Posted: 2/9/2008 3:54:14 AM EDT
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some of you need to get an understanding of what it costs to put a range nowadays. go check out www.rangeinfo.org for any indoor range, you're looking at 250,000 to 500,000 for the bullet traps another 1/2 million plus for the ventilation system. (all EPA BS) whatever the building costs to rent/buy (and of course, you need a big building, so that's spendy) lead recovery insurance permits and safety inspections, zoning, etc You're looking at 1.5 million to 2.5 million dollars EASY!!!! that's a huge nut to cover every single month. $15 an hour is a deal. outdoor ranges are no better. you need 100 acres at least, so either you spend $5 million plus to get close, or you buy it WAYYY out east (for 500,000) and force your customers to drive 20,30,100 miles. Which means you have no customers during the day, and everyone is there on the weekend. And you still need buildings, backstops , lead traps, water and lead attenuation, soil tests and every couple years you have to pay to have someone come in and do lead reclamation at $50k You're still looking at $1 million plus some ranges are like a gym membership. People pay $50 a month for a gym membership all the time without blinking an eye. And People have a lot less invested in a gym than in a range.. Are you going to go to the range for more than 3 hours a month? Then it's probably worth it. individuals is what, $30/month? That's two hours worth of shooting. If you're close to the range, you're likely to beat that. You can blow off a hundred dollars worth of ammo in an hour, why is $15 to the range owner (who took all the risk) such a problem? anybody know what that indoor range on Mulberry St in Ft Collins (rocky mtn shooter supply) is charging? I know Green Mountain is about $15/hour right? This guys thing is $30/month, that's $360/year, $1/day. You'd spend more in gas driving out to Pawnee. I don't get it, everyone complains about "there is no place to shoot close" and then when one does open, "it's too expensive" did you expect it to be free?  Better start supporting some of these places, or there really will be no place to shoot. Or go open your own and risk your own 1.5 million dollars. I'll be the first in line to help you out. The more these places are successful, the more ranges that will open as people see there is money to be made. |
Or, you can move to the western slope. I agree with you that with the costs involved with opening up either an indoor range or outdoor, the usage fees are usually a bargain. Support your local ranges, or else they'll go out of business. That's what happened in my last place of residence. The only real range that continued to be open was a country range that serviced a population of 7+ million between 3 counties. Waiting 3 hours to shoot for an hour was not uncommon. |
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rocky mountian shooters supply (the one on mulberry/hwy 14) charges $15-18 in that range per hr. when you consider like the one in loveland you can shoot large bore rifle thats a deal. the same ones who bitch (sorry, express concern over range fees) already stopped at starbucks or some other boutique coffee place, and plunked down $4-5 for a cup of extra double overpriced crap w/out blinking an eye. they drink 2-4 cups a day (depending on their addiction) and thats and easy $100+ PER MONTH GO FIGURE but easier to bitch about range cost than face reality. the galeton/ weld cty range is $125 per year. used to be $50. thats outdoors and 50mi rd trip for me, from home. i've been a member there for 15 years. sometimes i'll stop in at RMSS and do an hrs worth of shooting. thats less than gas to go from ft fun after work-the range-home (55miles) + drive time. we looked at opening an indoor range 10-15 years ago. then lead disposal was cheaper, building cost under $300K. the main factor was logistics of getting people in the door. you need 5 shooter per hr @ $10 per hr 6hrs a day to maintain initial outlay. that doesn't include stocking the range, employees, mandatory health ins, quartly blood test for employees (lead check) utilities etc. the only way to hopefully break even and then actually turn a profit. you run it like a health spa/gym. membership + mthly fees. if not counting on walk in trade never keeps the doors open. nice post bozemanmt |
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I'll probably join the new one in loveland, but I can shoot all I want in my backyard. I'd just like to see a little flexibility, as if things pull back at work, the range fee is the first I'll drop, and with the initiation fee, be less than likely to re-up if I have to pay initiation again... For me, an indoor range is a luxury, and as such, dropped if I have to run lean. |
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I shoot a lot in my back yard. Just go sit on the deck and unleash some rounds. I got one of those reactive targets to shoot at and that is pretty fun, but I do like to go to a range with targets and be around others who like to shoot as well. I am waiting to hear what this place in loveland is going to charge. It is a bit of a drive, but it sounds like it might be a pretty decent place. i hope so. |
| I've started to go to Cherry Creek-I think it's reasonable for $13 for all day or until you run out of ammo.You can either join their club or buy a $60 parks pass for the year and I think it's still a bargain that way. We do need to support our ranges as previously stated or they'll just disappear as so many others have. |
Good points, but there's a few things you have wrong. I pay $40/month for a gym membership. I drive under 5 minutes to get to it, and it's open close to 24/7. I'd happily pay $40/month to the Boulder Rifle Club, if they'd let me. As it is, I'm on a decade long wait list, when the range is usually deserted (even on their open weekends, the place is not crowded). The only rifle range I know of that I can simply show up at, pay my fees, and shoot is Cherry Creek - and i have a $7 park admittance fee, on top of the range fee, on top of the $20 of gas the trip takes, and the 1:30 to 2 hours of driving it takes (round trip). This doesn't even include ammo costs. One trip to the range costs me as much as an entire month at a gym, and to top that off, I've had some Neanderthals working there think that smacking my scope to "set the cross hairs" was in their job description. Sorry, but if you touch my gun without my explicit permission, you and I have a problem. I'll most likely make it known by not fucking going there again (and on the rare occasions I frequent that place, it's not crowded). Left hand canyon is overrun, I've never been to the "north shoot site" without several others being there. Why? I can go and shoot. If I could buy a $40/month membership in the same driving range to shoot rifles, pistols, shotguns, or anything else I wanted, i would. I can't. I'd drive quite a bit further if I could shoot outside of 9-5. I can't. The fast majority of the time the ranges are open, I'm at work. Give me a pistol range as close, and at the same cost as a gym, I'll be there all the time, and probably spending money on the other stuff they sell. |
| For those in and around the Springs: Dragonman's charges $10 for shooting all day, $8 for each shooter after the first in a group. That's 50 ft pistol, 100 yd rifle, and 220 yd rifle ranges. Whistling Pines Gun Club's initiation fee is up to $350, IIRC, with dues of $20 or $25 a month. Range visits are covered by dues. They have a 25 yd indoor range, and are talking about building a tactical range indoors too. They allow rifles indoors, but no steel ammo. |