ramms123 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 After much talking my brother-in-law and I discussed the possibility of opening a gun range/club. It would include classrooms for FFL classes and othe various courses, but I wanted to pose a question for everyone. If money were no object what would you want to see in your ideal gun range? Or what would make a successful gun range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowsSon683 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 1. Dedicated area for uspsa/idpa and the other shooting sports along with areas/bays for your regular shooters. 2. Decent parking areas and lots of them. 3. Room for expansion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 - 1000 yard rifle line - Golf cart for long distance rifle line use - Range wide WiFi - Matches for all shooting disciplines: Cowboy, USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge and any others I've left off - Electricity at each bay - A covered shelter at each bay - Camping area for out of town shooters at big matches - 20+ pistol bays so you could hold multiple matches at the same time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickster Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 The design and layout of the range. I would have it look sort of like a wagon wheel, where the hub would be HQ, and each spoke, however many would be needed, from the hub would go out to the different shooting disciplines where we would have bays and parking. One of the spokes could be a 1000 yard bay all by itself. If I hit the big lottery, it would be something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramms123 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Okay cool, being in the Army I interact with a lot of simulators and I would think that having one could bring a lot of revenue as well. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecmc Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Layout your outdoor bays so that the sun is not directly in your eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttolliver Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 If you have established pistol lanes, target carriers that bring targets back to the line are nice. More to get shot up and maintain but never have to take the lane safe. Also, if it wouldn't be a huge liability thing, I'd love one of my local ranges to have a plate rack with the pull cord to stand them back up from the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramms123 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Alright those make sense...good suggestions everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) - 1000 yard rifle line - Golf cart for long distance rifle line use - Range wide WiFi - Matches for all shooting disciplines: Cowboy, USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge and any others I've left off - Electricity at each bay - A covered shelter at each bay - Camping area for out of town shooters at big matches - 20+ pistol bays so you could hold multiple matches at the same time I like your list, except for that WiFi thing. I have seen way too many people setting on their ass, texting away, when they should be helping reset and paste. If I were building a range, there would be a no phone / no pad policy. My phone stays in the car Edited February 7, 2014 by Reshoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillM Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 If money were no object what would you want to see in your ideal gun range? Or what would make a successful gun range? Money is ALWAYS an object.... not to mention gov't regulations, ie., zoning, noise, environmental codes. You've got to start with the basics before you get to the wishing stage. Successful gun ranges can only be successful if they get built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Flushing toilets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramms123 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Understood, but the purpose of this thread was to give me insight to what people want or "need". We have a designated location and I am currently tryin to create a budget, but I want to make sure I am not missing anything before I formalize any plans. So for the purpose of this question money is no object. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I like your list, except for that WiFi thing. I have seen way too many people setting on their ass, texting away, when they should be helping reset and paste. If I were building a range, there would be a no phone / no pad policy. WiFi would be for tablet-based scoring purposes not surfing when you should be shooting or pasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramms123 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 I expected we could use some program like Practiscore or something along those lines for certain competitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Running Water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziebart Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) 1. Drainage, it sucks to setup a major match to have to shoot it in a pool of water or mud. Bays varied in size. Some deep some wide. Small Clays/Trap/Skeet area. While a 1000 yard range is nice multiple 300 may get more use. Plate racks or steel challenge type steel left setup for member use. Power to at least some portion of the range. It is nice to have for build projects. Running water, toilets are nice too. If running water is out of the budget a nice outhouse beats the crap out of porta john. WIFI is nice for practiscore, but it does not have to connect to the internet and really not needed to be permanent. Covered areas next to bays are nice. Edited February 8, 2014 by ziebart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester121 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Storage containers for props and supplies spaced among the pistol bays, saves a huge amount of time and effort in setup/tear down, as opposed to trailering everything around the whole range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Dedicated steel practice bay. Although I have access to the storage containers were we keep all our match props it is way too much trouble to go pull steel out for a training session .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramms123 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 That makes sense like the dedicated bays and never thought about running water at some bays, but covered areas for shade is definitely a must! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lneel Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 A bay base of whatever Robert Porter at the Double Tap Ranch laid down. It can rain the day before the match and still have no mud. Drainage is also key. All other items I would want have been covered. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramms123 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 I will give him a call and try to see what he used. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapemeister Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I would be willing to pay more in membership dues for dedicated practice bays for action shooters. Nothing more frustrating than setting up multiple targets for a drill, and then having to take them down because ma and pa Kettle show up and want to shoot static targets with those stupid Wal-Mart stick on targets from behind the tables. Most important than anything else is a properly designed range for good water drainage. We see it all the time; people spend the money to build a nice range, and it pretty much becomes useless after a good rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladyrr Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 A place to wash up after handling ammo and guns. Flush toilets. Even if it is the portable kind. Dedicated Action shooter bays. Steel available for practice at the bays 1000 yard bay could also have long range steel set up in one bay like Pala. Weekly 3 gun matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now