Clean, and they are noticing an increase in female membership. Cool.
That guy who owns Elite Shooting Sports is smart… no elitist attitude, no politics. He knows the game.
I still don’t think you can beat shooting outside away from everyone, for safety and noise reasons. Just because these places look nice, it doesn’t mean the people who go to them are any smarter than the ones who put holes in walls, target stands, and baffles at every other range on earth. I bet these lux places have the trowel, putty, sandpaper, and paint on deck at all times to erase the evidence haha. Their maintenance guy is probably always like *smh* *fml*
Thoughts?
Comments
13 responses to “CBS On Luxury Shooting Ranges”
Nice upscale non-elitist spots like that one only help us normalize firearms use. You can bring the wife or a date to a spot like that, and she’ll get the tingles thinking that you’re a dangerous bad boy, all the while not having to feel like she’s a “seedy” place. Win-win for everyone.
I’ve been to ESS a few times, and it is hands down the best indoor range I’ve been to.
You’re right though, Mike — shooting outside is always preferable.
The 30-something year old man with the chain wallet told me everything I needed to know.
Hahaha…didn’t you know that chain wallets are coming back in style? Along with leather belts that have your name on the back of ’em.
Please start a franchise and build more of these. I despise dingy, dirty indoor ranges. They really take the fun out of shooting and are intimidating to new shooters.
Yes – my S/O is getting her CWFL, and I made sure that her first experience with a firearm, and her class, was held in a newer range. We did it at Nexus Shooting in Davie, FL – it’s like the Starship Enterprise of shooting ranges.
It’s a good business plan. Build a nice, clean, well-lit range and people will flock to it. If other firearms enthusiasts are anything like me, they’re sick of standing in the dark in a narrow lane struggling to see the holes in the paper that’s 5 yards away from them, all the while being judged by some 150 year old dude who was happy one time in his life, about 125 years ago. The same dude who judged your marksmanship is, by the way, the same dude grudgingly selling you remanufactured 45ACP that he loaded himself, for the bargain price of 80 cents/round.
Every public indoor range I’ve been to has looked like an unlicensed biker bar put in a shoot lane. They were dirty, banged up, and dimly lit. In Easton, Pa there are two gun stores right next to each other. On the right you have Sarco Arms, full of political non-sense, flickering lights inside, and pretty much looks like an abandoned warehouse. On the left you have Heritage Guild, when you walk in there is a lobby/sitting area with leather chairs and a stone fireplace. The counter is clear, clean and well stocked and staffed. There are two different indoor shooting ranges which are both clean and well lit.
It’s no surprise that Heritage Guild is busy and Sarco has some semi-homeless hobos hanging out there. These upscale shops are a good thing. I think we’re going to see more of them.
Am I the only one who hasn’t been to one of these “biker bar” indoor ranges? Granted, I haven’t been to that many, but in California, Texas, and N. Carolina every one I’ve been to has been well-lit and nice. Not ESS nice, but nice.
This part of the country is saturated with private clubs, so pay by the hour lane fees are not a common thing. The only people shooting at public ranges are those who are new and haven’t joined a club or those who have been bounced out of the private clubs. Of the three clubs I belong to, the most expensive has a $30/yr membership fee. Two of them are on more than 300 acres of land. All of them feature pistol ranges, rifle ranges, trap, a walk through archery course, and have a bar/club house on site. One of them does have an indoor pistol range.
The biggest problem with gun stores has always been the owners and the counter jockeys that work there. The places that understand retail are the places that will thrive.
I’ve been to Lock & Load – you simply can’t beat the select-fire fun. They have the H&K MP7A1 available for rental. I can only hope that us mere mortals will be able to possess such an amazing firearm.
I’m sort of blessed to live here in VA. I am about 30 – 40 minutes away from Elite, but go to Silver Eagle Group, another pretty nice range. I go there because it’s 5 minutes away from work. I’m A new shooter too. I think I’m spoiled now. Can’t imagine having to drive an hour to shoot! Haha.
If you’re ever in Moscow, try and visit The Object (theobject.ru). It’s definitely one of these ranges. Can’t say if they have select-fire guns on rent, but the rest is there: the environment, the service, and the premium pricing.