Shooters World near Brownwood and another shooting range planned near Sumterville will save Sumter County from a need to develop its own shooting range for sheriff’s deputies.
“I can no longer recommend the pursuit of a shooting facility on the county’s property,” County Administrator Bradley Arnold wrote in a recent memo to commissioners.
Arnold said deputies will be able to use one or both ranges to meet firearms certification requirements.
The 55,000-square-foot Shooters World store and range on the northeast corner of County Road 44A and Powell Road will have 34 shooting lanes, including 27 for handguns. Seven 100-yard lanes will be for long rifles of less than 50-caliber.
Arnold said design plans are 80 percent complete and site clearing is expected to begin within two months.
He said another developer also has proposed a smaller shooting range near Sumterville.
Shooters World became interested in developing a range in the area because members of The Villages Straight Shooters Club take monthly bus trips to the company’s range in Tampa.
Shooters World also is developing a store and range in Orlando, where a 79,000-square-foot range, the largest is Florida, is planned on three acres off International Drive.
Women have become more concerned about personal safety and Shooters World offers classes tailored specifically to them.
