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Last Monday was a relatively slow day at Reloaderz indoor gun range, but the owner noted something about that day’s clientele: more than half of those shooting were women.

They’re in good company. Owner Cheryl Nylen is New Jersey’s first female indoor gun range owner, and she’s determined to serve atypical segments of the gun community: women, millennials and businesspeople.

If statistics from firearms industry trade association National Shooting Sports Foundation are any indication Nylen is poised to do good business. Female participation in shooting sports went up 58.9 percent from 2006 to 2017.

“There were about 8.5 million women active in shooting sports in 2017.  We also know that 27 percent of handgun target shooters are women, up 46 percent since 2003,” said NSSF spokesperson Michael Bazinet. “It stands to reason that more women will want to invest in businesses that serve this growing demographic.”

Shells and heels

Nylen didn’t grow up shooting. She and her husband took it up to protect themselves aboard their 40-foot boat five years ago, learning on-range in Florida.

She did, however, grow up running businesses, often in the boy’s club. At 21, her dad handed her his plastics business and told her to run with it. That was T&G Plastics in Butler, an extruded plastics company operating out of an old rubber mill. She’d grown up working in his plastics plant, and spent her teenage years in other New Jersey plastics factories. After spending more than two decades in the plastics business, working in real estate management, and owning a kickboxing studio, her son Michael and his friend Shawn Crowley proposed the idea of a gun range. Thus began what Nylen calls a two-year process of investigation.

“I used to call them field trips to other ranges so I could learn what to do and what not to do,” she said.

In choosing her dos and don’ts, she kept the clientele she was aiming for in the back of her mind.

“One of the things that really bothered me when I visited all the other ranges was the amount of shells that are on the floor when you’re walking in,” Nylen said. “I’m thinking, ‘oh my god, we’re going to slip and fall!’ This isn’t conducive to women coming in with high heels—not that you should be shooting in these big high heels but just in case you are, you know. Women think of those things.”

Nylen also visited a range where the collection pit was too big, spanning the whole stall, creating what she felt was unstable ground to shoot from. To prevent either safety issue, she designed a happy medium, allowing spent shells to fall into the grid behind the shooter but also allowing him or her to maintain a good stance.

Nylen’s touch is in the fine details—the lotions in the bathroom to soothe hands after de-lead soap, the pop art on the walls in the rooms surrounding the range—as well as in Reloaderz’ deep dive into technology, which Nylen sought to keep everything top-of-the-line and to attract millennials.

The retail section where firearms can be purchased has guns floating in front of a customizable wall-sized computer screen with names and prices. An application has been developed for the range’s VIP members, allowing them to sign up for a timeslot on the range and put in their time without having to wait in line. The range itself, by Utah-based custom range manufacturer Action Target, uses sensors to monitor lead levels in the air and fullness of the trap (where the bullets collect at the end of the range). High-definition cameras—52 of them—watch over every inch of the facility.

Make no mistake, though—Reloaderz can attract even the most seasoned gun users. Active duty and retired police officers can go to Reloaderz to qualify and re-qualify to carry their firearms as required by law, and the range will soon be offering Reloaderz University, a series of classes tailored to shooters of all levels to work on anything from stance to safety.

The team of trainers, which includes retired police officers and the owner of a gun shop, is made up of gun enthusiasts who are passionate about the sport and skill but equally passionate about making people feel comfortable and safe. Within the range, Reloaderz keeps a 3-to-1 ratio of safety officers to customers, ensuring proper guidance and security.

‘Could I bring my mom?’

Beyond the range, extra rooms lend themselves to another demographic: businesspeople.

“Being the businesswoman that I am, I’m saying ‘wow, wouldn’t that be a great idea if we marketed to business people?’ because in my head I’m thinking business all the time. I look at things as a business,” she said.

She noted the training room, good for small business events, and a furnished room with a conference table, appropriate for corporate meetings. Other ranges have neglected to extend the olive branch to these folks, losing out on multi-faceted corporate relationships that could build her brand in a different way.

Looking for a team-building exercise for your staff? Take them to the shooting range. Want a benefits program to extend to your staff and contractors? Purchase a corporate membership and give out range passes to those who help your business succeed.

With the demographics that Nylen said are filling up her lanes on the range, her plan toward inclusivity is working.

“I want to get the people who say they want to do it but never had the chance to do it because the place was uninviting,” she said. “I wanted to create an environment that wasn’t like the other ranges. I set out to achieve that goal and that’s what I did.”

“I always thought in the back of my head, ‘could I bring my mom in here?’ She’s an older women. You know, she’s very proud of this place. She’s my biggest evangelist out there,” she said.

Reloaderz held its grand opening Jan. 12. Pricing is available from a 30-minute lane rental to all-inclusive $2,499 VIP annual membership.