I'm new to this.  Do you have to own your own gun or can you "rent a gun"?

Do they provide ear protection?

How much does it cost on average for how much time?

Thanks for your help.

Gonna have to call your local one and ask.. All are different.

And yes, it is my hobby. Just like someone who collects coins, builds models or works on cars..

depends on the range. i know by me, if your a member you can go as many times as you like per year. as for renting guns, all are different. some of the leagues at my club have loaner rifles, and they don't charge at all for the service (for members which is about 50 dollars per year) for non members there may be a nominal fee to help insure the rifle will not be stolen.

ear protection they have, but again all ranges are different.

so basically if you went to my club in Upstate NY you could go shoot for about 10 bucks plus the cost of ammo (another 10-20) and you'd get to shoot a pretty nice AR-15. my club is exceptionally generous though, and i am unfortunatly not familiar with any in WI.

i hope i gave you a start point though.

if your very new to firearms, you might consider a safety course at your local range first.

My local indoor range rents guns, and they also have "eyes -n- ears" if you need them.

Like the poster earlier said, call the ranges in your area and see what they offer.

Range time costs depend a lot on where you live as well.  When I lived in San Antonio I had 6 great ranges within 15-20 minutes, and most of them cost either $10 for the whole day or $3/gun or so, depending on whether they charged per day or per gun.  Memberships also make it a lot cheaper.

Now that I'm up in Illinois, there isn't a good public range for 50mi, and that one is like $10 for 30 minutes or something.

Thank god I get to shoot at the police range.

you should ask these questions in the hometown forum click

I try to get to the range once a week (usually sunday). I'm an associate member at the Pearland Gun Club...so I can go anytime during daylight, even if no one else is there. It's $150/year, which is cheaper than going to the local open gun range at $10/day. It's a private range so you have to bring everything...gun, ammo, hearing protection, eye protection, targets, spotting scope if you need it, etc. People agree by concensus when to have cease fires. They allow any kind of paper or plastic target, but you have to clean up after yourself.

there are two ranges that i go to on a regular basis. one is indoor which means it is mostly just for handguns, though shotguns and rifles are allowed. this range charges $12/hr per lane, per shooter. eyes, ears, targets, etc. are available for nominal fees. it is also a gun store so ammunition and accessories are available. gun rentals are $7 but you have to shoot winclean ammo (slightly more expensive) through the rentals. every friday night is ladies' night which means free range time, free instruction, free eyes and ears, free gun rental. all you pay is ammo and targets, assuming you're female. i have heard of other ranges offering similar programs. the other range i frequent is an outdoor range and offers distances from five yards through two hundred yards. the range fees are five dollars per person for the whole day. eyes and ears are offered at a nominal fee as well as targets and spotting scopes. there is no ammunition or accessories for sale with the exception of eyes and ears. they also have a ladies' program but it is geared more towards education and marksmanship my fiance attends every now and then even though it's a little basic for her.

i second the notion that your hometown forum would be of more help. also an internet search for local ranges would be a good idea.

the most important thing is to get good safety instruction before attempting to handle a firearm. you wouldn't try to operate a chainsaw or any other dangerous tool without instruction, right? there should be many local classes offered for free or at very affordable prices. pick one that suits your needs and have fun.

From Siggal101

I'm new to this. Do you have to own your own gun or can you "rent a gun"? Do they provide ear protection? How much does it cost on average for how much time? Thanks for your help.

What part of the State are you from???
Most ranges in WI our Outdoor and are designed with you bringing your own firearms.
You need to check your yellow pages and find out what around your area, then call them and ask.

Your question does not have enough detail to answer any better.

I bring my own guns and ammo, and then sometimes I rent guns and buy ammo. I have access to a full service range (Indoors, sales service supplies, Airc onditioning)

They will provide ear protection, but I bring my own ear (both foam inserts and muffs and use both) and eye protection

Range time is $13/hour, gun rental is $15/session, Bullets are list price. You can even rent an employee to give you lessons (as needed). CHL classes are also available.

Red's Indoor Range, (south) Austin Tx.

And, Oh, By the way, I do enjoy it very much, thanks for asking.

Looks like your thread got switched to the WI hometown forum.  So first off: Welcome!  I hope you are still able to follow it.

As others have said: A general idea of where you live would be needed to recommend a range.  Here in SE WI there are at least a couple of ranges that rent firearms.  This is usually more common at indoor ranges.  

If you show up at a local shoot (like the current 'Shiocton Shoot' thread), you could meet local shooters and very likely shoot a wide variety of firearms.  My experience at these shoots has been that you'll meet a lot a cool, like minded people.  And they will be more than happy to let you shoot their toys.  

Hope that helps

What part of the state are you from??

We can usually help out if you give us more details.

I'd also reccomend getting with another WI member shoot, lot's of variety.  Aside from that, in SE WI, there a few indoor pistol ranges which rent.  With range time, rental, eye's, ears, you're probably looking at $15-$!8, plus ammo.  If it'll be your first time, I'd advise you to go with someone with previous experience to help you out.

As to your original question, yes, I do enjoy shooting.  

Hey, I know you. Welcome to AR15 siggal

Thanks guy for hooking me up to this site.

Just posted about what vacuum cleaner I owned.  Never have talked about such personal stuff before.

siggal

We still don't know what part of the state you are from.

What... Part... Of... WI?

You generally will see 2 types of ranges: the indoor gunshop/range (no rifles, but you can rent pistols or pistol-caliber carbines for $10 or so plus ammo bought in the shop), and the outdoor range (no facilities, bring your own equipment, guns, ammo, and targets)...

Outdoor ranges are usually private clubs (see RCLR/7-mile - it takes money and work to join, but they have NICE facilities), but there are a few public ones in the outlying areas...