Just tossing ideas around here.  We have lots of indoor ranges around (Bardstown, Lexington, Nicholasville), but would anyone be interested in a 3-gun style outdoor range?  What about a 3-gun club?

I haven't even looked in to what costs would be to get one up and running (insurance, requirements to become an official club, etc.) but we're definitely lacking in options for the 3-gun style.  Thinking about Springfield or Lebanon due to the cost of land in the larger cities.  Thoughts?

We fill every match we run at Rockcastle.  Bluegrass and Owensboro have good attendance too. I think a club in central Ky that runs a 3 gun match every month would see plenty of shooters as long as you don't affiliate with 3GN.  (No interest in their program, format, rules, stages, etc in KY).

But, can you pay for property, range improvements, targets, props, insurance, set up/tear down, etc by charging $40/shooter?  I'd say doubtful.  But I haven't run the numbers.

Edit to add-  I'm in Elizabethtown, and run some local 3 gun and a pretty popular team event at Rockcastle.

Anderson County Sportsman's Club does a pistol competition a few times a month, maybe even 3-gun.  I think they open those to the public.

It would be nice to do some shooting and moving.  The range I use is real nice but they discourage anything but sitting static at the firing line and shooting slow (no rapid fire, no shooting and moving, no steel targets).

Something in E-town would be good

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Can we get a show of hands from those that intend to join the Central KY Gun Club here in Elizabethtown when it opens?

I live on a pretty big chunk of land. It's possible that I *could* be persuaded to have a shoot/move for a small handful (I hate crowds) safe shooters. It's rugged, wooded, and 4wd access only. I had a really nice setup but snow meltoff washed a lot my targets away.

Feel free to pm me. I'm near Richmond.

I would

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Wait, are you talking about the possibility of a range opening like what mjburn3 is talking about, or is there a range that's already planning on opening in Elizabethtown?

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I live in London, just south of Central KY, and a LGS started having a monthly 22lr USBR type shoot 3 months ago. There's been 3 so far. The first one had 10 people the second 18 the third 25+.

What I'm getting at is:

"If you build it, they will come."

BPR, would you mind to elaborate on the no interest in 3GN affiliation?  Like I said, just getting started in my research, but there is definitely a gap in 3GN coverage in KY.  That's part of the reason I started entertaining the idea.  Not attached to 3GN by any means, just want to make sure to start out in the right market if you know something I don't!

I hadn't heard anything about this. Do you have any details, where, what distances, covered shooting area, pistol bays?

Central Ky Gun Club, south Dixie, just south of I-65 exit 91.  Indoor range, 25 yards, I think 12 lanes.  Indoor archery range too.  

It's under construction now, should be opened by end of year I think.  Their Facebook page has more info on rates, membership, etc

PM sent.

If you are in investigation mode, you might want to go to a 3 Gun match and see if you can talk to the Match Director at length after the match or schedule a time to talk with him on what it takes to have a great 3 Gun match. A good match has a lot going on behind the scenes that the average shooter may not understand.

I do not shoot 3 Gun (I shoot all the pistol games) but from what I have seen you need safe space for 6 to 8 stages that can all be running simultaneously as well as RO's and workers, and numerous paper and steel targets, and INSURANCE. Seems like that would be a pretty big initial investment.

I would also think you would need to run USPSA, IDPA, ICORE(?), and/or Steel on weekends when there is no 3 Gun to help pay for all the required items. The only difference in requirements would be at least a few spots with longer ranges (up to 300 yards) and few different styles of targets.

^ What JSG said 100%

Its not too hard to run a competitive club but it does require some insurance, the occasional filing with the state (you're basically an LLC that doesn't make any money), budgeting, oversight, etc etc. It is mostly fun to run a club, but there is some paperwork to shuffle to do it properly.  If you can borrow another clubs operating procedure it'll be a good basis to build your own.

I'm moving to Lawrenceburg in a few weeks.   Where / how can I get in contact with this group?
PM or here.

I think something north of Lexington would be a big hit. There are a lot of shooters in the N-KY/Cincy/SE IN area that are dying for a good outdoor range. Something with both long range options (300yrds +) and pits to practice shooting drills. 3-gun would just be a great added bonus as would other shooting comps (IDPA, Steel matches, rimfire challenge, etc.)

And that's thing with opening a range, I doubt it would make financial sense to open a range just for one type of shooting competition? I've never run the numbers myself but I think to make it self sustaining from a finical perspective, it would need to be a 7 day a week/360 or so days a year range that attracts as many different shooters as possible because land, insurance, improvements and upkeep won't be cheap.