Why are ranges rather expensive?

[oneounceload]

Property costs, TAXES, insurance among other factors can vary not only from state to state, but neighborhood to neighborhood

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

Enough so to justify the difference between $18/hr and $30/year? Come on, man.

 

[Jeff H]

Enough so to justify the difference between $18/hr and $30/year? Come on, man.

Then find some other place to shoot if you don't like it. OR, buy your own property and start your own business then you can charge whatever you want. Either would be more productive then typing about high costs on the internet.

 

[tnxdshooter]

People can charge whatever they charge and if people choose to frequent their establishment then it is on the person frequenting the place. Here in TN all the indoor ranges here charge no more thsn 15.00 to shoot as long as you want. The outdoor ranges i dont frequent because they either require bench shooting with all weapons or they only have skeet and trap which i dont shoot.

Sent with Droid Incredible using Tapatalk.

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

Either would be more productive then typing about high costs on the internet.

You... realize you're on an internet forum, yeah?

 

[oneounceload]

Enough so to justify the difference between $18/hr and $30/year? Come on, man.

Let's see - an older outdoor club, been around from the 20's, land paid for a LONG time ago, daylight shooting only so no electric bill, maybe still zoned Ag or similar in a rural setting versus someone buying a building in a town today, installing a 3 million dollar air system to meet EPA protocol, hire labor, taxes, etc........

Yep I can see the difference, can you?

 

[Nood1es]

Only 2 indoor here..gander mountain $25/hr per lane..doesn't matter how many people, and local gs $15/hr per person.

 

[Racinready300ex]

Man I feel lucky. I'm a member of two clubs, one is only $75 per year. They have 6 pistol pits, covered bench's at 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 600, and putting in 1000k. Really nice place to shoot.

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

Let's see - an older outdoor club, been around from the 20's, land paid for a LONG time ago, daylight shooting only so no electric bill, maybe still zoned Ag or similar in a rural setting versus someone buying a building in a town today, installing a 3 million dollar air system to meet EPA protocol, hire labor, taxes, etc........

Yep I can see the difference, can you?

Hey, I like all the assumptions you make about the ranges in question. It really makes your argument easier. However, the down side is making it less and less valid.

My local outdoor range is BRAND new, for example, as is the indoor. They're both daylight hours only.

 

[DCoke]

Love our range....private membership....$120/yr....open 365 days a year....everyon knows the combo to the gate....multiple long range ranges out to 600yds....multiple pistol bays....covered concrete pads....shooting tables....skeet and shotgun range....can bring guests for $5....can shoot all day long....everyone helps to maintain it....porta-pottys....all that shooting and turkeys and deer still roam freely across the range....

 

[chrt396]

I'm a member at the Wyoming Antelope Club in Clearwater, Florida and the membership fee for new members is $200 which includes your range fee of $20 for that day. After the first year, it goes to a $130 per year renewal. After you become a member, the range fee is $3 for ALL DAY! They have a 15 ft. pistol range, 33ft pistol/shotgun range, 25, 50 and 100 yard range. They have a great club house with trophy animals attached to the walls..and a bar. They have an archery lane, shotgun range and a area where they have action pistol, defensive pistol and cowboy shoots. This is where they have the steel tagets. They also have a Bullseye range for 25 and 50 yard pistol matches. Quite a nice operation!

I shoot at least once or twice a week and spend quite a few hours there. I figure if I were to shoot 1 1/2 times a week x 52 = 78 visits on average at the cost of $20, the total paid out for the year would be $1560. I paid $180 last year before the fees went up. Quite a good investment.

 

[WVleo]

I have My private range here along the Potomac in the Panhandle, but both those ranges opened this year and before them it was Sleepy Creek . If the business is there, they will stay in business, which I am sure they will as there is a good amount of shooters Here in The Eastern Panhandle looking for places to shoot. Sadly the days of going down to Spark's with a pocket full of quarters is over. ...wvleo

 

[TRX]

> the membership fee for new members is $200 which includes your
> range fee of $20 for that day. After the first year, it goes to a $130
> per year renewal

The way I see it, that's a $70 penalty fee just to join up.

The only other time I see such a thing is in ads for health spas.

 

[ErikO]

The range I shoot at is very nice but is not cheap. If you take the 'free' membership it's $20/hr, $10/hr gun rental using range ammo and you're welcome to join the shooting leagues. I paid for a 'family Gold' membership, $450 a year and no other charges aside from range ammo which is competitively priced with Cabela's. Basically I buy one less pistol a year and get to shoot year round at a clean, 18 lane indoor pistol/rifle range. The staff are top notch and so are the instructors. Classes are well run and affordable.

They have safety rules but are very lax about rapid-fire and allow anything up to and including 5.56 but shotguns need to fire slug ammo. I'll be shooting here for a long time.

 

[Sam1911]

The question shouldn't be why are they so expensive, but rather: How much would you charge if you built an indoor range, paid the electric bill, hired employees to run the place, maintained a air filtration system, taxes, INSURANCE, mortgage, etc.

$15-20/hr sounds reasonable.

It's kind of funny that folks seem to get upset, like personally offended, that a shooting range might cost more than whatever they think it should.

Unless it is a state-funded range, paid for out of the taxpayers' pockets, then it is a business -- either for profit, or non-profit. There is some business model in place that says $xxx,xxx must be spent up front, $xxx,xxx must be spent every year, so $x,xxx,xxx must be taken in each year.

Many, MANY things can go into that equation. The list of expenses involved with Range A may be completely different from those involved with Range B. Profit for the owner is about the very last number that gets plugged in, after all the development costs, insurances, operating costs, mortgage, taxes, salaries/wages, fees, maintenance, accountants' fees, and everything else that has to be spent.

Range A and Range B might be only 5 miles apart, yet have vastly different numbers going into the equation. Range A and Range B might offer a different experience and attract a different clientèle. Range A might have a "club" structure and Range B might be strictly commercial/public. Range A might be on land left to the owner by his great-great-grand-uncle, and Range B might be carrying a $million or two mortgage. Range A might have good insurance while Range B skates by without. Until you sit down with the owner & his accountant and review his balance sheet, you've really got no business casting judgment and using words like "exorbitant."

In the end, however, all that matters is whether enough folks will come and pay whatever each range has to charge to cover all those costs. Vote with your wallet. If Range A closes down after a year, then they weren't charging enough. Or maybe they were charging too much and not enough folks came. Maybe the level of service/accommodation they wanted to provide was too expensive and not appreciated enough by the customers to justify the higher cost. A well-maintained range with mobile target carriers, a rental counter, and solid insurance is a joy -- unless you're used to paying the rate for shooting at rocks in a gravel pit.

Knowing the area and the target clientèle is really the key to successful range operation, I think.

As a case-study, my club (established back in the '60s, I believe) costs $55 a year for a single membership and includes 8 pistol ranges (including 360 deg. shoot houses), a rifle range, an indoor pistol range, archery range, and trap range, as well as a clubhouse/classroom facility (with bathrooms, kitchen, A/V equipment, heat & A/C) and hunting land. The club house is a little run down. The indoor range doesn't ventilate, like, at all. There's always some degree of range maintenance that still needs to get done. There is no staff or even caretaker. There is no shop with parts, supplies, ammo, or certainly guns. On the other hand, there are a couple of very active competition groups who really make the place fun and who manage to keep the facilities up well enough.

Another range that's only ~20 miles away is a pretty new commercial facility with a very modern indoor range, pro shop, full-time staff, and other services. I once calculated that if I did all my year's shooting at the other place, the range fees alone would cost me nearly $6,000. But that range isn't FOR me. I'm not their target market. They're located down near Baltimore, just over the PA line and they bring in the much more casual, much less involved/experienced shooter, interested in an outing to go shoot every few months. Their business model seems to be working for them, even though they charge (...doing a little rough math...) about 100 TIMES what my club costs me per hour.

Well, shucks. That's surely not FAIR!

 

[Bubbles]

In the WV EPH if you want to shoot rifle you basically have the following options (from least to most expensive):
Tango Down (100 yard range) - $150/yr membership + range fee
340 Defense (400 yard range) - $300/yr membership or hourly range fee $35
Peacemaker International (1000 yard range) - $500/yr membership + range fee

There's also the Izaak Walton League (200 yard range) but it's members only.

I also suspect Tango Down would be cheaper if Berkeley County would stop messing with them. Attorneys ain't cheap.

 

[chrt396]

> the membership fee for new members is $200 which includes your
> range fee of $20 for that day. After the first year, it goes to a $130
> per year renewal

The way I see it, that's a $70 penalty fee just to join up.

The only other time I see such a thing is in ads for health spas.

$50..not $70 is the initiation fee for new members. Your spouse also gets a free membership and you can bring guests for $10. This $50 is a one time fee and since I plan on being a member for years to come..I'm not going to let a little chump change affect my decision.
With that said...the club isn't going to be for everyone, so you are entitled to your opinions.

 

[AntiSpin]

The range (club) that I belong to costs $200 per year for membership ($100 for seniors), has no other charges for use of the range. Electronic gate activated by membership card. Range open 8 a.m. until dusk, seven days per week. Members can reduce their annual fee through credit for work days at the range.

We have a 15-line rifle range with 50- or 100-yard target lines and covered concrete benches and a single 200-yard line, plus a pistol range with covered benches and 10- 25- and 50-yard targets (six of each.) There is a very nice indoor rimfire range with 10 lines and 50-foot targets.

Also an archery range, and other facilities and amenities, as well.

Our club has an outstanding program for junior shooters; any person of appropriate age (I don't know what the lower limit is) and who is attending classes can come out on Saturday during the school year and shoot the rimfire range without charge. Rifles, ammo, targets, instruction and supervision are all free. There is no charge at all.

The result of this? We have a number of award-winning junior rifle teams who travel all over, winning junior team matches.

All in all, I really like our club, and our range.

 

[Sonic82]

The club I belong to is 45min away, 25,50,100yd, outdoors, covered concrete pads, free paper targets. Mostly I'm the only one there sometimes one or two others, $100 year.