As you walk up to Bullet & Barrel, there’s a feeling of “Is this really a gun shop?”
Located near downtown in Huntsville's Recreation District, the building’s front porch is accented with stone and wood columns, and a deer figure welcomes visitors. It gives off a great outdoorsy look. But at first glance, you might still find yourself wondering: Is this really a gun shop?
Then, to throw you completely off, there is a courtyard with tables, chairs, and umbrellas on the side of the building. As you walk through the double doors, you are greeted by a spacious room, anchored by a glass-top counter and merch including tuxedos. A couple walks out. She’s in tights and a hoodie; he’s wearing jeans and a hoodie. If not for the gun bags they carried, they could be any couple you’d run into at a store or on the street. Welcome to the “Guntry Club.” That’s the nickname owner Melanie Murray gives to her business. She is one of a handful of women who own shooting ranges or gun shops. In fact, she touts Bullet & Barrel as a “shooting range that also happens to sell guns.”
Meanwhile, back to the tuxedos.
She said the business has several revenue streams, including tuxedo rentals (a “side hustle”) to “keep us lurching forward.” Bullet & Barrel has about 800 members, and there is a members’ lounge available at no charge. Guns are also available for rent in the shooting range and, of course, for sale. As you look around the main showroom, there is more clothing from various brands and some sporting the B&B logo and name. To the right are a few bulletproof windows allowing visitors to peek into the shooting range. Across the room, there are several gun racks holding long rifles, shotguns, and machine guns. Yes, machine guns.
In the center of the room is a massive glass-top counter with handguns of all sizes. One of the staff members who seems to be in his 30s is helping an older customer decide on the right gun, while another staffer in his 50s is telling a customer the best brand of ammo for her gun. “We have all different kinds of guns and different kinds of people who work here,” Murray said. “We don’t have ‘typical’ people who sell firearms. They reflect our clients.”
On to the shooting range.
Located behind closed doors adjacent to a room of merchandise, which can be converted to a meeting room for parties or meetings, the state-of-the-art shooting range features lanes from 25 to 100 yards. Thanks to a million-dollar HVAC system, there isn’t a smell of smoke from the weapons firing. Each shooting bay is separated by 6-inch-thick steel walls, safety being of the utmost importance. With Bullet & Barrel celebrating its eighth anniversary, the business offers several classes to make people feel comfortable with a gun.
“For people who want to learn, we make them feel safer,” Murray said, noting that half of the staff are certified trainers. “We have a clean, safe place to practice shooting sports.”
“What I enjoy about here is the cross-section of people,” Murray said. “Especially on a Saturday. You see all kinds of people.”
Some of the training classes are:
● Handguns 101 – The course covers gun safety, how to hold the handgun properly, stance, parts of the handgun, ammunition types, and more. Students then get one-on-one instruction on the range while shooting a variety of handguns.
● Alabama Annies – This is a ladies' shooting group designed for women of all levels to come and practice their skills. The group is broken up into beginners, intermediate, and competition levels. Each group will practice skills according to which level they attend. Our highly skilled instructors create a safe, non-pressure atmosphere that allows the ladies to enjoy their range time, create friendships, and promote self-reliance.
● Ladies Only Modern Handgun Concealed Carry – This class expands on technique and marksmanship in different scenarios while carrying concealed. The student will engage targets in different scenarios from varying distances while our instructors give feedback on their techniques. The class creates a solid foundation to build upon and increases overall proficiencies as a responsible armed citizen.
● Basics of Home Defense – With years of experience in the field of home defense, the Bullet and Barrel Training Division, along with Noell Bishop, has created a simple yet effective program designed to equip families with the knowledge and skills needed to secure their homes and protect their loved ones in an increasingly challenging world. Subjects taught during this class are Alabama Law, Post Shooting Procedures, Action vs Reaction, Cover and Concealment Inside the Home, Movement Techniques, Dealing with Children, Live Fire Weapon Selection, and Virtual Simulated Environment Instruction. This program equips families with essential skills to safeguard their homes, turning uncertainty into confidence and vulnerability into strength.
● Youth Marksmanship – This class teaches firearm safety with a .22 rifle (rifle and ammo provided). The goal is to teach fundamental rifle skills to those who are 10 to 15 years old.
