Room for a New Shop/Smith/ Indoor Range

[Hodgie]

Possibly coming to the local area with some big plans.
Would like to know what the locals in Southern MD area think about a Brand new dedicated gun shop
and a state of the art indoor facility in the Southern MD Area in the not to distant future.


Thanks
Hodgie

PS
Yes I already know of most of the other shops and current and possible outdoor facilities in
the area, this being said we plan to bring some different things to the area that we feel are
currently not covered or lacking.

 

[guthook]

Sounds great! (as long as it isn't Fred's)

Where about would you be thinking of building?

 

[tommy gunn]

Personally I would love one in or closer to the Calvert county area. I like the ranges I go to but something under a 45 minute drive would be awesome. Not to mention a decent gun shop close by too.

 

[upacreek]

Personally I would love one in or closer to the Calvert county area. I like the ranges I go to but something under a 45 minute drive would be awesome. Not to mention a decent gun shop close by too.

Agreed!

 

[Hodgie]

Sounds great! (as long as it isn't Fred's)

Not sure who Fred is but I will do my best not to be like him.

Personally I would love one in or closer to the Calvert county area. I like the ranges I go to but something under a 45 minute drive would be awesome. Not to mention a decent gun shop close by too.

We have looked & spoken with the Zoning officials in Calvert, Charles, and St Marys so far, there are several more areas on the list. Unfortunately Calvert seems to not be as Gun Friendly when it comes to Zoning and ranges as the others but things can always be worked around.

I am a huge Military Surplus guy been collecting, restoring and refinishing for years, this is where my heart is when it comes to firearms. My partner is more on the Modern side of the fence which works out great since it can be the best of both worlds.

 

[niftyvt]

Sounds great.


subscribed for info

 

[kfrede86]

Definitely interested.

 

[Vince55]

Sure would like to see a rifle range around here to about 600 yards.

 

[tomgreco]

Not sure who Fred is but I will do my best not to be like him.




We have looked spoken with the Zoning officials in Calvert, Charles, and St Marys so far, there are several more areas on the list. Unfortunately Calvert seems to not be as Gun Friendly when it comes to Zoning and ranges as the others but things can always be worked around.

I am a huge Military Surplus guy been collecting, restoring and refinishing for years, this is where my heart is when it comes to firearms. My partner is more on the Modern side of the fence which works out great since it can be the best of both worlds.

Suggest reading up on Fred's. You'll get the idea.

 

[beafly.cakes]

Competition is always good.

That said... you won't find much down here.

 

[WeaponsCollector]

I live in Calvert county and have to drive at least 45 minutes to go shooting so I don't shoot as much as I'd like to. If a range opened in Calvert county I would be very happy.
I think there is(or was) a couple small gun shops in the county, but they really aren't anything special.
One's off 231 next to a gas station but it's rarely open and the one time I went the owner acted like he didn't want any customers and the other is on Rt. 2 close to the Rt. 4 intersection which I think is geared more towards fishing and hunting than anything else.

 

[Hodgie]

Sure would like to see a rifle range around here to about 600 yards.

Outdoor ranges are a different animal, I have experience with a private non profit club in another state with over 3k members, the facility is large and the maintenance and upkeep alone can cost tens of thousands a year, much of it relies on members volunteering their time and various skills which you cannot rely on, expect or ask when having a private facility. Due to new EPA regulations in 2010 it had to under go over 100k in lead removal and redesign which lasted months and has really made little to no difference in the way things are actually done.

If things go the wrong way in DC this coming November then we all can expect even heavier EPA regulations coming our way from both state and federal governments since it has been outlined in the Presidents 2nd term agenda. Not to say it will never be an option or area for growth but it's not a realistic starting point for us.

Competition is always good.

That said... you won't find much down here.

I agree 1000% everyone can find their own demographic in the community, and lets face it without some good old fashioned competition and fresh blood then current consumers and business begin to get stale in any market.

I cannot comment on any of the shops in Southern MD so I will not it would be unfair, I read through some posts and see pretty much only good things. I was down over the weekend and went from Anne Arundel County towards Annapolis and DC and checked out what is being offered and I was not overly impressed. I saw both good and bad things from my standpoint as a consumer in this market for many years.

Calvert county was nice, lots of room for what we are looking to do with success however it appears that the county does not really want much to do with having a local in or outdoor range and has zoned very little areas and land to do this.

Most of the real-estate we were advised is already taken by other established business. I have a hard time believing that they did not already know this when they gave my partner the zoning map and sent him on his way wasting both our time and money searching for these zones. However we will be engaging a real estate agent from this county soon to pull anything that would meet our needs in the small area were were provided.

I am looking forward to making another trip down to check out Charles and St Marys county, in the upcoming weeks. My partner is from MD and feels one of these would be a great place to go if Calvert does not work out.


Thanks for all the replies, keep them coming along with any thing
you all would like to see in the local MD firearms market, I am always
open to comments and suggestions as to what people want.


Hodgie

 

[Hodgie]

Suggest reading up on Fred's. You'll get the idea.

Read up on Fred's and I can assure you We are not he.
I also do not see myself or my shop getting that sort of feedback.
I cannot comment on any of his practices since I have never dealt with them.


Hodgie

 

[Hodgie]

P I like the ranges I go to but something under a 45 minute drive would be awesome. Not to mention a decent gun shop close by too.

If you do not mind me asking what ranges do you shoot at and what do you like or dislike about them.

Hodgie

 

[tommy gunn]

I go to Myrtle grove and Maryland small arms range. Due to my work schedule and finaces I do get to masr as much as I like to. I like Msar simply cause I hate being rushed when I shoot. The 15 bucks all day price is hard to beat. I usually take 200 - 300 rounds for each gun when I shoot so having to keep seeing if someone is in line waiting kinda sucks. Myrtle grove is nice cause of the distance you can shoot and basically cause I like being outside. Only downside is the time limit. I understand the need for it due to the limited shooting lanes but it falls back on the rushed feeling. Shooting is my stress releif. No need to add more of it.

 

[Hodgie]

I go to Myrtle grove and Maryland small arms range. Due to my work schedule and finaces I do get to masr as much as I like to. I like Msar simply cause I hate being rushed when I shoot. The 15 bucks all day price is hard to beat. I usually take 200 - 300 rounds for each gun when I shoot so having to keep seeing if someone is in line waiting kinda sucks. Myrtle grove is nice cause of the distance you can shoot and basically cause I like being outside. Only downside is the time limit. I understand the need for it due to the limited shooting lanes but it falls back on the rushed feeling. Shooting is my stress releif. No need to add more of it.

I am familiar with Maryland Small arms and was just there this past weekend seeing what they had to offer. I have also read a lot of people go there simply for the price which is excellent but almost impossible for any other new facility to match. Since they are a GSA contractor and about 90% plus of the people I saw in there were government contract security guards my personal feeling is they are subsidized by the federal government and this allows such a low price for all day admission, or just independently wealthy and want to give back.

I am curious to know if this same price and all day admission will be following them to their new location around the block. It also appeared to me that they were way over crowded under staffed and lacked organization simply due to the volume of customers.

I am not knocking then these were observations based on my personal consumer needs.

Hodgie

 

[hodgepodge]

Hey Hodgie! Welcome to the board. I think a new shop/range would be great, but it would be a little far from Annapolis.

I had an uncle called Hodgie. Maybe we can have a family reunion.

 

[lx1x]

I am familiar with Maryland Small arms and was just there this past weekend seeing what they had to offer. I have also read a lot of people go there simply for the price which is excellent but almost impossible for any other new facility to match. Since they are a GSA contractor and about 90% plus of the people I saw in there were government contract security guards my personal feeling is they are subsidized by the federal government and this allows such a low price for all day admission, or just independently wealthy and want to give back.

I am curious to know if this same price and all day admission will be following them to their new location around the block. It also appeared to me that they were way over crowded under staffed and lacked organization simply due to the volume of customers.

I am not knocking then these were observations based on my personal consumer needs.

Hodgie

bingo!! thats what they told my coworker (his buddy is one of the manager).

but things may change when they move to new range they are building, dont know what the prices will be yet. im a member there..

 

[Hodgie]

bingo!! thats what they told my coworker (his buddy is one of the manager).

but things may change when they move to new range they are building, dont know what the prices will be yet. im a member there..

Any likes/dislikes or different things you would like to see?
If you would rather pm me with anything that would be fine, i do not
want to get into any business bashing.

Hodgie

 

[lx1x]

Any likes/dislikes or different things you would like to see?
If you would rather pm me with anything that would be fine, i do not
want to get into any business bashing.

Hodgie

nothing much.. only complains for that particular range is the hvac system.. hopefully they will be better on the new place.

more range in the area is always better for us peeps in soMD