I'm thinking of opening an outdoor range. Advice?

As mentioned above be sure about the longevity of your impact area if you don't own it. Present or future construction encroachment can be a detriment to the business. This has severely hampered and shut down many ranges.

There are engineering and administrative controls that can be implemented to keep projectiles on the range such as taller backstops and baffle systems. These tend to get expensive to engineer and build though.

All it takes is for a disgruntled neighbor to complain to the local government and it's on from there. Google "gun range shut down" for examples. It doesn't matter if there are bullets actually leaving the range or not, after the attorneys get involved they will come out the most enriched in the end.

BTW, I own a private membership range.

I have no specific advice, just some anecdotes:

My club had an urban outdoor range, very convenient to club members and PD, on city owned waste ground not even a brownfield project could rehabilitate. As the state EPA rep said, "Lead contamination is the LEAST of that area's problems."
But after 30 years of operation we were evicted on a move by a real estate saleswoman who got on the city council and complained to the real estate salesman mayor that the sound of gunfire made it difficult for her to sell houses in a development less than 10 years old.
We cashed in our reserve funds, sold lifetime memberships, raised dues, and bought acreage to move well out in the sticks. Just across the road from a 40 year old trap and hunting club. Phew.

While the club was struggling with relocation, a guy in the area decided to open a commercial/membership range. He already owned the land, so all it cost him was grading up berms and building a firing line for a pretty good square range. I signed up, it is closer though less versatile than the new club range. I do the shooting there that would be acceptable by Evil Twin's outfit and drive farther to the club to practice IDPA with more than five rounds in the gun.
That makes it worthwhile to me, but the guy has no clue about how to operate a prosperous range. You get a bench and a berm. There are no training or competition programmes, no retail operation, nothing to bulk up the operation.

The newest indoor range in this end of the state is a deluxe setup, full AC, great acoustics and lighting in three bays, with a store. One of the owners confided to me that he had $3,00,000 sunk, with expansion planned (although he did not make his schedule on that.)

The older indoor range in the area is doing a steady business behind the biggest store in the area. They have opened a new store but I don't know if they mean to build a range for it.

In my area there are two outdoor ranges open to the public. One of them charges $15 per day (with half-price specials on various days and times, including a seniors day) and feels kinda like how I remember summer camp as a kid; they do not rent guns. Annual membership is $30, plus a $20 initiation fee to join; this gets you a 5% discount on ammo and the regular range fee goes down from $15 to $12 with similar reductions to the special rates. The other range charges $20 per day, rents guns for $10 with the ability to try as many as you want during your visit without paying again, has a lot of different features on their ranges, allows rapid-fire in the "steel gallery", and has a bar and grill, I guess this is the "country club" type range someone mentioned upthread. They offer full-year memberships for $350, which disappear the range fees and get you a 10% discount on ammo and also a discount in the bar and grill.

My biggest peeve with ranges are also what can make some ranges great. Rules.

I know this is kind of putting the cart before the horse but be very careful and judicious in your rules selection. Maybe acquire the range rules from 10 or more ranges and see what you like and don't like.

If it is an outdoor range, there should be very few restrictions on types of firearms allowed and every effort should be made to provide for as many different types as possible.

For example, some places prohibit black powder. Both muzzle loading and BPCRs. This is a significant section of the shooting community even if black powder is not a shooters primary interest they probably still dabble in it. There should also be an archery range. Many suburban dwellers cannot even shoot their bow in the back yard anymore. I was briefly a member at a range that would not allow two people on the same firing line trade firearms between hot and cold ranges. You had to first put it in a case (a trigger lock would not do) and then take it back to one of your vehicles and make the exchange there. The list could be endless but I am well aware that some places have a ton of rules to minimize liability.

My ideal place would consist of these elements.
-Way out in the sticks down in a bowl of sorts surrounded by hills or mountains.
-15yd handgun range, 50 yd rimfire only range, 100, 200, and 300 yd rifle range. out to 300 yd BPCR silhouette range, trap and skeet range. CAS town. Archery range. The rifle ranges and pistol ranges could also be used by like firearm black powder shooters. If you can, allow reloads to be used by the shooters as well as any ammo they bring with them.
-(Your gonna love this) NOT family friendly. 18 or over age restriction, period. Kids make me nervous and being nervous with a loaded firearm in my hand is not family friendly. I see this as a practical impossibility though as that would destroy your market. I have made due as I am yet to be aware of any ranges that have a youth restriction.
-If it is just shabby enough and expensive enough to have a small membership I will become a life member. I hate crowded ranges. But as the proprietor that is what you should go for. You see how you will always be at odds with your membership.

I understand some of the above points could be skewed a little one way or another to better provide for the members but that is just a general outline.

I could care less about club houses, gun rentals, or a place to buy ammo. I like covered shooting areas. I bring my own guns and ammo and food and water. (allow eating wherever you want) Ive been to a club that only allowed eating off the firing line. That is fine and an unnecessary distraction to a shooter anyway. Step away and eat your sammich.

Organizing club shoots and training sessions is good for the club and the membership but it does not appeal to me.

evil-twin said:

Curious that you would post intelligence levels, then post check out all the "Private" outdoor ranges open to the public.. ????? That in itelf is contradictory... So which is it.. a private range or one open to the public..

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Did you read the original post?

I'm considering buying a piece of land outside of city limits to create a range open to the general public for pay as you go as well as yearly memberships.

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What would you call a range that is owned by one person but open to the public? You seem to be aware of the definition of private as related to the USE of the land, but not cognizant of the definition as used in relation to the OWNERSHIP of the land. If English is not your native language it's easy to understand your confusion. Definition of "private" from Miriam-Webster is below, I was using it in the context of definition 1B, while obviously you're only familiar with definition 1A:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/private

private

adjective pri·vate \ˈprī-vət\

Full Definition of PRIVATE

1

a : intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class <a private park>

b : belonging to or concerning an individual person, company, or interest <a private house>

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evil-twin said:

are there publicly owned outdoor ranges?

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As others have pointed out, they are quite common. My experience has been that the only outdoor ranges open to the public are publicly owned ranges.

A couple of local ones:

http://www.honeyisland.org/
http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/shooting-range/woodworth-shooting-range
http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/shooting-range/sherburne-shooting-range
http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/shooting-range/natchitoches-shooting-range
http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/hunting/bodcau-wma
http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/shooting-range/honey-island-shooting-range

First off I check with the city/county to see if it`s even doable.

That's the first hurdle. If you can`t get by them..... .

Curious that you would post intelligence levels, then post check out all the "Private" outdoor ranges open to the public.. ????? That in itelf is contradictory... So which is it.. a private range or one open to the public..

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Not contradictory at all. Most businesses open to the publc are privately owned, except Post office, DMV.

Public ranges, owned by the taxpayer, are often run by regional parks, state fish and game agencies, USDA Forest service, etc.

Consult with an attorney, but "membership only" tends to make "members" part of the corporation for liability reasons. They can't sue themsleves. Clubs that have a "Pay for the day" option often involves making you a temporary "member".

One of the things that should be at the top of your list is whether your State has range protection law that keeps someone from coming along that wants to build a house or housing development downrange after you have built your range and shutting you down due to the risk to the residents.

Evil-Twin said:

are there publicly owned outdoor ranges?

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Yes. They are fairly common in some parts of the country. Some are operated by whatever state entity regulates hunting in the area (dnr, f&g, p&w, etc.), some are owned by police departments, and some are designated by the forest service, blm, and the like.

As for the op's question: my advice would depend on where you plan to open a range.

In a place like California or Colorado I would suggest trying to work with public land agencies (nat'l forest or blm) to lease land up against a mountain. The pitch would be harm mitigation (concentrating lead in one area vs spread across region) and being the accountable party when it comes to nuisances (public land shooters have some nasty habits when it comes to leaving trash around).

Alternatively for places near urban areas (especially on the west coast where hunting lore isn't common knowledge, but probably anywhere), follow the SCUBA shop example. Focus on being a noob friendly place to learn hunting, but also act as (or work with) a specialized travel agency to arrange group hunting trips, do reoccurring training, provide supplies and equipment checks, etc..

If near a big city in a smaller state, or some place like Dallas, the ultimate would be to borrow from bowling alleys or maybe Top Golf. Have roll paper targets that change at the press of a button, digital cameras set up to snap photos of the targets. Have a smartphone app and qr codes on the benches so when a shooter arrives she can scan her bench and get target photos, scoring, and so on automatically - with Facebook integration for bonus points. Have the whole place locked down and rent silencers. Make it impossible to shoot over the berm or across lanes. Create an achievements system so that as shooters cross certain milestones they are automatically acknowledged. Have a viewing lounge where family can hang out and be comfortable. In other words, make it an approachable luxury that people want to talk about doing.

In every case offer CHL, handgun training, and some sort of move-and-shoot bays.

As for how-to specifics, that is totally regional.

Gun range, sports bar ....

An intrepid business man near my metro area wants to set up a new public for profit gun shop/range with a high end sports bar, lounge, casual dining restaurant.
The rub is that he wants a liquior license and the ability to serve alcoholic beverages in the bar-restaurant, .
The local media already got huffy about that point.
The business owner claims the patrons must swipe their valid state DLs, then get access to the gun range/firearms store section. They say it would be a 24hr period before you could go shooting or get access to the gun shop if you drank any beer or cocktails in the sports bar.

I, for one, could see a few problems with this set-up. I wouldn't mind showing ID for a alcoholic beverage but I'm not down with giving a unknown 3rd party access to all my DL information, .
Also, who enforces the SOPs inside the bar area or property(parking lot) if some looney tunes gets wasted then waves their own firearm around?
Having the bar-pub in a seperate location then saying no firearms makes more sense than adding a sports bar to a gun range.

Guess you haven't seen the videos of shooting ranges in Europe where the bar and eatery are a part of the facility

Or the gunshop/liquor store in Flagstaff.

Or the Frisco Gun Club (Frisco, TX) which features a, "Private members-only VIP Club lounge featuring fine dining, drinks, cigars, lounge area with fireplace, private shooting lanes, on-site gun storage in our vault, and after-hours biometric range access."