Before your first visit to a shooting range

This page collects what a federal health agency publishes about protection at firing ranges, and the rules two ranges listed by a state and a county agency post for visitors. It does not explain how to handle a firearm. Range staff do that. It is not legal or medical advice.

Protect your hearing twice

NIOSH, the federal agency for work safety research, sets 140 dB as the limit for impulse noise such as gunfire. When it measured law enforcement firearms at indoor and outdoor ranges, the peaks were 155 to 168 dB. In the same tests, earmuffs cut the peak by 26 dB on average, earplugs by 24 dB, and both together by 44 dB. NIOSH therefore recommends double hearing protection, earplugs and earmuffs at the same time. High noise can cause hearing loss and ringing in the ears.

Bring eye protection too

Ranges set their own rules. The Park County Shooting Range, listed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, for example, requires hearing and eye protection at all times while you shoot. Trail Glades, the county range in Miami, sells ear plugs, safety glasses and ear muffs on site. Ask your range which applies there.

Wash before you eat

Firing ranges can expose you to lead. According to NIOSH, people take it in mainly by breathing it or by swallowing it, for example when they eat or drink with lead on their hands. NIOSH recommends to:

wash hands, arms and face before you eat, drink, smoke or touch other people,
change clothes and shoes before you leave,
wash the clothes you wore at the range separately from your family's laundry.

NIOSH also asks ranges to tell pregnant shooters about possible risks to the unborn child. If you think you were exposed to lead, NIOSH advises a blood lead test, even without symptoms.

Some ranges require a safety course

Trail Glades in Miami lists a required range safety course on its rates page, $15 from age 18 and free for 17 and younger. Its general admission is for age 18 and older, and there is a junior rate for ages 10 to 17. Other ranges handle this differently, so ask before your first visit.

Ranges without staff

Not every range has staff on site. The Park County range in Colorado is an outdoor range without staff. It asks for a voluntary fee of $10 per person per day, paid at an iron tube on site. It is open from sunrise to one hour before sunset, asks that visitors 18 and under come with an adult, allows paper targets only, and expects you to pack out your trash.

Questions to ask before you go

Is the fee per hour, per session or per day?
Is it per shooter or per lane?
Do first-time visitors need a safety course or briefing?
Is eye and ear protection included, for rent or for sale?
Is the range open to the public, or to members only?
What are the rules for visitors under 18?

To see what ranges charge, look at the 24 fees that ranges publish, with a middle fee of $20.

Sources

Read on October 13, 2026. The NIOSH document is from 2010. Range rules and fees can change. If something here is out of date, the contact page is at the bottom.