mmb617
Member
About a month ago I shot at an indoor range for the first time ever. I belong to a club that has multiple outdoor ranges all the way out to 300 yds. It's never really busy and I can pretty much always have one of the ranges to myself but I did sometimes wish there was somewhere to shoot indoors in the winter. A new indoor range opened in town and it's only 2 miles from my house so I had to check it out. For a $40 enrollment fee then $15 per month I get unlimited range time, so at that price I felt I had to join. It only goes to 25 yds so I'll still be doing all my rifle shooting at the club, and on nice days I'll still shoot my pistols outdoors as well but it's been nice having the option to shoot indoors during the winter or other bad weather days.
I've found that by going to the indoor place on weekdays in the early afternoon I'm often the only one on the range. I never have to worry about clear lenses as the glasses I wear all the time are sun sensors that clear indoors, and I always have my ears and some ammo in my range box that goes with me to either range, and I keep some targets in my vehicle all the time so I don't forget anything I'm going to need.
The first thing I noticed was how much louder it is indoors, but not uncomfortably so. There was a guy shooting an AR a couple lanes down from me one day but it was suppressed so not very loud at all. It's nice not having to spread my tarp and having the brass just fall at my feet on the concrete floor for me to collect. Having the targets come to you instead of having to hike downrange to hang them is nice, but not really a big deal at pistol ranges. Too bad they don't have something like that at the club's 300 yd rifle range. That's a bit of a hike.
I know there are some holes in the ceiling at the indoor range and I can't figure out how that happens. I thought it might be people with big recoil handguns cranking off a second shot before they recovered fully from the first one but the counter guy said it's the AR guys who are the worst offenders. If I couldn't fire my AR on a 25 yd range without hitting the ceiling...
It sure doesn't take long to run through ammo. Since I have unlimited range time I don't rush at all and normally I shoot 2 mags through my 9mm and 1 mag through my .45 each trip, so 40 rounds total. I'm on the range maybe 10 minutes. I spend a lot more time when at the outdoor range as I set up a tarp and have to walk down to set and retrieve targets, and I usually do some shooting there from much longer ranges.
Indoor and outdoor both have their pros and cons so I'm glad I'm able to access both as needed.
I've found that by going to the indoor place on weekdays in the early afternoon I'm often the only one on the range. I never have to worry about clear lenses as the glasses I wear all the time are sun sensors that clear indoors, and I always have my ears and some ammo in my range box that goes with me to either range, and I keep some targets in my vehicle all the time so I don't forget anything I'm going to need.
The first thing I noticed was how much louder it is indoors, but not uncomfortably so. There was a guy shooting an AR a couple lanes down from me one day but it was suppressed so not very loud at all. It's nice not having to spread my tarp and having the brass just fall at my feet on the concrete floor for me to collect. Having the targets come to you instead of having to hike downrange to hang them is nice, but not really a big deal at pistol ranges. Too bad they don't have something like that at the club's 300 yd rifle range. That's a bit of a hike.
I know there are some holes in the ceiling at the indoor range and I can't figure out how that happens. I thought it might be people with big recoil handguns cranking off a second shot before they recovered fully from the first one but the counter guy said it's the AR guys who are the worst offenders. If I couldn't fire my AR on a 25 yd range without hitting the ceiling...
It sure doesn't take long to run through ammo. Since I have unlimited range time I don't rush at all and normally I shoot 2 mags through my 9mm and 1 mag through my .45 each trip, so 40 rounds total. I'm on the range maybe 10 minutes. I spend a lot more time when at the outdoor range as I set up a tarp and have to walk down to set and retrieve targets, and I usually do some shooting there from much longer ranges.
Indoor and outdoor both have their pros and cons so I'm glad I'm able to access both as needed.