Saw on the news tonight they are worried about lead poisoning from the old indoor range in the Edmond Armory. If they only knew how many armories in this state had that same issue they would go bonkers. I audited over 40 some armories in the state - there are about 80 something - when I was at the OMD and BUNCHES of them had that problem. The state knew about it but didn't have the funds or didn't want to push the issue for the required clean up.
Duncan had the old range taped up with duct tape to prevent contamination on the drill floor. Others just had it open and lived with it. Lots of the old armories, like Guthrie, Minco, etc had the firing range under the stage, kind of like a sub basement. Lots of stuff stored in those areas with not any clean up.
The EPA requirements for private indoor ranges is pretty damn strict. But government agencies just ignore federal law. I've come to believe the worst violaters of federal law are government agencies! And the bureaucrats will say "I didn't know anything about it!" then "I'll look into it!"
followed by "I"ll get back to you on it!". You know you can always count on them doing what they say!

As I recall, the old Claremore armory was pretty bad but I think it was torn down if I recall right.  Years ago I shot a small bore match there. Before I ended up in the Sandbox I wanted to do a photo essay of the armories in the state, especially the ones that are no longer in use.  I should be back by late this fall.

Regards, Jon

Jon, I took pictures of ALL the armories (Readiness Centers is the proper term!) that I audited. Some are in such bad shape it is appalling. They are in the process of shutting several of them down under the BRAC and consolidating them. Stillwater is a relatively new one, built in the early 80s and has so many foundation problems, it wouldn't surprise me if they shut it down too.
It' sad they let them get that bad!

In the late 80's-early 90's I drilled at Stillwater  then got moved to Pawnee Armory and it was a shithole.(I think the county has it now for road work stuff.)

When we had to move back to Stillwater, the only place left to stay was where the old range was. They used it for storage during and after we moved across the hall.

Quoted: In the late 80's-early 90's I drilled at Stillwater  then got moved to Pawnee Armory and it was a shithole.(I think the county has it now for road work stuff.)

Lots of the armories are shitholes. It pissed me off and made me sad at the same time. When I started reporting back with the maintenance problems and pictures to back it, I sealed my fate at the OMD. The State Resource Manager sicked his bitches on me - they complained about everything I did, inclduding where I parked. One of them tried to get to sign an invoice for several hundred thousand dollars, which I refused to do. When I checked the Sulfur Armory, it was closed and no one at the OMD HQ had any idea it had been closed for over a year.
They promised me the Construction and Maintenance Administrator position then renigged to put a buddy in. They probably knew I might cause some major expenses.
The active reserve boys stationed at the armories had one complaint after another which I duly passed on. Kingfisher had plastic hung from the drop ceilings to direct the roof leaks into buckets and to keep their desks dry.
Someone from the OMD headquarters is required to visit each armory every 3 years. They told me I would be lucky to get around 20 armories audited in the first year I was there. I did 40+ in about 4 months until they put a halt on me driving a GSA vehicle - an action by the State Resource Manager.  He didn't want me bringing in any more "reports". They said I wasn't insured to drive the GSA vehicles. Meanwhile, around a 100 or more state employees continued to drive GSA vehicles EVERY day.
I'm telling you the federal and state honchos running the ARNG don't give a damn about anything but their careers. Those armories could be falling down around the soldiers ears during a weekend drill, and they could care less.
The Duncan armory had rat shit in the ceiling above the galley. They had a drill floor full of new kitchen equipment that had been sitting there for several years, the old one was started on a remodel and stopped. Lack of funds.
The new hangar and fuel farm at Lexington AASF had all kinds of problems from the day the they were built. The State fire marshall turned it down for code violations, the fuel farm didn't work, pumps burnt out, shitty istallations etc. The day I left the base commander wanted me to meet with him and the State Aviation Officer about the problems.
The joint Sand Springs OMS had equipment not working from DAY ONE. The project manager for that construction job is now the Construction and Maintenance Adminitrator for the OMD.
The poor guys in the older armories are just SOL are far as facilities. So are many of the guys in the newer facilities. WAFUM!
I can go on and on.

in the late sixtys we shot 22s in the armory in anadarko basement. we probably went through thousands of rounds weekly. ibelieve they shut it down inthe 70s. we used the armory for wrestling practice in 70-71 because we had no other place to workout.