From left, Mike Savage, John Gullen, Ed Hall and Tom Furina fire down range at the Tupper Lake Rod and Gun Club’s recently renovated indoor shooting gallery. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

TUPPER LAKE — Five men line up along a wall of freshly painted plywood and aim downrange at the Tupper Lake Rod and Gun Club’s recently renovated indoor shooting gallery.

It’s quiet, for now. The only sound is the warm air pouring from the club’s heating ducts as everyone prepares mentally and physically, slowing their breaths, clearing their minds and focusing on the targets 50 feet away.

“Is the line ready?” a voice queries from a pair of speakers. It is, and within seconds the silence is shattered as the targets flip around to face the line and the first shot races to meet them.

This whole system and building were recently created and renovated by the men firing at the range — club Secretary Mike Savage; Tom Furnia, who sits on the board of directors; contractor John Gullen; and Air Force pistol team coach Ed Hall — along with the help of many more volunteers from Tupper Lake and the surrounding area. The range was originally constructed in 1962, giving Tupper Lakers a space designated for shooting handguns, bows and .22 rifles.

The only problems: It got cold in the winter, it looked 55 years old, it was cramped and it did not have any bathrooms, which became a larger issue as more women got involved with the sport over the years.

“If you want your facility to stay with the times, you’ve got to invest the time and you’ve got to invest the money,” club President of the rod and gun Dave McMahon said. “You’ve got to keep the upgrades presentable so people enjoy coming. Nobody wants to come to a place to shoot if it looks like junk.”

The new facility is clean, functional and warm. White walls rise from the speckled concrete floor to the vaulted ceiling, heating ducts poke through the floor, and plywood cubbies give each shooter his or her own lane, a tabletop to assemble and tinker with guns, and a firing window on a hinge to shoot through.

“It’s an unbelievable difference; it’s night and day,” Furnia said. “Where else can you go that you can go 24/7, turn the heat on and shoot?”

The biggest changes are a large room housing a the heating system’s core, a restroom — complete with a revolver-shaped toilet paper holder — and a meeting area.

There have been plans for an addition, heating and a facelift to the building for years, and in 2017, club organizers knew it was time. Starting after the heavy rains stopped in July, several dozen volunteers worked nonstop on the range, completing the addition and heating system before hunting season.

The $20,000 project was funded in large part by last year’s Northern Challenge ice fishing derby, one of the club’s largest annual events. This year’s derby will be held Feb. 3 on Simon Pond. The club operates on money from memberships and events, including “900 shoots” (bullseye shooting competitions), archery competitions and fishing tournaments.

Membership costs $25 for a year and $20 to use the indoor range, compared to downstate rates, which members said could be as high as $100 a month. Unlike the vast majority of clubs, the Tupper Lake range is open to any of its 300 members at any time of day, any time of year. They just need to pay a $10 deposit for a key fob and not wreck the place.

The range regularly hosts shooters from Long Lake, Ogdensberg and Albany who come to compete, practice and enjoy the company of Tupper Lake’s gun enthusiasts.

Members and administrators of the club are proud of their self-built and operated range and always look to make it better, attracting more and more marksmen from around the state.

“I think everybody’s goal here is to make this a state-of-the-art facility, and the best in northern New York,” McMahon said.

They said they want to see more young people at the range, learning to shoot, competing with the old-timers and preparing to carry on operation of the facility. Shooting is something, they say, anyone can enjoy, and they have a well-furnished, heated and cared for place to do it.

As spent shells bounce off the plywood walls, everyone lowers their guns, dutifully remove their magazines and resumes their conversation.

As they walk down the lane to retrieve their targets, they remember how they hope to soon install a motorized target-return system to wheel the bullet hole-riddled papers back without stepping into the firing range. They also plan to insulate and side the building in the near future to retain more of the heat generated.

The Rod and Gun Club will host a 900 shoot on Feb. 24 at the range.