Handloads at indoor range

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I've got the range officers at my favorite range trained to sweep brass into a pile for me. They even check with other shooters to see of they're keeping their brass. Luckily it's the closest range to me and is is only a few years old.
 
cfullgraf said:
from reloaders who only rent a lane.

The OP needs to vote with his pocket book and shoot somewhere else.
Click to expand...

Many new ranges owned by an individual are in it for the business of making money, not accommodating shooters. While they can claim that not letting you chase brass, use your own handloads vs factory/their reloads may be a safety issue, it basically comes down to more profit. The handloader with a thousand rounds will use all the time they pay for and take up the lane longer. The average Joe that buys a box of 20 or 50 rounds will shot that up and leave, freeing up a lane faster. So not only does the owner make more money because of ammo sales, but lane turnover is faster, allowing more shooters in the same amount of time.
 
Take your business elsewhere. I went to an indoor range in my area to shoot. Once finished I started to pick up my brass when a employee told me that "once it is fired it belongs to us". I told him that this policy was not posted anywhere and I would pick up what belongs to me and leave. Which is exactly what I did amid their threats to call police. They never did. I have a very low bs threshold.
 
Patronizing such ranges only encourages such ripoffs. Two other ranges I stopped going to pulled the same crap. One had customers pay an extra fee if they brought their own ammo. I wrote to the owners. Thankfully, both are out of business.
 
Neither of the practices being objected to are of any concern to people who only shoot factory ammo. What percentage of shooters do you think are reloaders?

I think I might shoot there---but only 22's. They can keep the brass with my compliments :)
 
I have been to a few ranges with this policy. So, you cant just go elsewhere reasonably.
The range I frequent has the policy. I ignore it. I don't ask about it. I keep my mouth shut and go shoot. I have never seen anyone's ammo checked.
My guess is that they have their insurance butts covered if there is a mishap.
Boxing ammo is a good idea. I did go to a range in Ft. Myers, FL that required you to buy their ammo. Even .22 LR. I did not keep my mouth shut and went off on them. :cuss: I won't go back there.
 
"Many new ranges owned by an individual are in it for the business of making money"

Well I'd certainly hope so! If you're dealing with a business that isn't, you won't be dealing with them for long. It takes money to pay the rent and money to make improvements. I like dealing with successful businesses and knowing they will be there next week when I need them.

Market forces are what they are. The number I'd heard was $4 mil to build the new indoor range by me, no idea what they pay for a half dozen staff members, liability insurance, taxes, licenses, inventory, etc... Going to take a whole lot of clientele to break even on that.

I'm glad to see them in business and wish them nothing but success. (but I'll be at the other range shooting my reloads :D)
 
Not going to shoot there.

As the original OP, I thought about and read each post from you at least twice. I wanted to give this new range every benefit possible. A close friend (shoots with me) had talked with the new owner and said installing the HEPA ventilation system alone was a staggering figure. Of course he built this range to be profitable so he can pay employees and make a living himself. I understand that part clearly.

But here is my hang-up. I cannot bring in or shoot my reloads. I have been loading many years in an ultra safe and conservative fashion, but of course the new range officials don't really know that about me...understood. I am sure some hot rod reloaders juice up their loads way beyond safe. Squib loads, due to careless loading practices, can result in bullets stuck in the barrel and cause dangerous situations. Maybe that is their thinking.

BUT, I cannot bring in my own reloads, YET the ammo they sell to me ARE reloads. Darn that sticks in my craw. Add on top of that, I am not allowed to pick up or recover my brass in a safe fashion, another stick in my craw rule.

Like many said, "if you don't want to follow THEIR rules, simply don't go there". Good point. I think I'll let some time pass and it is possible they will soften their rigid rules once they get a feel for the way things are shaping up. I learned to never say never, but I'll pass on it for now.
 
I'm fortunate to have two indoor ranges 15 minutes or less away from me and both are very helpful about letting me hang on to my brass (the range officers will sweep it back towards me).

About 35 minutes from me, there is another range with grated floors that the brass falls through. This is purportedly done to reduce trip/fall hazards... but it effectively makes it a "lost brass" range. I went there once, learned about the floor, and haven't darkened its doorways again.

I would spend $0 at a range that wouldn't let me shoot my own ammo or keep my brass.

The range with those rules is basically announcing that avid/serious shooters are not wanted. It will be all amateur-hour, all the time.
 
While a little old and off topic a bit the following is a pretty good read:

Range and Business Management-Building a Profitable Range. It's amazing how many considerations need to go into building a profitable indoor range. Keep in mind the age of the story. I like how she mentions $100,000 only to discover that won't even cover the air handlers twenty years ago.

To shoot or not to shoot at any given range after a review of their rules and policies is something we get to decide individually. Maybe next week I will resume my indoor range shopping. Then too if spring comes early I can postpone an indoor range till next winter. :)

Ron
 
Close to where I live, there is a new state-of-the-art indoor range that has just opened today. Several million dollars have gone into it. I have not been there yet, but plan to do so soon.

Back when they were trying to get people signed up for membership, they had their rules listed and one of them was "no reloads". A lot of people complained that they would not shoot unless they could use their reloads. Apparently enough people complained, and they lifted that restriction.
 
I get the rule about no exposed lead or hollow point rounds for indoor ranges. But get this: At a couple of ranges, they don't allow shooting "magnum" calibers. So, he said I couldn't shoot my 32 H&R mag revolver. He understood the nonsense and said that you can't shoot 22 mag but you can shoot your AK in here. Must have been a zoning rule from the city or something.
 
They may be under a conditional use permit. Those are often imposed by people who have no knowledge at all of actual requirements, but impose something that "sounds like it should be done".

A range we shoot at in matches built 7 new outdoor shooting bays on the north side of their property several years ago, surrounded by farmland. The county imposed a conditional use permit that only allowed the shooting of .22 rimfire on those ranges, even though the impact area is a 500' high hill. It took a lot of money and public hearings to get the conditional use permit modified so they could shoot center fire ammunition on those ranges. Now they can shoot full auto firearms on those same ranges.......

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
I would only got to such a range if a friend was going. In that cause, I would bring my full house factory 44 mag and that's what I would shoot. It's a revolver, so let them try to keep my brass. At my range, I don't shoot the full house 44 mags, not because it's the rule, but out of consideration of all the new shooters they have. One of the guys at the range is a reloader, we talk powder and loads. He says he has to hide his bullets because his wife (who also works there) will shoot them all. They have rules, but most deal with safety. They are helpful and friendly. They ask that you only pick up your own brass, since they do collect and sell the excess brass. They will sweep the brass to the range side, but they will always ask "Do you keep your brass?". I do get upset at the guys who violate their rules, and sweep up brass in large amounts so they can sell it.

I have a two year membership, the longest you can get, go there 2-3 times a month (when I retire maybe more). They have two ranges, one they typically use for folks to do active shooter training. I will never be a member of a range that has no reloads. BTW: I seriously doubt they can tell my copper plated rounds are reloads.
 
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