Finally! Grand Opening!! New Indoor Range in Hou on 10/6/7!

[Mac Truck]

I wanted to send out a hearty thanks to all of you great folks that have stopped by and have sent PM's during this nightmare....errr.... "dream" of building and opening a new indoor range!

We originally began this endeavor after shooting for years in the local leagues, and realizing that the "kink in the system" seems to be a lack of support for the CHL Instructor. A lot of ranges grew to treat Instructors as more of a liability than an asset, and more than a few expressed their dissatisfaction with the way things were being handled. My Old Man happened to sell a commercial property of his for an unexpectedly hefty profit, and hence, we began the quest to build a better mousetrap.

We wanted to have a place where we know you by name when you come in, and wave goodbye when you leave. A place where we have a peanut gallery of regulars by the coffee machine, willing to answer ANY gun related question, whether they actually know the answer or NOT. We want to create a place where the Instructor is relied upon for business, and is treated as a valued customer rather than a pain. There are currently 600 or so Certified Instructors in this area of the state, so we figured that it would be easier to market to those 600 than to spend money on "birdshot" marketing to the masses.

We are open officially at 10am on Saturday 10/6/07!!

EVERYONE is invited! Come one, come all! Introduce yourselves by your handle on here if you see me!

Sound is still an issue, but we are doing everything imaginable to dampen it. Thankfully, we are in the County by 2 blocks, so we don't have the pesky City noise ordinances with which to deal, but we also want to "love thy neighbor", or more importantly, have them love us.

So far, I think the prices are going to be fairly reasonable, $16 an hour per lane, $10 for each additional person per lane (2 max). You can shoot as many or as few guns as you want, and can shoot any kind of ammo you wish, with the exception of aluminum casings. Wolf is welcome!

I can't thank this forum and the great guys on it enough for the opportunity to help us make this happen. God Bless Texas, and MOLON LABE!!

-Mac Sanford

Shiloh Indoor Shooting Range
12703 Shiloh Church Rd
Houston, TX 77066
(281)520-1038
http://www.shilohshooting.com

Directions:
From Willowbrook Mall on Hwy 249 and FM 1960, head East on FM 1960 approximately one mile. Pass Cutten Road, and Shiloh Church Rd is on the right. Its a tiny, barely marked, one lane road directly across from the "Joe's Golf House" sign. Turn on Shiloh Church, and we are about 500ft on the right, in the red barn.

[WarHawk-AVG]

Why not aluminum?

Congrats....can I PM for some help..I have a dream of opening an indoor range where I am from (they have NO ranges within say 30-40 miles) and would like some ideas/tips/help

[jbirds1210]

Not allowing aluminum would keep me out. Blazer aluminum is clean and accurate. It is actually my choice over most of the low end target ammunition and I have run tens of thousands of them without incident.

It sounds like you are trying to put together a nice place for folks to shoot and visit.

Good luck with your range. Take care.

Jason

[shaggydog]

Blazer aluminum is clean and accurate in all of my 9mm guns. Jason

My old Ruger Security Six .357 works extremely well with the Blazer aluminum as well. Same question Mac; Why no aluminum?

Good luck. Hope the business venture is successful.

[CleverNickname]

1. Are rifle calibers allowed?
2. Is full-auto allowed?
3. Do you have any sort of flat-fee membership available?

FWIW I'm guessing they don't allow aluminum cased ammo because they want to resell their brass to reloaders (who don't want non-reloadable aluminum cases) and they'd have to pick out the aluminum by hand. Wolf can be separated with a magnet.

[HEMIzygote]

Holy cow!! $16 bucks/hr and $26/hr for two people?

I guess thats average for Houston?

I went shooting yesterday at an indoor range (Lubbock TX) and paid $8 bucks total and was there for 3 hours. The outdoor range here is $4.25/hr.

[Mac Truck]

Holy cow!! $16 bucks/hr and $26/hr for two people?

I guess thats average for Houston?

I went shooting yesterday at an indoor range (Lubbock TX) and paid $8 bucks total and was there for 3 hours. The outdoor range here is $4.25/hr.

Hey Man, at least we're not charging full price for the 2nd shooter. Show me a range in Houston that even offers a discount for the second person!

The only reason for not allowing Aluminum is that it is bear to seperate from the brass, and the steel can be done by using a simple magnet. I don't see why it wouldn't be feasible to shoot aluminum here as long as you agree to pick up your own casings?? I'll run it past the powers that be, but we're easy going folks.

[Mac Truck]

For now, all calibers are allowed, but we are possibly going to limit rifle (.223/7.62) to daylight hours only until we get this noise situation straightened out. They're in there right now as we speak putting up that stuff that KB referred on the blinds and lane box walls.

Fully Auto? I don't see why not as long as its done safely. It will be one loud sonofagun in there, though.

We're still working out the details on the memberships, but yes, we will offer them, and will be as competitive as possible with the pricing.

[surfTX]

I would assume this is the ElRide Mac Truck????? Small world. Good luck with your new venture.

[Mac Truck]

I would assume this is the ElRide Mac Truck????? Small world. Good luck with your new venture.

You got that right, brother! One and only! Who's this?

[htxred]

marksman in south houston charges full price for each shooter, but the total cost of 2 shooters is $16, along with no time limit.

but by all means, im still going to check this joint out, since its so close to work. but im assuming most will put the range in the "expensive" category.

but then again, some say you get what you pay for, so im eager for the grand opening.

i'll just have to leave the 10mm at home since only 10mm ammo i can find that is affordable is blazer alum.

[mdek]

This sounds like quite a nice range. I'll try to drop by on saturday or at some other point in the near future. Congratulations on finishing things up!

[surfTX]

I post, or more lurk, over there as Sbob132. I wandered my way over here a few days ago. I vaguley remember something about your range on elride a while ago i think, but congratulations and best of luck. Maybe some time i'll make it out over that way, it's a little out of my neck of the woods though. Anyways best of luck with your new endevour, I'm sure it'll be a blast. See you in the water/at the range -Rob

[Mac Truck]

Richard Porter at Marksman is one of the nicest, knowledgable, most helpful human beings in this industry. I have nothing but praise for the way he runs that range over there.

That being said, Marksman, along with the other indoor ranges in Houston have been open for several decades, some for several generations. They have paid off their initial building investment. We have NOT. We have had to deal with the rising property taxes out here, and a schlue of other issues.

For $16, I'll tell you what you will get. You'll get treated well, with respect, in an environment where safety is tantamount. In addition, you can shoot any caliber weapon you please, using any ammo you want, through as many guns as you can hold, in AIR CONDITIONED comfort. In addition to that, you won't walk out of here coughing up chunks of coal from your lungs, either.

I stand by my price of $16 and maintain that it is fair.

marksman in south houston charges full price for each shooter, but the total cost of 2 shooters is $16, along with no time limit.

but by all means, im still going to check this joint out, since its so close to work. but im assuming most will put the range in the "expensive" category.

but then again, some say you get what you pay for, so im eager for the grand opening.

i'll just have to leave the 10mm at home since only 10mm ammo i can find that is affordable is blazer alum.

[Doug.38PR]

That's great! I have a shooting friend from church that lives in that area. We might just drop in this Saturday or Sunday. I just shot him an E mail about it and put in a call to him telling him.
Thank you Mr. Sanford.

BTW, we typically go to Top Gun after church on Sundays...they don't allow magnums (.357, .44 or anything with the word Magnum attached to it) They said ti had to do with a city of Houston ordiance against noise. Does this apply to you or are you outside the Houston city limits?