In each of the past two summers, there have been incidents in Kentucky where hacked road signs told motorists to “beware of zombies.”
This past June, an incident occurred in Louisville and before that, in June of 2011, a sign on Interstate 71/75 in Florence, read: “Nightly lane closures, zombies ahead.”
But what would have happened if the signs were accurate?
Would you have been prepared for the zombie apocalypse?
Zombie from the beginner shoot house lane at Shoot Extreme in West Chester. Photo provided.
“There is sort of this nationwide mania about the zombie apocalypse and going on zombie hunts. It has been glorified in Hollywood, so we certainly wanted to tap into that,” said Higgins, who was an Army infantryman for 10 years.
“It was really part of structuring a culture where new shooters could feel welcome. Where you can come in, not owning a gun, not having any past experience at all and begin working with one of our assistant instructors to get your confidence up and eventually take it to a shoot house and really have some fun.”
How it works, is that Shoot Extreme uses Simunition FX, non-lethal, non-penetrating and non-toxic ammunition, so shooters can be provided defensive training in their shoot house lanes, which feature hallways and rooms similar to those in a home.
According to Higgins, the Simunition FX system had only been available for the military, police and other agencies for training exercises. However, Higgins said the restriction on use of the ammunition was recently lifted for civilians with the right credentials who wanted to teach training.
“From there it was up to our imagination,” Higgins said. “We asked ourselves, ‘where would we want to go shoot and train with something other than standing there and punching holes in paper targets.’”
Higgins came up with the zombie hunts, which feature computer controlled zombies in a dark environment who scream and fall down when hit.
In addition to zombie training, Shoot Extreme also offers an introductory course with an instructor for beginners.
Higgins also said the business is working hard on adding structured classroom training, tournaments and other competitions.
The business opened its doors last Saturday, Aug. 11, and is accepting reservations for its zombie hunts as well as instructional courses.
To book a reservation or to get more information, visit www.shootextreme.com or call 513-847-1932.
