Wrenco Arms hosting grand opening

PONDERAY — Wrenco Arms is on target for Saturday’s grand opening of its indoor shooting range, the first of its kind in Bonner County.

“It’s kind of exciting,” said Brandon Terry, who owns Wrenco Arms along with his wife Abby.

Wrenco Arms, which sells firearms, ammunition and other accessories, opened the retail store at its new location on Highway 95 in Ponderay on Jan. 2. Brandon Terry said they bought the business four years ago after he spent 18 years in law enforcement.

“I just wanted to make a change, and retail is not one of the things I thought I would get into, but we also thought that having an indoor range here would be awesome for the community, so it was part of our business plan,” he said.

Between planning and building, the project has been in the works for just over two years, he said.

The indoor firearms range, opening this weekend, has 10 lanes, with a lane available for wheelchair access as well. Wrenco has handguns available for rent, as well as a variety of machine guns. All handguns can be used in the range, as well as some small caliber rifles that use smaller rounds, such as a 5.56 or 7.62x39 mm, Brandon Terry said.

While they only allow the smaller firearms, the range is built to take some rounds with walls of steel and rubber mulch, with brick making up the exterior of the building.

“We overbuilt this range for safety, following all of the high-end standards in the shooting industry,” Abby Terry said.

The 25-yard, five-lane indoor archery range that, while separate, parallels the firearms range. Abby Terry said they have contacts who will hopefully host lessons and events related to archery in the future.

“It’s just another option for people for recreation,” she said.

Abby Terry said they are working with local law enforcement, first responders and others where they will be able to use the range for training and qualifying, with those groups to have after-hours access.

The building also contains two classrooms, one of which will double as a lounge. Classes will include concealed carry, as well as some youth classes and women’s classes with shooting and non-shooting options, among others.

There is also a house toward the back of the property that will ultimately be used for reality training, she said, for people to put themselves in a stressful situation to see how they respond, and learn what they should do in such a scenario. The two-story house has a “very” complex floor plan, which she said will provide opportunity for a number of training scenarios. Simunition, of course, will be used in the scenarios in place of real bullets, she said.

In addition, Wrenco Arms has Class 3 certification to sell items such as silencers. There is also a kiosk for the fingerprinting, photos and information for purchasing such items.

“We are kind of a one-stop-shop, Abby Terry said. “They don’t have to run around town to get that all done somewhere else — we can do that all right here for them, which is very nice.”

While the range is open to the public, membership is encouraged as members will be given priority among other benefits. For anyone who plans to use the range more than once a month, it pays to be a member, Abby Terry said.

Discounted memberships for first responders and military personnel, whether active or retired, are available for $22 per month, or a family price of $33 per month. Regular membership is $26 per month for an individual, or $38 for a family, which includes two adults and two children. A limited number of lifetime memberships are available as well, and anyone interested can contact Wrenco Arms for details.

Membership details and other information can be found online at wrencoarms.com.

Saturday’s grand opening will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free admission, free food, range tours, discount machine gun rentals, door prizes, and free shooting on the range, with Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler firing the ceremonial opening shot.

The Friends of the NRA will be holding a Wall of Guns raffle with only 50 tickets sold. The winner gets to choose a firearm — rifle, pistol or shotgun — or a $500 Wrenco gift certificate.

Wrenco Arms is located at 478338 Highway 95, just south of Bronx Road in Ponderay.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.