The new Public Safety Firing Range for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office features two state-of-the-art, fully tactical indoor walkdown ranges: a 10-point, 100-yard range and an 18-point, 50-yard range equipped with sidewall bullet traps to support 180-degree target engagement. Together, these ranges significantly improve the training conditions and opportunities for the Sheriff’s Office, replacing an existing, obsolete outdoor facility where effective usage was limited by lighting, weather conditions, and proximity to a growing population.
24-Hour Operation & Noise Control:
A key advantage of the new indoor range is its ability to accommodate 24-hour operation, enabling Loudoun County to more effectively train its large force. The desire for expanded training hours and the range’s location in a rural residential area presented the project’s central challenge – meeting Loudoun County’s day- and night-time noise restrictions. The design team addressed noise control using multiple measures. Constructed primarily of concrete, which naturally reduces noise transmission, the facility is also lined with acoustical material to reduce interior noise levels. Other measures include exterior doors selected for noise mitigation, double walls in critical locations, and enclosed mechanical rooms to reduce equipment noise.
Cutting-Edge Technology & Training Spaces:
The firing ranges include control booths for each range, adjacent weapons cleaning and storage areas, and feature overhead door access to bring in vehicles and other large props for enhanced training scenarios. An attached training and administration building includes three classrooms, a 360-degree electronic weapons simulator for shoot/no shoot training, a break room, office space, ammunition storage, armorer, and restrooms. An adjacent two-story, pre-engineered metal building for force-on-force training enables the County’s officers to engage in live-fire direct confrontation scenarios using rubber or marking bullets. The design team also developed the site’s master plan, which can accommodate a future fire station.
Architect/Firm Name: Clark Nexsen