New Middle Tn Firing Range Idea.

[Angryvikingman]

Ok, so heres my idea:
 
Rifle and pistol shooting complex near Nashville/Murfreesboro area:
 
This place will have several covered pistol bays with steel and target stands, three covered rifle bays at 50, 100, and 200 yards
 
Air conditioned clubhouse with ammo and target sales, along with drinks and snacks.
 
Daily fee will be $10 for use rifle and standard pistol bays, an extra $5 per day can be paid for the use of the steel target bays
 
Rifle lanes:
 
10 lanes per bay with a total of 30 lanes. Each lane will have an ambi sided shooting table.
 
Standard pistol bays:
 
10 lanes per bay for a total of 30 pistol lanes each with adjustable/retractable target holders. Lanes are 25 yards.
 
2 steel target pistol bays with reseting targets and fall down targets. Each bay will have 3 lanes, each lane will have different types of steel target systems. Max time per lane is 1 hour, rotating between lanes is on the hour, no matter what time you get there. If there aren't enough people to force rotation, you may stay on the lane of your choice, assuming another lane of the same type is open, or no one wants to use the lane you are on.
 
Patrons are queued on arrival if all lanes are full. A number must be taken from the pistol or rifle number ticket dispensor and upon your number being called you will be assigned a lane.
 
Lanes will be inspected, and if any equipment is damaged, a $50 repair fee will be assessed to you.
 
 
 
(I'll draw up a layout and all that jazz later on and post it)
 

[GhostWarrior]

Two things:
 
     When you say "drinks" I am presuming NOTHING even vaguely alcoholic at all. If you tried that I wouldn't give you 100 to 1 odds of getting permitted and that's if the Insurance and Liability folks didn't rake you over the coals first. No Offence and I really didn't/don't think you were suggesting that, but just to clear things up.
 
     And I can suggest a way to save a boat load of time and money setting up covered lanes. Check the cost of those huge Concrete Drainage Pipes that are so big people can walk up right in them and they are also wide enough to have multiple lanes set up in them. Bulldoze some ground as level as possible (which you would have to do anyway) then buy the culverts and hire a crane to put them in place side by side. and if you wanted something long then just fit 2 or 3 of them end to end. Put a big ass berm at the far ends and all the targets just outside the end of the tube. Then all you would need are a couple or three small golf carts to drive down the outside of the pipes to reset the targets or have someone down there waiting and with the thickness of the walls of the pipe they should be totally safe until the RSO calls cease fire and then declares a cold range. Probably save you about a month in time and labour.
 
     The club house could be prefabed Mobile home sort of things. WAY cheaper than having something built on site. And I would suggest you set up some sort of vault with rentable lockers assorted sizes the members could rent to store their equipment in so they didn't have to drag it back and forth plus they could use them to store a change of cloths or their purses and valuables while they are shooting. Well actually you would need 2 vaults one for the store to keep it's rental weapons in and possibly any new ones if they wanted to get  into that part of the business like Up was talking about a store with an out door range.
 
      Heck if you did it right you could sell turn key out door ranges all over the country. Oh ya I nearly forgot for added safety you could take the dirt you bulldozed to get the flat area and use some of it to build the berm and some of it the cover the Cement pipes with. You might have to buy some dirt but even a lot of it in bulk is pardon the pun "Dirt Cheap".
 
NOTE: I think the pipes I am refer to are called Elliptical or Arch Pipes. I saw the specks on one and it was just under 6 feet high and 8 feet wide. Oh and 8.5 inches thick. Then again you could go with the straight square prefabed one like they use for bike paths under roads.
 
 

[GhostWarrior]

Scratch the culvert idea. I just called and no way could that dog hunt. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to expensive. Next idea would be using a technique called "tilt up walls". Those are concrete walls that have frames built right on the site, the concrete poured and when it's set up, then the forms are removed (and theses I believe can be reused as offten as necessary) and then wall has cables attached and then pulled upright and connected to the one next to it and supported until the entire 4 walls are connected and it's self supporting. Damn site faster to do then Pour in Place walls, cause with those the frames are destroyed and rebuilt for each section. I think. then lower a concrete roof on it and you have a range. Well without 4 walls of course, all we need is two side walls and a roof all The way down. Make the wide enough for 4 lanes each and I doubt any rounds are going to be punching through the concrete. You could even make them only half the length of what ever you wanted and the back half open with a Berm in the back. Sorta like a driving range for cities where they make the driving ranges 2 or 4 stores tall and the golfers can practice even if it's raining, the shooters are protected and shaded as are their weapons the same way.

[Angryvikingman]

Put up a rough sketch in the original post. Not the best sketch, but hey, I wanted to get something up. That whole setup would work on 10 or less acres. Outside of town, you don't have to cover a firing range. At least not here. I plan on building block walls for the pistol bays and building dirt burms inside the wall as a back stop. Thats the way the range at the AFB here is, so I'm sure its ok to do it that way. As for the rifle lanes, there will be 10+ foot dirt burm on each side. There will also be a 10 foot tall chainlink fence around the entire complex to keep people from sneaking in. The lounge/snack area will NOT server alcohol. :P Fountain drinks, and other bottled drinks and snack machines will provide additional income for the facility. There will be a retail area with accessories, gun sales, ammo and targets for sale. If anyone knows people who wouldbe interested in investing, be sure to shove this under their nose. There are so many people here who have no really good place to go and shoot, and I constantly hear about how the places we do have are either way too expensive, or the facility just plain sucks.

[GhostWarrior]

Like I said I figured you did not mean Alcohol. I was just making sure no one could possibly misunderstand. Your way sounds good also. Seems like a good way to go. I think it would be a hoot to part own and run a gunstore and really good range. I actually had an Idea for a world class retail specializing in everything to do with fishing. And I mean everything and instructors and places in the store to learn and take lessons on the different kinds of tackle or gear. That didn't work out and it probably will never happend but it was one hell of a good idea. So when I say I wish you all the luck in the world making your idea work.

[undrlord]

See I love this idea.  To me there are just to many reservations.  You, I, hell everyone who shoots always says that they would love a place like this to go but most of the time those people go maybe just once a month so it is almost like you couldn't count on how much money you would make and I think it would take a LONG time to make all your money back.


Don't get me wrong here....I think it would be awesome and I have ideas for it as well 


Rent sand bags for rifles.  Have range instructors, kind of like golf pro's at a course.  They would be for the people that have never shot before and want to learn basics.  Have those long, overhead heater things you find at driving ranges, so that people can be warm if they want to come shoot in the winter.  Make it have some kind of "membership fee" that gives you discounts for coming during the year to shoot.


Stuff like that.

[Angryvikingman]

Well, thats why you get a sponsor. (like Barrett) They can write it off as a charity community project. Then let one of us schmucks run the place because it was our idea.

[GhostWarrior]

     I do like both of you folks and your thoughts on the subject. I was thinking a different type of heater but ya.