#SigSauerAcademy

Range Systems is a company that specializes in designing, manufacturing and installing live-fire facilities for a variety of applications. They have worked with public commercial shooting ranges, military and law enforcement organizations, and can even do private in-home ranges for shooters wanting the ultimate personal range access convenience. This Minnesota-based operation has nearly three decades of experience, as they opened for business in 1994. From ballistic and acoustic management solutions, track-mounted target retrieval systems, bullet traps, bulletproof lane dividers, and more, they can customize range areas to fit just about any need. Now they’ve been selected to equip SIG SAUER’s new Experience Center building.

About six months ago, in November 2020, TFB reported that SIG SAUER was making moves to add some additional space to their facilities in Epping, New Hampshire. The new building was described as a “showpiece” by the civil engineering firm working on it, and was reputed to be a sizeable addition that would cost somewhere around $13.5 million. This plan is now coming to fruition, as the ground has now officially been broken on the project. Once completed, this building will add more than 40,000 square feet of space for everything from a SIG museum, a retail component, indoor shooting, and more. Dubbed the “Experience Center”, this two-story building will greet visitors upon their arrival to SIG’s 140-acre complex located roughly 1.5 hours’ drive north of Boston, Massachusetts. It is expected to give people more reason to visit the area, as well as to create some additional jobs for local residents. SIG has issued the following press release to announce the recent ground-breaking ceremony.

SIG SAUER has been doing a lot of big things recently, and their momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing. Their Custom Works division looks to be singing along nicely, with new offerings like the Nightmare and Equinox series’ recent releases along with the all-metal P320 AXG Scorpion, hot on the heels of the P320 FCU Collective program announced earlier this year. SIG has also won another new major defense contract for one of their optics, termed the Direct View Optic (DVO), which is intended to replace the aging ACOG currently employed by many US Soldiers and Marines on their M4s. These successes should make it no surprise that SIG has also recently announced an expansion, with growth requiring new facilities in Rochester, New Hampshire.

SIG Sauer is a worldwide leader in the design and production of firearms, and has been for many years. This is common knowledge. What is a bit less well-known is that SIG is also heavily involved in the training aspect of firearms, not just in manufacturing. They well understand that it isn’t good enough just to have quality guns, we must also be experienced, trained, and proficient in their use. To this end, they maintain the SIG Sauer Academy in Epping, New Hampshire. They describe this facility as:

Most firearm customization used to require serious gunsmithing skills, time and money. Lots of money. A bare-bones 1911 owner looking for a series of performance enhancements could drop thousands of dollars and wait six months or more for a gunsmith to work through their books. With the development of the modular P320 Fire Control Unit, SIG Sauer has shifted the ability to customize handguns from the hands of craftsmen over to everyday users with plug-and-play parts that can transform a carry gun into a competition gun in about five minutes. Up until now, shooters would have to buy a base model and then a bunch of customized parts to build a specific gun. Now the P320 FCU is being offered as a stand-alone firearm and the doors are open to á la carte gun building.

The shooting sports are a wonderful way to bring people together. The camaraderie, the learning experiences, and the competitive aspects can forge great friendships over common interests and experiences. Moreover, defensive firearms use can be important for all kinds of people. The folks over at the second annual Adaptive Defensive Shooting Summit, led by US Army veteran and wounded warrior Trevor Baucom, know this firsthand. Since a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2010 left him paralyzed from the waist down, Baucom has become an accomplished ambassador for adaptive shooting as well as building a solid competitive shooting career for himself. In a June 16th press release, he shared that other adaptive shooters can now register for the Adaptive Defensive Shooting Summit 2020, to be held this October at SIG Sauer’s Academy in New Hampshire. The press release reads as follows.

SIG Sauer Academy has announced a new Concealed Carry course specifically built for women.  The course was developed and is instructed by experienced women.  The Academy concealed carry courses currently listed on the schedule are April 18-19, August 22-23, and November 15-16.  The courses will be held in Epping, New Hampshire.