Range design fantasy

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PADoubleX

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If you could design a commercial 25 yard for profit indoor range, what would you:

1. Need ?

2. Want?

specifically I’m interested in technology.

and would you/would you not open an indoor range now?

why/why not?

Thank you, it’s an idea I’m exploring. I’m located outside of Philadelphia, lots of new gun owners with absolutely no place to shoot.

Zoning does not preclude a range. I already have a masonry building that would suffice. I don’t want to say money isn’t a object because it absolutely is if I want to make a profit however I would not need to finance this venture.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
Our gun club started indoor shooting besides just rim fire. Only thing they require is you buy ammo from them. It's ''special'' ammo. Im thinking it's frangable or what ever you call it. But any way you will need to be able to stop bullets and have ventilation. And of course good insurance. Maybe stop in at firing line. And ask them some questions.
 
Essential items:

1. Ventilation / filtering
2. Backstop whose soft component can be cheaply replaced
3. Motorized target hangers, for variable distance shooting (since the shooting position is fixed per bay)
4. Cameras at each shooter's back and one camera downrange in the ceiling, facing the shooters. Screens monitored at the sign-in desk
5. Very important: a double door setup so that you can have shooters enter or leave the range at any time. In other words the range is always hot, but you don't want the boom of some guy's short barreled .44 magnum coming into the shop

That way you maximize income.
 
What @Odd Job said.
On ventilation, figure out the dead minimum and double that, just a s a working number. Really what you want is one system for the lobby/check-in/sales floor area, and a separate system for the shooting bays. Your best bet in the shooting areas is to supply air at the shooting end, and extract it at the target end.

Now, this may be met with resistance by some HVAC contractors, as it's not 'typical' commercial work.
Especially the part where the shooting line really needs constant airflow, whether the air is conditioned or not (you may need a multi-stage blower, but constant airflow is virtually a given.

Also, plan ahead for what happens when you change filter elements. Which includes things like lead time for replacement filter media, as well as the physical time needed to make the change. Having to shut down the range to change filters is not to your financial advantage.

Consider a sloped floor back to the line from about 8-10 feet out, feeding back to a broom-wide tough to catch empty cases.

Consider a line design that does not let the public beyond the line at all, and a separate employee-only access to the back of the line. That access point ought to be given a camera, and be opened by external command, preferably by some one able to see the range.

Add More Light. A dim range is a pain. Have specific task lighting for cleaning the trap ends (another task made worse by not enough light).

Consider if you want to be able to "scale" lanes in use. Let's say you have space for 16 lanes. It might make sense to make those 4 groups of 4 each. for slower days. Or to have the magnums split away from the rimfires.

Oh, and spend more than a little time looking up the info for running a business in your area. Reach out to successful businesses and ask them about pitfalls and recommendations. You probably need a sales tax application from the State, which may require you have your City Business License squared away. Having the City license in hand may (or may not) require having a commercial bank account (that commercial line of credit can be very handy, too). You probably ought invest with a local business attorney, too--there are very good reasons to be various variants of limited liability business entity, whether sole proprietorship or corporation or the like. And local conditions vary on those.

There's another snag you may hit. Zoning may not preclude an indoor range, but the required Occupant Load can make the parking area required complicated. Existing parking may require getting shared parking agreements with nearby businesses. Making parking lot changes can come with wacky landscaping requirements, too. Which can be deal breakers. Accessibility will also be an issue with adaptive reuse of an existing building. (Note, employee access is not exempt from ADA.)
 
A range in Ohio has the regular targets on electric winches, but also each lane has some sort of electronic video game that can rub scenarios and even VR bowling pins with live ammo. Not sure if it works well, haven't seen it in person.

Steel moving target sure would be nice. As would be pop up targets.

Lights should be remote controlled from the target panel with timers. We like dusk/dawn lighting for practice.
 
The indoor range in my city* is built around commercial equipment. The firing line stalls, target trolleys, bullet traps, and ventilation were provided by companies in the business, the building as locally contracted.

There was another that was in the works nearby but the owner pretty much dropped out when this one was on a faster track and was being built before he broke ground even though he had started planning sooner. I talked to him and he said he expected a cost of $1,500,000. He said he would wait to see if the area would support two ranges within 20 miles of each other. Probably not, we have one indoor, one outdoor, and one club range already now.

The next nearest (58 miles) indoor range was cited to me as $3,000,000 but it is bigger and at a good location in a major suburb of a good sized city.

If you want to slap something together on the cheap, be aware that you will be under scrutiny by multiple government agencies.

If you want "interactive" ranges, programmable targets, cinema ranges, and such, the cost will go up fast.

*City
Kind of a laugh, there have been projects to put up an urban indoor range here for as long as I have been well enough acquainted with FFLs and businessmen to talk about it, at least 40 years. All failed on the "no shooting in city limits" ordnances, no exemptions granted for commercial operations that would provide employment and tax revenue.
So these guys put theirs up outside city limits.
The funny part came in when the Mayor gave a Grand Opening speech praising their incentive in bringing a new business and employment opportunity.
 
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Essential items:

1. Ventilation / filtering
2. Backstop whose soft component can be cheaply replaced
3. Motorized target hangers, for variable distance shooting (since the shooting position is fixed per bay)
4. Cameras at each shooter's back and one camera downrange in the ceiling, facing the shooters. Screens monitored at the sign-in desk
5. Very important: a double door setup so that you can have shooters enter or leave the range at any time. In other words the range is always hot, but you don't want the boom of some guy's short barreled .44 magnum coming into the shop

That way you maximize income.
Great list - I'm gonna suggest adding central drains in each bay and sillcocks to hose out the bays at least once a week. The lead dust buildup, regardless of how good the ventilation is, is pretty much gonna require this.
 
Essential items:

1. Ventilation / filtering
2. Backstop whose soft component can be cheaply replaced
3. Motorized target hangers, for variable distance shooting (since the shooting position is fixed per bay)
4. Cameras at each shooter's back and one camera downrange in the ceiling, facing the shooters. Screens monitored at the sign-in desk
5. Very important: a double door setup so that you can have shooters enter or leave the range at any time. In other words the range is always hot, but you don't want the boom of some guy's short barreled .44 magnum coming into the shop

That way you maximize income.
And about 1+ million dollars all that can be yours (building, like batteries, not included)
I'll add one other thing - bulletproof plexiglass dividers so shooters can see each other but not harm each other accidentally
 
Great list - I'm gonna suggest adding central drains in each bay and sillcocks to hose out the bays at least once a week. The lead dust buildup, regardless of how good the ventilation is, is pretty much gonna require this.

Excellent point, last indoor place I belonged t had carpet on the floor where the shooters were, made sweeping up your brass a PITA as well as holding in any residue
 
There are a number of air issues that you'd have to address in addition to lead handling and cleaning. You should consult the NSSF for design and procedure assistance before investing in establishing such a range so you're aware of the regulatory requirements and associated expenses.
 
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