Ashburn, VA –-(Ammoland.com)-Silver Eagle Group (SEG) originally opened in the DC suburb of Ashburn Virginia in 2009. It was known for its state of the art law enforcement training facilities, it large retail area, and it’s upscale feel. When it first opened up people joking referred to it as a “guntry club”, but SEG was more than just an upscale range.
This past January, Steve Marquez took ownership of SEG. He had an opportunity to buy a building a couple of blocks away from the then current location that SEG had been leasing. With the ownership of the building, he could build SEG the way he wanted it.
Silver Eagle shut down in May to prepare for the move to the new location. On September 1st SEG reopened for its members and will soon be open to the general public. I am a long time member and had a chance to take a tour of the new facility before the opening.
The new SEG facility is massive. It will still have a retail area, but the focus will be more on training and shooting than selling guns and accessories. Not only will there be firearms classes held at SEG, but SEG will also offer Krav Maga through Kore Krav Maga. With plenty of mat space for training, there will be ample room for members to learn self-defense.
The 1791 lounge is where the members of the range can kick back and relax. This lounge feels like it belongs in a high dollar member-only clubs from the past. It features leather couches, vaulted ceilings, and even a gas fireplace. Couple this with the private entrance and members will be getting the VIP treatment.
SEG has also improved their teaching space with two state of the art classrooms. The first classroom can hold up to 16 people. This classroom is the perfect size for most classes. SEG designed the second classroom to hold 32 people. Both classrooms can be rented out for private events.
SEG will also be adding a food market. This addition of a food market will give members the added benefit of being able to grab a snack before or after their shooting session.
In reality, SEG is three ranges in one. The first range consists of 20 25-yard lanes. The second range is for rifles and consists of 10 50-yard lanes. The third range includes of three 15-yard lanes. This short range is excellent for small pistol classes but can handle overflow when the range gets busy as well.
SEG spent $3 million on their ventilation system, and it was money well spent. All that heavy metal gets sucked right up away from the shooter. Less of the dangerous dust makes it into the shooters lungs. Looking at the ventilation system blew me away. It really works well.
Another thing SEG spent money on is their noise dampening design of the ranges. They brought in acoustic engineers to choose not only the materials for the noise dampening design but also the layout of the ranges. It really shows the attention to detail that SEG took in building their new facility.
The annoying ping that most indoor ranges have is gone from the SEG ranges. The sound reverberation is nearly nonexistent inside the facility. SEG picked great engineers to help mitigate the sound. I can’t imagine how they could lessen the noises of the ranges more than what they have done. Steve mentioned that this is also a part of being a good neighbor.
Gone is the wet style backstop from the old site. The new backstop is a dry backstop. This design was more expensive up front, but it will cut down on corrosion and extend the life of the ranges. Also by using a dry backstop sound is cut down. The cutting down of noise is one thing that impressed me the most about the new location.
Low light classes are one of the most sought out courses in defensive shooting. They are very practical training classes since most shooting situations happen at night. The problem with doing a low light shooting class in an indoor range is safety.
Turning the lights out in an indoor range isn’t a real option. For one, the instructors and range officers can’t see the shooter to correct dangerous actions. SEG has fixed this problem by adding the ability to turn out the lights for a single lane while leaving the main lights on in the range.
Not only that, but each lane can activate red and blue police lights. This added feature kicks up the realism for the shooters while also adding a distraction that can help the shooter become more proficient with their firearm. Each lane also has to two fold out barriers so the shooter can practice shooting from cover.
SEG is a test bed for a new type of shooting control system. The range officer or instructor can control the lane functions from a tablet. This mobility gives greater functionality and ease of use to the SEG staff.
The computer system can also be programmed to turn the target towards the shooter at random from six different distances and at six different time intervals. The issue with most range computers is that once the shooter gets used to the pattern of the exercise, then most of the benefit is lost. With a 6×6 type of system, the shooter will continue to get the maximum benefit from the training.
Another cool thing about the shooting system is the built-in games. Games are one of the best learning tools that sometimes gets overlooked in shooting. These games also keep the casual shooter interested in shooting for a longer period of time which could turn them into the regular shooter.
SEG will also offer a scenario area that will offer a 270-degree shooting area. Not only that, within the 10,000 sq. foot scenario area there will be a two-story townhouse and a multi-level house along with over 65 rooms that SEG can customize for the client’s specific specs. There is also a vehicle bay, and the whole area can be converted to hold events such as MMA fights.
Along with the new facility comes expanded hours. Silver Eagle Group’s old hours used to see it not opening until 5:30 PM on Mondays and Tuesdays. The new hours will be 9 AM to 8 PM every day. Also, the rifle range will now be open every day instead of only certain days.
I am really impressed with the new design of SEG. The upgrades to my home range make it just that much better, and all done without raising their rates.
Visit Silver Eagle Group online at https://silvereaglegroup.com/
Or visit them in person at:
Silver Eagle Group
21550 Beaumeade Cir.
Ashburn, VA 20147
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.