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How to open shooting clubs? Today, the leisure and entertainment industry offers a wide range of services for every taste and budget. Anyone who wants to open a business in this area should think carefully about what fresh idea he can bring, while simultaneously delivering pleasant emotions to visitors and receiving a stable income. Opening a shooting club (shooting range) could be a win-win option.
Business Features
First of all, a businessman needs to decide whether his club will be professional in nature or remain at the entertainment stage. Because the variety in the character of the club has its own nuances. But a combined option is also possible.
If professionalism is taken as a basis, then the owner should know that experienced people will come to him, perhaps with their own weapons, he also needs to schedule time for individual lessons in the club’s activities.
If the shooting gallery is an entertainment establishment, then the weapons here are usually pneumatic, but can be laser and interactive. Entire families like to visit this kind of establishment; teenagers and lovely ladies and men, who are not devoid of excitement, come also, but not from among the professionals.
Having chosen the nature of the club, a businessman must know whether his shooting range will have a permanent location or become mobile. If you are planning a stationary one, then you need to clearly define the territory and premises.
If this is a tent option, then you need to purchase a car where the targets will be fixed, and an equipped tent. This option will allow an establishment on wheels to settle in places of public events.
Where to start?
So, the future entrepreneur has good ideas for developing a shooting business in his head, but they need to be streamlined. For this purpose, a business plan is being drawn up, which will reflect the following aspects: an in-depth analysis of the market for similar establishments in the place where the club is planned to open; it is important to highlight your closest competitors; decide on the location and equipment, pricing policy; carry out promotions. The future entrepreneur must take care of the legality of his business, and for this he needs to draw up the necessary documents.
There are two options to open your own business or register a company (register as an individual entrepreneur). If you plan to open a shooting range with only pneumatic weapons, then a license for both the establishment itself and the weapon is not needed. It is also necessary to have documents on either the purchase or rental of premises, which must comply with sanitary and fire requirements. In addition, OKVED codes are selected, i.e. the types of services provided.
If an entrepreneur plans to organize a shooting range where athletes or hunters will train, then it is necessary to find a plot of land that must meet the necessary standards, namely be at least 2.5 hectares, with a distance to the target of 250 m or more. In this case, a license is required.
Opening a firearms range is the most complex of all options, as it requires licenses and permits to set up and operate. To store weapons, a special room is required without access to unauthorized persons, and the staff must include qualified instructors in shooting military weapons.
Shooting Club Accommodation
As mentioned above, an entrepreneur needs to decide whether his club will be stationary or mobile. If the shooting range is stationary and has an entertainment focus, then it is better to locate it in people’s recreation areas, for example, on beaches, in parks, shopping centers, etc. If it becomes a professional club, then the best option is outside the city.
When organizing this business, the entrepreneur must follow basic safety rules:
- The ceiling and walls are finished with tarpaulin and softening padding to prevent ricochet.
- Since the targets are located on the back wall of the room, it is worth taking care of its strength. It would be better if it was steel.
- There must be protective barriers in place that will prevent an animal or person from being hit by bullets.
- There should be a ban on visiting the club while intoxicated, and even more so there should be no sale of alcoholic beverages.
- It is important to take care of the soundproofing of the shooting range.
- In professional establishments, shooting stands must be fenced with bulletproof glass, and shooters must purchase headphones.
The owner thinks through the interior of the club independently, but, as a rule, this does not require large financial costs or complex design solutions. A big plus would be the presence of a wardrobe and sofas for clients or those waiting.
Equipment and personnel
The main equipment is weapons and targets. You need to purchase at least 5 weapons. Alternatively, visitors can be offered single-shot rifles, submachine guns, pistols, and a five-shot rifle.
Targets can be static or moving. A budget option would be paper targets, the average cost of which is from 2 rubles per piece. An entrepreneur can order them from any printing house. To develop hunting skills, select targets depicting small rodents, birds and rabbits. Self-adhesive targets are an inexpensive option. Very often, metal cans and small toys are used as targets; in country clubs you can offer to shoot at clay pigeons. Each target must have lighting.
With capital investments in a shooting range in the amount of 2,000 to 3,000 conventional units, it is possible to receive a profit in the amount of 4,000 conventional units per month.
Shooting ranges are usually divided into 2 types:
- Shooting ranges where professional classes and training are held;
- Shooting range for entertainment purposes;
Professional shooting ranges operate on the basis of a sports club or center in a public organization. Representatives of law enforcement agencies and representatives of security companies train in such shooting ranges. Professional shooting ranges also provide training on an individual basis.
The entertainment type of shooting range is poorly developed, but according to experts, it is in demand. For the most part, entertainment shooting ranges are located on the territory of a sports club, entertainment establishment, or on the territory of recreation centers and provide a type of additional service.
A small shooting range can also be located in a nightclub.
To open an entertainment shooting gallery, an entrepreneur will not need to obtain a lot of permits and licensing documentation, as is the case with the opening of professional shooting galleries. There are also simplified lists of premises requirements for entertainment shooting ranges. Capital investments in the shooting range will range from 2,000 to 3,000 conventional units. Opening a professional shooting range will require investments in the amount of 10,000 to 15,000 conventional units.
Stage 1. Registration and licenses
To open a shooting range, you need to register either a private enterprise or another organizational form.
In accordance with the law, a license to open or maintain a shooting range is not required. There are also no licenses required for shooting accessories.
Stage 2. Premises
Entertainment shooting ranges can be in demand in large centers (entertainment and shopping), in forested areas, etc.
A suitable room would be an area of 40 to 50 square meters. The professional shooting range has a range of 50 and 100 meters long. For entertainment shooting ranges, lengths of 5 and 10 meters are sufficient.
Shooting ranges can be located in basements or on floors of buildings. The main requirement is that there must be a bullet trap on the walls. The bullet catcher is purchased or constructed on your own. The walls are also equipped with softening pads and tarpaulins. This will help avoid ricochets.
Opening a shooting range is attractive because you can do without repair work and reduce construction costs to a minimum. You can “decorate” a brick wall with a khaki camouflage net, or you can come up with something yourself.
The area for an entertainment shooting range should be from 40 to 50 square meters, and for a professional one - from 50 to 100 square meters.
Stage 3. Equipment
Equipment in the shooting range:
- Equipment;
- Weapons;
- Target;
Although there is not a lot of equipment, it is the most expensive.
The shooting range will require from 5 to 10 pneumatic devices. In shooting ranges, as a rule, pistols, submachine guns, rifles, and shotguns are used.
In practice, it happens that a visitor breaks or damages a weapon. In this connection, this cost item must also be taken into account.
Weapons are produced both at domestic enterprises and abroad. Domestic weapons, in particular a gun, can be purchased for 200 conventional units, and a pistol from 50 to 150 conventional units. Similar foreign-made weapons will cost from 50 to 100 conventional units more. The total investment for the purchase of weapons will be about 1,000 conventional units.
Types of targets:
- Static target;
- Moving target;
The cheapest option is a paper target. Its cost is 3 rubles. You can order such a target from a printing company (printing house). Every day the shooting range uses 10-50 targets. You can also print out targets on your own personal computer.
You can also use the following as a target:
- A candle;
- Aluminum can;
- Soldier;
- Toy;
When equipping the entire shooting range with a static target, costs are reduced to 1,000 rubles. monthly.
To install moving targets in a shooting range you will need from 4,000 to 6,000 rubles. The service life of moving targets is significantly longer than static ones.
Also, shooting range owners have a number of other equipment options. There are companies that produce laser equipment and complexes.
Equipment costs are the highest.
Stage 4. Personnel
To organize the work of the establishment you will need 1-6 staff members. The number of personnel depends on the size of the room and from whom, what quantity of weapons is used in the shooting range.
The main requirements for employees are:
- Sociability;
- Competent speech;
The ability to listen to the client and find out his wishes, as well as provide a full range of services;
Be able to explain and convey information about safe behavior at the shooting range;
The ability of personnel to handle weapons comes with experience, and employees are trained easily. Girls are also suitable for the role of shooting gallery employees.
Employees of professional shooting ranges are, as a rule, people who were involved in military structures.
The number of personnel depends on the size of the room and from whom, what quantity of weapons is used in the shooting range.
Stage 5. Clients and their capabilities
As workers at the shooting ranges note, the most adventurous visitor is either a woman or a child.
The cost of one shot is 3-30 rubles, the most common price is 5 rubles. The average visitor takes from 10 to 20 shots, but there are clients who are willing to spend from 500 rubles.
The excitement of the shooting range is that the client can win prizes. The symbolic prize is usually:
- Toy;
- Badges;
- Small souvenir items;
Cost of opening a shooting gallery:
- Rent – from 300 to 600 conventional units monthly;
- Purchase of weapons – 1,000 conventional units;
- Purchase of targets – from 30 to 200 conventional units;
- Salary (from 1 to 3 employees) – from 200 to 900 conventional units;
- Purchasing souvenirs as prizes – 50 conventional units;
Result – 1,580 – 2,750 conventional units.
For beginning businessmen, such a direction as a shooting range can be very interesting. It's no longer an old amusement park car. The concept of a shooting range has become much broader. In addition, the entertainment industry is developing rapidly, and in order to make a person happy, fresh ideas and modern technologies are constantly needed. Therefore, a shooting gallery can be considered a completely fresh idea. As a business, this entertainment can bring quite a good profit.
People are willing to spend a lot of money on quality leisure time. If it's a restaurant, then with exotic cuisine. If it's a party, it's definitely themed. In general, people are bored. Especially popular are entertainments associated with moderate physical activity or the opportunity to win a valuable prize or just a bet.
A shooting range can become a highly profitable enterprise. But you will have to rack your brains over the “zest” of the establishment. To prepare a business plan, you need to formulate a general vision of the project. For whom? With what weapon? What is the company's budget? What will the shooting range be like? The business plan must take all this into account.
What can your own shooting range look like?
All organizations of this type are divided into two groups: professional and entertainment. Professional shooting ranges are designed for shooting from small-caliber rifles and pistols. Training with other types of weapons is carried out at country training grounds. Entertaining shooting galleries can be interactive, laser, pneumatic and even crossbow.
Target audience of the entertainment shooting gallery
Absolutely everyone loves to shoot. This is a great pastime for families, for a group of gambling friends, and for young shooters. Now it has become fashionable to organize competitions as part of corporate team building. This is a great stress reliever and strengthens team spirit.
In addition, the organizers of such trips are impressed by the fact that a corporate event is not a banal feast. Moreover, it is generally incompatible with alcoholic drinks. Outdoor shooting ranges now have large customers. And a small mobile shooting range in a children's park can provide good income with a very modest investment.
What documents will you need to collect to open a shooting range?
The business plan should also reflect the point related to documentation. To open a shooting range, you do not need a license, since this type of activity is not licensed. A permit for pneumatic weapons with a caliber of up to 4.5 mm and a power of up to 7.5 kJ is also not required. So, only registration of a business entity (company or individual) is necessary.
If you have a question about how to open a shooting range with firearms, then you need to understand that this is a rather complicated process. To do this, you will need to obtain a number of licenses.
You don’t have to think about professional shooting if you don’t have military weapons. It will also require obtaining licenses and permits. When selecting equipment for such shooting ranges, it is necessary to take into account all safety standards.
There are also special requirements for storing weapons. To do this, you will need to organize a special room, which can only be accessed by certain people. In addition, professional instructors who know how to handle firearms are needed. These are the basic requirements that must be taken into account when opening a shooting range with military weapons.
Location and premises of the shooting range
A shooting range can be located in any place where people want to relax and have fun. Namely: in parks, shopping and entertainment centers, country clubs, etc. When choosing a place, you should conduct research (you can do it yourself).
Make a list of such objects in the city of interest and systematically travel around them all. Afterwards, design a consolidated report that will contain comprehensive information about the cost of rent, the presence and number of competitors, competitors’ prices, the number of visitors per day (at least a rough estimate).
You will need a room with a minimum area of 50 m2. The distance to the target should be 5-10 meters. The main requirement for the premises is protection with bullet traps. The presence or absence of expensive repairs or any stylistic decoration depends on the positioning of the shooting range (price level, what audience it is intended for, etc.). You can draw up a business plan for a shooting range, which will be located next to the organization itself. Such a place can attract more attention from potential clients.
Entertainment equipment
What do you need to open a shooting gallery? Equipment is the most expensive part of the project. These are weapons and targets. You will need approximately 10 units. The shooting range can be equipped with laser weapons and an interactive target. Operating principle: when the trigger is pressed, a laser pulse is generated that hits the screen. On the interactive target, the shooter sees where the shot was fired. The range of laser weapons is extremely wide: Schmeisser assault rifle, Kalashnikov, Drozd submachine gun, Makarov pistol, M-50 shotgun and much more.
These can be pneumatic analogues of well-known rifles, for example IZH-60, Beretta, Walther, Colt pistols. It is quite possible to purchase a used weapon, thus saving a little. It should be remembered that weapons can fail, and it is necessary to have an equivalent replacement.
Targets can be static or moving. There can be a lot of variations. Simple paper targets can be ordered from a printing shop. The rest can be standard round or in the form of animals, people, etc. A set of moving targets will cost an average of 6 thousand rubles.
Entertainment staff
You have decided to open a shooting gallery. For example, a business plan has already begun to be drawn up. And it’s time to think about the employees of the future organization. It would seem that the main requirement for personnel is knowledge of weapons. But this is exactly what is easiest and fastest to teach. It’s more difficult with natural goodwill and a pleasant smile. A shooting gallery is a sphere of entertainment, that is, service.
Employees must clearly understand that their wages are paid not by the director of the company or the owner of the shooting range, but by that boy with the cotton candy or that unpleasant guy over there. As soon as this reaches the employee, customer service will immediately reach a whole new level. A good motivation system will only strengthen your love for your work. It would be nice for the staff to order branded clothing (at least T-shirts).
Other Features
The minimum investment in an entertainment shooting gallery is about 120 thousand rubles. The shooting range can pay for itself in just a month. When opening an organization of this kind in the park, one must not forget about the pronounced seasonality of the business.
The outdoor archery and crossbow shooting range is incredibly popular now. A business plan in this situation should include: equipment of a shooting area, installation of shields, rental of bows, crossbows, arrows, targets and other necessary equipment, as well as consultations with experienced instructors
Is there any danger from this type of business?
This entertainment does not pose any danger to life or health. All bows and crossbows are nerfed and are not considered weapons and do not require any permits. Instructors are required to show and teach how to safely shoot a bow or crossbow and hit targets. All this can be stylized as Middle Ages if desired. The ideas for active leisure did not end there.
You can shoot from a slingshot or blowpipe, throw knives, spears, and axes at targets. There are weather restrictions: the event is not possible in rain, snow or frost below -10 degrees. It is also strictly necessary to adhere to prohibition during shooting. Such a service is not a cheap pleasure.
Purchase of small arms and professionalism of instructors
Buying good bows and crossbows is more difficult than buying air guns. The qualifications of instructors must be at the proper level. This could be the next step after mastering the service of a stationary entertainment shooting range with air rifles and pistols.
Conclusion
Psychologists believe that men's interest in shooting ranges is due to the genetic memory of hunting and home defense. In addition, this is a way to show rivals who is the strongest, most dexterous, and accurate in the tribe. In short, the best hunter. But shooting range workers are unlikely to agree with psychologists. According to their observations, the most adventurous shooters are women. The main thing is that such a vacation relieves stress, distracts from problems, unites the family, and raises boys into men. Now you know the answer to the question of how to open a shooting range. In Russia, this type of entrepreneurial activity is not fully promoted, so you can achieve great success in this business.
Topics of the material
To open an ordinary pneumatic shooting range, you will need a little less than 200 thousand rubles, while it will bring in about 100 thousand rubles per month. That is why this project is considered a very profitable enterprise.
In this article we will tell you how to open a shooting range, and also give practical advice on organizing its work.
How to open a pneumatic shooting range?
Step-by-step instructions for starting a business: pneumatic shooting range
Stage 1: Choosing a location for the shooting range
In order for your business to generate maximum income, you need to ensure a high level of foot traffic.
A good option would be to open a shooting gallery in the summer at an amusement park. But keep in mind that in this situation, your earnings will be seasonal. In order to work all year round, the premises of a shopping and entertainment center, where there are always a lot of people, are ideal.
Running a serious shooting range with firearms or crossbows is very difficult and expensive. Therefore, we recommend that you start small and opt for the usual and most popular option - a pneumatic shooting range.
For such an object you do not need licensing, and the requirements for the premises are also minimal:
- Area of at least 15 square meters;
- Special reinforcement of the wall behind the targets;
- Sound insulation (if the shooting range is located in the same building with other organizations);
- Anti-rebound coating (to eliminate the possibility of cartridges rebounding, the walls must be covered with bullet-absorbing material).
Covering the walls is the only thing you have to worry about. There is no point in making expensive stylized renovations to the shooting range, which, of course, is very nice for your pocket.
When choosing, give preference to a room in the shape of a rectangle rather than a square. It will be much more convenient for you to place shooting targets and a stand for clients. Renting a room, depending on the region where you live, will cost an average of 15 to 25 thousand rubles per month.
Stage 2: Register a legal entity
In this case, the most suitable form of business ownership would be individual entrepreneurship.
Stage 3: We purchase equipment for the shooting range
You will need at least 5-7 air rifles, and several pistols. Weapons must be purchased taking into account the fact that some units may break and fail, and this should not affect the operation of your shooting range.
Imported arsenal costs many times more. Therefore, we recommend that you opt for products from domestic enterprises, for example the Moscow and Izhevsk factories. Such rifles cost between 12-13 thousand rubles. Pistols will cost less - about 3-5 thousand rubles. Get ready for the fact that it will take you about 60 thousand rubles to purchase a weapon.
At the same time, every month you will spend about a thousand rubles on static targets: printed “shooting circles”, rubber toys, cans, various figures, etc. Many visitors enjoy shooting at moving targets. They are more expensive - about 4000-6000 thousand rubles, but at the same time they do not need to be constantly updated and they will serve you for more than one season.
You will also have to worry about purchasing a shooting rack and cabinets for storing air rifles and cartridges. This furniture can be bought for 15-30 thousand rubles.
Having purchased the necessary equipment, you can begin your work!
- Don't overstaff.
A small shooting range can be operated by one person. The main thing is that he understands weapons and knows how to work with people. At first, you can perform these duties yourself. This will help you not only save your budget, but also better understand the specifics of your business;
- Carefully follow safety precautions and supervise customers.
Even air guns can cause serious harm to a person! Ensure that range visitors carefully follow all instructions. Under no circumstances should you allow drunk people, as well as children who come unaccompanied by adults, near the pneumatic gun;
- Stimulate visitors' excitement.
The average client leaves from 50 to 150 rubles at the shooting range. To increase the “average check”, enter small symbolic prizes. Clients often spend 500 rubles at shooting ranges, wanting to win a soft toy, the red price of which is 50 rubles;
- Organize outdoor events.
Offer your services for holding various outdoor corporate events or tournaments among employees. This will help you expand your client list and therefore increase your income;
- Figure it out over time.
If you want to open a seasonal summer shooting range, start the preparatory work several months in advance. This will allow you to start working at the beginning of May and not miss a single day of this “golden” time.
If you organize everything correctly, then your shooting gallery will bring in up to one hundred thousand rubles a month, so you will very quickly recoup the start-up costs and begin to make a net profit.
This business is ideal for those who do not have a large start-up capital, but at the same time want to become the owner of their own business.
