CHRISTIES Beach has become home to the nation’s first indoor shooting range with moving targets, including virtual roaming deer and pigs, floating balloons and bullseyes.

A theatre projector shows images on a bulletproof wall that people can shoot at using semiautomatic firearms.

Stationary targets can also be shot at from ranges up to 50m.

Under national laws, children aged 12 and over are permitted to use facilities such as Adelaide’s new range, as long as they are supervised by a parent or guardian.

Range officers must be on hand to oversee shooters at all times.

The Gunnery owner Peter, who did not provide his last name, said other strict safety measures were also in place.

He said anyone without a gun licence must be strapped into a harness anchored to the ground, and were only allowed to shoot a gun attached to the shooting bay.

Peter said the virtual target system gave his business a competitive edge over other indoor ranges, including those in Adelaide and Wingfield.

“It’s something that has never been done in Australia,” Peter said.

“It gives a whole new level to shooting.”

But not everyone is happy about the new Beach Rd business, adjacent to an associated gun shop, also owned by Peter, which opened three months ago.

In March, more than 100 people turned out at a public meeting to voice their opposition to the Christies Beach gun shop and shooting gallery.

Among the issues raised by residents were safety concerns about the close proximity of the businesses to schools and shops.

However, Peter said his business was already proving to be a boost to the area.

“The (gun) shop alone is already an asset to the community, and nearly every licenced person who comes into the store say how happy they are that there is now a local gun store,” Peter said.

Peter’s daughter Louise, 12, holds a gun licence and regularly shoots at the range.

“I like shooting because it’s something different and exciting,” Louise said.

“It’s a good experience and I like trying to get quicker and more accurate (on the targets).”

The Gunnery opened on Monday.

What’s it like?

An apprehensive reporter, Sarah Rohweder, shares her first-experience at the new shooting range:

media_camera Reporter Sarah Rohweder

SHOOTING a handgun at an indoor firing range was never on my bucket list.

Like a lot of others, I was always terrified of handling, let alone shooting, a firearm.

But I live by the motto ‘you should try everything once’, which was why I went to the Christies Beach Gunnery at the weekend to give it a go.

Peter, the owner, sat us down and ran through an extremely thorough safety induction before strapping us into harnesses — mandatory for those without a gun licence — which hook on to anchor points in front of the four shooting bays inside the range.

He ran through the guns, including a .357 revolver, .22 and 9mm semiautomatics, and a .44 IMI Desert Eagle, teaching us how to hold and shoot them. I started off with the .22 — the baby gun, if you will.

My heart was beating a million miles an hour as I picked it up and aimed it at the virtual targets on the large screen down range, trying to line up the gun’s sight with the bullseye.

Peter, having run through the do’s and don’ts of the gun, tapped my shoulder and said “fire”.

Nervous, and full of adrenaline, I pulled the trigger and hit the target slightly off centre. It was an adrenaline-fuelled experience unlike anything I had tried before.

The range opens at a time when gun laws and gun crime are again making headlines in the US — and for all the wrong reasons.

I did not feel as if The Gunnery glorified violence.

I felt safe at all times thanks to measures such as stowing the guns in tightly locked safes, to literally strapping you to a safety point and using robust fibreglass products to line the walls.

SA Police and Onkaparinga Council approved the business under strict safety requirements.

And, from my visit, it appears the shop has taken every step to ensure those requirements are fulfilled.