Anyone familiar with who is currently constructing/building/designing indoor shooting ranges ?

Also... would it be smarter/more affordable to buy an existing building and retrofit/refit it with a range ? -or- would it be smarter to go the route of brand new construction ?

TIA

www.thearmsroomtx.com

These ppl (I'm a family friend) just built a brand new indoor range using an existing building. They spent a good chunk of change on it but damn it's a nice place!

meggitt

These folks make the best in the world...IMHO

I know our club's indoor range was purchased (many years ago) from a range that went bye-bye in New York somewhere...

It pre-dates me by a good bit, but as far as I can tell, it was installed in an area added on to our clubhouse designed to accept the newly acquired gear.

NRA Shooting Range Services

Bump for the evening crowd.

MGM Targets might be able to help you out.

No, no and NFW!!!!!

Those guys - the ones working for the NRA as "range experts" will give you BULLSHIT advice and try to get you to adopt idiotic range rules (i.e. account for every possible range idiot instead of treating range patrons like adults).

Example?  A new indoor private range was proposed in our area; it was to be called the "Shooters Range" and would have been in the Marumsco Plaza located in Woodbridge, VA.


A friend in the area attended an NRA "Range Seminar" to get the NRA's advice.  


They STATED to him: "Steel targets cannot be used indoors safely.  Ever."

Really?  The NRA obviously does not want you to know about INDOOR STEEL CHALLENGE  I have run matches on dozens of occasions using steel indoors.  I know it can be done safely.  Ironically, I've even shot steel on the range they have set up down in the basement of their HQ building off 66; some of them KNOW it can be done safely, but they refuse to alter their advice to others (ie YOU).  

As far as their suggested "NRA model range safety rules" how many of you have heard of / seen these at YOUR local range?

-NO RAPID FIRE! (no more than one aimed shot per second)

-NO DRAWING FROM A HOLSTER (sorta kills any chance of meaningful CCW practice)

-NO more than 5 rounds loaded

These suggested rules all come directly from the NRA "consultants" linked above.  

You really do NOT want their advice on range rules.  Their advice on other matters (liability coverage, OSHA standards, might be worthwhile.

Thats funny cause the NRA range doesn't incorporate any of those rules.









 

Look at attending the "NRA Range Operations and Development Conference"  You'll end up with all your questions answered and plenty of corporate and peer contacts to guide you into making your dreams come true.


BTW, the rules listed above weren't mentioned at the conference, the topics covered business models, construction, safety, Noise issues, facility requirements, EPA and OSHA reg, insurance items and tons of other topics over the course of a week.   (Indoor and outdoor ranges were covered)

I was on the ground floor of a start up in 1996.

I offer this advice:  If you want to make a million dollars in the indoor shooting business, start with two million and know when to quit.  

Here is some advice I got from another indoor range owner, "John, you're about to take a perfectly good hobby and fuck it up."

Construction cost
Ventilation
Bullet trap

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!  You MUST have a high volume of drive by traffic because you won't be able to buy enough advertising.

Do NOT have any partners if you can help it.