centers and more. " GIS gives us an immeasurable amount of knowledge compared to what we had before, " Sussenbach said. " You always used to think you were putting something in the right place. But now you can know you're putting it in the right place. " The range improvements and additions are coming at the perfect time, as the swelling crowds of shooters are only likely to get larger. Gun sales are booming. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, Americans underwent a record 39.7 million background checks in 2020. That's a 29 perJULY 2021 cent increase over 2019. The pace has only quickened since. Americans underwent another 12.5 million checks in the first three months of 2021, with two of those months topping 4 million - a bar never before passed in the system's 23-year history. While background checks don't equate one-to-one to gun sales, they are considered a very close indicator and point to lots of people buying lots of firearms lately. Many are newcomers to shooting. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, about 40 percent of 2020's firearms sales were to first-time gun owners. Minorities and women accounted for more of those sales than 35