TOP GUNS in Terre Haute new indoor range... decent prices, until..."VIP"

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  • How much is too much for a range membershp per month?


    • Total voters
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    undeRGRound

    Marksman
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    0   0   0
    Nov 19, 2012
    227
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    Hi Folks! Been a while, but I felt compelled to see if anyone was aware.

    First, the GOOD.

    1. HUGE Sales floor, prolly 5x the old place which was right across US41 (Third Street)

    2. Double the inventory of weapons, room for more ;)

    3. Beautiful architecture! They have an indoor waterfall, perhaps 12' tall, breaking over some huge rocks. I should have taken pix :(



    Which brings me to the range memberships.
    First, the walk in rates:
    Pistol, $15 for 1/2 hour, $20 for an hour.
    Rifle, $20 for 1/2 hour, $25 for an hour.
    Buying a gun will afford the customer a free 1/2 hour on the appropriate range!

    Memberships require a $50 startup fee, then proceed as follows:

    Limited pistol membership:
    $29/month, but pistol range available from 10 to 4 only.

    Full pistol membership:
    $39/month, but anytime the range is open, evenings included.

    Pistol and Rifle membership:
    $49/month
    Access to all ranges, any time.


    All that sounds pretty good, I'm eye-balling a Pistol/Rifle @ $49/month :D


    Here's where it gets really crazy, IMO. VIP Memberships:
    (they did not have printed "Take Home" pages with this info, hopefully it is not well received and they change it, SOON!)



    First level was $99/month, which gets you "jump the line" privileges, and "VIP" access to lounge and other areas. Cool so far...
    Ability to reserve several lanes and larger groups, some extra charges apply. I get all of that, sounds cool...

    Second level was maybe more, (I do not recall) and had a bit more access to facilities. Cannot remember if it was $119 but
    I'm OK with that, except I was told (before the move) that VIP started at $79/month and went up. Fine.

    Here's the killer:

    1st and 2nd level VIP has a sign-up fee of :ar15:$1,500 and $1,900 respectively! :xmad: :noway:

    I really hope no one is that STUPID, and they back off those ridiculous prices!!!
    I was gonna stretch for $80 a month, figured $1000 a year was OK. Might have even paid in full
    for the year, but $3 LARGE for the first year is Crazy...

    Rather buy a SCAR and a Tavor for that kinda dough! wow
    EDIT: All VIP Info is taken from memory, but is close...
    VIP terms are incomplete, but the fees for sign up are correct.



    PS: The last poll option is for a year, but it's damn near $300 a month with top level VIP.
    $1500 + $99/month for the starter VIP. $1900 + ($119?, I forget) for top level VIP.
     
    Last edited:

    hog slayer

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    0   0   0
    Dec 10, 2015
    1,087
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    Camp Lejeune, NC
    That's too bad. The range fee schedule seemed reasonable to me. If it weren't for Riley Conservation club is have no problem paying that flat fee. The VIP area, while nice, is ridiculously priced
     

    Vigilant

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Jul 12, 2008
    11,659
    83
    Plainfield
    Hi Folks! Been a while, but I felt compelled to see if anyone was aware.

    First, the GOOD.

    1. HUGE Sales floor, prolly 5x the old place which was right across US41 (Third Street)

    2. Double the inventory of weapons, room for more ;)

    3. Beautiful architecture! They have an indoor waterfall, perhaps 12' tall, breaking over some huge rocks. I should have taken pix :(



    Which brings me to the range memberships.
    First, the walk in rates:
    Pistol, $15 for 1/2 hour, $20 for an hour.
    Rifle, $20 for 1/2 hour, $25 for an hour.
    Buying a gun will afford the customer a free 1/2 hour on the appropriate range!

    Memberships require a $50 startup fee, then proceed as follows:

    Limited pistol membership:
    $29/month, but pistol range available from 10 to 4 only.

    Full pistol membership:
    $39/month, but anytime the range is open, evenings included.

    Pistol and Rifle membership:
    $49/month
    Access to all ranges, any time.


    All that sounds pretty good, I'm eye-balling a Pistol/Rifle @ $49/month :D


    Here's where it gets really crazy, IMO. VIP Memberships:
    (they did not have printed "Take Home" pages with this info, hopefully it is not well received and they change it, SOON!)



    First level was $99/month, which gets you "jump the line" privileges, and "VIP" access to lounge and other areas. Cool so far...
    Ability to reserve several lanes and larger groups, some extra charges apply. I get all of that, sounds cool...

    Second level was maybe more, (I do not recall) and had a bit more access to facilities. Cannot remember if it was $119 but
    I'm OK with that, except I was told (before the move) that VIP started at $79/month and went up. Fine.

    Here's the killer:

    1st and 2nd level VIP has a sign-up fee of :ar15:$1,500 and $1,900 respectively! :xmad: :noway:

    I really hope no one is that STUPID, and they back off those ridiculous prices!!!
    I was gonna stretch for $80 a month, figured $1000 a year was OK. Might have even paid in full
    for the year, but $3 LARGE for the first year is Crazy...

    Rather buy a SCAR and a Tavor for that kinda dough! wow


    PS: The last poll option is for a year, but it's damn near $300 a month with top level VIP.
    $1500 + $99/month for the starter VIP. $1900 + ($119?, I forget) for top level VIP.
    I mean, you could ALWAYS pony up the ducats and build your own? Trust me, I have no love for the TerreHuate Ellis clan, but they provided it with their dollars, and can charge whatever they want! That is a multi-million dollar facility from what I've seen, and the margins on guns and ammo are slim and getting slimmer, so they have to make it somewhere?
     

    DanVoils

    Master
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    43   0   0
    Feb 20, 2010
    3,098
    113
    .
    Hi Folks! Been a while, but I felt compelled to see if anyone was aware.

    First, the GOOD.

    1. HUGE Sales floor, prolly 5x the old place which was right across US41 (Third Street)

    2. Double the inventory of weapons, room for more ;)

    3. Beautiful architecture! They have an indoor waterfall, perhaps 12' tall, breaking over some huge rocks. I should have taken pix :(



    Which brings me to the range memberships.
    First, the walk in rates:
    Pistol, $15 for 1/2 hour, $20 for an hour.
    Rifle, $20 for 1/2 hour, $25 for an hour.
    Buying a gun will afford the customer a free 1/2 hour on the appropriate range!

    Memberships require a $50 startup fee, then proceed as follows:

    Limited pistol membership:
    $29/month, but pistol range available from 10 to 4 only.

    Full pistol membership:
    $39/month, but anytime the range is open, evenings included.

    Pistol and Rifle membership:
    $49/month
    Access to all ranges, any time.


    All that sounds pretty good, I'm eye-balling a Pistol/Rifle @ $49/month :D


    Here's where it gets really crazy, IMO. VIP Memberships:
    (they did not have printed "Take Home" pages with this info, hopefully it is not well received and they change it, SOON!)



    First level was $99/month, which gets you "jump the line" privileges, and "VIP" access to lounge and other areas. Cool so far...
    Ability to reserve several lanes and larger groups, some extra charges apply. I get all of that, sounds cool...

    Second level was maybe more, (I do not recall) and had a bit more access to facilities. Cannot remember if it was $119 but
    I'm OK with that, except I was told (before the move) that VIP started at $79/month and went up. Fine.

    Here's the killer:

    1st and 2nd level VIP has a sign-up fee of :ar15:$1,500 and $1,900 respectively! :xmad: :noway:

    I really hope no one is that STUPID, and they back off those ridiculous prices!!!
    I was gonna stretch for $80 a month, figured $1000 a year was OK. Might have even paid in full
    for the year, but $3 LARGE for the first year is Crazy...

    Rather buy a SCAR and a Tavor for that kinda dough! wow


    PS: The last poll option is for a year, but it's damn near $300 a month with top level VIP.
    $1500 + $99/month for the starter VIP. $1900 + ($119?, I forget) for top level VIP.
    That seems very high. I suggest Deer Creek Shooting Range. $7 an hour is a hell of a lot better and they aren't that far from Terre Haute. Plus since they are an outdoor facility you don't have to worry about the air quality.
    How does their gun store figure into the equation? Do you get a discount for having a range membership? In other threads members have reported that the firearms and ammo prices are high.
    My question is do you want to shoot or buy guns/ammo?
     

    hog slayer

    Expert
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    0   0   0
    Dec 10, 2015
    1,087
    38
    Camp Lejeune, NC
    I will say that the range is state of the art in every imaginable way.

    I also haven't noticed such a horrendous price gouging gong on, but it's very possible that it happens outside of my interests. I shop there because of all the vets and marines on staff. I don't know the Ellis family.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
    Staff member
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    35   0   0
    May 12, 2013
    31,682
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    Camby area
    Damn, my $50/YEAR for my entire family is a steal. Sure its outdoor, but still. I couldnt imagine paying those prices, unless it included unlimited ammo. Oh, and free gun cleaning afterward.

    EDIT: If someone wants to charge an arm and a leg, good for them. If somebody has that much cash burning a hole and is willing to part with it, good for them! [insert PT Barnum quote]

    Seriously, I think the pricing is ridonkulus, but as they say, a fool and his money... :):
     
    Last edited:

    warthog

    Shooter
    Rating - 100%
    66   0   0
    Feb 12, 2013
    5,166
    63
    Vigo County
    Well, I am only going to use their range when I don't feel like going to PROteq. I don't mind shooting outdoors when it is cold or hot. PROteq'spistol range is covered so shooting in the rain isn't a problem either.

    TO{ GUNs has horrible prices for firearms. I won't ever buy a gun there again, bought one, a single 7 17HMY SA Revolver because they had marked it way down because no one wanted it and I sort have a thing for Ruger SA's

    TOP GUNS does have a nice new place. Was there Saturday to check it all out. Looks great and they have many firearms in stock but their prices are outrageous let alone this VIP stuff. When this was just an idea, I spent a fair amount of time talking to the owner. When we first spoke, he wanted to charge this kind of fee to shoot there and I told him he would not have many folks who would pay that much. Thought he had figured it out but he does love money, can't wait for thier going out of business sale.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    where is it?

    proteq.us

    Its a bit of a haul for you, but a bit farther west near 465/70 its 70 minutes door to door.

    You should check it out if you are interested. I highly recommend it. I'm trying to stop by after my class saturday to test my first batches of reloads.

    https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...-open-ingo-shoot-may-13th-@proteq-brazil.html

    Though where you are located, I'd say HHRP in between Columbus and Nashville might be closer/better option for you and nearly as cost effective. Not quite as nice, but given the travel difference...
     
    Last edited:

    Cameramonkey

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    I don't think that I would join a range if there was a membership class with "jump the line" privileges.

    They wouldnt be the first. When it was Pop Guns on the east side of Indy, range members took priority over walk-ins. In the height of the great panic, I was waiting to shoot for 45 minutes and a member walked in and was put at the head of the line. I was pissed. But then again, as discussed here, their customer service/policies were suspect. (poor service, "brass only" rules on the range, etc)

    Thank God we have 5x the number of ranges now and the days of waiting an hour for a lane are over.
     

    Clay

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 98.8%
    81   1   0
    Aug 28, 2008
    9,648
    48
    Vigo Co
    I went on Saturday to check it out in the morning-ish time after I had some tires put on. It's a nice place for sure, definitely what I would consider a high end gun store now. A live band was starting up while I was there and while that's an interesting concept, and I know the owner loves live music and had the room, It's neat that they have it! but I likely won't take advantage of the music very often, and not likely on the VIP thing.

    anyway, that afternoon after I got done with some stuff around the house I loaded up a couple of rifles and pistols and decided I wanted to try out their range. I've been in a few indoor ranges, and for the most part I don't like them. I just don't like shooting in a tin can. Doubling up on hearing protection is always a must regardless if your shooting pistols or rifles. Their by the hour pricing structure seems to be on point for most of the other places I've been, so no complaints there. There is a required ~20 minute video you have to watch before they let you in, which I think is a good idea. Most places I've been just kind of throw you to the wolves and let you figure things out on your own so this is a plus in my book. They do prefer you buy targets there and I would recommend people do that. They are very good heavy targets, and they are cheap. $0.75 - $1.00 for most of them. They do not require you to buy ammo there, but they prefer that you don't shoot reloads. I asked about shooting reloads and the girl at the counter said if you want to that's fine but they require you (the shooter) to carry liability insurance, AND to be able to provide proof of such insurance. I can't blame them on this. Rifle calibers are currently limited .30 and below, but the range is supposed to be built to handle 50 BMG. They said that shooting bigger calibers is OK but they want to talk with you first, AND they would prefer not to have many other people in the range at the time.

    There are 3 ranges, 2 pistol ranges and a rifle range. They are supposed to turn the rifle range into an indoor shoot house like once a month and have special events / training for it. It sounds like they will be having a lot of training opportunities and they are setup for it quite nicely. There are a couple of large classrooms with tables and chairs, and some audio/visual equipment as well.

    I jumped on the rifle range for an hour and had a good time. There were 3 people in there at the same time which made it noisy pretty much all the time. One thing I thought was different from other places I've been is there was a RO in the range the entire time I was there. He went in with my group, and never left until all of us did. They do allow you to keep your brass if you want it, and as long as it doesn't go past the firing line. The target system is probably one of the nicest ones I've used, I think it's similar to the one at Beechgrove firearms IIRC. You just select a distance, or punch in a custom distance, hit the go button and out your target goes; hit the home button and it comes back. Pretty slick! And the ventilation is great as well. Fumes / smoke doesn't stay around at all, it's gone just about as quickly as it appears. They also don't seem to have an issue with rapid fire, at least not that I could tell. One guy in the rifle range let a few fly and I know someone on the pistol range did a mag dump at some point as well.

    All in all I had a good time, for shooting on an indoor range ;) It's not something I would use often and would likely be weather dependent. If someone thought they would shoot in there 2x a month, then the monthly membership is a good deal. The membership cost is about 1.5x the cost for 1 hour on the range.

    anyway, glad to have it as an option in Terre Haute. I bet it will likely bring some people here that wouldn't normally come.
     
    Last edited:

    undeRGRound

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    Nov 19, 2012
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    proteq.us

    Its a bit of a haul for you, but a bit farther west near 465/70 its 70 minutes door to door.

    You should check it out if you are interested. I highly recommend it. I'm trying to stop by after my class saturday to test my first batches of reloads.

    https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...-open-ingo-shoot-may-13th-@proteq-brazil.html

    Though where you are located, I'd say HHRP in between Columbus and Nashville might be closer/better option for you and nearly as cost effective. Not quite as nice, but given the travel difference...

    I was a member there for 2 years, but did not renew after the owner closed the range to all, after a couple of folks brought in like an old TV and some cement blocks, shot them up and did not clean up the mess.

    Looks like they got their stuff together now, I will likely return. (ProTeQ)

    But I have a good friend just a little closer, he has a private range. At least I am having more OPTIONS than before!


    I appreciate the input on TOPGUNS, I don't have a problem with them per se, but I am disappointed that the VIP is so expensive. It's the entry fee, that really sucks. I'd have thought my "5 figures Purchasing History" there would have carried some weight. I know Don, the general manager, and Steve E. pretty well, I guess I could ask... I'd expect for that kind of entry fee, they'd have
    hookers and blow, and booze!
    :lol2:
     
    Last edited:

    DoggyDaddy

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    Aug 18, 2011
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    They lost me at "jump the line" privileges for members. Either be a private range or a public range. Don't try and be both. When I didn't know any better and was going to the only indoor range I knew of on Indy's east side (Pop Guns at the time), it would **** me off no end for me to go in, pay for a lane, wait sometimes 30 minutes to an hour, and just as a lane opened up, get bumped by a "member" that just walked in off the street. :noway:
     

    Cameramonkey

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    May 12, 2013
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    They lost me at "jump the line" privileges for members. Either be a private range or a public range. Don't try and be both. When I didn't know any better and was going to the only indoor range I knew of on Indy's east side (Pop Guns at the time), it would **** me off no end for me to go in, pay for a lane, wait sometimes 30 minutes to an hour, and just as a lane opened up, get bumped by a "member" that just walked in off the street. :noway:

    Thinking about it, there is only one viable VIP "cutsies" method that wouldnt tick me off; Designate one (two if you need one pistol one rifle) lane(s) as VIP lanes. If no VIPs are around, unwashed masses can use them. But as soon as a VIP comes in he gets that lane next. That would cut down on the possibility of a busy day where VIPs keep pushing a walk in queue back repeatedly. (VIPs cant cut in front of regulars on any other lanes)

    Maybe its just the psychological effect, but I might feel better knowing the VIP pool could only affect one lane and we were allowed to use theirs as an overflow when the rest filled up.
     

    dwh79

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    Wanamaker/ Acton
    I do not see an issue with their plan. I doubt that many will pay for the VIP so I don't think it will be a big issue. Also I have seen their prices be very competitive to other shops. Maybe I am just blind but I go in a lot of shops through out the state and country and on the items I have looked at they seemed very fair. Now this is specifically to a colt 1911, a sig 320, a glock, and a savage. But that has just been my experience. Comparing gun shops in Avon, greenfield, new castle all within a weeks time. I am sure some items they may be more on but one particular one they were 90 to 140 cheaper on same gun in two other stores. I have some work to do for INDOT over next few months out that way and I am looking forward to stopping by and shopping and shooting. I would like that nice of shop with those prices around indy. Several ranges and several shops around indy now but not that big with that much of a nice range and as good of pricing as I saw there all in one place.
     

    warthog

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    I don't care if you get a better price if you ask. I get a better price at other places and it is actually offered. I don't have to ask. It is OFFERED.

    I find Top uns to be OK as a range but will not be buying guns there. I am sure they will screw up the range too, they are too money hungry not to do so.
     

    wtburnette

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    I currently pay $35 a month to have a membership with Point Blank in Greenwood. I have no complaints paying that much, as I go pretty much every weekend and having the membership saves me money in the long run. I used to have their $60 a month membership and it actually saved me money if I indeed went every weekend, but I occasionally shoot at MCF&G, so any time I did that, the $60 membership would actually cost me money. The $35 plan ended up being better overall. There is no way in heck I'd pay more than the $60 per month I was paying, so I'm with everyone thinking there won't be many buying VIP memberships at this place, no matter how nice it is. Point Blank also allows VIP members to jump the line. When I was a VIP member I used it often. Have never seen someone jump the line since then (been about a year since I had that membership). It would **** me off if I had been waiting a long time and someone was able to jump in front of me, but I dunno, not that big of a deal. I tend to go first thing in the morning and never have a problem getting a lane.
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    Thinking about it, there is only one viable VIP "cutsies" method that wouldnt tick me off; Designate one (two if you need one pistol one rifle) lane(s) as VIP lanes. If no VIPs are around, unwashed masses can use them. But as soon as a VIP comes in he gets that lane next. That would cut down on the possibility of a busy day where VIPs keep pushing a walk in queue back repeatedly. (VIPs cant cut in front of regulars on any other lanes)

    Maybe its just the psychological effect, but I might feel better knowing the VIP pool could only affect one lane and we were allowed to use theirs as an overflow when the rest filled up.

    Well, when you think about it, to add insult to injury, "walk-ins" are actually paying a lot more than "members". Let's say a membership is 30 bucks a month, and the member shoots 10 half hour sessions a month. He's paying $6.00 per hour. Now let's say that the walk-in rate is $15.00 for a half hour range session. The walk-in is paying $30.00 an hour. Why should someone paying 1/5 of the range price get preference over the walk-in? Makes no sense from an economic standpoint for the range to my way of thinking. :dunno: And yes, I realize that the membership is a guaranteed revenue stream vs. the walk-in traffic, but still... just doesn't sit right with me. I agree that if the VIPs (members) had only one or two lanes for their "guaranteed" use, that would make me feel better as well.
     
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