300 yard indoor rifle range?

Lead abatement issues.

The government mandated air filtration system would cost a fortune for that size building and the materials necessary to prevent bullets from exiting the building would be another fortune. It could be done but I would bet that range rental would be more than most of us would want to pay.

milemaker13 said:

Around here we pay $20+ an hour for 25 yd indoor range time. You can generally shoot rifles if you want...

But there are many large industrial buildings empty (for lease) around that are every bit of 300 yrds in length. High ceilings too.

Has anything like this been done? I suspect a place like that would be a hot spot in metro areas where long range shooting is a long drive.

Any technical issues you can think of?

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I have thought the same thing for years. Lots of empty factories and warehouses in industrial zones. No close residential housing to bother people. Best thing in the northern parts of the country is no snow on the range, no wind and warmer than out side even with no heat. But a major plus could be shooting 24/7. You work 2nd or 3rd shift you can still shoot after work. I think it would be a goldmine in certain ares. BUT these days try and get any type of range approved especially in the states where they would be more practical..

There is a very high risk of someone inadvertently shooting the ceiling.
This would raise the cost because you would want to make it bullet proof. Another negative is that is a lot of building to insulate to reduce noise pollution.
We had an indoor range closed because of noise complaints near my old house. It would be cool though.

milemaker13

I thought about it but that's 3 football fields of real estate to have to ventilate and remove lead and dust particles from the air. Not to mention the heating and cooling issues in dealing with an interior space of that size. Plus there's the problem of how are you going to change targets, etc? Rent out electric golf carts to drive down there and back?

Maybe if you scaled it back to say 75 or 100 yards, with the right building, it might be possible (but still could be very expensive to build and maintain). I would also think it would be better suited in a more rural setting as there would be less county/city governmental restrictions to deal with.

bannockburn said:

milemaker13

I thought about it but that's 3 football fields of real estate to have to ventilate and remove lead and dust particles from the air. Not to mention the heating and cooling issues in dealing with an interior space of that size. Plus there's the problem of how are you going to change targets, etc? Rent out electric golf carts to drive down there and back?

Maybe if you scaled it back to say 75 or 100 yards, with the right building, it might be possible (but still could be very expensive to build and maintain). I would also think it would be better suited in a more rural setting as there would be less county/city governmental restrictions to deal with.

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I should have said 100yds. That should be doable I'd think. The places I'm thinking about in my city and surrounding areas were heavy 24/7 noisy industrial factories. Theres still nothing around them them that would be disturbed. Problem is the government red tape. I doubt they would ever approve anything gun related. But indoor medical Pot farms are getting the warm and fuzzies from those in power.

Denver has a 100-yard indoor range that was a nice place when I lived there a few years ago, and it is in a nice area, not an industrial warehouse area.
https://blucore.com/

I think it could be done, even without having a 1000' building. Cabela's in the DFW area has an underground 100-yd rifle range. It employs three shooting "tubes" (about 2' in diameter IIRC) a floor below the "ground floor". I could see doing this underneath a conventional 25-yd indoor range, going out under the parking lot, assuming the property was long enough.

Those big buildings are likely mfg. lines (I used to work in one near Houston) and likely they will be put back in service due to new tax laws and policies.

In the Tampa area there are 2 100 yd indoor shooting ranges, the targets are on a cable like most 25 yd ranges

It’s been done and if the area is big enough, upfront investment high enough to have a good shop that attracts repeat customers it can be done

Here's a semi famous story about precision shooting in a warehouse in Houston many moons ago.

http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/max357/houston.html

I knew of some guys who built an indoor range in of an old abandoned chicken house. It was 100 yards. Of course it was on private property and for personal use. I'd imagine ventilation was acceptable. The building was open on all 4 sides, just a roof which meant they could shoot in the shade in summer and in the dry when it rained.

I've sketched up some designs for this (hazard of being an architect, you tend to think in "plan sets" )

Looking at the economics (building area, ventilation, lighting, etc.) once you commit to 100 yards, really, 200 & 300 are not that much more expensive (if the site and building setbacks allow.

The "secret" is in ditching an "open" box, and going to individual lanes defined by RCP (Reinforced Concrete Pipe). RP is normally used for public storm drains. Then sections are rabbet jointed. Another virtue is that stock "collector boxes" already exist with matching joints.

Major downside is the price. Compared to HDP (High Density Plastic) culverts, RCP is very high-dollar. However RCP is going to be highly bullet resistant.

While you could "get by" with 48" ID, really, 72" ID is probably the ideal for lighting, target tracks, maintenance access, etc. Put your required ventilation at the butt end and it would be middling simple, mechanically.

Why pipe? Fair question. Ok, let's posit a 100 yard lane in an open box. You need, oh, 8' wide, and 10' of ceiling height. At a hundred yards, that's 8x10x300, or 24,000 cubic feet. If we need to change that air volume every 15 minutes, that's 1600 cfm (cubic feet per minute)--which is not a casual air handler.
Now, let's take a 72" culvert. Volume is π3² * 300. Which is ±8482 cubic feet. That only need 566 cfm to ventilate 4 times per hour.

At the "customer" end you can make the lanes as nice or as utilitarian as you care to. The butt end could be a simple CMU box with a baffle plate and a media pit. You'd want an 8x8 overhead door to get a skid-steer in. But, you could also pull butts maintenance on a lane-by-lane basis rather than having to shut the entire range down.

You could do this in an existing warehouse, if it had enough clear floor length. You could sand bed the culverts to limit the amount of demolition needed. Were the roof in good shape, you could even build a mezzanine over the shooting lanes and rent out storage space, too.

Well it can be done. Here is one of several videos about an indoor ( in a mountain ) shooting range with a 300 meter ( 328 yards ) firing range.




I bet though it is funded by the Swiss Government.

We have a 100 yard indoor range here in Idaho, which doesn’t surprise me with all the gun people and industry we have in this state.

https://www.iishooting.com

They claim it’s the only 100 yard indoor range in the Northwest.

We have an indoor 100 yard range where I live. I haven't shot there in a while because even during the weekdays there is a wait for non-members and you can be bumped by a member if you are waiting. They only have four firing positions but the automatic target system (frame on a trolly with controls at the shooting point) is great.

As I remember it, the fee for one hour of shooting time is $17.50 during the week and $35 during the weekend. And they will come kick you out if you are a minute over an hour.

And there is no RSO on the line. Some of these people that shoot there have no clue. On day I saw a laser dot on the wall beside and just to the front of me. I looked to my left and a guy had an AR with laser sitting perpendicular to down range.

I thought about joining the club but memberships are high and I don't need a "country club" atmosphere with a five star restaurant on site.

I take my chances with shooting outside, even in the Texas summer (go early). It is safer and less expensive.

100 yd indoor , underground in Kalispell, MT. Forget the name of the club.

NO wind issues but it's NOISY.

Bfh_auto said:

There is a very high risk of someone inadvertently shooting the ceiling.
This would raise the cost because you would want to make it bullet proof. Another negative is that is a lot of building to insulate to reduce noise pollution.
We had an indoor range closed because of noise complaints near my old house. It would be cool though.

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Any indoor range needs the same requirements for the ceiling and walls to catch any stray bullets anyway.

As mentioned, the cost of outfitting a large warehouse would be enormous. Noise pollution would be your last concern, and most of these warehouses would not be in residential areas anyway.

Yes it could be done by a very wealthy individual or company. But it is easier to buy open land with 300yards + and not have to worry about the requirements/cost of an indoor range.

milemaker13 said:

But you bring up a good point, something i had been thinking as well... resturant/shop/lounge.... whatever whatever.

Maybe on that upper mezzanine above the shooting lanes.

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They already have those.

There is one here in FL with a gun shop, lounge, and restaurant although its only 50yards. The place does have some strict rules though (like no steel core/case ammo) and expensive fees so I've only gone a couple of times. There's another place in Tampa that is 100yards indoor but I haven't gone.

The main problem with those type of ranges is the expensive cost to operate a range/restaurant/shop combined.