Go somewhere else.
:D
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Range owners are often scum bags... much like most in the gun industry.
I like when the MAKE you buy their targets and MAKE you leave your brass. Don't get me wrong... I know there's a lot of expense in running an indoor range... but shitty stunts like making a person leave his brass is wrong. Charge the appropriate price up front.
Totally agree, charge the amount you want (need) up front. The rest is all gravy.
The same owners used to have a small broom and pan so that you could pick up the brass and dump it into their buckets (I used to dump it into my bag). Now they do not have the pans or small brooms, just a large broom and tell you to just sweep it forward onto the lane. They pick it up later. Truth be told, very few people took the brass before, but again, they want to wring every penny of profit out of each user.
At least they are selling American made ammo. I wonder how long that will go on. :(
i agree with that. in your case, you already stated that this particular owner "says he wants to maximize his profit", so it's clear where his motives lie.
but, without an owner admitting that, and unless you know what their operating costs are, profit margins etc, it's hard to discern whether they're taking advantage of you, or that's just what they have to do to keep operating.
As a range co-owner I take issue with blanket statements like this. The reality of the fact is that like any other business there will be some who choose to wring dry their customer base and some who choose to find a logical middle ground. With 10 rifle and 8 pistol and 10 bow dedicated lanes we have often discussed the need to alter costs to make the most of our lanes; certainly our pistol line fills quicker than our rifle. However, we came to the conclusion long ago that we would always put what was right in front of the bottom line. For 20 years it has done us well. All lanes cost the same.
As for bringing your own ammo, their was a push years ago to adopt this philosophy. We went against the grain and welcome most ammo. No frangibles and no tracing rounds (I personally think that is more than reasonable) have been allowed and we have no inclination to change that.
Our personal research has shown that rapid fire (while generally inaccurate for the general population which does pose it's own problem) does no more significant damage to our range system. We pride ourselves on catering to the LEO community and their unique needs. Our 10 rifle lanes are convertible for type specific SWAT training which often includes automatic and long cover fire. (Our local sherrifs department utilizes the venerable .338Lapua mag for long cover which beats the hell out of our system. We welcome it gladly.)
So please do not lump together the BS range owners who are after the almighty dollar with owners like us. Our philanthropy with the Boy Scouts and local high schools sets us apart from the maggots that leach off our society. And I do taken offense to it.
Thank you sir for stating my point better than I have.
In my business I tell my employees that if the customer is happy, that is what I want, but I also tell the customers that we need to make a profit so that it is a win/win situation. They obtain what they want at a fair price, and we charge enough to cover costs and make a profit. Well, not in the last few years, but that is another story!
Again, your policies are reasonable and apparently pay off. That is were the complaint is with the local range owner. He wants all the benefits of the relationship and won't allow the customer to save a few dollars. It is not a win/win situation.
In my case anyway, he has lost a rifle range customer and when I find a better "home" he will have lost all of my business.
I would have said "Some range owners are scum bags... much like others in the gun industry." but I don't think markm was commenting on you since you are so new here. This site requires a thick skin sometimes.Quote:
Originally Posted by markm
Range owners are often scum bags... much like most in the gun industry.
Anyway, welcome ! :D
It's a free country, they can charge whatever they want. I joined an outdoor gun club. Considering you are you own RO most of the time, pretty much anything goes as long as you stay safe.
YES! All present company excluded. :p
It's possible your establishment might represent the exception to the norm. As a guy that travels extensively for work, takes his guns with him whenever possible, hits public ranges across the country, and is part of a team of 6 guys that do the same thing and track trends out of habit, it's a pretty damned fair, if terse, blanket statement.
Between the buy-my-ammo, no-more-than-one-round-per-second , weapon-can't-be-loaded-even-if-you're-leaving-or-are-a-cop rules and idiots behind the counter telling me that my Wolf .45ACP ammo is steel-cored because his mighty-mighty handy-dandy magnet is stuck to the side of the box, I would perhaps alter verbiage of the statement, yet still apply it to the VAST majority of range proprietors across the country.
That they are caustically risk-averse, Fudd-oriented and coming around to paying the same level of lip-service to the self-defense practitioners of this country that the NRA has been for years...and all for the sake of money, while deluding themselves into thinking that they're helping the customers of the gun industry by simply being open and very, very often being the only game in town.
If you don't fall under the "blanket statement," peachy. It's still a pretty factual statement, and it's systemic to the nation. I personally think of public ranges as the TSA of the gun world: most just conjuring the illusion of providing a necessary service while really just getting paid to get in the way of as many people as possible.