Surprisingly, in-home gun ranges are becoming more and more popular, and many people see it as a place to escape.
Many people now consider adding a gun range to their homes for the convenience of shooting at their leisure. Adding a gun range to your home may involve retrofitting an existing space or creating a new space. The overarching question is: how much does the typical gun range cost?
In-home gun ranges can cost $50,000-$200,000. The final total is determined largely by the simplicity or complexity of the equipment selected as well as the level of safety you want. To grasp the costs involved, you must understand the requirements involved in a home gun range.
Many factors affect the overall cost of installing a home gun range. These factors also involve decisions that affect the cost of those portions of the design and installation. Before you make any decisions about a home gun range installation, read on to learn the intricacies and requirements of such a project.
What Does an In-Home Range Cost?
The installation of an indoor home shooting range involves a variety of costs. You should expect to incur costs for permitting, engineering services, equipment acquisition, and remodeling or construction of adequate space. Additional costs can involve insurance and ongoing maintenance.
Engineering or Architectural Services
The permitting department may require engineering or architectural drawings to get the required permits for your indoor home shooting range. The cost of having these drawings produced can vary greatly, but in most cases falls between $1,200 and $6,000. Often the cost is based on the estimated cost of the project.
Permitting Fees and Inspection Fees
The permitting process almost always involves fees for both the permit and the follow-up inspections. These fees vary from approximately $125 to $1,000 plus in some cases and may involve permits and fees to different departments and even to different jurisdictions. Your local permitting officials can provide you with a schedule of permit and inspection fees.
Construction Costs
You may plan on retrofitting your indoor shooting range into an existing space or build a new structure to house the range. In either case, there will be costs associated with the construction and remodeling. A good contractor will provide you with an estimate for whatever type of installation you are planning. Remodeling costs may be as low as $100 per square foot or as much as $250 per square foot for new construction.
Ongoing Costs to Consider
Be sure to check with your insurance agent about adding insurance coverage for your indoor home shooting range. Some insurance companies will not insure a home with a gun range. In any case, there will be additional costs for the liability insurance and the coverage for the equipment.
You must also maintain the equipment. Air filtration systems need regularly scheduled maintenance to remain effective. Bullet traps require maintenance as well. The nature of target systems almost ensures regular repair to this equipment. Maintenance costs could average $50 to $150 per month.
Is It Legal to Have an In-Home Gun Range?
Many cities and counties allow in-home gun ranges if you meet certain conditions. However, there are places where in-home gun ranges are prohibited or strictly controlled, and you must determine the legal issues where you live before you proceed.
Legal challenges can come in various disguises and from different agencies. For example, you may face legal issues from:
- State agencies such as Health and Safety organizations that control and regulate air quality.
- Local regulations and ordinances about discharging a firearm in a specific area, noise abatement issues, and zoning restrictions may prohibit any sort of shooting range in certain types of residential areas.
- Homeowners Associations can exert a significant amount of control over what you can and cannot do on your property. Some covenants and deed restrictions may prohibit the installation of a home gun range on your property.
Before you begin building any indoor home gun range, be sure that you have the appropriate clearances and permits in hand.
Where Will You Put Your Home Gun Range?
Location is a huge factor in building a home gun range. Finding space large enough for a home gun range on most residential lots is a challenge. Retrofitting an existing space may be an option or building a new space if you have the room. Each alternative comes with its challenges.
If you have a large enough lot or acreage, building a new structure to house your home gun range is possible. However, the additional cost of the construction pushes the overall cost of a home gun range in the tens of thousands of dollars and perhaps more.
Renovating an existing space in your home might work if your home has a space suitable in size and location for the installation. Considering the overall size requirements for even a single lane shooting range, this is often impossible in most homes.
For many people, the best option is to retrofit an existing basement. Basements are excellent locations for in-home shooting ranges. The below-grade location provides safe zones without the cost of constructing elaborate concrete or block walls. Ceiling safety measures are not unreasonable in a basement installation.
What Features Do You Want in Your In-Home Shooting Range?
Much of the cost of installing an indoor home shooting range comes from the installed range equipment. Range equipment includes bullet traps, baffles, air handling and filtration, target systems, and auxiliary areas.
A home indoor shooting range in a basement with a simple bullet trap and air filtration system may cost ten to twenty-five thousand dollars to install. A space as little as twenty feet in length and four feet wide is adequate as a modest home gun range.
If you want to shoot larger calibers or rifles, the cost goes up. Larger calibers require more extensive protection from stray rounds and heavier bullet trap systems. Generally, you need at least twenty-five yards or seventy-five feet for a rifle caliber indoor home shooting range.
The sophistication of your target systems is also a cost factor. Simple target stands are relatively cheap, or you may fabricate target stands as needed. Automatic retrieval target systems can get quite expensive and require ongoing maintenance to keep them in top operating condition.
The Final Figures
You are required to install special air handling and filtration equipment and more elaborate stray bullet protection, the overall cost of an in-home shooting range can cost a hundred thousand dollars or more. Doing your homework before starting an in-home shooting range project is essential.
Contact Action Target
With over 30 years of experience, Action Target can help you build the perfect range for your unique needs. Whether you are 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 with the challenges of building a range. Talk to one of our representatives in your neck of the woods here.
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