Thunder Gun Range, located 40 minutes north of Downtown Houston, is one of many prominent gun ranges in the Houston area. It is also a source of multiple safety concerns.
Residents in nearby subdivisions have complained about stray bullets hitting their homes, but the owner of Thunder Gun Range believes it is not urgent enough to make significant changes. A review on Google mentioned bullets hitting nearby homes.
Apparently you're not taking sufficient precautions or making certain that persons on your range are adhering to range rules. Multiple errant rounds have caused damage to homes near your range. Im hoping that you focus on ensuring persons at the range obey range safety rules! Rounds have penetrated roofs, windows, drywall and cabinets, all coming from your range direction and trajectory. Im a firearms advocate and 2nd ammendment supporter but safety is always priority one! Please monitor your range and/or increase your safety measures. Thank you.
A family experienced bullets flying around, to the point that they had to run for cover. Two Google reviews recalled that experience, from the bullets to the incompetence.
Davis and Jason Smock took their sons to the Thunder Gun Range on FM 1314 in Conroe. Everything was going great until about 30 minutes before they were about to leave.
"It reminded me of the sound of like a 22-round going off pretty close to me," Davis said. "Nobody else noticed it. We are at a gun range; I get it. Nearly 20 seconds after, I hear a ricochet round. The difference between ricochet and live round is very distinct."
Davis said they all became nervous. Fearing for their lives, they dropped their guns and hid behind nearby cars with their kids.
"We piled up behind the trucks, we get the kids," Davis recalled. "We are hiding behind trucks. I am like, 'Dude, we are at a gun range, and people are shooting at us.'"
As they took cover, Davis called the main number and said that management did not show any urgency or show any real concern.
"I am like, 'Cease fire. We are on the shotgun range taking live rounds,'" Davis said. "The guy is like, 'OK, I will look into it,' and he hangs up."
They said nearly 20 minutes went by before they stopped hearing the gunfire.
"The main issue is they didn't seem to care. They said they were busy," Smock said. "We understand that, but we are fearing our life out here."
And on the 11th of January, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to a non-fatal injury at the range, where a man in his 50s was hit by a casing, originally thought to be a bullet that ricocheted.
The gun range owner told ABC13 over the phone that the man was shooting a rifle too close to his face and was hit by a cartridge. The man had to be taken to the hospital but is OK, according to the sheriff's office. The owner told ABC13 it was human error and it was "more funny than anything."
The rather callous response to such incidents underscores the crisis involving gun deaths in the USA. Not only is the USA’s gun death rate high compared to most countries, developed or otherwise, but in 2020, Montgomery County, Texas had the same number of gun deaths (85) as Manhattan (43) and San Francisco (42), combined.