Kind of quiet around here with no decent places to shoot. I've had some PM's with a couple of guys in my area - just wondering how many other members are around SW Butler County - Cranberry, Zelienople, Harmony, Jackson Twp, Evans City & environs?
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Kind of quiet around here with no decent places to shoot. I've had some PM's with a couple of guys in my area - just wondering how many other members are around SW Butler County - Cranberry, Zelienople, Harmony, Jackson Twp, Evans City & environs?
Im just outside Evans city in connoquenessing, know anywhere to shoot
Evans City Sportsman Club
724-538-5612
Thank you I will be calling
im in butler right on 68 just past the sheetz. i just joined pardoe sportsmans club about 40 minutes north of me. http://pardoesportsmens.com/
You're a neighbor I live on Kriess road behind honda northQuote:
Originally Posted by mpyingling22
I grew up in Zelienople; belonged to the Evans City club years ago; joined the Moraine club when I moved farther north (let my membership run out due to work commitments); joined the Evans City club again a couple years ago but still find little time to go there.
I've heard some things in the wind (I won't go into detail right now), but there may be an indoor range coming to Cranberry.
20 minutes from Cranberry you can always join Ambridge Sportmans Club. Just a shameless plug for my club hehe.
http://www.ambridgesportsmensclub.com/
I'm in Mars, work in Cranberry and just joined Northside. As for an Indoor range in Cranberry...I also heard a group is kicking the tires on that idea. Not many places they can put it becasue of zoning....but there are optiins available for them ;)
I live in Harmony & recently joined the Zelienople sportsman's club, but have not had any time to go shooting lately.
As far as the Evans City sportsman club goes. They won't be getting my money. I just received an email from somebody from the club 3 months after I sent the original inquiring about membership. Email stated that they are full, but trying to introduce an amendment increasing the member limit by 100 members. I don't have time for that kind of garbage. 3 months for an email back is pretty absurd. As inconvenient for me as it will be, I'll probably join the Pardoe Club in Grove City. They have an indoor pistol range with 24 hour access. I work 4-midnight so this would probably work best for me. Rates are really reasonable if you ask me, and I can't find any stupid ass rules like most clubs have. Only thing with this place is don't get your membership until June, otherwise it will have to be renewed in June again.
You might want to consider the Summit Township Sportsman Club between Butler and Herman. I joined last year after taking a NRA pistol course and re-newed since it was such a positive experience. Here is a link to the website and if I can answer any questions please call me at 724-353-2491. My name is Dan.
I had heard a while back that the proposed indoor range in Cranberry was still moving forward. The township's website shows that the plans are being reviewed.
Ellwand Shooting Sports Academy
189,008 square foot facility on 22 acres at 20759 Route 19
(just north of the fire station, on the west side of 19)
Interesting, going to have to keep updated with this.
new members can join for $15outdoor or $30indoor in January starting new this year. it should be on the new applications on their websiteQuote:
Originally Posted by sgtmcbowflex
Indoor shooting range proposed for Cranberry
By Bill Vidonic
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Published: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, 7:03 p.m.
Keith Pindroh said he doesn't have major safety or noise concerns with a proposed indoor shooting range that would go next to his Route 19 vehicle repair business in Cranberry.
“I'm not anti-gun,” said Pindroh, an owner of Pindroh Bros. Auto Body. “I don't have a problem with this. It looks like it'll be top-notch stuff.”
Representatives of the Ellwand Shooting Sports Academy are scheduled to present plans to the Cranberry Planning Commission on Feb. 24 for a $14 million indoor shooting range and outdoor archery range.
Dave Gemperle, 56, of Cranberry, one of the project developers through Diversified Productivity Group, said the basement shooting range would be quieter than the constant drone of traffic along Route 19.
“There's really no place for the average joe if they don't belong to a sportsman's club to practice shooting sports,” said Gemperle, a pilot with FedEx. “On weekends, every gun facility in the area is packed.”
The closest indoor ranges are in New Stanton and West Mifflin, he said.
Plans for the proposed academy show a nearly 143,000-square-foot building with the shooting range in the basement. The academy would have a retail area for a sporting goods store and space for education and safety classrooms, social events and other amenities.
The building would have sound-dampening materials, Gemperle said, and a ventilation system that would clear smoke from fired weapons and remove pollutants before it leaves the building.
“If we can lower the noise, people have a better experience,” Gemperle said.
A National Rifle Association-certified trainer, Gemperle said people using the shooting range would first have to complete an instructional orientation so they know the safety rules.
He said his group will use mesh netting to keep arrows from the outdoor archery range from flying off property.
If Cranberry's planning commission and township supervisors approve the complex, the ranges could open in a year, Gemperle added.
Gemperle said his group has been working with township officials to avoid the problems experienced by a proposed indoor shooting range in nearby Jackson that resulted in years of litigation.
The project ultimately didn't materialize.
Gemperle said Rick Everly of Butler, a retired Marine, will be the academy's vice president of operations, while Ross architect Fritz Baehr, who is working on the academy design, will be vice president for range development.
There are few properties adjacent to the proposed site on the southbound side of Route 19. One home, which sits between the property and Cranberry's fire and EMS stations, has been up for sale. It's nearly 200 feet from the proposed shooting range.
Several buildings and residences are within 500 feet of the range, though the residences are separated from the property by the auto body shop and foliage. Cranberry also has maintenance facilities on the hillside just above the 22-acre site.
Ron Henshaw, Cranberry's community development director, said no complaints have come from the community about the project so far. He noted the township has an outdoor police training shooting range located near its maintenance facility.
He said developers have been talking with township officials about the project for several months.
“We like the project,” Henshaw said. “It's a unique use. People are a very interested in this use. As long as it complies with the ordinances, we're fine with it.”
Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yo...#ixzz2tUMML4bw
That's minutes from my shop.
If this goes through, the wife will just have to understand it's going to take a little longer to get home!
Thanks for the update.Quote:
Originally Posted by scruff
Wow,that's less than 5 minutes away from me. And a large retail area above the range. The article stated that if approved by the township,could be open within a year. I'm not getting too excited just yet,tho. Depends on how much they'll charge,what kind of guns and ammo will be allowed,and if I have to buy their ammo to shoot there.
Anybody hear anything more about this,please post.
There's an article in tomorrow's Cranberry Eagle (can't post a link since it's not available online yet). It says there will be 61 lanes, with different lanes for short, medium and long-range guns.
Cranberry still needs to approve the project, and the planning advisory commission will discuss the project at its meeting on Monday 5:30 PM at the municipal center. There was no public comment when they discussed it in a previous meeting, but they didn't know if the residents had heard about the plans yet. Now that it's in the paper, there may be some NIMBY anti-gun folks showing up to complain. You Cranberry residents should show up at the meeting and put in a good word for the project!
Quote:
Originally Posted by scruff
Great scott, Scruff! Are you....back FROM the future? :D
I'm actually looking forward to this, will make it a little easier to get together and go shooting with my dad, who lives in Lawrence County.
Hope I didn't warp the space-time continuum by posting that, but yeah, that would be grat having someplace nearby, and 61 lanes, no waiting! Hopefully, they'll have reasonably-priced memberships.Quote:
Originally Posted by Johannes_Paulsen
Here's the Cranberry Eagle article:
Shooting range planned in Cranberry
Gun, archery lanes sought
By Jared Stonesifer
Eagle Staff Writer
CRANBERRY TWP — Dave Gemperle knows there aren’t many options for gun owners when it comes to shooting ranges, which is why he wants to build a complex here.
Gemperle, 56, has taken his plans before the township planning commission and will again do so on Monday.
Preliminary plans call for a $14 million, 173,000-square-foot complex to be built on nearly 23 acres on the west side of Route 19, near the township’s Park Fire Station. In comparison, the project will be nearly as large as the proposed UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex going in along Route 228.
That project is expected to be around 180,000-square-feet with a cost of more than $70 million.
According to Gemperle, his business would be more of an academy of sorts with classes and lessons. A certified training counselor with the National Rifle Association, Gemperle said he plans on teaching more than 50 classes per month.
Called the Ellwand Shooting Sports Academy, the facility will include an indoor shooting complex in the basement. It also will include an outdoor archery section as well as retail space, classrooms, eating space and other amenities.
Gemperle said his proposed facility will have 61 shooting lanes for customers as well as 70 lanes for archery. There will be different lanes for small, medium and long-range guns.
The complex also will have materials inside on the walls that will help dampen the sound of gunfire both inside and outside.
For his part, Gemperle is ecstatic at the thought of opening his range if only for the fact that he’s done his research and realized the demand for such a business.
“In doing the homework, we were told that if you had a million people living within a 35-mile radius, that you’d be profitable on day one of the business,” he said. “We have 3 million people within 35 miles.”
The prospective business owner also said he, along with two other co-founders, traveled to dozens of firing ranges across the country to see how they do business.
The co-founders of the academy include Rick Everly of Butler and Fritz Baehr, an architect from Allegheny County who’s designing the project.
Gemperle, who is a pilot for FedEx, said he’s been around firearms his entire life, so much so that he runs seminars to certify NRA instructors.
He estimates he’s certified at least 250 gun owners in the past eight years.
The township resident added that the closest range is in West Mifflin in the southern portion of Allegheny County. He noted that range only has 16 lanes and is often booked solid on the weekends.
Gemperle said he’s been doing his homework for his business. That included researching a similar project proposed several years ago in Jackson Township that never was developed because of disagreements with residents and eventual court proceedings.
Gemperle called the failed Jackson Township project a “circus atmosphere” and vowed his project wouldn’t face the same fate.
“With all the things that go into concerns with building a safe facility, we never imagined all the details that would go into it,” he said. “But we had already done our homework and knew what to expect. Cranberry’s rules are pretty black and white.”
Gemperle is working intently with township officials to make sure everything is in order. As of now, he hopes to have the facility open next year.
“We’re trying hard not to cause any ripples,” he said.
Ron Henshaw, Cranberry’s director of community development, said the planning commission is still reviewing the project but that it likely will have a recommendation ready next week.
He said so far he hasn’t heard any negative feedback concerning the proposed plan.
“No one showed up at the first planning advisory meeting, but maybe they hadn’t heard of it yet,” he said. “Either way, we haven’t heard any complaints at the moment.”
The planning advisory commission will discuss the project at its meeting Monday, which starts at 5:30 p.m. in the municipal center on Rochester Road.
- See more at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.co....ycydzGDu.dpuf
bump.... anyone going to the meeting tonight?
Just read about the meeting now. Would have gone.
I stopped by on my way home from work. Apparently, there were some concerns about the outdoor archery expressed at the last meeting, but the archery range has since been dropped from the plans. The committee's only real concern now is the noise. They've asked the developer to provide more information on the noise level outside, and it sounds like they'll be ready to approve the project next week if the response is acceptable.
One resident commented on the project. She lives two houses away from the property, and also wants to make sure that the noise won't be a problem. She didn't seem too worried about it, though. Funny thing is, Cranberry police have an outdoor range on the other side of the property, and that noise DOES bother her, so she's hoping that the police would use the new indoor range instead.
I don't know what else needs to happen before they begin construction, but this was encouraging.
People were more concerned about archery? :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by scruff
Yep, we all know how noisy those arrows are!Quote:
Originally Posted by Johannes_Paulsen
Anyone know if Cranberry Twp. approved the building of the indoor gun range at their meeting last week ?
http://www.twp.cranberry.pa.us/Civic....aspx?AID=2567
Looks like they will decide today,April 1.
The township quietly approved the project without fanfare.
Anyone have any idea when this things is supposed to be completed or what the status of the project is?
Quote:
Originally Posted by snafu57
Investors sought for shooting facility
Cranberry Eagle
September 21, 2014
An owner of a planned shooting range in the township is talking to possible investors in the $16 million project so right now there is no plan for the start of construction.
...
While there's no date set for construction, Gemperle said he's meeting with potential investors this month to get financing for the project.
"It's moving along," he said. "I'd like it to be moving along faster, but I'm mature enough to know these things take some time."
...
Gemperle said he recently hired a law firm to help with the financing and said the money for the project could be in place in a month or two.
Ongoing thread in the "where to spend money-ranges" section.
I'm in western Butler county. The city of Andover. But in Kansas. I sure do enjoy this web site and have learned a lot of useful stuff.
http://www.bucoks.com/
Anyone who puts money into this is probably recalling Bullseye before they buy into caviar dreams about a high end gun range being profitable "day one."
I'm not saying that'll repeat. I worked in Moon and had a membership. The price drove people off and I'm all but sure that. 16 million dollar facility in cranberry would not be cheap, just to make the rent or mortgage payment. 70 million? No way
Just going to throw a small cup of facts on the fire.Quote:
Originally Posted by pyld
The reason Bullseye closed was that the owners did not wish to upgrade the facility with much needed ventilation upgrades.
The planned facility is a purpose built destination location for shooting sports, education and more. Expensive is relative in shooting sports, and not unlike the range one sees with golf.
When it arrives, everyone may judge for themselves.
The voice of reason and very well put forth. Thank you.
Because high-end golf clubs have done spectacularly in the Western PA region since 2000. They close, they go public, they fold.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShortRound45
Odd. It's exactly what happened to the last high-end gun range.
Look, I hope the place works. Maybe I won't have a drive to my club that takes an hour, or risking life/limb at the SGL. But there is precedent for multimillion dollar shooting facilities crashing and burning in Pittsburgh. Denying that reality won't hurt.
Update on Ellwand Shooting Sports Academy
http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=311565