Indoor Shooting Range Owners/Managers - Seeking Info

[TexasBanker]

I am new to this forum, looking for good insight from indoor range owners/managers.

I am a former banker who specializes in assisting Texas businesses obtain needed financing. At the moment I am working with a group who want to build a "guntry club" in South Texas (similar to friscogunclub.com) It would help me to learn from experienced club/range owner-operators, especially those who have been through a start-up.

I want to better understand the business operations of an indoor range, so would like to ask you some questions. Your answers will be kept confidential.

I hope you will participate. If so, please either post your email address here or email me directly at [email protected]

Thank you in advance for all who help. I appreciate it.
---Fred

 

[Trent]

Fred, a good starting point for a mile-high overview of things to look for in a range design can be found through the NRA.

There is an online training course for range operators / developers which covers pretty much all aspects of designing and operating a range. It's good material and will suit your needs well. As part of the training you also get the latest edition of the NRA Range Sourcebook - a large 3 ring binder, covering the specifics of range design and development.

https://onlinetraining.nra.org/online-courses/nra-range-development-and-operations-course/

The course is $300 at the time of this writing.

 

[Trent]

Also worth mentioning; one of the lines in the NRA training is especially relevant to your particular role in finance;



"If you open a[n indoor] range with the expectation that shooting activities will support the business, you will go bankrupt."

Many an indoor range has started and gone out of business in this country. Those which are successful *always* supplement their income with a strong retail pro shop, firearms sales, ammunition sales, training, and rentals.

The NRA training covers a wide range of areas with regards to shooting ranges; from government agency requirements, to safety, to business management and marketing. It's not just a course in how to build a shooting range. It's training on how to build a successful business model around a shooting range.

Well worth the time and cost, in my opinion. (I'm opening a large outdoor range in Illinois next year and going through all the prep work for doing so this winter.)

 

[TexasBanker]

Also worth mentioning; one of the lines in the NRA training is especially relevant to your particular role in finance;

View attachment 768809

"If you open a[n indoor] range with the expectation that shooting activities will support the business, you will go bankrupt."

Many an indoor range has started and gone out of business in this country. Those which are successful *always* supplement their income with a strong retail pro shop, firearms sales, ammunition sales, training, and rentals.

The NRA training covers a wide range of areas with regards to shooting ranges; from government agency requirements, to safety, to business management and marketing. It's not just a course in how to build a shooting range. It's training on how to build a successful business model around a shooting range.

Well worth the time and cost, in my opinion. (I'm opening a large outdoor range in Illinois next year and going through all the prep work for doing so this winter.)

TRENT: Thank you for your info!! I would like to communicate with you directly. If willing, please send me your contact info at [email protected]. Thanks, Fred

 

[FL-NC]

If I was to start a range, it would NOT be indoor. Limited distance, limits on guns that could be safely used, construction and maintenance costs, ventilation requirements, dealing with HAZMAT like lead residue, etc.- and that's before you even get into insurance. If one considers the costs of an indoor range and compares it to what could be had for the same $ with an outdoor complex, its a no-brainer. Especially in South Texas, where the climate is very mild compared to, say, Wisconsin or Minnesota. I think MOST people would prefer to shoot outdoors- just construct overhead cover for shade/rain protection. Think about how many people in Texas are deer hunters- an indoor range 100 yards long where hunters can zero high power rifles? Most of them want to be able to shoot further anyway. Not to mention the owners of guns like AR-15's and the like. And every gun shop that has a range co-located is always over-priced on everything. Its because they are trying to pay the operating costs of the range. I shoot at a world class facility in Fl, and this is the case there too. I don't buy a thing from there except my membership.

 

[TexasBanker]

If I was to start a range, it would NOT be indoor. Limited distance, limits on guns that could be safely used, construction and maintenance costs, ventilation requirements, dealing with HAZMAT like lead residue, etc.- and that's before you even get into insurance. If one considers the costs of an indoor range and compares it to what could be had for the same $ with an outdoor complex, its a no-brainer. Especially in South Texas, where the climate is very mild compared to, say, Wisconsin or Minnesota. I think MOST people would prefer to shoot outdoors- just construct overhead cover for shade/rain protection. Think about how many people in Texas are deer hunters- an indoor range 100 yards long where hunters can zero high power rifles? Most of them want to be able to shoot further anyway. Not to mention the owners of guns like AR-15's and the like. And every gun shop that has a range co-located is always over-priced on everything. Its because they are trying to pay the operating costs of the range. I shoot at a world class facility in Fl, and this is the case there too. I don't buy a thing from there except my membership.

FL-NC: Thanks for your comments, However, playing the hand I'm dealt: it's indoor It will have 100 yard lanes... ---Fred

 

[BSA1]

I am a former indoor shooting range manager.

For starters do NOT charge shooting on the range by the hour. Shooters will feel rushed to do all of their shooting within the hour to avoid going over and having to pay for a additional hour. Shooters want full value for their money and they don't want to pay for a second full hour if they are only going to be shooting another 15 minutes or so.

Second you do not want your shooters to feel rushed by hourly range rental. The longer you can keep them in the store the greater the chances are they will spend more money for retail items. No time limit on the range gives them time to take breaks, drink coffee / soda, visit with other shooters about guns and accessories, wander around the store looking at merchandise, visit with store staff, etc.

Third your investors will NOT make any money off of the range. Use the range as a enticement to visit the store. Retail and Internet sales are the profit maker. Since this is going to serve high income customers maybe some kind of Corporate incentives could be given large companies and their employees. How about some kind of awards program for members such as like Cabelas Club?

Then of course it comes down to how much money the investors are willing to put in the business and, most importantly, how soon and how much they want to start seeing returns on it.

 

[TexasBanker]

I am a former indoor shooting range manager.

For starters do NOT charge shooting on the range by the hour. Shooters will feel rushed to do all of their shooting within the hour to avoid going over and having to pay for a additional hour. Shooters want full value for their money and they don't want to pay for a second full hour if they are only going to be shooting another 15 minutes or so.

Second you do not want your shooters to feel rushed by hourly range rental. The longer you can keep them in the store the greater the chances are they will spend more money for retail items. No time limit on the range gives them time to take breaks, drink coffee / soda, visit with other shooters about guns and accessories, wander around the store looking at merchandise, visit with store staff, etc.

Third your investors will NOT make any money off of the range. Use the range as a enticement to visit the store. Retail and Internet sales are the profit maker. Since this is going to serve high income customers maybe some kind of Corporate incentives could be given large companies and their employees. How about some kind of awards program for members such as like Cabelas Club?

Then of course it comes down to how much money the investors are willing to put in the business and, most importantly, how soon and how much they want to start seeing returns on it.

BSA1: Thank you for this. I would like to talk further with you. If you are willing, please send me your contact info to [email protected]. Thanks, Fred

 

[Trent]

TRENT: Thank you for your info!! I would like to communicate with you directly. If willing, please send me your contact info at [email protected]. Thanks, Fred

E-mail sent. I'll help with what I can given time constraints.. I'm a workaholic.

 

[TexasBanker]

E-mail sent. I'll help with what I can given time constraints.. I'm a workaholic.

TRENT: Thanks!! Look forward to connecting. Other Range Owners/Managers, be like TRENT, help me out. Thanks in advance! ---Fred

 

[MAKster]

I have to disagree. Sure that sounds great for the shooters but the owners will go out of business fast doing this. By this logic you'll make even more money if you let people shoot for free. Either you charge a really high annual membership, have an hourly fee, or require people to buy the ammo from you. If you don't have a time limit people will literally never leave and of course they will bring their own reloads and never buy anything. I belong to a club with an annual membership fee. There are retirees who literally hang out there everyday and maybe shoot one or two shots the whole time they are there. The last thing you want is a bunch of guys with nothing else to do hanging out and bending everyone's ear. It sounds like your investors want to run a business not a place for people to hang out.

I am a former indoor shooting range manager.

For starters do NOT charge shooting on the range by the hour. Shooters will feel rushed to do all of their shooting within the hour to avoid going over and having to pay for a additional hour. Shooters want full value for their money and they don't want to pay for a second full hour if they are only going to be shooting another 15 minutes or so.

Second you do not want your shooters to feel rushed by hourly range rental. The longer you can keep them in the store the greater the chances are they will spend more money for retail items. No time limit on the range gives them time to take breaks, drink coffee / soda, visit with other shooters about guns and accessories, wander around the store looking at merchandise, visit with store staff, etc.

Third your investors will NOT make any money off of the range. Use the range as a enticement to visit the store. Retail and Internet sales are the profit maker. Since this is going to serve high income customers maybe some kind of Corporate incentives could be given large companies and their employees. How about some kind of awards program for members such as like Cabelas Club?

Then of course it comes down to how much money the investors are willing to put in the business and, most importantly, how soon and how much they want to start seeing returns on it.

 

[Owen]

It sounds like your investors want to run a business not a place for people to hang out.

In that case, calling it a Guntry Club is a weird choice.

 

[Owen]

Fred, I sent email to the address in your post, but it bounced.

 

[TexasBanker]

Fred, I sent email to the address in your post, but it bounced.

OWEN: Hmmm... try this [email protected]

 

[TexasBanker]

In that case, calling it a Guntry Club is a weird choice.

OWEN: The term "guntry club" seems to be the industry descriptor for ranges at this level. Some of the operators I have spoken with don't like it either. So far, no other phrase has been coined...

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Either you charge a really high annual membership, have an hourly fee, or require people to buy the ammo from you.

I disagree. Our local 25yd indoor range has been in business 30+ years with 25 lanes. They have a modest yearly membership and charge a range admittance fee for each shooter. You may have up to 3 shooters on a single lane- there is a small per shooter discount as well when you share a lane. There is no time limit once on the range, but loitering is limited by the purposeful lack of seating, lol. Also most people leave when they run out of ammo.....
Once restricted to handgun calibers, they upgraded four lanes to handle rifle calibers. This has given them a major edge over the other nearby indoor ranges. They simultaneously added extra soundproofing and ventilation. This is by far the most comfortable indoor range Ive ever shot at.
They have a medium sized attached gunshop, mostly new handguns and pistol caliber carbines and offer rentals of most models they sell. Though they don't advertise it, as a practical matter, the employees are encouraged to offer a free trial with one magazine of ammo if they identify someone as a serious buyer.
They sell ammo, at a few $$ over Walmart prices as a convenience and don't require you use theirs.
They offer CCW classes and sponsor an action shooting league. Women shoot free on Wedsdays and kids under 13 are always free.
Not sure where they make most of their money, but it seems to be working for them. Hope this helps.

 

[TexasBanker]

I disagree. Our local 25yd indoor range has been in business 30+ years with 25 lanes. They have a modest yearly membership and charge a range admittance fee for each shooter. You may have up to 3 shooters on a single lane- there is a small per shooter discount as well when you share a lane. There is no time limit once on the range, but loitering is limited by the purposeful lack of seating, lol. Also most people leave when they run out of ammo.....
Once restricted to handgun calibers, they upgraded four lanes to handle rifle calibers. This has given them a major edge over the other nearby indoor ranges. They simultaneously added extra soundproofing and ventilation. This is by far the most comfortable indoor range Ive ever shot at.
They have a medium sized attached gunshop, mostly new handguns and pistol caliber carbines and offer rentals of most models they sell. Though they don't advertise it, as a practical matter, the employees are encouraged to offer a free trial with one magazine of ammo if they identify someone as a serious buyer.
They sell ammo, at a few $$ over Walmart prices as a convenience and don't require you use theirs.
They offer CCW classes and sponsor an action shooting league. Women shoot free on Wedsdays and kids under 13 are always free.
Not sure where they make most of their money, but it seems to be working for them. Hope this helps.

NIGHTLORD40K, thank you for these helpful comments. ---Fred