SHOOTSMART Ft. Worth

[frreed]

I had seen a couple reports on this forum and checked their website. This afternoon I took my son (home from college) out to shoot pistols.

Shootsmart is by far the best range I have been to. The front area is clean, well lit and has the feel of a golf pro shop. We were greeted by the staff who were quite busy at the time. We filled out the range forms and they got us out to a lane. Before entering the shooting lanes there is a lounge with large windows looking out onto the range itself. There are a few tables, several comfortable chairs, a tv and a coffee machine. We put on hearing protection in the lounge and proceeded to our lane.

The target controls are digital and can be sent out from 1-15 yds and two lane appear to extend out to 25. Lighting is excellent and while the individual stalls are a bit narrow, they have a nice shelf to for pistols and ammo and shelves are provided behind the line for storing extra ammo, gun bags and such. The dividers between lane do a great job of blocking sound and concussion from adjacent lanes. The back stop appears to be shredded rubber and this seems to keep the sound down as well.

There was always an RO on the lanes. They were pleasant and helpful. There was at least one staff person who was working with new shooters and from what I could hear he was outstanding.

Now for the best part. Monday-Thursday from 2:00 to 4:00 is Happy Hour. $5.00 per shooter. They charge a buck for standard targets and $2 for specialty targets (yes you can practice for the Zombie uprising). We shot about 300 rounds at a leisurely pace and walked out paying the grand total of $12.99. Even their regular rates are reasonable. A single shooter is about $14 and a second is half price. The stock a good supply of commercial range ammo and the price is competitive with Cabelas and BassPro and just a bit higher than Academy. They have a few pistols for sale and several for rental.

I love to shoot and will tolerate a dark range with an apathetic staff and range fees pushing $20 per shooter. It seems that this place has it right. I get to do what I love in a much better environment. This is also a range that I will be taking my wife to let her shoot more often. She is just learning and having a bright and friendly atmosphere will help her along.

[RoyGBiv]

it's a good place to shoot. But the pleasant, professional staff is the best part.

[n5wd]

If you made it in by Happy Hour, I bet we passed each other yesterday afternoon... I got there about 4:15 (not supposed to leave work till 4:00, darn it, but we're just a few miles away).

Another hint as to how good Shoot Smart is... about 15 minutes after I got a lane (I guess it was about 4:45) they called a temporary cease fire to change the A/C filters... someone noticed it was getting a bit smokey, and they were on it quickly. Just the kind of service I've come to expect since I started shooting there in the early fall.

And if you decide that you want this to be your "home range", they sell memberships that bring the cost down a bit.

Wayne

[Medic218]

it's a good place to shoot. But the pleasant, professional staff is the best part.

I don't know....the super cute young lady behind the counter with a pistol on her hip and a knife in her back pocket was a nice plus too.

[RoyGBiv]

it's a good place to shoot. But the pleasant, professional staff is the best part.

I don't know....the super cute young lady behind the counter with a pistol on her hip and a knife in her back pocket was a nice plus too.

Shhhhhhh. Lots of wives reading here...

[frreed]

We were just finishing up packing the pistols away when they called the cease fire.

Very good experience all the way around.

[v-rog]

Definitely a nice range and I like the atmosphere they create for shooters. It seems though that their air filtration system is undersized for the volume of rounds being shot. I've had to cut back on indoor ranges due to a high lead level in my blood and I am acutely aware of this factor.

[pcgizzmo]

Great range and folks. It's where I go now.

[n5wd]

Definitely a nice range and I like the atmosphere they create for shooters. It seems though that their air filtration system is undersized for the volume of rounds being shot. I've had to cut back on indoor ranges due to a high lead level in my blood and I am acutely aware of this factor.

The folks that clean up after they close are supposed to clean the air filters each night. The guys who were doing it yesterday felt that it was just enough folks shooting dirty/smoky ammunition that caused the filters to get dirty quicker than normal. I'm sensitive to smoky air, myself, and normally my sinuses don't have much of a problem - they were beginning to whisper to me, yesterday, when they called for the cease fire and changed the filters - after that, no problem last night.

Wayne

[cheezit]

i made it in there one time. Place was packed but very clean. didnt feel like waiting around for a lane to open so I left. also disappointed in the rental selection, but I have not found an indorr range here that had a large one yet.

[Grapevinebill]

This is a good place to shoot. Unfortunately its not all that convienient tothe house. I have been there 3 or 4 time though and enjoyed the experience. All that has been said is accurate. Clean, friendly staff and it can get busy sometimes so if you are there in prime time expect a wait. Does anyone have any information regarding membership and what the costs are?

[Wes]

Been there a couple of times, waiting for a lane right now actually, I definately recommend this place too.

[n5wd]

Does anyone have any information regarding membership and what the costs are?

From the email I got:

Patriot: $219 early bird; lane rental $1.99 weekdays; $2.99 weekends
Regular price after January 1, 2012: $259.

Smart: $119 early bird; lane rental $6.99 weekdays; $7.99 weekends
Regular price after January 1, 2012: $149. 

Lifetime: $4,500 early bird; no lane fees; 15% off training & merchandise
Regular price after January 1, 2012: $5,000.

But,remember that they do offer Happy Hours (IIRC Tues-Thurs 2-4PM for $5/lane) and discounts for active law enforcement and public safety (fire /EMS) and for veterans (bring along some form of proof, like a copy of the DD214 - they don't keep it, but do wanna see it).

It's my "home" range!

Wayne

[Wes]

That is really not a bad deal, if you get the Patriot plan you break even in about 10 weeks assuming you go twice a week. Then for the next 42 weeks you pay only $5 a week instead of over $30! I just might be signing up for this. The Smart plan is really not worth it, because break even is in about 9 weeks, and it costs about 3 times as much after break even. Thanks for posting the membership rates, i asked 2 different people today and they didn't know.

[RoyGBiv]

I received an email in December with those (above) membership renewal rates but I don't believe those rates are available to the general public. If I'm not mistaken, they were sent as an email to existing "Pioneer" and "Patriot" members. Remember, the range opened in March 2011, so EVERYONE who purchased an annual-type membership before that date will be coming up for renewal in March, ON THE SAME DATE. I'll go out on a limb here and assume (and you know what happens when you assume) that ShootSmart is gonna wait and see how their renewals go before they open up more memberships to non-current-member applicants. It's been busy over there.

Officially, their web site says they are not selling any memberships (except lifetime) currently.
http://www.shootsmarttx.com/faqs/#faq12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Looks like they are offering existing members renewals, but not offering new memberships until....?

As much as that might be disappointing to non-members wanting to join, it seems to me to be a reasonable business decision. Not wanting to sell more memberships than you can service without sacrificing quality.... or.. not wanting to sell discounts when your lanes are already full. Not sure what the reality is.... but... it's been a really nice place to shoot this past year (almost).

Of course I am making some important assumptions here and could be completely wrong.... If anyone calls and gets a different answer, please let us know. I'll make it out there later this week and will ask, if I don't see anything posted here before then.