 10 rounds to play with to warm up for this stage. The plates were reset and he has 60 seconds to engage the first two racks of plates at 8 and 10 yards with the 10 rounds in the first magazine. The timer is reset, the gun reloaded, and he has another 60 seconds to engage the last two racks at 12 and 15 yards. We shot this stage twice for score.
The next stage was a 35 target falling steel plate stage where the shooter had 35 rounds to engage as many of the plates as possible before the 90 second time limit was reached. The targets on this stage are full sized Pepper Poppers, US Poppers, NRA Hunter Silouette plates, 4", 6", 8" and 10" round plates. Nobody got to the NRA chicken rack. It was a blast to shoot. We used a Berretta 92 with fixed sights and 4 magazines. High score was 27 plates. Future matches will have 40 plates and 40 rounds to use. Look for Glocks, XD's, 1911's, etc. at each match as the gun shot.
The next stage was a shotgun stage. We set up 10 shooting positions in a horseshoe shape with the clay target thrower in the center. Each shooter had 10 rounds to engage 10 birds with. We used a new Franchi X12 semi auto for this stage. The shots from the ends of the horseshoe were the hardest. The high score here was 6. Look for different shotguns and the thrower to be placed in a different area at each match.
All anyone needs to do to compete is bring the entry fee ($25) and four boxes of ammo (one 50 round 22LR, one 50 round 9mm, one 20 round .223, and one 25 round 12 gauge) to use. We'll provide the gun and stages to shoot. keep score, and pay the winner. In case of a tie (it is possible to have multiple shooters with the same final score) we will go to a man on man shoot-off. Two guys go to the line with a plate rack in front of each and two pepper poppers between the racks that overlap when they fall. On the start signal, each shoots down the plates on his rack and then knocks over his popper. The popper on the bottom advances. We have a pair of Glock 17's to use for the shoot-off. The competitors who reach the shoot-off will need another 50 rounds of 9mm.
Who won the first Top Shot Match? It was a mechanic named Wesley. If you followed the event as it aired on TV, you saw that even the best in the world can miss. Anyone can win this thing. Here is the fun part. The first place prize is 1/2 the match fees paid by competitors to enter. Do the math. If we fill it to capacity, 40 shooters, that is a $500 payback on a $25 entry fee. 4 squads of 10 shooters each will shoot a 4 stage event. We start at 9:00 am sharp on the second Saturday of each month. The stages will be changed up month to month to keep it interesting. Look for more handgun stages, rifle stages, bow and arrow stages, wrist rocket slingshot stages, falling steel plates, frangible clay pigeons and water balloons in the upcoming matches. By getting the competitors to bring thier own ammo, we keep the match cost down.

See the competition events page for more info on other shooting events we hold here on occasion.
Join the F.O.P. Range Email list... Submit your email address and I will keep you updated about the events and happenings here at the range. I have been missing the boat by not trying to compile an email list to use to share this information. I won't spam anyone, just let you know about any specials, sales, matches, or news about the range. Click the Join Email List link to the left and fill out a short form.