Indoor pistol range recommendations?

[Rob®]

A friend and I have been hitting up the new(er) ShootSmart near Keller a lot lately. A lot. Especially me (happy hour pricing during the week FTW!). But we figured we'd venture out and possibly try a new range, just to change it up a bit.

We both of course looked online already. I'm looking for personal opinions on places, not just "there's one here." We both have it narrowed down to the Bullet Trap in Plano, the Shooting Gallery or the Shooters Club in Ft. Worth. We're open to suggestions, so any others we should add to the list? The key thing here is that we are used to the one literally 5 minutes from my house, and the $14.99 weekend lane rates we've been getting, with no hourly limits...not that we are there for more than an hour or two. We both have our own guns so we don't need to worry about rentals. We also have our own ammo (not steel or steel jacketed). I know he brings his own targets, and I usually do, but sometimes I will buy one of those zombie targets or something stupid just for a change of scenery. We both have ear and eye protection.

- I live close enough to TMS, he lives in the Colony. So something fairly close to either would be best, or in the middle would be fine too.
- Indoor pistol range. Outdoor can wait till fall or winter. Neither of us have a shotgun, rifle, nor a variant of either. Just a 9mm (him) and a .40 S&W (me) semi-auto handgun. Easy enough.
- Not crazy lane rental fees, but being the rock bottom price isn't what we're looking for really. We're looking for more clean and good vibe feeling than just a cheap place to shoot things. But...$35 each for an hour is not going to win our vote.
- Lane sharing is a huge plus. We have been sharing a lane the last few times just so we're not blasting through 400 rounds each in an hour. Learned my lesson on that one.
- Not a shit-hole. This is the big factor here. We can easily go a few minutes down the road from me to a nice clean nearly brand-new place with a great atmosphere, then be just a few minutes away from some cold drinks. So naturally we don't care to drive 30 minutes to the ghetto and hope to avoid getting the HIV while shooting, just to drive another 30 minutes before we can have a few drinks. No offense if that's your thing.

So, please let the gun chatter begin! Thanks

[Squid]

There's a brand new place in Lewisville -- On Valley Ridge just west of the Ford Dealership.
Have not been there yet, as it just opened.

http://www.eaglegunrangetx.com/

We usually go all the way to Richardson and shoot at Bullet Trap.

[Rob®]

That looks promising, Squid. Except for the fact that it's not open yet We were thinking to explore this weekend, so I'll have to keep an eye on that one for the future.

And I guess I should clarify what I mean by shooting "a lot." I was finally given the OK to get a gun July 3rd this year. July 4th I had one in the house :) As of last weekend I put 2000 rounds through it. My wife seems to think that's a lot, and I sort of agree. At least I do when I have to buy another 5-600 rounds for the upcoming week. Not sure how that compares to others, but it's "a lot" to me at the moment. New toys tend to do that though.

[Jiggerachi]

I'll be following this thread, I've been pretty bummed last few trips to the usual ranges, and i'm shopping for a place that I actually want to go to. Here's some annoyances that almost have me not wanting to shoot my own guns anymore. I'm sure there's a bunch of ranges like this, any ranges that I don't have to put up with these i'd be interested in.

1. Elm Fork's rules have gotten a little overboard lately. 1 second between shot rule, this along with the 10 rounds max in the mag makes me not want to go. I don't want to blast away or act like a jack ass and I certainly understand discouraging such behavior, but I enjoy practicing a good double tap every now and then, and hate reloading mags. Then there's the not allowing any rifle without a scope on anything other than the 'Tactical Bay', means that I can only shoot my Mosin or AR at 30yds max. This sucks.
Their skeet range is awesome, but I got busted shooting my 18.5" bbl 'Riot Gun' out there, they acted like I had a machine gun or something. I know it's not the best for the sport by far, but it's got a full stock and it's completely legal. I don't get this one at all, maybe it's louder??

I used to like DFW Gun Range on Mockingbird in dallas, little pricey but they were pretty relaxed on the rules. Not sure if I just didn't have an AR before or they've upped their rates, but I got charged a shit ton extra for a rifle bay, I think I walked out of there almost $50 with range fees/eyes/ears.

Last time I was out to Elm Fork I caught a chunk of bullet splatter from some idiot who hit the rafters with his AK, was testing his new holographic sight. Range officer asked him what he was aiming at he said he didn't know. He asked again, what was the little red dot covering when he pulled the trigger, he said "What dot??"

I'm seriously considering coughing up the $300 or so and joining a shooting club after all this. Its not entertaining to shoot my own guns anymore unless i'm driving 100miles to a buddies property, and I only do that once a year or so.

[mach1]

Elm Fork is my favorite but I agree with the rules lately. I hate pistol shooting at paper so the metal targets are a blast.

[goofygrin]

All the cons you guys mention are why I went the private route. I just wish they had the steel targets (although I could bring them out there and I'm sure we could split the cost to get them setup).

That and I have a 300y+ range to work with with my rifles...

[Rob®]

Try the ShootSmart by me (exit 64 on 35w). I love the place, as does my friend from the Colony. It's *his* decision to drive all the way out here or not - I tell him every time we can go closer to him. He without fail opts for the ShootSmart out here. Itd be maybe 40 minutes from you, if that. They have a nice, albeit fairly small, lounge while you wait. Equipped with a Keurig machine, snacks, and sodas/water. For $1 each on the honor system.

They do have the one shot every two second rule, but they don't get pissed about it. I unloaded my 12 round mag (no round/may limits) as quickly as I could and the safety guy just smirked, asked if I just got the gun, then kindly pointed out I can't do that. We have both violated the one-every-two rule without so much as a glance. As long as youre not emptying a full mag, you wont hear a word about it. From what I've heard of other places they can get nasty about it.

They have a private lane for an additional $4 that you can do whatever. Draw from a holster, full auto, whatever. But just a single lane of that for now. They have a planned expansion coming with more though.

They do have a no shotgun policy though. They let rifles in, but I'd check with them about the rules first - like I said, neither of us care right now.


We did see they have a new website (was www.shootsmarttx.com - redirects you to the new address now) with higher rates than we've been paying. So that sucks. But check in anytime M-Th from 2-4pm and its $5! Gotta love early classes and no job.
Their ear and eye protection is free to borrow as well. I think they have "premium" stuff you have to rent, but why? Their ammo prices are actually only like 50 cents more expensive than Walmart too.

But yeah, I'd like to try some new places.

[SirHustlerEsq]

I like Quail Creek when it's nice out. Bass Pro is about 7 minutes from my house and only $10 to shoot ($10/hr if its busy or if they don't know you). There's a Wal Mart on the way to buy ammo too.