Shooting Range Safety Inspection Checklist

Complete Safety Compliance for Shooting Ranges

Maintaining a safe shooting range requires regular, thorough inspections across multiple safety systems. This Shooting Range Safety Inspection Checklist template helps range operators, safety officers, and compliance managers conduct comprehensive safety audits that protect staff, members, and visitors while meeting regulatory requirements.

Why Shooting Ranges Need Digital Safety Checklists

Traditional paper checklists are easily lost, difficult to track over time, and make it nearly impossible to spot trends or recurring issues. When safety inspections are scattered across clipboards and filing cabinets, critical maintenance items can slip through the cracks—creating liability risks and potentially dangerous conditions.

This Paperform template centralises your safety inspection process, creating a permanent digital record of every audit with timestamps, photos, and inspector details. You can review historical inspections, identify patterns, and demonstrate due diligence to insurers and regulatory bodies.

What This Template Covers

This comprehensive checklist addresses the critical safety systems every shooting range must maintain:

Range Infrastructure & Backstop Integrity: Inspect backstop condition, bullet trap systems, side baffles, ceiling baffles, and ricochet protection to ensure projectiles are safely contained.

Ventilation & Lead Dust Control: Verify HVAC system operation, air flow direction, filter condition, and compliance with NIOSH and OSHA lead exposure standards—essential for indoor ranges.

Hearing & Eye Protection: Confirm availability and condition of hearing protection (earplugs and earmuffs), eye protection, and signage requiring PPE use.

First Aid & Emergency Preparedness: Check first aid kit contents, AED functionality, emergency contact posting, evacuation routes, and trauma kit readiness.

Range Officer Certification: Verify current certifications, training records, and compliance with state and industry requirements for range supervision.

Firearms & Ammunition Safety: Inspect storage security, ammunition handling procedures, and compliance with ATF regulations where applicable.

Fire Safety Systems: Check extinguisher placement, sprinkler functionality, emergency lighting, and exit accessibility.

Signage & Safety Protocols: Confirm proper posting of range rules, emergency procedures, caliber restrictions, and safety commands.

Built for Range Operators and Safety Professionals

Whether you manage a public shooting range, private gun club, law enforcement training facility, or commercial firearms retailer with an indoor range, this template adapts to your specific needs. It's ideal for:

• Range operators conducting daily or weekly safety walkthroughs
• Safety officers performing monthly compliance audits
• Facility managers preparing for insurance inspections or regulatory reviews
• Range masters documenting pre-opening safety checks

The form captures inspector details, date and time, specific range area being inspected, and provides structured fields for each safety category with pass/fail checkboxes, condition ratings, and space for detailed notes when issues are identified.

Conditional Logic for Efficient Inspections

Paperform's conditional logic means you only see relevant follow-up questions. If a backstop shows signs of wear, additional fields appear asking for severity, location, and recommended action. If ventilation readings are out of spec, you can immediately document CFM measurements and schedule HVAC maintenance. This smart branching keeps inspections moving quickly while capturing critical details exactly when they're needed.

Photo Documentation Built In

The template includes image upload fields so inspectors can photograph damaged equipment, worn backstops, missing signage, or any condition requiring visual documentation. These photos attach directly to the inspection record, creating indisputable evidence of conditions at the time of inspection—invaluable for insurance claims, litigation defense, or tracking repair completion.

Automate Your Safety Workflow with Stepper

Once your inspection is submitted, you can use Stepper (stepper.io) to automatically route the results based on findings. Pass inspections can log to your facility management system, while failed items can create maintenance tickets, notify facility managers, send alerts to your safety committee, or even temporarily update range availability status until repairs are completed. This automation ensures no safety issue gets overlooked or delayed.

Compliance Records at Your Fingertips

Every submission creates a timestamped, searchable record you can filter by date, inspector, range area, or finding type. When your insurance carrier requests proof of regular safety inspections, or when preparing for an OSHA visit, you can instantly generate reports showing your documented commitment to safety and compliance.

Paperform is SOC 2 Type II compliant and offers data residency controls, so your sensitive safety and facility records remain secure and meet any industry-specific data handling requirements.

Get Started in Minutes

This template is ready to use immediately—just customize the checklist items to match your specific range configuration, add your facility name and logo, and share the link with your safety team. Inspections can be completed on any device, including tablets and smartphones, so your range officers can conduct walkthroughs right from the firing line.

Trusted by facilities management teams, safety professionals, and range operators who need reliable documentation without complex software, this Paperform template brings professional-grade safety inspection capabilities to shooting ranges of any size.