First time at an indoor range today

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Howland937

Howland937

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South central Ohio
So, I'd never fired a gun indoors in my life. Place is 10 minutes from work. Membership is $10, and it's $10/half hour range time. Decided to sign up and see what it's like. I usually shoot on family owned property for free, but it's been cold and windy and I had some loads I wanted to try out.

To start, I didnt have any safety glasses in my bag because I'm rarely ever without safety sunglasses...which are useless indoors.

Other takeaways

Motorized target fetchers are sweet.

Controlled temp with zero wind is a nice change of pace.

I should have taken plugs to wear under my muffs. It's waaaay louder indoors. Figured it would be, but didn't know to what extent.

Thought a half hour seemed like a short session, but I managed to fire 100 rounds AND find all my brass in like 25 mins. First time I've ever left from shooting with all my brass.
 
A huge number of new shooters, even before 2020, go to ShootPointBlank (store and indoor range), not far from us by I-40.

The safety officers carefully watch them like a hungry hawk. The noise is lousy. That's one reason I was able to persuade a buddy to join the very nice and pricey private club and drop his membership at ShootPB.

---But I'm glad that so many people have access to indoor ranges.
.
 
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I went to an indoor range for the first time in my life about a month ago. It's a new range close to home. I purchased a pistol online and they do FFL transfers there. For my transfer fee they gave me an hour of free range time. Although I have an outdoor range behind my house there was about a foot of snow on the ground. And now it's muddy.

It was/is nice. The target fetchers are nice. Heat is nice. The allow shooting reloads. And it's easier to sweep brass off of concrete than mud. $16.00 an hour or a month of unlimited range time for $35.00. Folks there are about the nicest I have ever met. When the weather warms and the ground dries soon I will be shooting behind the house again. But I am very happy to shoot indoors with the weather as it is now and I now have a place to shoot indoors next winter or rainy weekends this summer!
 
Where I live now nearly all my shooting is at an indoor range. I belong to a handgun only range. Annual membership $175. It comes with free gun rentals and one guest a month free. Targets are cheap and the staff is nice.

There are a couple of other indoor ranges near me. One that allows rifles. I have shot there 4 times. The boneheads in charge can’t seem to figure out how to segregate the people with ARs and M1A’s from the handgun shooters. And since in California you are “allowed” to have a muzzle brake, everyone at that indoor range has them. You haven’t lived until you’re firing your 9mm between a guy firing an AR and a guy firing a .308 indoors. Quite the experience.
5.56 & 7.62 rounds at 25 yards...weird. Not my cup of gasoline.

We also have what I call the Gucci range. Nice, but very high priced. I walked in. Looked around. Smiled at the beautiful girls behind the counter and left.

Indoor ranges can be disenchanting to those that have always shot outdoors, but you’ll get use to it and come to appreciate it, I’m sure.
 
BLACKHAWKNJ said:
Indoor ranges have been the norm for me. It can take a little getting used to when you're firing 22s and the person next to you is shooting 44 Magnums-or a 308. But on a miserable cold day.....
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I guess I should have asked them. It does say "indoor pistol range" on their sign.
Pat Riot said:
Quite the experience.
5.56 & 7.62 rounds at 25 yards...weird. Not my cup of gasoline.
Click to expand...
That would be rough. I was the only person shooting at 4pm on a Friday.
It's a small, privately owned place in a small town residential area across the road from a factory. Not sure if they have to abide by any noise ordnances.
 
My indoor range is $250/year for unlimited range time, 4 guest passes, $400/yr combined indoor/outdoor. Pistol and rifle indoor under 3200fps, outdoor rifle & shotgun no pistol. Retired now so I'm there 2-3 days a week 30min-1hr. I'm surprised that the OP had no safety glasses, felt they were useless indoors, and the range officer let him shoot without them.
 
After finding 3 uncontrolled outdoor ranges around here, on National Forest land..not really interested in going to any indoor range..So, unless it's a trip to see if something works, like a repair or something, and can't go outside, I'll do an indoor range(one really close) but in comparison..indoor not nearly as much fun..YMMV, IMHO, and all that.
 
I am very happy for you folks that enjoy indoor ranges have them available, although I've only used them in the distant past. The noise is one factor, not pleasant sighting in a .22 hangun with guys on either side of me blasting away with .44 mags. I appreciate how lucky i am to belong to a club with both outdoor pistol and rifle ranges.
 
My local regular range has interactive targets. You can program them to go to a set range, present your target for so many seconds then turn away. You can set how many times it will present itself as well, or you can just do random. Then sometimes that target will just spin for 5 seconds then stop or it will start to present itself then stop and hide itself again. Not a bad training tool, and it can take out some of the monotony out of just shooting paper targets
 
Wow,! How cool that is. Something one can't find in an outdoor range. I'd enjoy trying that out. So much for my preference for outdoor ranges.
 
Howland937 said:
So, I'd never fired a gun indoors in my life. Place is 10 minutes from work. Membership is $10, and it's $10/half hour range time. Decided to sign up and see what it's like. I usually shoot on family owned property for free, but it's been cold and windy and I had some loads I wanted to try out.

To start, I didnt have any safety glasses in my bag because I'm rarely ever without safety sunglasses...which are useless indoors.

Other takeaways

Motorized target fetchers are sweet.

Controlled temp with zero wind is a nice change of pace.

I should have taken plugs to wear under my muffs. It's waaaay louder indoors. Figured it would be, but didn't know to what extent.

Thought a half hour seemed like a short session, but I managed to fire 100 rounds AND find all my brass in like 25 mins. First time I've ever left from shooting with all my brass.
Click to expand...
Nothing like the 1st baptism...always will remember my first:thumbup:
 
Don_P said:
I believe he was intending to say his SUNGLASSES were useless indoors.
Click to expand...
Correct. I always have sunglasses but the thought never crossed my mind that I'd need regular ones for indoors.

DTL said:
My indoor range is $250/year for unlimited range time, 4 guest passes, $400/yr combined indoor/outdoor. Pistol and rifle indoor under 3200fps, outdoor rifle & shotgun no pistol. Retired now so I'm there 2-3 days a week 30min-1hr. I'm surprised that the OP had no safety glasses, felt they were useless indoors, and the range officer let him shoot without them.
Click to expand...

I did actually buy a pair of clear safety glasses from the range after I realized I didn't have anything suitable for indoors use.
 
Indoor ranges are definitely a way to go for those that live in places that got bypassed by urban sprawl.

One of the things I like about indoor ranges is how quickly I can get my shooting done. Pay the range fee, hang a target, send it out on the cable system, shoot, and repeat. It's really great for the urban shooter that has handguns and pistol caliber carbines.

Of course, I like to go on weekdays when crowds typically aren't an issue. I'm lucky to have a job that I make my own schedule.

The outdoor ranges still in existence here that got bypassed by urban sprawl have pipes or wood blocking set ups so you are effectively firing a rifle through a horizontal slit from a bench. You never get to shoot standing unless you're on the trap or skeet range with a shotgun. Never get to shoot prone, ever.
 
The first couple times I visited my local indoor gun range I was surprised to see so many holes in the ceiling. It didn't give me a good feeling about who I might be shooting next to. I go during weekdays when there's very few if any people there.
 
stonebuster said:
The first couple times I visited my local indoor gun range I was surprised to see so many holes in the ceiling. It didn't give me a good feeling about who I might be shooting next to. I go during weekdays when there's very few if any people there.
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Yep, seen my fair share of holes at indoor ranges.

Less so at outdoor ranges because unless someone shoots into the roofline directly above the firing line, they just launched a round far down range over the berms and there is no nearby evidence of that having happened. Meaning, it sure is hard to shoot a hole in the open sky.
 
Yes, the ranges I go to have no provision for prone shooting, several have stools and gun rests. A number around here offer training courses, several require new or renewing shooters to watch a video on gun range safety and etiquette, one has a staff member conduct a follow up Q&A.
Don't have to worry about being down range checking your targets and some blockhead sets up and sends one down range.
I see all the bullet holes, I was at one range, the RSO intervened, an older shooter with obviously no experience was firing a light frame 9MM at 21 feet-and hitting the floor.
He had a foreign accent, the younger man with him looked like a son, taking Dear Old Dad to the range for the first time. That range requires a 12"x18" backing for targets, they were shooting at a silhouette, shooting too low. Then there are the new shooters doing an ammo dump.
I have no problem with the new shooters, at one range I spent about about half my session helping new shooters with jams, screwdrivers, etc. One of the owners thanked me for that.
 
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I've done both, I belong to an indoor range, though I think an outdoor range is as close. Living in Florida I don't have to worry about the rain, or heat. I do wear earplugs under my earmuffs. My favorite range though was when I was a kid and we just setup tin cans in the woods.
 
Howland937 said:
That would be rough. I was the only person shooting at 4pm on a Friday.
It's a small, privately owned place in a small town residential area across the road from a factory. Not sure if they have to abide by any noise ordnances.
Click to expand...

Oh, I wasn’t there long that day. I was gone just a few minutes after the smiling crazy guy was done pounding away at his target with 20 rounds of .308 or 7.62x51. The guy had a grin so wide I decided not to bust his bubble complaining to him. I left.
I did tell the guys at the counter that until they figure out how to segregate rifles from handguns, it’s a spilt range, they have two sides with a wall between the ranges, I would not be back. That was a year and a half ago.

This range is so well insulated you cannot hear rifle gun fire probably more than 100 feet from the outside walls and it’s on a busy street in an industrial park.
 
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My indoor range necessities / recommendations:

A good range bag or case that can accommodate revolvers or semiautos.
You cannot beat these guy’s range bags for the money: http://www.explorerbag.com/category/range-bags/
I have an older version of their “R2” model.
Here’s a camo one on Amazon, just for cost comparison:
Explorer Tactical Range Ready Bag 18-Inch Woodland Digital https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01IJ9CMB8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_BRGVB9XJY5NB2R0PRF54


Earplugs AND muffs. I recommend always using both in the range. Always have extra earplugs...just in case.

Safety glasses.

Tools for adjusting sights, taking down a jammed gun, tightening loose screws, etc.

Sharpie markers for marking targets.

Camera or phone with camera for documenting success, progress, ammo testing, bragging, etc. :)

Things that make your gun work, like; magazines, ammo, magazine loaders- Uplula makes a good one and they are compact to fit in a range bag.

Mini flashlight for whatever.

Targets, if you don’t want to pay more at the range.

Lube oil pen or small oil dispenser. Gun rag. Gun cloth. Bore snake. Small cleaning brush. “Just in case” items.

Mat or towel to lay your guns on at the range.

Eyeglass cleaning wipes.

Guns ;)
I drove to an indoor range in Oregon on a rainy day 20 miles from home and had everything I needed...except my guns. o_O Duh! :confused:

And, last but not least. Try and maintain a good attitude and be observant. You may be the safest guy on the planet but your are at a place full of strangers shooting guns. Be watchful of yours and the safety of others.

Have fun safely! :D

Had to edit due to auto communista
 
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Pat Riot said:
Guns ;)
I drive to an indoor range in Oregon on a rainy day 20 miles from home and had everything I needed...except my guns. o_O Duh! :confused:
Click to expand...
I've both forgotten guns and forgotten ammo when heading to shoot. Fortunately, where I shoot outdoors is about 3 miles from my house.

If I forget ammo, I typically always have some stashed away under the back seat of my Jeep.
I did well remembering guns, ammo, hearing protection, targets etc...just not clear safety lenses.
 
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