Help/advice on building an indoor pistol range
Over at our gun club in Mansfield (SW of Boston) MA we have a large Quonset type building and we are wanting to build an indoor pistol range. Does anyone know of an architect in this area with experience in building indoor ranges?
We currently have a 50 yd and a 100 yd outdoor range and around 300 members ... some more active than others, if you know what I mean.
Any thoughts as to whether we should be thinking about the "Cadillac" or the "Chevy" model? The club is a bit divided on this subject. Anybody else been there?
We currently have a 50 yd and a 100 yd outdoor range and around 300 members ... some more active than others, if you know what I mean.
Any thoughts as to whether we should be thinking about the "Cadillac" or the "Chevy" model? The club is a bit divided on this subject. Anybody else been there?
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There are a lot of EPA regs to follow when going indoors.. look em up.. 0 -
I think Classic is right. Any indoor range is going to be cubic dollars. 0 -
Lots of state and federal regulations, especially on air quality and ventilation. The NRA is a good source for information and contactors. Ventilation varies by the number of lanes and expected amount of discharge, so it get pretty costly, pretty quickly. 0 -
With 300 members you don't stand a chance financially. The air exchanger alone, depending on cubic feet exchanged and how quickly, can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars..Good luck. 0 -
One of the ranges I shoot at, uses a large quonset building, for the indoor range. Sorry, don't know what system they have, but you can hear the "large" fans kick on, when we get ready to shoot. The heating system is hooked into this somehow. We can shoot year round. They have a 500 member limit cap.
Good luck.0 -
There used to be two major manufacturers of indoor range equipment. One was Detroit Armour and I can't remember the other. In any event, one bought the other and now there is one big company and several little mom & pop type operations. Some of them have great literature and all sorts of come-ons, but when it comes time, they usually have trouble delivering. Detroit Armour used to provide FREE design service for anyone who wanted to build a range and buy their stuff. I'm sure that it was figured into the cost of the project, but you might look into it. The NRA also used to offer a class for folks who thought that they wanted to build a range. When I took it more than 20 years ago they said that more than 9 of 10 who took the class never went any further. I was in that group. You're in a little bit different situation in that you already have a range up and running and want to add an indoor facility. The NRA gave everybody in the class a big binder of information. I looked for mine and can't seem to find it. Appears to be the only thing that I've thrown out in the last forty years. Don't let folks discourage you. Yes, it can be expensive, but there are at least two groups of folks in my area that are in the process of setting up indoor ranges. One of them is going with a mom & pop company and things are dragging for all sorts of reasons, but mostly local politics with regard to zoning. The other folks are going with the big company (whose name I can't remember) and things seem to be cooking right along. Whether you go with the big guys who seem to be a little more expensive at first, or the little folks who seem to be cheaper, it is NOT cost prohibitive. Keep us posted on your progress -- Steve 0
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