The Marksman

Reviews 3

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Chipper Xavier

The Marksman @ Newport News, VA As a U.S. citizen, an American has the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Exercising this right is an important rite of passage for any adult, especially since the Supreme Court has ruled that police are not required to protect individual citizens - they are only required to keep the peace of the society in which those citizens reside. You are required to protect yourself. There is no finer establishment for preparing citizens to defend themselves than the Marksman, located in Newport News, Virginia. The first step to keeping and maintaining firearms is relevant and up-to-date gun training. The Marksman offers classes on gun training as well as licensure and certification courses for civilian, security and police personnel. During my gun training courses in November of 2016, I interacted with Training Director Juan Bell and Sergeant Andy Duncan. Both instructors were skilled, respectful, knowledgeable, professional, friendly, likable and very approachable. They made the training fun and answered all questions without condescending to the students. As an attorney and former U.S. Navy veteran of 18 years, I can honestly say that these two men taught me things I had never learned with regard to firearms training and the laws which govern their usage. Training Coordinator Kathryn Stepp was instrumental in providing class scheduling information as well as forwarding the appropriate documentation to the Virginia DCJS in a timely fashion. She was friendly, approachable and very professional in her demeanor. The second step to keeping and maintaining firearms is finding and purchasing the equipment you need, as well as spending some time at the shooting range to sharpen your marksmanship skills. The gun store & shooting range at The Marksman are first rate. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful as well as being thorough and friendly. The store is clean, orderly, attractive and affordable. The store has a wide range of guns, ammunition and gun supplies, and the inventory is open to suggestion - if there is something you need or think they should sell, tell them - they may stock or provide it in the future. Last but not least, SAFETY is a primary concern for everyone with regard to firearms. The range at The Marksman properly utilizes current industry standards to ensure the maximum safety of staff, customers and students at all times. Positive identification is required to access the range area, eye and ear protection must be worn before entering the range area, and all ammunition is checked for appropriate type and usage. Lane assignments are made according to caliber, and certain types of ammunition, firearms and firing styles are banned from the range to make it a safer place for everyone. If you dont believe me, go see for yourself! I can honestly say that attending classes at The Marksman, purchasing from the store and shooting at the range have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life. - Chipper F. Xavier , Esq.

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Robert Haslip

Have never had a problem here until this past Saturday. Visited the range with a first time shooter on Friday morning. Range was not busy at all. Got in, shot, and got out without issue. Visited the range Saturday morning with a buddy, expecting to have to wait since it was a Saturday morning. Walked in told the young lady behind the counter we were there to use the range she told us it was a 20 minute wait. Totally understandable. Looked at the range board, 4 lanes unoccupied, saw the same thing on the range cameras. Ok, maybe they were down for whatever reason. Was asked what caliber we would be shooting, replied with "9mm, .45, .38 and .357 magnum." Ok no problem she said. While waiting browsed the pistols in the cabinet for sale. She then told me that her manager needed to see my gun. I inquired as to why, "well sir that looks like an AR15, you cant shoot that here" I told her it was an AR15 based 9mm pistol. At this point the manager came over and asked to verify the caliber. I gladly showed him. He asked the barrel length, which I responded with "10.5 inches" he then proceeded to tell me that I couldnt shoot it there because the longer barrel changed the ballistics of the round so dramatically that it would damage the range............. Uhm ok....... Took the pistol out to the car on the way back in my buddy was walking out. They told him that unless he took the box of .45-70 out of his range bag he couldnt shoot there. Even though there was nothing there that could chamber that round. Get back in and now a 3rd employee was checking my ammo. All FMJ 9mm. He pulled out my box of TUL AMMO and proceeded to tell me I could shoot that there because it was "steel cored" I tried to correct him and tell him it was steel cased not steel jacketed or steel cored. He informed me that it was steel cored but the manufacturer just doesnt put it on the box. Uhm ok ........... took that out to the car. Come back in yet again. Get on the range and start shooting. Group of guys next to us are shooting a pistol "movie gangster" style. rounds are skipping off the floor and the wall, one round strikes my target! They were given a warning by the range officer. We finished up our time and left. Staff was not helpful at all and lacked what seemed basic knowledge. Ventilation was horrible. Vents were covered in dust looked like they hadnt been cleaned in forever. Very bad experience on this day. I will be willing to travel to Virginia Beach to shoot at a cleaner, safer, more informed range for now on.

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steven longstreet

Acceptable range but a combination of some safety concerns and our love for rifle shooting will keep us driving further next time. If you visit - make sure to bring your own PPE and include a face mask to compensate for the poor ventilation. We visited the Marksman on a Saturday morning for my mother in law to breakin her new glock 19. The $14 fee for a concealed holder and the proximity drew us in. Store impression: The store was clean, they processed people onto the range quickly and seemed ok on gun knowledge. We had some confusion since we brought our own targets and stapler (you never know) but they insisted we use one of their big targets and put our targets over it. Odd but their house, their rules. Range impression: The shooting facility is a bit dated. Ventilation is old, the target system is hand cranked with enough slack keeping the targets low and the lighting is dim. No RSO was present on the range during our hour but I assume they watch on cameras. The guys who came in before us must have been doing something, were paged off the line and not seen again. While we had a good time- two things will keep us from visiting again on our pistol only days. 1.) Inadequate ventilation - Exposure to lead dust is no joke. While uncasing my firearms another shooter turned on a wall mounted fan behind us. My mouth dropped at seeing the air clear as a huge visible cloud of smoke formed and drifted down range. Still when we got home- we were blowing black snot out of our noses and my wife said we reaked. I shoot at a lot of ranges and I cant recall seeing ventilation not keeping up with even a crowded fast shooting room. If I visit again, Ill be wearing a particulate mask or a filtered regulator. 2.) We kept getting hit by bullet fragments from other shooters missing the backstop. The slack in the target system wires led to many targets hanging low. Three groups werent minding one of the four gun rules "Always Be Sure Of Your Target And What Is Behind It" and were routinely aiming for points near the bottom of their targets and hitting the floor.