Robbie Craig fires a Glock Zev 15.

DALTON, Ga. — Gun enthusiasts and shooters-in-training have a new place in north Georgia to go to sharpen their skills.

Jack’s Pawn and Gun, a 35-year-old business at 214 S. Hamilton St. in Dalton, opened an indoor shooting range in late November. Local law enforcement officers are also teaching safety classes there.

The range is equipped with ballistic steel designed to sustain rifle fire. Owner Brad Dixon said they allow up to a .308 — a type of firearm sometimes used as a deer rifle — in the range. There are six lanes, each 25 yards long.

While the range is relatively small, employees said the store spent about $600,000 making it safe and comfortable.

“We have a lot of acoustic (technology) in here,” Dixon said.

He said Jack’s Pawn and Gun is itself a building enclosed in a bulletproof vault. The gun range has additional sound absorption that prevents shots from being heard from the street. From inside the store, the shots are as loud as a hammer.

Store manager Gaylon Redwine said the backdrop into which shooters fire is itself about 25 feet thick. That includes a roughly half-inch layer of ballistic steel.

Dalton resident Evan White said he’s been to the range several times since it opened. A regular Jack’s customer and avid shooter, White said he’s visited several indoor ranges within a day’s drive and considers Jack’s by far the nicest, if not the largest. Much of that is because of the air filtration system, he said.

“It’s a state-of-the-art facility,” White said. “If (an indoor range) doesn’t have a good air system, it just takes a few minutes and it’s almost like you can’t stand it.”

Dixon said the filtration system is important to keep shooters from breathing the inevitable lead dust that disperses into the air. Redwine said there are 13 filters the air circulates through in the hospital-grade heating and cooling system.

“I think it’s great we’ve got a place like that in town we can go to,” said White. “I think it’s a great thing for the city of Dalton and for them. I believe it’s going to help their business.”

The range is in what used to be Thomason’s Department Store before Jack’s bought the building in 1988, Dixon said. Jack is Dixon’s father. The old department store area had been used for storage until this year when work began on the range.

Upstairs above the pawn shop is an expansive room for community classes taught by local law enforcement officers with firearms certification. A three- to four-hour defensive handgun course costs $125. A class on Georgia laws pertaining to carrying and using firearms is $65. Wednesdays are reserved for courses for women.

Some classes have a minimum requirement for the number of students. Jack’s can also schedule corporate events for businesses wanting to train their employees.

“It’s a genuinely community-oriented project and facility,” Redwine said. “It’s meant to drive people to be safe and proficient (when they use firearms).”

The range sells basic and premium memberships for individuals and families that cost between $250 and $649. Basic membership entitles a shooter to unlimited visits, lane reservations, a free guest pass and one free rental per year. Premium memberships include other perks such as unlimited free gun rentals, 12 free guest passes per year, discounts on training classes and free Jack’s gear.

Redwine said the gun rentals might be especially appealing to individuals who are new to shooting. Instead of having to decide upfront what kind of firearm to purchase, a customer can pay a $10 rental fee to borrow one from Jack’s and try it out at the range.

Redwine said Jack’s already has well over 150 members since the gun range opened. Visitors can shoot without a membership for $15 for half an hour or $20 for one hour.

Experienced shooters may enter the range alone. A range safety officer will be on hand to monitor newer shooters, Dixon said. Also, every shooter must undergo a safety briefing before being allowed on the range for the first time. A network of five surveillance cameras is focused on the range at all times, and the feed is visible on televisions around the gun shop.

Minors 12 years and older can use the range with a parent present.

The range is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.