Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby FJ540 on Sun Jan 01, 2017 7:46 am

Seems like they're making backstops that'd make a shoot house not much of an issue. They did 180 degree courses of fire at the Mills Range. With proper construction and some cameras, there's no reason you couldn't have a rangemaster shadowing your shooter and having radio contact with the Big Brother in the booth. Expensive and labor intensive? Oh yeah! But guys willingly pay for that stuff, and it's obviously something people want to experience. I was working with Atomic at the Shooters Roundup when they operated their first shoot house - they charged a bunch for it (I forget what it cost), and had no shortage of patrons go through.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby mmcnx2 on Sun Jan 01, 2017 8:07 am

I worked for an organization at one point and we looked into building a LE grade shoot house including observation deck. The business model we went after was LE first, public second. At the end of the day the numbers just don't work on a long term basis. The capital and operating expenses had over a 10 year ROI to break even and we assumed some relatively heavy use on the LE side and moderate on the public. Liability insurance cost was going to be extremely high.

If someone had money to burn it would be fun but until then you most likely will see these built on tax dollars by agencies for their private use or shared with other agencies, but doubtful if it would ever be open to the public.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby hard h2o on Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:25 am

Seismic Sam wrote:You live in Oakdale with a Cabela's about 3 miles away, and you're looking for a new gun store, and all the pistols the Frontiersman has is not as good as you remember it??? And with Bill's just across the river on I-94???

I think the only place that might top that is Rodentman's basement or Oldman's shop, and neither of them want to sell stuff!!

Are you hoping Oak Park Heights will be a Las Vegas Cabela's, Shooting Range, Casino, Bordello, and Bar/Liquor store that's open on Sunday???


I guess I am just greedy.

I am not a fan of Bill's.

I am a Cabela's card holder and spend most of my money there in regards to firearms and outdoor gear.

Frontiersman seemed like they had a lot of empty shelves. I like to see stuff other than firearms. I am not always in the market for a pistol but I can always use some more ammo or cleaning supplies.

It is great to see another firearms related business opening and hopefully thriving in the area. Contrary to what the libs think there are still a lot of folks in MN who support the 2A, hunt, shoot, and wish to defend themselves with something other than a phone call with a response time longer than a burglars bullet or knife.

The west side of the river seems to be looking to shut down firearms related businesses. I would love for a gun store to open in Oakdale. I can not imagine the expense in not only permits and licensing but in inventory as well.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby xd ED on Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:44 am

hard h2o wrote:
Seismic Sam wrote:You live in Oakdale with a Cabela's about 3 miles away, and you're looking for a new gun store, and all the pistols the Frontiersman has is not as good as you remember it??? And with Bill's just across the river on I-94???

I think the only place that might top that is Rodentman's basement or Oldman's shop, and neither of them want to sell stuff!!

Are you hoping Oak Park Heights will be a Las Vegas Cabela's, Shooting Range, Casino, Bordello, and Bar/Liquor store that's open on Sunday???


I guess I am just greedy.

I am not a fan of Bill's.

I am a Cabela's card holder and spend most of my money there in regards to firearms and outdoor gear.

Frontiersman seemed like they had a lot of empty shelves. I like to see stuff other than firearms. I am not always in the market for a pistol but I can always use some more ammo or cleaning supplies.

It is great to see another firearms related business opening and hopefully thriving in the area. Contrary to what the libs think there are still a lot of folks in MN who support the 2A, hunt, shoot, and wish to defend themselves with something other than a phone call with a response time longer than a burglars bullet or knife.

The west side of the river seems to be looking to shut down firearms related businesses. I would love for a gun store to open in Oakdale. I can not imagine the expense in not only permits and licensing but in inventory as well.


I agree that the east metro could use another firearms business. It wasn't that long ago that Bullseye in Lake Elmo was doing well. I'm pretty sure that ended due to management issues.
I also think that the Stillwater/ river valley area is underestimated by those of us living near it.
Last summer my niece's wedding reception was held in dntn Stillwater. That Saturday night the city was packed with 'townies'. A trip to an upscale gun range on a Saturday afternoon might be just the thing for some of those folks.
In fairness to Bill's/ Hudson: I've never been there, but my experiences at their 2 metro ranges have been quite...varied.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby FJ540 on Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:58 am

xd ED wrote:In fairness to Bill's/ Hudson: I've never been there, but my experiences at their 2 metro ranges have been quite...varied.


Hudson is a nice store. I've never used that range, but my sister lives on the Northern most edge of River Falls, so we drive past it from time to time (and the strip mall next to it is where I buy my too hot for MN beverages 8-) ).

I don't really plan on doing anything "shoot house" at my place, but I'd really love a coarse of fire like the movement ranges we had at Ft Knox. 180 degree berms with all kinds of stuff scattered across the lane to move through. Add some bends, dump a scrap car here and there, and it could be a lot of fun.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby Seismic Sam on Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:48 pm

In fairness to Bill's/ Hudson: I've never been there, but my experiences at their 2 metro ranges have been quite...varied.


You should definitely check out Hudson. Nobody asking to seek a Gluck Fo-Tay or trying to shoot it sideways on the range like in Robbinsdale, and it's not like North Branch where the supervision of the staff on the range is deplorably lax, and you can regularly hear young tacticool louts handling their guns and dropping the slide on the tables behind your back while you are shooting. The Hudson range is physically the best of the 3 in both square footage and also window location, so the people at the counter can clearly see if they have a n00b or idjit on their hands. The atmosphere in Hudson is pretty uneventful, and pleasantly boring compared to the other two. The square footage of the gun display cases is also the largest of the 3, if I am not mistaken. The staff at Hudson also occasionally brings one of their hunting dogs with them to work, and that's kind of a nice touch.
Last edited by Seismic Sam on Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby hard h2o on Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:50 pm

xd ED wrote:I agree that the east metro could use another firearms business. It wasn't that long ago that Bullseye in Lake Elmo was doing well. I'm pretty sure that ended due to management issues.
I also think that the Stillwater/ river valley area is underestimated by those of us living near it.
Last summer my niece's wedding reception was held in dntn Stillwater. That Saturday night the city was packed with 'townies'. A trip to an upscale gun range on a Saturday afternoon might be just the thing for some of those folks.
In fairness to Bill's/ Hudson: I've never been there, but my experiences at their 2 metro ranges have been quite...varied.


I have only been to Bill's once. Only been to one other indoor range and that is Burnsville Rifle & Pistol Range. i am lukewarm on the indoor shooting. I love OGC and the outdoor ranges.

I worked in River Falls for a while and in Hudson. Bill's Hudson location opened while I was working in River Falls. I went after work on the opening. They had a tent set up with multiple vendors and manufacturer's reps. Buy the ammo and you could try out pretty much whatever you wanted with no rental or lane fees. I bought a box of .45 and shot a couple of nice 1911 type pistols. They also had some sort of deal on full auto. I set up in my lane and took my time. Lane next to me had some guys with a Thompson or grease gun or some such auto. Long burp and their ammo was gone.

If this place opens I will have to check it out. Depends on what inventory they have and what prices if I would be a regular or not.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby aprilian on Sun Jan 01, 2017 5:03 pm

SSSSHHHHHHHHHHH! don't tell people how good it is over there. I drive there all the time, having decided I did not like the other choices. The HVAC is very good too. DAMN, I didn't want to get more people over there. :?

Seismic Sam wrote:
In fairness to Bill's/ Hudson: I've never been there, but my experiences at their 2 metro ranges have been quite...varied.


You should definitely check out Hudson. Nobody asking to seek a Gluck Fo-Tay or trying to shoot it sideways on the range like in Robbinsdale, and it's not like North Branch where the supervision of the staff on the range is deplorably lax, and you can regularly hear young tacticool louts handling their guns and dropping the slide on the tables behind your back while you are shooting. The Hudson range is physically the best of the 3 in both square footage and also window location, so the people at the counter can clearly see if they have a n00b or idjit on their hands. The atmosphere in Hudson is pretty uneventful, and pleasantly boring compared to the other two. The square footage of the gun display cases is also the largest of the 3, if I am not mistaken. The staff at Hudson also occasionally brings one of their hunting dogs with them to work, and that's kind of a nice touch.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby Holland&Holland on Sun Jan 01, 2017 11:11 pm

Seismic Sam wrote:
In fairness to Bill's/ Hudson: I've never been there, but my experiences at their 2 metro ranges have been quite...varied.


You should definitely check out Hudson. Nobody asking to seek a Gluck Fo-Tay or trying to shoot it sideways on the range like in Robbinsdale, and it's not like North Branch where the supervision of the staff on the range is deplorably lax, and you can regularly hear young tacticool louts handling their guns and dropping the slide on the tables behind your back while you are shooting. The Hudson range is physically the best of the 3 in both square footage and also window location, so the people at the counter can clearly see if they have a n00b or idjit on their hands. The atmosphere in Hudson is pretty uneventful, and pleasantly boring compared to the other two. The square footage of the gun display cases is also the largest of the 3, if I am not mistaken. The staff at Hudson also occasionally brings one of their hunting dogs with them to work, and that's kind of a nice touch.


Nothing wrong with the Robbinsdale store. Good selection and occasionally a deal. Having worked many years of range duty at ogc I can attest that the issues bills faces we all face on the line.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby FJ540 on Mon Jan 02, 2017 1:14 am

Holland&Holland wrote:
Seismic Sam wrote:
In fairness to Bill's/ Hudson: I've never been there, but my experiences at their 2 metro ranges have been quite...varied.


You should definitely check out Hudson. Nobody asking to seek a Gluck Fo-Tay or trying to shoot it sideways on the range like in Robbinsdale, and it's not like North Branch where the supervision of the staff on the range is deplorably lax, and you can regularly hear young tacticool louts handling their guns and dropping the slide on the tables behind your back while you are shooting. The Hudson range is physically the best of the 3 in both square footage and also window location, so the people at the counter can clearly see if they have a n00b or idjit on their hands. The atmosphere in Hudson is pretty uneventful, and pleasantly boring compared to the other two. The square footage of the gun display cases is also the largest of the 3, if I am not mistaken. The staff at Hudson also occasionally brings one of their hunting dogs with them to work, and that's kind of a nice touch.


Nothing wrong with the Robbinsdale store if you never want to see your brass again. Good selection and occasionally a deal. Having worked many years of range duty at ogc I can attest that the issues bills faces we all face on the line.


I lost $5 in once fired (aka brand spanking NEW) 458 socom cases at North the last time I was there because the lanes are so damn narrow and there's nothing preventing cases from bouncing beyond the sweeper's reach. Yeah, now I have a stupid Velcro brass catcher to prevent that from happening again.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby Seismic Sam on Mon Jan 02, 2017 12:05 pm

Yes, there IS something wrong with Bill's Robbinsdale, and it's not the staff or the prices!! Many references are made to having/wanting a Colt fo-tay fivv, and NONE of them have to do with the 1911!!! They ALL have to do with QUART bottles of malt liquor!! I know this for a gospel fact, as my old bridge was the West end of the Broadway avenue bridge!!!

Sigh...... I remember the Good Old Days, when I'd crawl under the bridge and Shipyard was already passed out from Night Train, and there would be three or four bottles left for me....... :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: And I had a plentiful supply or reloading n00bs to BBQ back then.....
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby FJ540 on Tue Jan 03, 2017 2:12 am

The last time I was in Frontiersman, there was a younger guy with his belt below his balls, undies all out, talking about how "Yo, they got Thompsons up in this Bi%^&!" (that is a direct quote) I'm sure he's a fine upstanding citizen with nothing but defending himself from the illegal gun owners in his 'hood on the agenda. You'd never know it from listening in though. :roll:

I don't miss shooting at public ranges. Sadly, I'll be doing more of it again this winter for work.
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby Holland&Holland on Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:31 am

Seismic Sam wrote:Yes, there IS something wrong with Bill's Robbinsdale, and it's not the staff or the prices!! Many references are made to having/wanting a Colt fo-tay fivv, and NONE of them have to do with the 1911!!! They ALL have to do with QUART bottles of malt liquor!! I know this for a gospel fact, as my old bridge was the West end of the Broadway avenue bridge!!!

Sigh...... I remember the Good Old Days, when I'd crawl under the bridge and Shipyard was already passed out from Night Train, and there would be three or four bottles left for me....... :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: And I had a plentiful supply or reloading n00bs to BBQ back then.....


Sam, I love your rants as much as the next guy as they are always entertaining. But, when is the last time you have shot at Bills in Robbinsdale?
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby xd ED on Fri Jan 27, 2017 6:11 pm

Sounds like this place is a 'GO' again...

Indoor shooting range planned for vacant Oak Park Heights site - TwinCities.com

The developers of Range 082 made the news in the summer of 2015 when they proposed a new indoor gun range in Oak Park Heights, but financing fell through and the owner put the site up for sale.

Now, Range 082 is back with additional investors, said Steve Erban, the project’s architect.

The Oak Park Heights City Council recently re-approved plans for Range 082, on 5.5 empty acres on Memorial Avenue, just southwest of the intersection of Minnesota highways 5 and 36.

At 49,000 square feet, Range 082 will be one of the largest shooting ranges in Minnesota, said Erban, owner of Out of the Box Architecture in Lake Elmo and a spokesman for the group building the range, the Greg Clark family of Baytown Township.

Construction of the $8 million range is slated to start this spring; an opening is planned for fall 2017....
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Re: Gun range in Oak Park Heights has new life

Postby fjrdc on Sat Jan 28, 2017 9:37 am

Go to Lakes Trading , in Forest Lake, well run nice facility, During the warmer months Check out Bald Eagle Sportsman's Club ,my Go To outdoor range .
Both are MUCH better than the more well Known ranges. I'm not too demanding, just tired of getting swept and lax RO's.
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