Parro’s takes aim at firearms sales, training as a draw to Waterbury
July 17, 2021 | By Caleigh Cross There's no shortage of lists and guides online to Vermont's most well-known tourist draws — breweries, mountain biking trails, ski slopes and quaint towns.
But recently, a wedding party from Brooklyn's impromptu stop in Waterbury was to visit Vermont's first and only commercial indoor firing range.
Henry Parro talks with customers. Staff circulate to answer questions and discuss inventory. Photo by Gordon Miller
"They couldn't believe that you could walk into a gun shop with a lot of space, everything on display, and be able to rent a firearm,” said owner Henry Parro. “They came in and they rented five or six lanes, five or six guns. They bought all the ammunition from me, and it's all over Facebook already."
The range, ensconced in a brand-new retail space along U.S. Route 2 west of Waterbury village offers everything from firearms to ammunition to coffee. It opened to the public in late June, and Parro says it's already quietly become something of a mecca for Vermonters and visitors alike before any big grand opening.
"This will become a destination," he said.
Parro's Gun Shop & Police Supplies has been a Waterbury staple since 1983, when Parro and his father Ernest founded it based on Henry's dream of bringing firearms and education to his hometown. A seven-year Vermont National Guard veteran, Henry Parro has always been knowledgeable and passionate about firearms and military history.
That first year, "we started with a card table with six guns on it," Henry Parro recalled with a fond smile.
The business grew to a 4,000-square-foot space on Route 2, where it was a popular destination for gun enthusiasts and police officers around the region until just a few weeks ago, when Parro's moved into its brand-new, 20,000-square-foot space about a quarter mile away.
Parro had big dreams for the new shop and training center, beginning with planning for the indoor firing range in 2016 when he bought the land at 601 Route 2. As plans took shape, Parro left Vermont to research indoor firing ranges, learning what he wanted to focus on and what was most important.
"It's always been a dream of mine," he said. "I started flying all over the country looking at different ranges, trying to understand what did I want to do, and this is what I came up with."
Parro said he came away from his research with two strong priorities — safety and education.
The two-story retail store and indoor shooting range represents a big expansion for Parro's Gun Shop & Police Supplies. Photo by Gordon Miller
Safety first
The emphasis on safety surrounds range attendees from the moment they enter the firing area through two ballistic doors. A small narthex between the doors ensures silence, both out of consideration for the public and in compliance with the projects’ state Act 250 permit, which requires noise control.
"We did take a lot of care for acoustics. We really tried to make it so people outside the range weren't being shell-shocked," said architect Joe Greene of Waterbury's Joseph Architects, who designed the facility.
Shoppers, or friends and family members can observe on the other side of a wall of two-layer ballistic glass windows. Outside, the sound of gunfire is dulled to a pop, not unlike what you'd hear opening a bottle of Champagne.
A glistening, gently humming bank of HEPA air filters inside the range ensures air quality and cleanliness, a must for people who spend time inhaling gun smoke. "It's probably one of the safest range designs in the air handling system that I have seen," Parro said, explaining that his research during the design phase included checking out the latest technology. "When you shoot, there's a puff of smoke. Continued exposure to that puff of smoke will raise your lead levels. I looked at a couple of designs in ranges and a couple of designs in air handling systems,” he said.
Greene says the system works so that gun smoke is rushed to the ends of the lanes before it can be inhaled. Then, it's swept into a large bag that’s emptied every three months, much like a vacuum bag. A grated channel in front of shooters' benches collects spent shells.
Before first-timers at the range can enter, they're required to watch a 15-minute educational video about gun safety and the range rules, and complete a 10-question quiz. A Parro's employee takes a photo for a personalized range ID, which shooters will use for subsequent visits.
Time at the range runs shooters $18 per hour, with unlimited-access memberships going for $40 per month.
Inside, the air has a clean, sterilized smell, tinged slightly with the acrid aroma of gunpowder, familiar to anyone who's spent time holding a gun. Range attendees get the feeling they're in a self-contained bubble. A range safety officer is behind shooters at all times, available to answer questions, ensure adherence to Parro's safety rules, and help with issues like bullets not firing.
Duxbury resident William Whitehair is an active member of the Waterbury Fish and Game Club and regular longtime customer at Parro’s. He said the setup is well-designed. “The safety protocols – including professional range safety officers and shooting instructors – combined with mobile targets (nobody is crossing the firing line to check a target) and individual shooting lanes make for an extremely safe environment,” Whitehair said.
The addition of a training center at a time when first-time firearms purchases are increasing is key. “Having access to a range staffed by professionals is a huge plus for the community,” Whitehair said.
Parro says people have flocked to the range, about half bringing their own firearms; the other half renting them.
On a recent visit to the center, one customer holding a few cases he'd brought from home was first-time range attendee George Seymour of Waterbury. He watched the safety video, took the quiz, and then headed inside, setting up next to his friend, Greene, the architect, who's been to the range a few times since it opened.
"The draw of something like this is not only in Vermont, but being in central Vermont, this is an ideal location, so to speak. It always has been. There's nothing like this around. Probably there's nothing like this in New England," Seymour said.
Greene, who toured four facilities in New England as research for building Parro's, agreed. "There are some firing ranges and there's obviously gun retailers, but I've been to a few, and it's nothing like this. A lot of them are in old strip malls and they're dark and dirty," Greene said.
In contrast, Parro's has plentiful light and open space. Its walls are bright white with raw-wood wainscoting and high, soaring ceilings opening up to windows where natural light streams in. Firearms are displayed neatly on the walls. The place feels more like a firearm museum than a gun store.
“There is a display of Vortex optics (binoculars, spotting scopes, and rifle scopes) comprised of three cabinets and a large section of floor space. I know the brand well and there is literally nothing they make that you can’t walk in and buy. If the Vortex display is any indication of how the rest of the store will be set up, it’s really going to be a one-stop shop where you can buy anything you need or want,” Whitehair said.
Outside the range, the focus is on education.
Shoppers browse on a recent weekend once the doors opened at Parro's new store and firing range on Rt. 2 in Waterbury. Photo by Gordon Miller
Sales come with education
Parro notes that Vermont's state constitution allows for the concealed carry of firearms without a permit. That's not to say all gun owners are equipped to concealed-carry, he added. The new store includes a classroom where Parro said he plans to teach gun owners the skills needed to safely and effectively carry. He'll also teach classes for beginner firearms owners.
"No. 1 is coaching. If we have a potential buyer who maybe doesn't have much experience, we're offering one-on-one coaching to make sure that person is safe and to make sure that they are picking out the right handgun for what they want to do with it, to make sure it fits their hands. We have lasers to make sure that they can hit the target."
Parro says he'll also be offering education on gun maintenance.
Putting all of these elements together unfolded as the demand for firearms and other forms of personal protection increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, Parro explained, and it remains high.
"People were worried about their personal safety, safety of their families, the uncertainty of what is going on in the world. In 2020, according to the FBI, there were 40 million first-time gun buyers," Parro said.
He estimates his sales about doubled in 2020. "2020 really brought personal safety to the forefront. It's something I'm continuing to see" as calls to defund police organizations grow louder nationwide.
Parro says while he was designing and building his new store and range, he was approached by another town wanting him to bring his business there, but to him, Waterbury is home. He said he's aiming for his new store to draw business to Waterbury. In addition to firearms and accessories, it also sells local maple syrup, honey, Darn Tough socks, and coffee. The center sits along Waterbury’s quiet western corridor that has little commercial development. Farr’s Field, home to the Waterbury Flea Market, is nearby along with Little River State Park and the headquarters of SunCommon solar.
"For right now, I'm happy," laughs Parro, asked about any future plans. "I just have to digest what I have built and what I'm trying to accomplish. But I think it's going to be a very good venture not only for Parro's, but for Waterbury, being right here next to the event field. We're going to be a draw for Waterbury. That's the goal. We have a lot going on here."
Reporter Caleigh Cross in the training range. Courtesy photo
First person: Taking to the indoor range
By Caleigh Cross"Just make sure the first door is closed before you open the second one."
I can hardly hear architect Joe Greene, who designed Parro's Gun Shop and Police Supplies' new location, telling me how to enter the brand-new indoor shooting range, which is the point of the process.
Shooters at the range ensure at least one of the two ballistic, bullet-resistant doors on the way in is closed at all times so shoppers can hardly hear the gunfire in the store, reduced neatly to the pop of a bottle of prosecco outside the range.
Inside is a different story, I realize, as I'm waved in and set up on Lane 7 by the extremely patient and helpful range safety officer. He or one of his colleagues is on duty inside the range at all times, standing four or five feet behind shooters, watching for safety issues and, more commonly, helping people get the most out of their time at Parro's by answering questions and offering shooting tips.
I'm used to gunfire. I grew up around guns. My dad was the Boy Scout scoutmaster in St. Johnsbury when my brother and I were little, so I usually tagged along to the range at Caledonia Forest and Stream Club where I fondly imagine there still exists some record that as a teen, I was the best in my division for girls at shooting clay pigeons. (I'm pretty sure I was the only one in my division.)
I can hear my dad's voice in my head — Never point that gun at anything you don't want to shoot. Muzzle control. Assume every gun is loaded.
The range-mandated course I took before entering drove home the same message, the quiz at the end asking questions like what to do with spent shells (leave them where they are; the range safety officer will sweep them up) and how many people are allowed in each lane at a time (trick question; two are allowed at the head of the lane, but only one shooter.)
It's familiar territory, the clean, sterile air scented with the acrid tang of sulfur and gunpowder. To me, it smells like childhood.
Greene is packing some serious firepower two lanes down from me. I adjust my hearing protection, just one of the safety features mandated by the range, and concentrate on getting my target 15 yards down so I, too, can begin.
I bought my target and eye protection, also range-mandated, at the range counter inside the store. I brought my own ammunition and my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite, a gift from my dad, but if I didn't have my own firearm or ammunition, Parro's rents guns and sells ammo.
When I'm taken to my lane, I set up without grace, accidentally sending my target board down the lane without the target attached, and then fumbling for the stapler, which the range safety officer points out is on my right. I promise I can be trusted with a firearm, I think as I offer an apologetic smile.
Once I'm squared away, I easily slip into the zone and the hour I paid for condenses into the 15 minutes it takes me to fire an entire box of long-rifle shot. Finished, I pack up, taking my target with me to put on the fridge at home. But I'll be back. My range photo ID card is tucked into my gun's case, ready for when I return.