![\"LotusGunRange1\"](\"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/LotusGunRange1.jpg\")
PROVO, Utah \u2013 March 28, 2013 \u2013 Action Target engineers are doing more on the beaches of Florida this spring than just surfing or getting a tan: they are designing the biggest bullet trap ever built.<\/p>\nPROVO, Utah \u2013 March 28, 2013 \u2013 Action Target engineers are doing more on the beaches of Florida this spring than just surfing or getting a tan: they are designing the biggest bullet trap ever built.<\/p>\n
Lotus Gunworks of Jensen Beach, Fla., will be opening its doors next week and inviting shooters to try out its new double-decker shooting range featuring a two-story steel funnel bullet trap. Nicknamed the Lotus 8\/11 for the number of steel panels used to create it (eight panels on the bottom slope and 11 panels on the top slope), this version of Action Target\u2019s Total Containment Trap is the first of its kind.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one has ever seen a range like this before,\u201d Lotus Gunworks\u2019 Director of Operations Robbie Abell said. \u201cWe\u2019re truly making industry history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abell stumbled into the gun industry a few years back when he and a family member decided to go in on a gun store. It seemed like a crazy idea, he said, but with a little bit of luck and ingenuity, they just might be able to make it work.
\n\u201cWe spent about eight months riding around different areas and looking at gun ranges,\u201d Abell said. \u201cAfter some research, we ran into Action Target and were introduced to the local shooting range consultant Robb Anderson. After that it was a no-brainer, so we freight trained forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"LotusGunRange2\"](\"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/LotusGunRange2-300x196.jpg\")
They found an existing building in Jensen Beach that met their needs but quickly ran into issues when it became apparent there would not be enough room for two adjacent ranges and a gun store. Abell did not want to cut back on the number of ranges, so the only option was to make a double-decker range where both levels shot into the same bullet trap.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t ever been done before, and at first, the answer was that it couldn\u2019t be done,\u201d Abell said. \u201cI believed there had to be a way, and after three weeks of pushing, I got a call from Robb at Action Target saying, \u2018We think we might be able to do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was to extend the Total Containment Trap (usually just 8 feet tall) to a whopping 19 feet and to mount steel cross beams to support the Mancom Touch \u2018N\u2019 Go target retriever system.<\/p>\n
With the equipment issues resolved, the next hurdle was proper ventilation to prevent customers and employees from being exposed to hazardous lead dust. The sheer size of the room presented a unique challenge, so Lotus Gunworks enlisted the help of industry ventilation specialists Carey\u2019s Small Arms Range Ventilation.<\/p>\n
Despite doubts that a range that tall could be ventilated at all, Carey\u2019s managed to create a system that not only met environmental standards, but exceeded ventilation standards for even federal shooting ranges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe air flow in the upper level was the best I have seen on any range, and the airflow on the bottom was also very good,\u201d Carey\u2019s controls and commissioning tech Mark Hanson said. \u201cThis was one of the easiest range ventilation systems we\u2019ve installed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from being environmentally safe by completely replacing range air every 80 seconds, all of the filtered air pumped into the range is refrigerated, which, according to Abell, is a pretty big deal in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want this to be the most comfortable range possible,\u201d Abell said, \u201cand we\u2019re doing that with refrigerated air, great lighting, great service and friendly employees. We want people to come and stay. We want this to be a destination point where you hang out for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lotus Gunworks is especially friendly to new shooters with a Ti Training simulation system that allows those completely new to shooting to try it out on a real gun equipped with a laser before hitting the range. Friday night fun shoots will also allow people to try out a variety of firearms including fully automatic rifles.<\/p>\n
The range is expected to open for business the first week of April and will be holding a grand opening celebration April 20.<\/p>\n
About Action Target Inc.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Action Target Inc. is a privately owned business headquartered in Provo, Utah. As the world leader in shooting range technology with more than 4,000 products and 40 patents for the systems it designs and manufactures, Action Target has installed thousands of shooting ranges across the United States and in 25 other countries around the world. Action Target also designs systems and conducts firearms training for law enforcement and various military divisions. For more information on Action Target, visit www.ActionTarget.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lotus Gunworks of Jensen Beach, Fla., will be opening its doors next week and inviting shooters to try out its new double-decker shooting range featuring a two-story steel funnel bullet trap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":21411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[345,2963],"class_list":["post-21410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-from-the-industry","tag-action-target","tag-lotus-gunworks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}