Starting A Public Indoor Gun Range

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The NRA has info on range construction but it is expensive. One of the local ranges in TX told me that the best way to get an indoor range is to wait till someone else builds it and then buy it for a 1/3 of price at the bankrupcy sale.

Sorry to be a downer. I wish we had some better indoor ranges here.
 
Start with your local business licensing agency. Your number one problem will be with licensing and zoning.
Get that out of the way, the rest is pretty straight-forward.
 
Gonna be hella expensive to comply with health and environmental regulations. Also, be prepared to budget a lot of money for ceiling repairs. If you plan on allowing rifles, you'll need one heavy-duty backstop as well.

Also, I think you need some type of FFL to sell ammunition. Not sure what you need to rent guns. Find a good lawyer and start asking questions at $400 an hour. Find a good CPA and work on pro forma financial statements... it will take a LONG time to recover your investment, if ever.

And be prepared for NIMBY - "not in my back yard". I doubt you'll get a permit from the city council to locate your range downtown, next to the local high school. It'll probably be out of town, or in a less than stellar part of town.

Good luck.
 
I would think you might be able to come up with some government money somewhere in the form of Grants. Approach it from a government contracts and training facility open to the public to help offset the cost to government.

Maybe through DOJ, Homeland Security or maybe a Congressional earmark for national security reasons.

I put together a business plan back around 2001-02 for indoor pistol. The Snail-Trapp (Savage) system for backstop was the way I was going. It reduced the lead dust, absorbed the energy and a conveyer belt dropped the rounds into a barrel.

This trap also reduced the air filter change out requirements, which you cannot just toss into the trashcan as they are now laden with lead dust.

Need a positive air flow away from the firing line, I think $5600 per lane was the cost.

Once I started dealing with the city planning department for zoning and building sites, I realized I was living in California and it was only going to get worse.

It would take about $5,000 before I could even see the City Council to ASK for their preliminary approval.

I decided against the whole thing and shelved the plan. This after about a year of footwork. Gunshows, ranges, long distance calls, researching and talking to many people.

My mental health was more important to me.

Rather than just dismiss the idea entirely, you might take a hard look at a paintball or archery course for starters. Get established and grow from there, become a recreational site.

All the government types are just doing their job, so be careful not to scare them or make them uneasy in your presence.

Vick
 
The other thing you must consider on top of everything else is: can you get, and can you afford, liabilty insurance. That might be the hardest part of the whole operation.
 
Once I started dealing with the city planning department for zoning and building sites, I realized I was living in California and it was only going to get worse.

It's feasible in America.

I work for a new range. The contractor's assurances that "water issues will be taken care of in no time" caused longer delays and grater costs than anything else. It was a classic case of government shaking down profit-oriented private industry for free money.
 
I want to start one from scratch in Western North Carolina

The Outer Banks Gun Club and the Wake County Range are both ranges built with county money for law enforcement training that are administered by a local club for non-LEO use. It's a pretty nice arrangement - the heavy LEO use is on weekdays, and the heavy non-LEO use is weeknights and weekends. I think that somehow the county pays Sir Walter Gun Club ti run the Wake County facility for civilians.

If you ever get down to Raleigh, you should check out the Wake County Range. A 100 meter indoor rifle range is impressive (to me).

You might talk to the folks at either about how they got that set up.

http://www.wakegov.com/firingrange/default.htm

Here is the "Where to Shoot" listing for the Outer Banks Gun Club:

http://www.wheretoshoot.org/Find_Range/wts_results.asp?CoreId=A6UJ9A001G9R&Option=R

Mike
 
I wish i hadn't built mine I could have used the space and money for more merchandise, Insurance is out of site.
 
If you want to start a range and end up with a million dollars, you had better start with two.
 
My boss looked into it here in FL, your looking at about 3 million for the initial build( Retrofitting a already standing building). Then its 120,000 a year for insurence and lead removal. So your going to need 10K a month just to keep the place open befopre you even get into your other bills like electirc, paying your workers, advertising, etc.
 
Actually put together a Business Plan, a formal plan, not some notes scratched out on a few napkins.

The bullet traps used can mitigate most all of the lead issues for both customers and employees.

The HVAC system needs a positve airflow from shooters to traps.

Lighting can be handled by design, sunlight, low voltage, solar etc.

The cost to build upfront is large but designing it in a way to attract the female market will dramatically increase revenues. A secure feeling, large restrooms, courteous and professional employees will bring the womenfolk back.

Guys will pretty much shoot anywhere, women won't, you have one chance.

Shop a few Architects, I was quoted 8%, find one enthused about your ideas.

I'd go greenfield first.

Lower insurance costs can be built in as part of the design. Liability, health and security risks are all manageable and ought to be part of the design.

Be wary of the turnkey operations, one size does not fit all.

Vick
 
Also, I think you need some type of FFL to sell ammunition.
Not since the FOPA was passed in 1986. An 06 FFL is required to manufacture ammunition for sale, but no FFL is required to sell ammunition manufactured by someone else.
 
And don't forget the one thing that shut down our indoor range, LEAD. You have to have some way of removing it from the air or the EPA will have a hissy fit.
 
The HVAC system needs a positve airflow from shooters to traps.

The indoor range I shoot at (a county range) is fully compliant with OSHA and the EPA.

There ain't no H or AC to the HVAC. It's pure V.

When the range goes hot, and they kick the fans on, they move a massive amount of air - far too much to heat or cool. For lead reasons, they don't recirculate. It is a very stiff breeze moving down range.

In the winter, they turn on some head lamps over the shooting benches - so you can burn your forehead while your fingers are freezing. :)

Mike
 
Not since the FOPA was passed in 1986. An 06 FFL is required to manufacture ammunition for sale, but no FFL is required to sell ammunition manufactured by someone else.

Ah, good to know.
 
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