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Shooting Ranges and Dealer information.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:53 am
by OldManTod
Hey everybody - this thread is being generated to allow OUR MEMBERS and forum users to post information about their "favorite" shooting establishment or FFL information.

This thread is not meant as an advertisement dumping ground for businesses.

Recently there has been an increased interest in finding local ranges (now that the winter is coming along) - and it makes sense to post this information for ease of access.

All the forum rules apply - please respect the intent of what YOU (the members) have asked for - if there are any posts that cross the line, as usual, they will be removed as being outside the guidelines.

"lets get it on!".

- OldManTod

p.s. If the other mods over-rule me on this, you will see this removed :) If it stands, I will remove the 'p.s.'.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:03 pm
by OldManTod
I will start.

FFL Searches can be done Here: www.fflfinder.com

I have used two:
- Mike Daubner (most of my transactions) - he is located in Middleburg Heights (on Pearl, north of I-71) - MD shooting supplies is the name you can google - $20 transfer fee
- L.E.O.'s Shooting Supply - http://www.leossguns.com/ - LEO - $20 (inbound) transfer fee

Ranges/Stores:
- B&T - http://www.btshooting.com/ - their Lorain location has a range - I frequent the Middleburg store, I can't say enough about Jerry or Rich and how helpful they are - they have been my primary source to get my 'questions' answered and my firearms stocked and functional
- Royal Ridge - http://www.rrssohio.com/ - Between Brunswick and Medina on Pearl - Owned by the Legendary Bill Bash - they do CCW Classes once a month - for those who know Bill and haven't seen him in a while, stop in and see him, he seems like he is softening in his age
- Stonewall - http://stonewallrange.com/ - Another legendary place - Broadview heights - just west of I-77 and 82 in the industrial parkway

I will leave the south - west - east ranges to others (Darby, Blackwing, etc.) - these are the ones that I am most familiar with.

- T

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:11 pm
by BIG SHAFE
Midewest Gun Club - http://www.midwestgunclub.com/ - Located in Canal Fulton (Off RT. 21 and south of RT. 93). Very friendly and helpful people that work there. They have a small selection of firearms and accessories. They also have a classroom on site which they use it for CCW & OPOTA classes.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:13 pm
by Regulator2
New Albany Shooting Range, just East off 161 outside Columbus

http://www.nasr.com/

The Range Staff there is very accomodating at least from my experience,
I have been a member for about 5 years, Classroom and Classes onsite

as far as dealer info

I normally deal with the guys at Camp Perry during the National Matches,

I know some of them personally and always get deals I can't beat anywhere else

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:02 pm
by Mr. Glock
You should always check FFF (Fin Fur Feather) in Ashland on gun prices....not always the lowest, but I've found a lot of sharp deal there. They have a pretty good sale flyer, check the link on their website. They also have a little range, made out of CONEXs....but I don't count that as a range, myself.

And I enjoy watching the Gunrunner Online Auctions, from Burton. I've sold and bought in those auctions, but you need to check the items out personally.
www.gunrunnerauctions.com

Cleveland area

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:25 pm
by Pedie22
For the Cleveland area---
Just my opinion--PM me if you want more of it :roll:



FFLs:
+1 for Mike Daubner as FFL. Great guy, EASY to work with...I done every transaction through him.

Shops:
+1 For B&T. They have a decent inventory with reasonable prices and GREAT customer service. FWIW, in my experience, Jerry is the most knowledgeable guy I've ever talked to about guns. Maybe I should get out more, but with my advanced degrees in physics and bioengineering, I'm confident he got his head around internal/external/terminal ballistics as well as many other firearms related topics...plenty of experience too (something I certainly lack). I think he's especially well versed in the topics of reloading, revolvers, Smith and Wesson, Glock, .44, .40, handgun hunting, and shotguns. Rich is great too and is a great gunsmith, however I've had much less conversations with him. Doyle at the Lorain store/range and Jim at the Mentor location are good to talk to also.

Stonewall is a great place to go if your researching guns and want to actually get your hands on one. With their huge inventory, I can wander down there and find the gun I'm looking for 9 times out of 10...then i shop the internet to buy it.:D They're prices are really high and the range is dirty and rowdy sometimes. Some of the staff are knowledgeable on some topics, PM me if you want specifics.

Royal Ridge, limited experience with this place. Anal-retentive range rules and high prices. Everything is clean, low-medium sized, moderately priced inventory. The owner is certainly knowledgeable about the more traditional firearms--anything made before the 80's (eg: 1911, M1A, AR-15, revolvers). Somewhat opinionated and rough, hates plastic guns, treats his inventory as if they were his children--I swear he wiped down, stroked, and sang to every pistol I handled before putting it back under the counter.

Ranges:
Started using a friend's farm a while back but have had experience with:

Stonewall--I think it was Tod that said not to go during happy hour. Good advice...at least they have 1/2 hour rates.

B&T--small but clean. If it's slow in the store, the guys (Doyle) will watch you shoot. Sometimes they make fun, sometimes they offer advice. Good place, bad neighborhood.

Grand River--Clean, friendly, cheap. Worth the $24/year if it's close to you.

A&A--they have 200 yards, $8/hr, can shoot garbage if you want...a little run down but fun.

Sherwin Shooting Sports--a downward spiral from my point of view. Used to be my favorite place...now... Zero inventory, extra range charge for using your own ammo, not-so-helpful staff, high prices, I think the owner's resource's are spread too thin (2 and soon to be 3 locations). The upside: you pay by the visit, not by the hour, so you can shoot as long as you want for one price. Staff is friendly, patrons are less rowdy that Stonewall, you can get decent prices on their auction guns.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:27 pm
by Pedie22
I didn't want this to get lost in my previous post but, I'm moving to the Painesville area. I'd love to hear someone's write up on ranges out that way (ie: Atwell's, others, any outdoor ranges). thanks

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:41 am
by River 447
Ashland County

Fin, Feather and Fur in Ashland. Nice store, good prices. (Store layout done by former Highway Engineer). Mediocre Website. Great Staff.

Sportsmans Den in Shelby. Nice store, some very good prices, better selection of used guns that the Fin. Website best described as a clogged toilet. Great Staff.

Re: Cleveland area

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:38 am
by deanimator
Pedie22 wrote:
Royal Ridge, limited experience with this place. Anal-retentive range rules and high prices. Everything is clean, low-medium sized, moderately priced inventory. The owner is certainly knowledgeable about the more traditional firearms--anything made before the 80's (eg: 1911, M1A, AR-15, revolvers). Somewhat opinionated and rough, hates plastic guns, treats his inventory as if they were his children--I swear he wiped down, stroked, and sang to every pistol I handled before putting it back under the counter.

Stonewall--I think it was Tod that said not to go during happy hour. Good advice...at least they have 1/2 hour rates.

B&T--small but clean. If it's slow in the store, the guys (Doyle) will watch you shoot. Sometimes they make fun, sometimes they offer advice. Good place, bad neighborhood.

A&A--they have 200 yards, $8/hr, can shoot garbage if you want...a little run down but fun.

Sherwin Shooting Sports--a downward spiral from my point of view. Used to be my favorite place...now... Zero inventory, extra range charge for using your own ammo, not-so-helpful staff, high prices, I think the owner's resource's are spread too thin (2 and soon to be 3 locations). The upside: you pay by the visit, not by the hour, so you can shoot as long as you want for one price. Staff is friendly, patrons are less rowdy that Stonewall, you can get decent prices on their auction guns.
I was a regular at Top Guns, which became Royal Ridge after I moved out of the Cleveland area in '96. I stopped there once after it became Royal Ridge and was treated so badly, I've never been in again in years and have been badmouthing them ever since. I was so offended by their "gunsmith" I special ordered a Savage 112BVSS in .30-06 and a Canjar set trigger from the friendly gun dealer in Fremont, pretty much out of spite. I was going to send Royal Ridge a copy of the receipt, but never got around to it. What the hell, it's one of the best guns I've ever owned, and kind of rare, and I threw some bucks to a nice guy.

Stonewall scares me. It's the last place I've had a gun pointed at me. The times I've been there, supervision has been minimal at best. They have (or at least had) an excellent selection of holsters.

B&T in Lorain is the old On Target. The people are friendly and the range fees are as reasonable as any local commercial range. Bad neighborhood? I'll take you to my old neighborhood in Chicago. You wouldn't go if you COULD carry a gun... a Pom Pom Gun!

I like A&A for what it is. It really reminds me of Knob Creek in the early '80s before the machinegun shoots started. Aside from the trap & skeet ranges, it's just big, open fields where you can shoot plastic milk jugs if you want. Even the gunstore (when I last went there in the '90s) reminded me of the gunstore at Knob Creek.

You say that Sherwin has two locations? I thought they'd shut down the Sheffield store. If that's not the second store, what is? I took the CCW course there. Like Stonewall, they had a decent selection of holsters and the range was clean and well maintained.

Not previously mentioned:

Precision Firearms in Grafton - They seem friendly. I believe they offer the CCW class there. I haven't bought anything there but reloading supplies and a speedloader, but the prices seemed reasonable.

Dick's Gun Room in Cuyahoga Falls - Not a place for bargains, but an excellent selection of everything from new Remington 40Xes to used handguns, to books and clothing. Back in the '90s they closed out a bunch of iron sight bases for target rifles. Some friends and I got some great deals. They're friendly and quite knowledgeable.

Pro Gun and Sport in Cuyahoga Falls - Again, an excellent selection of pretty much everything, from collectible handguns, to bullseye target pistols, to combat shotguns. They're one of the few places around that stocks Dillon products. If you don't want to wait for a caliber conversion or a powder measure to come in the mail, you can drive down and get it. They also have a good stock of holsters, grips and reloading supplies. They're another place with friendly, knowledgeable sales people. In fact, I'd say they're everything that Royal Ridge isn't and should be. They've also added a range next door.

Rt. 53 Rec in Tiffin - A BIG selection, bargain brands not seen elsewhere and reasonable prices, especially on reloading supplies and equipment. At least half of my support equipment for reloading came from them. They also stocked a lot of hunting clothes and boots. Haven't been there in a number of years.

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:42 am
by Music Man
Big Darby near Columbus:
http://www.bigdarbycreeksr.com/

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:43 am
by OldManTod
Fin, Feather and Fur has a VERY SMALL range in their basement - I think two sets of three ranges.

- T

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:26 pm
by Pedie22
They (FFF) also have a HUGE stock of reloading equipment and supplies. Nathan is a great guy to answer any questions.

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:40 pm
by AlanM
Pedie22 wrote:They also have a HUGE stock of reloading equipment and supplies. Nathan is a great guy to answer any questions.
Please excuse my ignorance. Who's "they"?

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:42 am
by deanimator
AlanM wrote:
Pedie22 wrote:They also have a HUGE stock of reloading equipment and supplies. Nathan is a great guy to answer any questions.
Please excuse my ignorance. Who's "they"?
Sounded like he meant Fin, Feather and Fur. I remember them having a lot of components before they remodeled.

But I wasn't sure who he meant either.

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:06 am
by Pedie22
Meant FFF. It's been fixed...sorry.