Are Indoor Shooting Ranges Profitable?

Posted on by Marketing Action Target
There are contributing factors to how much profit indoor shooting ranges will accumulate, and today, we’ll go over them.  By understanding what drives sales and revenue, you’ll have a better chance to make your indoor shooting range profitable. An Indoor shooting range can be profitable. Shooting ranges are predicted to see an annual profit increase of 8.35%. However, there are elements that will determine the success of the shooting range. Is an indoor shooting range worth the investment? This article will discuss how profitable indoor shooting ranges are and what can positively or negatively affect the profit margin.

Are Indoor Shooting Ranges Profitable?

As interest in gun usage and safety rises amongst consumers, the need for gun ranges will increase. This is an ingredient for higher profits. Some factors can make or break a commercial gun range, and these must be considered before starting an indoor gun range. The major contributors to an indoor shooting range’s profit are:
  • Where the shooting range is located
  • Your customers
  • How it’s advertised
  • Its membership dues
  • The number of people who use the facility.
These contributing factors help determine how much overhead your business will make. Let’s explore how they can affect the profits of an indoor shooting range.

Membership Fees and General Customer Fees Make the Profit

On average, shooting ranges charge general customer fees of $10 to $14. This per-person charge can be hourly or by the day. How much you charge customers to use your indoor shooting range is where you’ll make your profits. You must be competitive when deciding on your prices to ensure your customers will return.  On the other hand, some ranges can charge upwards $25 for a VIP lane or target retriever equipment. These generally provide pre-programmed training scenarios, games, accuracy drills, special effect lights, and more.  Many businesses have a non-linear pricing structure. This means they charge different rates for certain customers during different times of the: 
  • Day
  • Week 
  • Month
To determine your pricing schedule, consider what time of day will have the greatest number of shooters and when you’ll be most likely to maximize revenues per hour. For example, if you’re charging less at peak times, you may make a larger profit for those hours due to having more customers. With membership fees, you want to give your recurring customers the ease and ability to come whenever convenient. Memberships are typically a bit less expensive than paying per session. However, a paid member may bring new customers to the door. To ensure customer satisfaction, we recommend that all ranges have an hourly or day-pass type of pricing structure available because this will allow people with different budgets to use the facility without breaking the bank. 

The Location of the Indoor Shooting Range Affects the Profit

One of the most important aspects of having a profitable shooting range is the location. Your commercial firing range should be in a decent commercial neighborhood where people enjoy going.

The Indoor Shooting Range Customers Affects the Profit

The indoor shooting range needs to attract customers that have a need and a desire to be there. Indoor shooting ranges located in convenient urban areas will bring in higher profits as it attracts everyday citizens and those who protect and serve.  Therefore, you want to attract middle to upper-class people with an interest in or a need to practice firing a gun. These people may be:
  • Police Officers and other law enforcement need gun ranges to practice firing their guns.
  • Security guards often carry guns and may need extra training in using their weapons.
  • Gun-owning homeowners need a secure place to go to learn to shoot their guns safely.
  • Military personnel use indoor gun ranges to practice using their guns.
  • Gun sports enthusiasts will use an indoor range to practice, especially when they cannot make it out of town to an outdoor firing range.
  • Anyone new to gun ownership needs to familiarize themselves with the weapon and learn how to shoot it.
  • Anyone interested in shooting a gun can go to an indoor shooting range to fire a gun in a controlled environment.
The people that visit your shooting range will directly affect how much profit you make. If the area where you’re located does not attract those with money, then profits won’t be as high. To get more customers and higher profits, it’s important to understand your paying customer base. 

Advertising Your Indoor Shooting Range Affects Profit

Advertising is a way to get more customers to your indoor shooting range and increase revenue. It’s important to understand how advertising works and how it will attract the customers you want to come into your commercial shooting range. There are many forms of advertising you can use to promote your indoor shooting range. These include: 
  • Print media such as Posters, flyers, and postcards, billboards, and banners. Give potential customers a visual direction to and hours opening of the gun range.
  • Coupons and promotions are also a great way to entice customers to visit your business.
  • Marketing campaigns. Marketing campaigns are a great way to reach people in different demographics like age groups and gender. 
  • Word of Mouth. Happy customers will often suggest your business to their friends and colleges.
The frequency in which you advertise also plays an important role in how often a person is receptive to this type of advertisement.

Can a Shooting Range Advertise on Social Media

When it comes to social media, many ranges will post pictures of their clients shooting. They’ll also post lifestyle pictures of firearms without trying to sell.  Safety course ads are often denied because they will link directly to your shooting range and possible gun sales. That being said, Shooting Sports Retailer tells us it may be possible to advertise a safety course on social media. They suggest making a new landing page for your safety course. This landing page cannot link, in any way, to your existing web page. They also suggest that you may want to buy an additional domain name to go with your safety course landing page.

Indoor Shooting Ranges Can Be Profitable

Indoor shooting ranges can be profitable. But they have several factors that affect the profit potential for an individual range. Location is key to success, while membership fees and general customer fees are also essential to make money from your indoor shooting range.  The number of customers you receive will also dictate how much you’re able to charge them. Advertising is important as well because it helps bring more people into the facility, which increases revenue generation possibilities. It all comes down to figuring out what works best for your situation by considering these various elements before jumping right in and opening up shop!    Action Target Can Help Action Target can help you build the right range for your unique needs, and we have over 30 years of experience to back our words up. Whether you’re building a commercial range that caters to casual or tactical training or a law enforcement range to better prepare your officers, our experts can help meet the challenges of building a range. Chat with one of our representatives in your neck of the woods here.  IBIS World https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/shooting-ranges-industry/ Range Systems https://www.range-systems.com/blog/how-much-does-a-commercial-shooting-range-cost/ Profitable Venture https://www.profitableventure.com/income-gun-range-make-margin/ Biz Influent https://bizfluent.com/how-5220381-start-shooting-range-business.html South Wick Associates https://www.southwickassociates.com/preferences-and-motivations-of-indoor-range-users/ HW Range  https://hwrange.com/gun-ranges/ Shooting Academy https://www.shooting-academy.com/media/Profit%20Breakdown%20Indoor%20Shooting%20Range.pdfShooting Sports Retailer https://www.shootingsportsretailer.com/business/how-to-get-your-facebook-ads-approved