New Indoor Range

It's at least an hour drive away for me aka Deerfield.

As everyone said: Well lit, Very friendly staff, allow carry of guns by customers(obvious but some don't allow it.)

Handguns and up to .30 cal rifles could be allowed or maybe just smaller intermediate rounds like .223

Be able to rent/use guns and buy ammo at a decent price.

Free ear plugs

Some snacks like chips and soft drinks in a lobby area or of the sort. aka vending machines.

Be able to use targets customers bring as long as it's a paper target.

Keep the climate control decent not too cold or too hot a good all around temperature year round around 60-70 degrees.

Keep flexible hours open as some people like me work nights and am awake from 6 pm to 6am most of the time when most places are closed. So be open later on the weekends.

A drinking fountain would be very nice as well.

Daily, Monthly, or Yearly pass.

And most importantly of all a relaxed environment that's not gung-ho and uptight. It Makes people wanna stay there longer and converse with other people and shoot up some more targets and just have fun!

This is what I would want in my indoor range.

I think video that the shooter can see would be nice, so you can reference back to see what your doing. Stance changes and so forth. Also using virtual training methods would be cool, you could change venues and situations.

TaurusToter said:

Now a grill? Now you're talking. You don't need a license to have a gas grill and do cheeseburgers on the weekends. Car dealerships and other businesses get around that all the time. They just cook a lot more food than the employees can eat, so they are forced to give them to the customers. Add an extra $5 to the range rental fee on a Saturday, and now you have a range complete with cheeseburger/chips and a soda. You need a permit from the health department when you start storing food overnight, have a menu, cook every day, yada yada yada.....

Click to expand...

It doesn't quite work out that simple, any sale of food to the general public requires proper licensing and the proper facilities to both cook, serve, and store the food. along with a person who has a current 'State of Wisconsin Food Managers license" to be presnt whenever this food is being prepared and/or served. Also, if you will be creating "Grease Laden Vapors" such as grilling meat or frying foods, we get into a class-3 exhaust hood with tempered make-up air, and fire supression system. How do I know this? Because it is my current self-employed occupation of choice.

Doing a pre-packeged food item would be much easier, but not as palatable. If you are near a Jimmy Johns sandwich shop, maybe get them on speed dial.

Yeah I am not going into the food business. Vending machines will be onsite. Maybe food for special events and member only shoots.

As to the other ideas. I will keep a lot of them on file. Some would cost more than to total project is costing now!

Getting Close

As we get closer to opening the doors I want to thank you all for your input, suggestions, well wishes and handshakes. I have met many great folks from this site, both online and in the real world. We have two hurdles left to jump, one is the bank ... so far it looks fan-freakin-tastic! The second is the ATF, they seem oddly easy to work with ... guess not all the horror stories are true.

So with things so optimistic (translate "This is happening for sure!") I figured it was time to get working on the website. I put a design together tonight (after spending the day ripping up old carpet in our soon to be new range). I am posting here first. Letting you guys/gals get the first glimpse of the website, or what will be our website (so much to do!). Oh and the site is vague but we are looking to a soft open in the end of December with a grand opening (including live fire) in February! (all times and dates subject to change blah blah blah)

http://www.familyshootingacademy.com

Coolness.... Just a stones throw from my place. looking forward to checking the place out. The airsoft is a nice touch, I have friend who's big on it

I wonder what your written business plan looks like.

I thought about building one and I could not get the numbers to work.

What about the cost of......

Air quality requirements for lead.
Cost of Staff
Cost of insurance for coverage in the millions.

AND The city normally must provide in writing, approval for a firearm to be discharged within city limits at your facility. The insurance company will most likely require it.

There is also regs and requirements of collection, control and disposal of lead by your employees.

Did you cover all these bases or are you just winging it?

The profits I calculated were just pennies and had the extreme possibility of being a failure.

What figure are you using for a range session price and the time of the session?

I found I could maybe make it work with buying a existing structure and remolding but not on building a new structure.

Just the cost for one employee at a nominal wage with workers comp ins and matching FICA funds is shocking.

How are you making it work?

wiscollector said:

AND The city must provide in writing, approval for a firearm to be discharged within city limits at your facility. The insurance company will require it.
.

Click to expand...

Green Bay City Ordinances do not prohibit discharge at an indoor range so there is no reason for them to grant permission. The City is not going to assume any liability.

27.603 WEAPONS.
(1) FIREARMS.
(a) Discharge Prohibited. No person shall discharge a firearm in the City.
(b) Exceptions. A firearm may be discharged under the following conditions:
1. In the confines of a licensed shooting gallery or sportsmen club

Click to expand...

Interceptor_Knight is correct. The range is actually in Bellevue and they have been a great place to work with. I highly recommend the town to anyone looking to relocate.

@wiscollector-- I can not give away all my secrets now can I. Lets just say I have access to resources that limit the operating expense as well as the initial capitol expense of opening a range. If you would like to see my plan you will need to be a potential investor (I don't need any more but I will not turn down anyone with $50,000) and sign a confidentiality agreement. Otherwise I will not be giving up my competitive advantages to anyone.

I can tell you a few things:
This is my lively-hood and a legacy to my children ... I am not winging it.
Banks and investors do not turn over big cash to poor plans ... not today anyway.
Sometimes to make a dream come true you have to buck the system and find new ways to accomplish goals.

Awesome! I hope you do well. It will be a great place to go when I visit my brother and sister and take them shooting. I will make sure my brother joins up. He lives in GB.

mrmike.me said:

Interceptor_Knight is correct. The range is actually in Bellevue and they have been a great place to work with. I highly recommend the town to anyone looking to relocate.

@wiscollector-- I can not give away all my secrets now can I. Lets just say I have access to resources that limit the operating expense as well as the initial capitol expense of opening a range. If you would like to see my plan you will need to be a potential investor (I don't need any more but I will not turn down anyone with $50,000) and sign a confidentiality agreement. Otherwise I will not be giving up my competitive advantages to anyone.

I can tell you a few things:
This is my lively-hood and a legacy to my children ... I am not winging it.
Banks and investors do not turn over big cash to poor plans ... not today anyway.
Sometimes to make a dream come true you have to buck the system and find new ways to accomplish goals.

Click to expand...

will you be offering a annual membership ?

We are offering at least 3 memberships. The yearly will include either unlimited range time or a set amount of time per month. We are still working on pricing standards for that.

mrmike.me said:

We are offering at least 3 memberships. The yearly will include either unlimited range time or a set amount of time per month. We are still working on pricing standards for that.

Click to expand...

excellent ! Thanks