I said that building and operating a range is a costly thing to do, and justify—require might be a better word—a customer usage charge. Business expenses of a shop without a range are not the same as business expenses of a shop with a range. An indoor range is a very expensive proposition (a) to build (walls, backstops, ventilation, and more are a much different ball game for a range than for, say, a storeroom, a break room, or whatever—and qualified contractors are necessary and more costly), (b) maintain (ventilation filtration, maintenance, and in some cases periodic certification—just cleaning up the down-range area has special OSHA rules re: contact exposure to lead and other contaminants), (c) insure (yeah, insuring a gun shop is expensive, but add a range, and the insurance premiums go up more than just a wee bit), (d) staff (not just any Joe, Josephine, Jack or Julie can staff a range—one needs qualified personnel, and that, too, adds to expenses), and more.
Thus, my statement that range fees aren’t “pure profit”. And I stand by my comment.