How to open a shooting range?

[TimR]

I have been throwing around the idea of opening a gun range in my area. As of right now it is only an idea. I would like to know if anyone has resources as far as what is needed to start a venture of this sort. Indoor is the only option here since I am in a big city (Miami, Fl). The other local ranges are very far away from he southern portion of the city and the only real outdoor range is out in the everglades.

Besides money, what do i need to know about the business?

Location, Zoning, Wharehouse build out, saftey, Insurance, licenses, suppliers.

Thanks in advance for any info that can be provided.

Tim R.

 

[Crikey]

Your journey starts...

Here - www.rangeinfo.org

Cheers,
Mike.

 

[aguyindallas]

With a key, naturally...

All kidding aside, this is a great question as I have wondered this myself.

 

[NoHarmNoFAL]

You will need a huge tolerance for dangerously stupid people. :banghead:

 

[Kamicosmos]

The biggest thing is going to be your liability insurance. Would need around a 2 million dollar policy from what I learned from the other ranges.
I have toyed with the idea of opening up a nice indoor pistol/rifle range in my county. But it would just be astronomical on the initial capital needed. Sure would be nice, since the closest range to me is a 35 minute drive one way. But, I don't think my credit rating would net me the 7-9 million it would take to do a ground up build of the perfect range...



edited to add: I heard a casual estimate on a yearly lead removal cleanup on a midsized pistol range: $100,000. That might have been disinfo though...

 

[TimR]

That is some good info, thanks guys. 2 million insurance... WOW. I guess the first step would be to contact an insurance company and see how the process goes. The initial insurance investment and lead cleanup costs seem to be the highest.

Does anyone know the profit potential for an indoor range? I imagine ammo and firearms sales would be a major contributor to overall profit. It is hard to gauge the volume of shooters in and out of the door each day. Range time, eyes and ears, ammo, targets would be for the most part be the biggest source of income for a range.

Anyone by any chance have statistics on volume of shooters in a given month?

Thanks again,

Tim R