Why are ranges rather expensive?

[clutch]

This thread reminds me how wonderful my club is. 55 dollars a year, a lot of members only shoot there near deer season, a core group does the work, and most of the year, I have the 25-200 yard range to myself on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Now if I didn't have to drive 35 miles to get there life would be perfect.

Clutch

 

[steelerdude99]

Ash_J_Williams, Have you tried this site? It will find ranges and other gun stuff. ( http://www.nra.org/nralocal.aspx ). Enter zip-code, choose "places to shoot" and then hit the search (target in the middle of the page).

Chuck

 

[The_Next_Generation]

Wow, some of these posts make me REALLY appreciate where I live! The range is 10mins away, and shooting is basically free (membership is $1.00 per year until I'm 18. Then its only $80 per year).

 

[Arkansas Paul]

That's crazy.
$120 a year here. You get a key to the gate and you come and go as you please.
If you're not a member, you can shoot, providing there's a member there already, and there's a donation box. They don't even have a set price. It's great too. Covered 100, 200, and 300 yd rifle, 50 yd pistol, and trap and skeet on saturdays and tuesdays. Great place.

 

[azgun]

I have a lifetime membership for me. Reserved lanes free shooting. Discounts on guns, ammo, and everything. And targets are pretty cheap

 

[sixgunner455]

15 miles to the nearest range, run by volunteers. The clubs that support it have reasonable yearly fees, and if you're a member of one of them, the range is free to use. It's $5/day if you're not a member, $2/day for military or police. Steel targets from up close out to 600 yards, and they provide target frames you can haul out as far as 200 yards. The shooting positions are covered, and paved, with concrete tables. It can be pretty busy, but you can usually get a table. That's the public range. They also have rifle and pistol ranges that are for classes, competitions, and so forth, and a large metal building that has heat and A/C for lectures and meetings and so forth. They charge to use the building, but again, it's quite reasonable. There are portajons, and IIRC, a water tank with potable water for filling your canteens.

Next closest range is about 35 miles. No range safety officers, no tables unless you bring one, no cover, no nothing, just a box canyon that's been used as a range for decades. There's berms at different ranges. It's not usually busy at all. We also shoot just about anywhere else we want on public land that has a safe backstop.

CAS shooting groups near here have their own ranges, too, but I've never participated in that, so I don't know what their fees are like.

The closest indoor range to me is in Tucson. It's less than $10/day.

Ben Avery is really nice, but unless I'm participating in a shoot, it's just too durned far.

Gotta love Arizona.

 

[22-rimfire]

Some of these old Kmarts and grocery stores that have gone out of business would make great indoor ranges. But...

I know, but folks, they're putting $6,000,000 "...or more..." into renovating a huge furniture store. They're saying it will be the largest in the country.

This is the kind of investment that is made and I can understand the $30/hr non-member pricing. The non-members are also the ones that usually cause the most damage to the range with broken lights, holes in the roof, and so forth.

Pricing is an interesting subject actually... consider apartment pricing... apartment owners create a nice atmosphere though new construction or renovation and then set their prices based on their local market and their costs but also to attract the type of people they want to live there. I suspect indoor ranges are much the same.

As I said before, I really enjoy going to the public range about an hour away. If you can go during the week, you often have the whole place to yourself which I like. No big 44 mag booms when I am not expecting them... no stupid antics.... no calling for the line to be clear before shooting since you're the only one there... no worry about leaving your guns lying on the bench when you walk up to your targets.... no body shooting your targets.... the list goes on. It is much like shooting in your own back yard.

I don't know what liability insurance costs but it would likely be based on their estimated annual revenue and risk to the insurance carrier.

 

[belercous]

At my range membership is $50.00/year total, no hourly fees, & everyone gets a gate key. We have 200, 100, 50, & 25 yd. covered shooting tables. 25 & 13 yd. open air pistol range, a 9 yd. enclosed, lit & ventilated bowling pin range, skeet, trap, & bow ranges (both elevated & ground level).

The range is in a populated residential area. In a heavily democratic area of Illinois. The fees were recently raised from $35.00/year, we're open year round, fully insured & have money in the bank. Sounds like someone's making a big profit on range fees.

 

[oneounceload]

Used to live in CC - the ranges were nice until the butt heads would show up and shoot TV's, the support posts, etc.........

 

[exavid]

Pretty lucky here, private club costs $50 per year and a $1.00 daily fee when you use the indoor range. The county has a public range, archery, shotgun, 300yd rifle, rimfire ranges, and a pistol range. $5 per day or $25 per year. Both about three miles from my house.

 

[Sky]

$100 a year for members or $10 a day for non members. CHL school $100 and is offered 2 times a month.

A company comes by and cleans the back stops in a firing lain and pays the owner for the lead which can be more than $40,000 in his pocket when done. Brass is collected if the shooters leave it and either reloaded or sold. Guns/ammo are sold along with deliveries and FFL charges ($30). Drinks are $1 and Brownies are free and are the best I have found.

This is just an old South Texas range and nothing fancy but all the firing lines are covered and have benches or gun rest (6x6 wooden blocks covered with carpet). The range is a money making son of a gun with weapon sales some weekends posting between $5000 and $10,000 profit. Things have slowed down the last couple of months, maybe the heat or people are not shooting like they were but what a great place to shoot, laugh, and learn.

 

[Lex Luthier]

There is a gun club about 45" away which I had always believed to be a private club. A perusal of their new website revealed that they are open to the public most weekdays. The previous version of their website was unclear in that regard.

Had a marvelous time in the breezy Minnesota autumn outdoors with the Kimber SS2, the Sig 229 and 2022, the Sig Sauer AR15, and the Uzi. The old dudes who officiated the range were getting their time in to cover their membership dues had never seen an Uzi. All for $16.00. Recoil therapy indeed.

 

[Sav .250]

I`d say one issue is insurance. One local indoor range had (4) people shoot and killed themselves while on the line.

 

[The_Armed_Therapist]

First rule of economics. If you pay it, then it isn't too expensive.

 

[340PD]

I am a RSO at a local state of the art indoor range. Our fees are pretty much the same as other local indoor ranges in the area. $16/45 mn. Now, if we are not busy that time limit is not enforced. Our range has 10 lanes at 75 feet and 2 at 150 feet. I dont have the actual cost of operation but we employ two, on the range, RSO's and two more doing other duties. I have been told the cost of staff, operating the lights and fans, plus regular replacing the filters runs well over $100/hr.

 

[MyGreenGuns]

20 mins away
$200yr (was $350 couple years ago) or $15day+$20 rifles
12 lanes (There are 18, but 6 of them are always closed)
Its open about 9 hrs a day.
Has a store that only has 5 guns for sale.
Limits on ammo types and rate of fire.

Range fees chased away some new shooter friends of mine. Me and 3 friends, shooting rifles is $140 and we still havent bought ammo or targets. Its no wonder I end up shooting in the woods so much.

We had an outdoor pit that was free, but slobs shooting TVs ruined it.

 

[Jeff H]

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.

 

[creCarolina]

Is the thread is evidence, it depends upon what type of range you are asking about.

Indoor Ranges are expensive if the facility is properly designed to protect patron safety. Ballistic toxins in the air can cause damage after a certain amount of exposure of the air is not moving as it should. I find that the majority of the public don't know and when you explain the hazards don't really care about this, but should. Clearly a lot of indoor range operators don't care. I visited one recently and will not go back because of poor air quality. No to mention their ceiling had a pathetic baffle system that looked like splatter could easily occur.

For instance, your home HVAC probably pushes 1,500 cubic feet of air per minute out of the vents in your house. Our ranges pushes 24,000 CFM in a patter than is unique to our shooting stalls...there is an air wall being constantly pushed from floor to ceiling and thus gun smoke goes down range only. Additionally, its fully climate controlled here shooting at an outdoor range is unbearable for 6 months out of the year we have winters and summers so being able to shoot in comfort is worth the $17 per day to folks.

Various memberships (annual, lifetime, corporate, and equity) cover the use of the members lounge where leather couches, 60 inch TV, food drink and a state of the art shooting simulator are free of charge.

Some images are found at this youtube link if you like:
http://youtu.be/YiF3T1RIZ2w

 

[DoggerDan]

"For an out door facility I think $15-$20 a day is reasonable if the range is well maintained and has adaquete lanes, benches, stands, etc."

It is NOT reasonable if there are ranges around the country who manage to do all that for $10 a day.

If you like to throw your money out the window, might I suggest a more helpful use for it, instead? Try Compassion International.

Otherwise, please stop telling us "$15-$20 a day is reasonable."

It is NOT reasonable. Unless, of course, you're the sort who believes spending $300 on pair of shoes is "reasonable."

 

[mnrivrat]

Building cost for a 12 lane indoor range well exceeds $500.000 . Insurance is high, and so is maintenance when replacing Hepa filters at $600 a crack for example. A proper range is a hell of an expense to build and operate.

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

Building cost for a 12 lane indoor range well exceeds $500.000 . Insurance is high, and so is maintenance when replacing Hepa filters at $600 a crack for example. A proper range is a hell of an expense to build and operate.

That's an indoor range. An outdoor range, which in the case of my local range is essentially a house with some property, some picnic tables, and sound large mounts of dirt back in the distance, hardly seems pricey (aside from insurance).

 

[oneounceload]

It is NOT reasonable if there are ranges around the country who manage to do all that for $10 a day.

If you like to throw your money out the window, might I suggest a more helpful use for it, instead? Try Compassion International.

Otherwise, please stop telling us "$15-$20 a day is reasonable."

It is NOT reasonable. Unless, of course, you're the sort who believes spending $300 on pair of shoes is "reasonable."

Sorry if you are under-financed - it matters not what places around the country charge - it matters what the costs and supply/demand is at that location

 

[exavid]

An outdoor range is still expensive in that whoever owns it, in my case the county has to have it insured. There is a fairly high risk of serious injury around any place where the general public can use firearms since there's no test of competency for the people using the place. The possibility of someone having a few beers on the sly at the range is another risk. All of that makes for expensive insurance. One other cost is lead abatment. Nowadays it's considered an ecologic disaster to put lead back into the ground, too much chance of kids eating all that lead ridden dirt so there are environmental costs as well. Anyone who has a private range on their property may be burdened by current and future regulations concerning lead when they attempt to sell that property. With all the hurdles placed in the way we should all be thankful there are any firing ranges available at all.

 

[drsfmd]

A couple of folks have talked about "New York" prices. I belong to nearly a dozen clubs here in NY-- all are private, the least expensive is $30 a year, the most expensive is $80 a year. No additional fees, no per day fee, only one has a work requirement. Two of those clubs are absolute top notch, a couple are small clubs I rarely shoot at but keep my membership to help keep a small club open, the rest I belong to for specialty reasons (one has a trout pond, another has permanent duck blinds, yet another does free pheasant stocking for members.

Not all clubs in NY are expensive...

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

An outdoor range is still expensive in that whoever owns it, in my case the county has to have it insured. There is a fairly high risk of serious injury around any place where the general public can use firearms since there's no test of competency for the people using the place. The possibility of someone having a few beers on the sly at the range is another risk. All of that makes for expensive insurance. One other cost is lead abatment. Nowadays it's considered an ecologic disaster to put lead back into the ground, too much chance of kids eating all that lead ridden dirt so there are environmental costs as well. Anyone who has a private range on their property may be burdened by current and future regulations concerning lead when they attempt to sell that property. With all the hurdles placed in the way we should all be thankful there are any firing ranges available at all.

That doesn't change the fact that other ranges seem fully capable of paying those bills and turning a profit on a small daily or even yearly charge, while others charge exorbitant prices.