GTR Sporting Club, concealed carry courses growing

WAUKEGAN – When Frank Orsi was planning to open GTR Sporting Club in Waukegan in 2013, the controversial conceal-carry law wasn’t legal.

However, while the 38,000-square-foot indoor shooting range at 3055 Washington Street was still under construction, it became legal.

“It kind of opened the gates to a lot of people that were normally quiet about their love of the sport,” said Orsi, president and founder.

Orsi’s goal for GTR Sporting Club was to provide a golf club-like atmosphere. It offers both members-only and open to the public lounges. There are 22 state-of-the-art lanes including touch screens and advanced targeting with eight lanes set up for full tactical training and certification.

What Orsi believes sets GTR Sporting Club apart from other ranges is safety, cleanliness and the training of their instructors. The instructors that teach concealed carry and other shooting classes are not new instructors, but are people that have been training others for years.

“My people are all minimum 20, 30, 40 years’ experience as trainers,” Orsi said.

One of those instructors is Director of Training Peter Milionis, a former lead instructor with the U.S. Department Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program. Milionis is a former Chicago police officer and worked overseas with the state department.

Also a Grand Master in the U.S. Practical Shooting Association, Milionis won the World Speed Shooting Steel Challenge in the Stock Division and won High Law Enforcement in the USPSA Nationals in the Production Division. He was also the lead firearms instructor for the Chicago Police Department SWAT Team and previously ran his own training facility in Northwest Illinois. He has been shooting for about 25 years, both professionally and recreationally.

GTR Sporting Club appealed to Milionis because it is such an upscale facility. He teaches mostly intermediate and advanced classes, due to his level of experience.

“The first thing [students] learn is safety and basic gun ownership,” Milionis said.

Students in advanced classes also take scenario based training, featuring scenarios that could happen in real life. Milionis said because of the experience instructors at GTR have, they actually know what happens on the streets, in real-life situations.

“It’s a different world today,” Milionis said. “… People should know, just for safety, how to handle a firearm.”

Orsi said GTR’s concealed carry classes are full every weekend, and he also strongly believes in advanced classes so people get even more experience.

“I believe that people who don’t have any experience, need more experience,” he said. “I really promote doing the advanced classes for people who have no experience.”

Looking forward to 2016, GTR Sporting Club is working to put in a safe locker room for members to store their firearms. He said the organization is also in the middle of putting up a simulator so people can practice what to do in real-life situations when they may need their guns, like carjacking and self-defense or defending your family. Orsi said GTR will then formulate classes around the simulator.

Orsi added he is also thinking about opening up a paintball facility.

“It’s for fun, but lots of law enforcement do it,” Orsi said.

Thoughts right now are that a paintball pro shop would be on the premise of the current location, with the actual paintball park at another nearby location.

If you go:

GTR Sporting Club

Where: 3059 Washington St., Waukegan

When: 10 a.m to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

Cost/Info: Visit www.gtrsport.com for more information.