TALLADEGA, Alabama -- The CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park is nearing completion and an opening date has been set. The construction phase of the $20 million project will be complete in mid February and the 500 acre park will open May 6, 2015.

Testing of the electronic scoring and final cleanup will take place from February until opening day according to CMP COO Mark Johnson.

When I visited the facility last week, workers were finishing work on the roof of the 13,000 square foot clubhouse which is the focal point of the park. The clubhouse sits on a hill overlooking the 600 yard range.

Work was continuing on the roof structure of the cover firing position and sound absorbing material was being installed.

Johnson said the project is on schedule and proceeding as planned. When open, he said the public facility will offer competitive pricing for a first class shooting experience. The pricing structure will be posted later this week on the CMP website.

Talladega Marksmanship Park will offer shooting enthusiasts a wide selection of shooting disciplines from centerfire, rimfire rifle and pistol shooting to several stations for shotgunning.

The centerpiece of the project is a fully electronic scoring system on a rifle range featuring yardage positions at 200-300-600 yards on a terraced site. A newly developed target system is being testing right now at the CMP headquarters in Anniston for use at the new facility. (More on that later).

A 100 yard multi-use range will be available to site in rifles and pistols before moving to the longer ranges.

There will be 50 fire points or positions to accommodate shooters with the space to double that capacity, if needed, in the future. All firing points are covered so weather won't be a factor. Scoring will be seen in real time from the shooter's position. This will help the shooter make the best use of his/her time at the range.

If you like to shoot pistols, a wide variety of options are available. There is a 50 foot pistol range, a 25 to 50 yard pistol range and 15 different Action Pistol ranges from 25-50 yards with 50 firing points.

Then there is shotgunning. The park will feature a 15 position sporting clays course in a beautiful setting. Also featured will be a 5 stand overlay trapshooting field. The shotgun areas are set in the woods away from the rifle and pistol ranges.

The mission of the CMP is to promote firearm safety and marksmanship training

with an emphasis on youth.

For further information on the CMP, check out their website here.

Here are some related articles on the CMP and CMP events. More on the construction of the site.