Large indoor shooting range and gun store closing.....

[fortyshooter]

Largest one in the Richmond area....Colonial Shooting Academy announced today they are closing after 12 years of operation. Have been there a couple times before I bought my range property and it was a nice place. They said it was due to the economy and most likely the cost of running the place got to be to high vs. income. That will leave only 2 indoor range operations open in the Richmond/Ashland area and none around my area since our local one closed last year after a fire. Only outdoor range near us is on the Army base when they are open on Sundays only.
Glad I made the investment 8 years ago to setup my own place!

[Headhog]

That's sad news. I shot several IDPA matches there, but they canceled that a few years ago. Seems it wasn't making enough money for them. Very nice facility, hate to see it go.

Paul

[Mags]

very sad!

[BrokenolMarine]

Funny, I remember when I first heard they were opening and what a nice range they would have, then I heard it would be open to "members" only and was no longer interested. I had a 50 yard range on the farm, but might have met local friends in the metro area there to coach them, most were too lazy to make the hour drive to Cumberland, the drive I made round trip four times a week for work. There used to be an indoor range behind Southern Gun World across from State Police HQ, but even that got expensive if you went a lot. Due to insurance regs, you were required to use ONLY the ammunition you purchased from them. You couldn't shoot reloads or cheaper ammo you might have caught on sale somewhere.

I shot PPC matches three times a month, driving sixty to ninety minutes each way, but those were all on outdoor ranges. Most of my Gun business was done with Greentop, Southern Gun, or the Police Supply in Midlothian. I did buy a few from Bass Pro now and then.

Sorry to hear any gun related business is closing it's doors... But when I checked into it when they first opened, it seemed like they were aiming for an exclusive high end clientele. At least that's the impression the people in our group got. (If this is the Colonial Shooting Academy on Broad.) The pricing seemed like it was set to keep the Riff Raff out.

Don't know if they changed their policy later.

One of the requirements when we were looking to move from VA was the property, no matter where it was, would have to be zoned to allow shooting and the land would have to have a location that would allow for my new 50 yard range. (I have nearly 100 yards here, (92.)

[Sir Henry]

Being able to shoot on my own property was the number one requirement for me. I hear others shooting occasionally but I definitely shoot more than anyone else. I only know of one outdoor range and I’ve never been to it. I do see private shooting areas. Matter of fact the local Baptist Church has a range on it and a shoot in two weeks.

[fortyshooter]

When I got into shooting there were two local places for me and my Son to shoot....the Smoking Gun store and indoor range and the outdoor range open to civilians at the local Army base on some Sundays. Went to the then new Colonial shooting range a couple times but at that time did not have to be a club member. I remember the long wait to get a shooting lane and one thing I did not like was having an AR shooter in the next lane while I was shooting my revolver. I could not hear my gun go off! Later on in 2012 a friend had access to another guys farm which had a nice range setup and I could go shoot as long as my friend was there. Come 2016 I started looking for affordable land nearby for my own place and it was a great investment even though it does take work to keep it up.

[DsGrouse]

Largest one in the Richmond area....Colonial Shooting Academy announced today they are closing after 12 years of operation. Have been there a couple times before I bought my range property and it was a nice place. They said it was due to the economy and most likely the cost of running the place got to be to high vs. income. That will leave only 2 indoor range operations open in the Richmond/Ashland area and none around my area since our local one closed last year after a fire. Only outdoor range near us is on the Army base when they are open on Sundays only.
Glad I made the investment 8 years ago to setup my own place!

It was the first range i joined when coming here.

At somepoint all the range officers changed. I had one RO guy get grabby with me. I never went back.

I'd been shooting a while, maybe 2 hours, it was hot in there I took my over shirt off.

I had 3 or four empty boxes of ammo, trays in my two hands. I had my ccw on my belt holster (I'd not been firing it).

The RO spins me around by the shoulders, slaps the trash out of my hands and demands my ccw pistol because it wasn't concealed. Because no holstered pistols behind the yellow line. Keep in mind, him spinning me around is what made me step behind the line.

I told him no, He told said give me the gun.

I picked up my shirt put it on, picked up my trash and left.

[DsGrouse]

Funny, I remember when I first heard they were opening and what a nice range they would have, then I heard it would be open to "members" only and was no longer interested. I had a 50 yard range on the farm, but might have met local friends in the metro area there to coach them, most were too lazy to make the hour drive to Cumberland, the drive I made round trip four times a week for work. There used to be an indoor range behind Southern Gun World across from State Police HQ, but even that got expensive if you went a lot. Due to insurance regs, you were required to use ONLY the ammunition you purchased from them. You couldn't shoot reloads or cheaper ammo you might have caught on sale somewhere.

I shot PPC matches three times a month, driving sixty to ninety minutes each way, but those were all on outdoor ranges. Most of my Gun business was done with Greentop, Southern Gun, or the Police Supply in Midlothian. I did buy a few from Bass Pro now and then.

Sorry to hear any gun related business is closing it's doors... But when I checked into it when they first opened, it seemed like they were aiming for an exclusive high end clientele. At least that's the impression the people in our group got. (If this is the Colonial Shooting Academy on Broad.) The pricing seemed like it was set to keep the Riff Raff out.

Don't know if they changed their policy later.

One of the requirements when we were looking to move from VA was the property, no matter where it was, would have to be zoned to allow shooting and the land would have to have a location that would allow for my new 50 yard range. (I have nearly 100 yards here, (92.)

Yeah, it was like 5k to get in the exclusive ranges. Problem was, (while i was a member) they never had staff for the ranges. They were almost always non operational except for private parties or groups. They kept kicking the high-dollar clients down to normal ranges.

They instituted that you must buy their ammo from them (short-lived). Some dude's 3rd cousin started reloading. It was all plain white boxed, I had a few failures and squibs.

Then one week, all the old range officers were gone. New ones, young guys, who I honestly don't think they took the RO classes, came in. It was okay, until it wasn't. The day I left, the RO who spun me around was walking up and down the line, pausing people so he could "function test their guns"

I should have left then.

When I did cancel my membership they tried to stiff me for a full years membership. I told them to watch the ranges security tape.

Eventually, we parted ways. I've never set foot in there again.

[BrokenolMarine]

I remembered the other gun store I used a lot now, it was called Town Police Supply, between them and Southern, I bought most of the Officers Leather and hardware thru them, though my ammo orders for the department went thru Greentop using the Federal Contract.

The range behind Southern sold white box commercial at first, but I think they started reloading it later and still selling it. I didn't shoot indoors that often. I practiced on my home range, taught my LE classes on our department ranges for the most part, although due to scheduling issues, I taught one academy class and one recert class on my range. I used the Airport Police Range and the DOC range for another series of classes.

The main reason I avoided public ranges, was... The public.

Let the stories begin....

[dave77]

Hope this is not too political but we have a large hardware/clothing/misc. store that is going to quit selling guns because of new WA state regulations. Owner has said that while gun sales account for a large percentage of their gross sales they don't really net any profit from them and to comply with the new regulations could easily cost him a million dollars. Haven't heard anything about our other small local gun sellers or our local Sportsman's Warehouse yet but we may not have any local place to purchase guns and maybe ammo. I'm sure that statewide this is going to put many gun stores out of business.

"House Bill 2118, passed in March 2024, introduces a series of stringent measures aimed at increasing the security and monitoring of firearms sales. Among the new requirements are the installation of steel bars on all windows and locking roll-up exterior doors on every entrance, the overnight storage of all firearms in a fireproof safe, and the mandatory recording of audio and video conversations with all customers. These recordings must be retained for seven years."

https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_ ... bf400.html