What I want is what YOU banglist types would like to see in a gunstore/shooting range.
What are your favorite INDOOR ranges and why?
What do you like about them?
What do you like least about your local INDOOR ranges/stores?
Any advice for someone that has worked retail in the past, but never owned/managed a public retail business?
Again, thanks in advance.
DCB.
....btw....if I light this candle, FReepers will get wholesale cost+10%+SHI
bump to read
What do you like least about your local INDOOR ranges/stores?
Poor ventilation and lighting. Like to shoot outdoors for that reason.
Sounds like a terrific idea! Is there one already open in your area? There isn’t one close to where I live. If there was, I’d go to it every week. If you’re the only game in town, I’d say it could earn you a decent income.
What I didn’t like about indoor ranges I’ve been to in the past has been lack of good ventilation. (have good ventilation). The place also didn’t have a way to handle spent brass. It would all simply land on the floor, and accumulate. I’m sure a system could be installed to handle it. Perhaps per lane, so folks that are inclined can keep their own brass.
Having such a place would also allow you to rent used firearms for people to use, and you can do classes. Good sources of revenue from the range alone.
Best of luck!
Did someone have the Banglist?
I’d like to see the responses too, out of sheer curiosity
PS: Poor lighting was another issue with the indoor range I’d been to in the past.
A local company offers CCW training for out of state CCW licenses. (Utah) Utah has reciprocity with a lot of states, something like 19 other States accept Utah CCW.
Granted, you don’t need a license for CCW in AZ anymore, but, you still need a license in other states.
Perhaps hook up with some firearms trainers to see about working with them to offer out of state CCW classes at your range?
There a lots of issues opening up a gun range including zoning, liscensing, EPA regs, OSHA regs, insurance etc.
Start here. http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/development.asp
My only advice is to do it. I left office life going on 6 years ago to do what I love. Less money, but enough money, and no regrets whatsoever. Best years of my life. Good luck.
Mid-life crisis?
Man - if I was in a good job - I would not leave it now.
The nicest indoor ranges are probably Bass Pro. Allow up to .223 with rifles. Fan sucking air out means even with AC it can get hot.
Least like: Suicide types who rent guns to kill themselves. How would you react if that happened? The rule is - just let them do it. If not they may take you with them.
Advice about public: Gun owners are cheap and some are poor. You get crazies, bikers, rednecks that are not nice rednecks and sometimes gangbangers. Dealing with people can often be unpleasant. You also need to be packing all day long and have to be on your toes all day long for robbers.
You also better have fort knox shutters at night when you close. Theives LOVE to break into gun stores. They can break into almost any gun store.
Large selection of rental handguns to try different brands/calibers/types/styles before buying.
Good variety of accessories to try and/or buy (holsters, lasers, lights, etc...)
Our local indoor range also offers basic pistol courses along with concealed carry courses.
As mentioned above, good lighting and ventilation.
It also offers one-time rentals along with annual passes (subject to range availability, of course) and an ability to reserve a date/time.
Gun shop....shooting range? Better get some advice from a good lawyer first.Plus,unless I’m mistaken,you’d better get yourself a good liability insurance policy.
If NJ goes ahead with its relaxation of gun restrictions a new gun store there could be a gold mine as there are only a handful of dealers in the state currently.
Info on a guy up in Arkansas who did it.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/62920877.html
I’m looking around to see if there are franchise opportunities for these.
The first thing you have to remember is that you are going into business to make money. The 2nd thing you have to remember is the first thing. It’s a bonus if you can do this with something you like and enjoy.
You’re often better off buying out an existing business with an existing clientele — I’m betting there are a lot of Vietnam era vets who got the same bug as you who are looking to retire now and would be willing to sell out for a piece of retirement. The kicker with these places is that zoning approvals for a new range are difficult, the start-up costs are huge, and if you’re starting in an area with no established gun range then you’ve got to wait a while before you get shooters willing to come in regularly.
As for what I like to see in a gun shop:
The local shops around me are absolute disasters.
(1) Price — you’ve got to compete on basic products with MidwayUSA, Natchez, Graf & sons, and lots of other mail order places. The closest shop proudly advertises 115gr American Eagle 9mm FMJ rounds still for $32.99 / 50. Another proudly offered to sell me a glock 23 for $748 out the door. You’ve got to be kidding me. For things that are easy to get, you won’t make money. I depend on my gunshop / gunsmith to provide advice regarding firearms, accessories, and holsters and I’m willing to pay for that. If it’s something I don’t need advice on, I’m not going to pay premium prices for it.
(2) Gunshop chatter. The number one reason I go to gun shops is to talk to people about stuff that matters. Usually that’s guns and accessories. When the opinions become idiotic, I leave. This is especially true of the staff. Another local gunshop has a reputation for both high prices and an unbelievably arrogant yet ignorant attitude.
(3) Make it a place that is brightly lit, clean, and periodically send in female friends to assess the experience anonymously. I don’t think guys care that much about the inside of a gun shop. I like down at the heels places as much as that place in Scottsdale you mentioned (assuming we’re talking about the same place). But since women are a growing segment of the market and since even I appreciate a bright, well-lit, neatly stocked store where I can find and buy stuff easily, it needs to be a place that wouldn’t scare them off.
With respect to several of the local gunshops around here, women I know who have gone in to try to buy a gun have informed me that (a) they feel “dirty” walking out of there because of the leers from the moronic 55 year old slobs who man the counter, and (b) they feel dumber for having had the conversation with the gunshop staff who refuse to sell them a gun with the features they asked for and instead keep pushing .38 revolvers at them. Another female friend of me and my wife commented that the one place was so disorganized and physically unclean inside that she really didn’t want to touch anything in the store.
4. Reloading components. The hazmat fee for individual purchases makes it easy for gunshops to compete with the mail order places on components. I like to see one or two lines of reloading equipment and a reasonable selection of components. I also like seeing once-fired brass available — it’s hard to find mail order and I feel better if I can look at it anyway.
5. Holsters. I want to see at least one low-end line like fobus or uncle mikes, one mid-range like blade tech or comp tac, and some selection of common models in leather, with the ability to special order and expertise to help pick a good one.
6. Range: I need to be able to practice speed draws at the range. A range with tables between me and the target that can’t be dropped is useless. I like the ability to turn off the light on my target and get a little bit of low-light target acquisition training in. I like good ventilation systems since my brain cells and reproductive capacity are important to me. I hate having unknowledgable or officious staff butt in while I’m shooting.
On the other hand, the staff has to be able and willing to step in for safety violations. At my range in Virginia, we’d often get college kids and diplomats’ kids coming in for fun at the range. I’m all for learning to shoot and having fun with your buddies. But the staff there was incredible at maintaining a level of professionalism and safety on the range and preventing these groups from getting out of control.
I also like indoor ranges with some kind of indoor shooting league. PCC or bullseye is awesome even on a small range. It’s not action shooting, but it gives you a reason to go to the range regularly and spend money there.
That’s all I have off the top of my head. Good luck!
Learn the BATFE paperwork inside and out, and get a good system for managing it perfectly in advance of selling the first gun. They went after a gun shop in NC hard, making them rack up massive legal bills, over a tiny percentage of incorrect paperwork that even the BATFE admitted was honest mistakes. That was not an isolated incident, but SOP.
Beyond that, I hate indoor ranges. The #1 reason is lack of ventilation. I do NOT want to be standing in a cloud of smoke when the range is full. You need a good system to exchange all the air for fresh at least every minute. Beyond that, think of baffles on the walls to cut down on the reflected sound.
For customers, LISTEN. The first few words and general mannerisms are important. Get to be known as the helpful guy who guides a customer to what the customer needs (most are clueless), not ignoring them or pushing something they don’t need because it has a higher profit margin. Also listen carefully to notice someone who knows what he’s talking about, so then you can switch gears to talk on his level and not insult him.
My favorite gun shops are less like soulless, sanitized retail stores, but more friendly, relaxed, home-style. It’s nice to see a couple oldtimers BSing about guns, perfectly welcome to chill out in the store doing that for hours. Wood for the interior walls and as the frames for the showcases helps give the place a rustic comfort.
First I would ask, what does your business plan look like?
If you don’t have one, you aren’t even close to making a decision that could affect your future.
Do you have one?
What do I love? Women's only gun classes, safety classes for kids, ability to get trained in one stop shop for CHL