Tell me about indoor ranges

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BlackBearME

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This is a new concept to me - like, until 6 months ago I had never heard of them. Around here shooting was always at an outdoor spot away from houses, or at a Fish & Game / Rod & Gun club, where you have to be a member. I had never heard of (or even conceptualized) an indoor range. So how does it work? I imagine they take ID or something when you first go in. I also understand that it is not uncommon for such ranges to have rentals. How does this work? Do they ascertain age/eligibility? Do they need an FFL to rent out guns?

I'm just genuinely curious - I know nothing about this.
 
Two indoor ranges I go to in South Florida check and hold onto your DL until you have paid and leave the premises.
Both offer rentals,have about 20 firing stations.
Both hold an FFL-01 license which I believe is required.
Prices vary.Best deal I get is on weekends.
 
Indoor ranges are common in more populated areas because of space & noise.

Some but not all also sell guns. All rent guns AFAIK and make more profit from gun rental and selling (typically reloaded) ammo than just renting lanes.

You must have at least seen a couple on TV or in movies. They are the ones that have lanes holding paper targets which can be moved downrange on a cable system.
 
Ok, good point - I guess I should say I haven't conceptualized them for civilian use. I've seen movies and TV with LEOs at indoor ranges, but just never thought about one open to the public (just never heard of one.)
 
I'm somewhat surprised that you've never seen/heard of one, because out west, it seems that there are more indoor ranges than outdoor ones, perhaps because of population density.

Most indoor ranges I know of are associated with a gun store (same building) and they sell/rent guns at the range. Because I'm in Vegas, there are a lot of foreign tourist who come here and want to shoot pistols/full-auto since they can't do that in their own country.

I will give you a link to this particular one not very far from the strip. $8/day range fee is not bad, or even $15/day for rifle since the targets up to 50 yards just move front/back with a push of a button and I can sit there all day and zero my rifle/scope and such, especially when it's really hot in the summer.

Having said that, I personally dislike shooting indoors because it's loud, smells, probably inhaling a lot of dust/lead, and there are too many tourists and non-owners whose idea of gun safety is not up to par since anyone with $$$ and ID can pretty much rent a carbine/pistol/rifle/full-auto with minimal supervision, if any.


http://www.americanshooters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=2&Itemid=6
 
In addition, some clubs have their own indoor ranges. Our club here in Lander, WY, built their own back about 20 years ago. It has 8 lanes to 50' and is limited to .22 and air rifle only . We tried to open it to centerfire pistol, but the idiots shot up the place so bad we closed them down. Membership is open for a nominal fee, if you have the card you can use it any time.
 
Newer ranges like the one I go to often have aggressive HVAC/ventilation systems which dissipate the smoke quickly pulling the fumes downrange. I bought a year’s membership which is cheaper in the long run as I go once a week.
 
You'll never realize just how valuable good ventilation is at an indoor range until you do without it. I went on a group shoot with some other local guys to an indoor range here, and their "ventilation" was- seriously- a door you propped open. You could say that I didn't make that into a marathon range session.

Overall, I've shot indoors more than I have out. When I lived in Raleigh, I was a member of the range that was just a couple miles from my apartment, and I'd go there and shoot pistolsabout once a week. For sighting in/practicing with my rifle, the county had a public indoor range with a 100-yard bay. Pretty sweet, really.

Now that I'm here in TN, there aren't any indoor ranges in town that I care for, so I head to TWRA outdoor range to do my shooting.
 
Indoor ranges suck. :barf: They're noisy, smelly, expensive, and usually limit you to lower velocity (<2000 fps) shooting only. If indoor ranges were the only ranges available, I'd sell all my guns and take up stamp collecting as a hobby.
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I live in an urban/suburban area so indoor ranges are my friend. You better like shooting pistol calibers mainly and shooting at ranges of 15-25 yards at most though.
 
I've spent a lot of time at a couple of indoor ranges. One thing you'll notice right off is usually bullet holes or divots from them, in the ceilings, dividers, counters, walls, floors, etc. Most of these type ranges have windows you can see into the range from, just spend some time watching the shooters and you'll soon see why I wear my vest when I shoot at most of them.

Besides a vest, finding a time when they are slow, is usually the best time to go.
 
I've sadly done the vest thing as well. Outdoor ranges can be just as scary when busy especially.
 
Indoor range at which I shoot allows any handgun up to and including .500 S&W. As for rifles anything up to and including 308/30'06 which means muzzle velocities approaching 3000fps. Very good ventilation system and closed circuit tv which is constantly monitored and recorded, just in case.
 
Here is where I do most of my shooting. The vast majority of mine is with handguns, so the 25 yard range is more than sufficient. It is not much of a challenge for a rifle, but you can shoot cartridges up to 8100 ft lb of muzzle smash, and even machine guns. Those can get pretty loud when fired in the lane next to me, so I purchased the highest NRR rating of ear muffs that I could find.
 
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