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I also want to add that having a separate bank account that is used ONLY for business related expenses and income is a must. That will be the first thing the IRS looks at if they’re trying to determine if you are a business or hobby.

I'm a Texas CPA and everything that was mentioned in the OP is a fully deductible business expense. Range fees, ammo, targets, etc are all deductible because you need to keep up your skill level in order to provide a quality service to the public. That is all part of doing business.

There is definitely a fine line between a hobby and a business, but the fact that you are advertising, have business cards and have a website make a GREAT case that you are indeed running a business and this is not simply a hobby that you are trying to deduct. You may not be very good at running your business since you (hypothetically) have losses every year, but nonetheless you are still trying to run a business and you hope to make a profit some day.

As far as the IRS checking in on you to determine if this is really a business, Keith is somewhat correct that showing losses for many years in a row is a big red flag but that doesn't automatically mean you will be determined to be a hobby. It is a "facts and circumstances" test and the items mentioned in my previous paragraph give you some real facts that are on your side. Additionally, reporting many years of losses on your personal return via Schedule C is significantly more risky that the alternative, which would be to file a separate partnership tax return to report all of this business activity. I have clients in unrelated fields that have filed partnership returns with business losses for 10 straight years (or more) and the IRS has never come knocking... knock on wood.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.