Building The Perfect Range ... Or "Range Me"

[atmiller]

What kind of customer base will you have to support the range?  That will determine how much you can invest without going bankrupt. 

[Ron J]

What kind of customer base will you have to support the range?  That will determine how much you can invest without going bankrupt. 

Right now, the target market is broken down to three strong segments ... rifle/pistol, shotgun and archery.  The rifle/pistol segment needs can be met with a quality range.  The shotgun would have to have more diversity to facilitate various interests.  Archery (which I know nothing about) could have fixed and motion targets. 

In one market there are two private ranges that have two year waiting periods.  The public land that folks have been shooting on is slowly being closed down.   There is land to be had and with the right marketing plan there is a strong business proposition. 

RonJ check out this organization...I saw it in the weekly NSSF email.

http://www.rangeinfo.org/

1776!  Another great link!  Thanks!!

[1776 Rebel]

RonJ, my youngest daughter and I got interested in archery a couple of years ago. I simply believe it to be one of the most beautiful sports to watch. I was happy to attend back in 2003 the FITA (the international governing body of Olympic style archery) WORLD Championships which were held in a public park in the Bronx in NY City. Most folks not familar with NYC expect all concrete in the City but the parks can be quite large. This one has a large open area where a half dozen soccer games/cricket matches/football/baseball are all played simultaneously. So perhaps a good one half to three quarters of mile square of just open space with grass (besides the heavily wooded section used in regional cross country running events). They cordoned off about 200 yards by 200 yards and that was it. Had hundreds of international shooters competing. The extreme distance shot at, is 90 meters.

Here was the flyer for the event

http://www.nyc.gov/html/sports/html/archery.html
 
Found some photos for you to see how simple a setup is required for even a world class event. You might want to check out photo 14 !!!!

http://public.fotki.com/kevinkevbo/sporting_events/42nd_world_archery/


This is also a publication on archery range design from the Archery Manufacturers Organization. It covers the various style of archery and their requirements.

http://www.archerysearch.com/publications/amorangelayout.pdf

[brosometal]

There are a pleathora of good ideas here.  Just $.02 from FL.  There a few good ranges near me.  The one I enjoy the most is this one (http://www.bsfshootingsports.com/).  It is all outdoors and does not have a lot of the bells and whistles, but I have had the most fun here.  It has a pistol area with all kinds of steel targets and you can put your own paper if you feel the need.  It also has a 50, 300, and 600 yard along with a skeet course.  The one draw back is the outdoors in the FL summer: lots of heat and rain showers.  Another range I frequent is an all pistol/indoor range.  Again in the actual range area it is quite warm in the summer because of ventilation needed trumps the use of AC and the tin roof sure doesn't help.  It is family friendly, however.  It has a large TV dedicated to video games when it isn't being used for training videos.  There is usually a gunsmith on hand along with a modest selection of pistols and long guns.

I guess to sum up:  high dollar doesn't always tranlate to high fun.

[Ron J]

Outstanding information!!!!!!!!! 

When I get this up and running ... you guys will shoot for free!!!!!!!

[Sponsor]

[someguy]

http://www.memphis-ssa.com/modules.php?name=General_Info

None of it is indoor, but there are 185 acres worth of various ranges.  I've included this link so that you can quickly give it a once-over and see if there's anything of value to you and your own goals.  Hopefully this is good info, but either way, best of luck.  And please keep us updated on your progress!

[gunman1911]

For safety we found the NRA very helpful with building our ranges (6) All of which are outdoors, High berms (8ft.) as for the shooting stations, The rafters were spaced from the back going towards the front  every 10 inches that way it would stop a .30-06 before the end. and  yes upon trial in front of city council it did stop one before the half way mark. Good luck and look forward to visitng your range soon!

[1776 Rebel]

RonJ I have spoken to several range technology vendors at the NRA Annual Meetings. They have some innovative stuff. Take a look at the following couple of links. Each has been used in some cool reference site.

Great way to replace earthern berms. (you may have to copy this whole URL and paste it in your browser)
http://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/pls/erdcpub/!www_fact_sheet.PRODUCT_PAGE?ps_product_numb=157487&tmp_Main_Topic=&page=All

Used in a lot of indoor ranges and can handle up to 50 BMG and full auto.
http://www.savagerangesystems.com/

Neat way to remediate lead.
http://www.fesi.net/main.htm

[jason10mm]

I would make sure it can host IPSC, SASS, or IDPA matches. That is a great way to develop a core group of "regulars". I've done matches at indoor ranges. The key is to be able to open up the indoor lanes so it can replicate an outdoor open bay as much as possible. We would take breaks while they changed the stages if there were not enough bays (I think about 6 bays is the minimum needed to not have to do this).

A covered picnic area with some tables and maybe a BBQ pit would help keep those folks around after a match.

Being able to host visiting instructors would also bring in lots of new people and keep your regulars happy.

Plumbing and CLEAN bathrooms are key for the women folk. Sounds like you will have electricity and running water, so making sure there are good facilities close to the shooting will go a long way towards getting women out there. Men survive with a leafy bush

[CZShooter]

Just my meager $0.02 worth, but...I would like individual pistol bays, about 25 yards deep, with good sized side berms. That way if you were to host a monthly IDPA match...each bay would have a full 180 degree range of engagement and could have some interesting scenarios.