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Shooting range a well-kept secret in Bear Down Gym

What students may not know as they wander by the rows of basketball courts is that in the bowels of Bear Down Gymnasium, firearms are not only allowed, but expected.

The underground shooting range is the only place on the University of Arizona's no-weapon campus where guns are permitted and regularly fired.

Reserve Officer Training Corps classes are the primary group that uses the facility. The main use of the range, which is 50 feet from the shooter to the target, is to practice proficiency so that they can advance in their gunmanship.

"I don't know what the policy is on non-ROTC students using the range - it's never been a issue," U.S. Army Master Sgt. Brad Clark said. "We've never had a group like a frat say, 'Hey we want to use the range for target practice.' I have no idea what the response would be."

Bear Down Gym was built in 1926 and the shooting range is thought to have been added during the 1930s, said John Madero, supply specialist of the range.

Madero said fraternities and other UA organizations are allowed to practice on the range. The local chapter of the Boy Scouts of America and local 4-H clubs also use the facility, but they must receive permission from the Army ROTC and then from the UA Department of Risk Management.

"Once they have an OK from risk management, they can use the range. They'd have to bring their own weapons," he said. "It has to be an organization though - we can't let a couple of kids go in there and start shooting unmonitored."

The range can only handle .22-caliber ammunition. A .22-caliber bullet makes holes barely larger than a BB.

In order to keep bullets from ricocheting within the range, the rear wall is lined with plywood on top of a metal plate.

Another possible concern is the toxic lead dust emitted when the guns are fired.

"Our biggest concern is that they (the shooters) don't get sick from the dust," said Herb Wagner, assistant director of risk management.

The range has a sophisticated filtering system that pushes the lead-tainted air to the back of the range and up through several filters. The air is cleaned and released above ground.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration works with the UA Army ROTC to make sure the facility is safe. The range is completely cleaned once a month and the filters are changed regularly.

"Our motto is safety first, training second," Madero said. "Safety is the most important thing."

The Army branch of ROTC holds the keys to the facility and the other branches have to coordinate with them the date and length of time they can use the range.

All branches - Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines - include marksmanship and gun safety in their curriculum.

"The range is used based on what the instructors want and it works pretty well," Clark said.