starting an Indoor shooting range... private club. Anyone have insight or experience?

[keystonetarget]

I am looking into leasing a much larger building for my business than I need, the price per sq foot drops once you get over a certain size. The building I am looking at is a total of 6500-7000sq feet, About 2500-3000 is on a upper level and the balance is is in a lower basement level around the back of the building down a hill. I just need the upper level for my machine shop and can either sublease the lower level, or find a creative way to use the space and help cover the costs of the lease. Being a gun person in an area that does not have an indoor range naturally a shooting range comes to mind. I do not have the funds to make a full blown indoor shooting range open to the public, but perhaps a private "club" will be a much more reasonable way to go. Asw a club I would think the insurance would be a lot less and the requirements as well. The lower level is cement walls, floor and ceiling wth steel beams. it looks like it would allow for about a 100 foot long range by 40 foot wide. it seams like a good fit for a range. Does anyone have an experience or facts with something like this? I do not have this building yet, but the ball is rolling.

Email me at jamie@keystonetarget.com if you have knowledge about this. I don't always hop on here to check reply's or pm's.

Thanks!

[aubie515]

I'm not sure why you believe insurance would be less, considering you are asking for suggestions. The liabilities would be the same, so why would insurance cost you less?

There is a reason why many gun shops don't have shooting ranges and I'd say the number one reason would be the cost factor.

[bogey1]

A fifty cal backstop and grenade pit is a must.

[keystonetarget]

Years ago we were involed with a group is guys who had a race track on private land. As work spread about it the crowd got larger untill the owner got nervous and wanted insurance. After getting quotes from insurance companies it worked out best to form a club. With it being a club, the insurance was a small fraction of the cost. This is where I get the idea.

[IV_Warrior]

I would imagine you're looking at a lot of expense to get something like this going. Probably more than you're expecting.

[harp28]

Are you aware that there is already an indoor shooting range planned for Pittston ?

I wish you well. I think it would be great to have options close to me.

[Hodgie]

The more the better but a indoor range is a HUGE undertaking and you have to adhere to the EPA so that means your going to have a very very costly ventilation system installed and running all year round. That aspect alone is a $175,000.00 to $300,000 undertaking depending on your size and total capacity. You will also have to remember all the local and country ordinances that maybe in place which may require you to carry some higher end liability insurances.

The NRA has many free and low cost tools for range planning and building which is where I have received a lot of my information. My brother and I looked into this big time a few years back going as far as securing backing and loans. The projected cost of an basic 10-12 lane 25 yard indoor range was going to be somewhere in the ball park of $1-1.25 million when all is said and done and this is no exaggeration.

I wish you the best of luck with this undertaking and hope it does work out.

[gghbi]

Sent you an email on possible contact for info. Good luck on this project!

[forby]

Build it and they will come.....

I think I know where this building is and I will pay to shoot.

I am willing to postpone my open heart surgery and cash in my retirement to shoot indoors here.

I have already converted my home into cash, am sleeping in a tent and living off the land while I wait for the range to be complete....

Oh yeah..... I can sell my blood too.

Seriously, despite the cost, I suspect that you will make it up quickly. Every indoor range I have ever been to has been busy from open to close.

[Python73]

Not trying to be a debbiedowner here, but you should prepare yourself for the shocking realization that in general, people are shit. Let me break it down:

> open a range - awesome. who doesn't want a range?
> share it with others - noble cause!
> start a club - other gun people can be great to hang with

What could go wrong? Other than...

> people will shoot everywhere. literally everywhere. floor, ceiling, walls, etc
> people will shoot themselves
> people will leave garbage everywhere
> people will expect you to clean up after them
> people will shoot the target hangers, then bitch that there are no target hangers
> people will shoot absurd calibers indoors, and bitch if they cant

"I can't go full auto with my 50 cal in this range? This place is BULLSHIT!"

Seriously, I can't think of anything that will ruin your love for guns and shooting faster than dealing with idiots. If you built a sweet range that you love, and then somehow manage to very carefully screen people so that only those who can be trusted to act right would be in your club, then you'd be the absolute king of the game and we'd all be super jealous of you. But that's a complete 1/1000000 sort of thing.

Wishing you all the best.