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sad but true, its been that way since i renewed my membership this year. What a waste of money its almost cost 40$ to shoot 50 bullets
 
Ah, the Place to Shoot...I have a love/hate affair with that place.

For those who don't know, the schtick is that you can either get a basic membership and pay a range fee each time, or get an unlimited use fee and not pay for a year. Unlimited use is $200 right now as a promotion. Otherwise, range fees are $15 a head. You have to buy ammo and targets from them. It's strictly handgun or .22LR.

So what's the problem?

(1) They're expensive.

Their web site says "Customers who show up at the range with ammo from GI Joe's or Fisherman's are always disappointed when they see that our ammo is cheaper and of better quality."

Unfortunately, this simply is not true. For example, it's $22.50 per box of 50 9mm. That's a bit on the high side, considering I bought a box of 100 at Wal-mart for less than that. "Yes, you can get great deals at Wal Mart. But, there is something to be said for quality. The Winchester "white box" are about the lowest we will go." Well, dear, that's exactly what I bought.

Even if I went to one of the local gun dealers or Fisherman's or whatever, TPTS is usually slightly more expensive. E.g., right now TPTS charges $23 for a box of .380. I can buy it for $18 in town. I wouldn't complain if TPTS was in the ballpark, but they're nearly 30% more! And I'm talking exactly the same ammo and brand.

And what is this nonsense about "quality"? Most of the stuff I've shot there is PMC. PMC isn't bad ammo, but it's not like it's top of the line stuff, either. WWB is usually more expensive than PMC...

(People upstream said that there was a limit - there is not now, perhaps there was at the peak of the shortage.)

(2) Their "our ammo only" policy

There are two problems with this policy. First, if they generally were significantly cheaper than the competition, I could live with it. But they're generally more expensive, and in addition I have to give up any freedom of choice. They have one brand typically for any caliber, you don't get a choice, and it frequently changes. Additionally, it might be a different load than the last time you shot, or some oddball load. Last time I shot, they had 132gr .38 special, which is the first time I'd ever seen that.

The second problem is you can't try out your carry ammo. Every authority in the world will tell you that you need to try a few boxes of whatever flavor of ammo you are going to carry to make sure it feeds in your gun, etc. TPTS doesn't allow this. I got a couple boxes from the counter and asked if I could additionally shoot a couple boxes of my carry ammo - no, liability reasons, etc. Maybe valid reasons, but it's a very limiting policy.

(3) And by the way - they keep the brass

Ugh! Not only do I have to buy my ammo from them, but they get to keep the brass! That jacks up the price even further. That is really an astonishing premium - higher prices, no choice, and no brass. And gee, they sell plastic bags of brass in their shop...

(4) Only their targets.

Their targets are 75 cents each for the cheapest, or $1.50 for the better ones. That is outrageous. Funny thing is that I see people putting yellow stickers on their targets or drawing circles on them so they can get away with buying fewer...

The range itself isn't bad, but it's not beautiful by any means. It always seems a bit hot to me. It's also a one-woman operation. Julie's going on vacation and the range will be closed for three days. It's always closed on Tuesdays.

One big positive is that they have guns you can rent. That is nice. You could try something before you bought it. I think they order guns as well, and I know they do transfers.

The only reason I go there sometimes is that it's close enough to drive over and do some lunchtime blasting. But the more I've been there, the less I've liked it, and I doubt I'll renew when my year is up.
 
Nice saying raindog, as many of you in here knew me in person should know that I used to live in PDX. I live on 21nd and dekum st over 15 years. TPTS was my first target shooting place since I was young, can't remember how old when I bought my lifetime membership at that place (well I didn't bought it, it was my grandpa did it). Lifetime membership meant you still have to pay daily usage fee, their ammo, and targets. I dont rent their gun, I did once and didn't like it. The only reason kept me going to that place is that it is closed to my house. Whenever I bought a new gun I want to take it out shooting right away so it was good for that. Now I move to Grants Pass and I just love it down here, I live 10 mins away from outdoor shooting range :) Get the fresh air and the gun powder ;-)
 
I shoot almost every weekend. To do that I reload all my ammo in order to keep the cost down. The Place To Shoot my have a nich in the market place that I am not aware of, maybe. I have never been there, but I did talk to them on the phone. The person was nice enough but the cost to shoot there was just cost prohibitive for me.
 
I went there one day to shoot, the door was locked and a hand made sign saying they were closed. When I asked about it later they as much as said I was a liar as they were never closed. Haven't been back to shoot since and this was when you could still use your own ammo.
 
I like this place. A lot.

It's where I learned to shoot and I have been going back nearly every week for five or six years. The people who run it have always been knowledgeable and respectful; they are happy to take the time to share their experience anytime I need it.

I haven't found any other facility that has a separate room for 'tactical' training and drill work; drawing and movement, retreat and cover...and no limitations on rapid fire drills on either range.

I don't mind buying ammunition from them...it keeps their doors open for the same or less than I would pay at any other gun shop in the area. I don't reload because it would void the warranty on my guns. Plus, it's indoors and I don't have to stand outside.

I have purchased four new firearms thru them at cost plus 5%; a significantly better price than anywhere else in town or off the web. The last was a Sig 239 a couple of months ago for $600...the best I found off the web was $720 plus shipping; locally was $750.

And just out of curiosity, since when did making a profit become an evil thing to this group?
 
I haven't been there for a couple of years. i bought a "lifetime" membership like 20 years ago! But honestly, I feel like every time I show up, they act like they are sooooo put out by my presence. It really isn't a friendly atmosphere.

I hesitate to EVER recommend them.
 
I am a lifetime member there and have gone there since the 90s.

Agree w/ PP - the general maintenance is lacking, which is perplexing because if you gave me just one hour, some light bulbs and a pair of pliers I could fix 80% of it no problem.

Maybe whiny - sorry - but the circulation of air is stagnant. What I mean by that is if you are in your booth firing way your face is engulfed in a sea of gun smoke to the point of where my eyes completely shut down. Other ranges I've been to (including TCGC's indoor 22 range doesn't do this - maybe no booth walls?) One of the reasons I really enjoy shooting outdoors, no lead in my eyes :)

The no bringing your own ammo thing is something I could live with, but if I go there with eight loaded BX-25s I can't just buy two bricks of CCI mini mags (same exact ammo). No bringing in loaded mags, ever. OK, I am supposed to stand there in the freezing cold range, alone one morning, and unload my mags - with EXACT same ammo, reload theirs for 10-15 minutes before I can shoot. That is just nutty. I am not asking to cut into sales at all - I just don't like loading mags at the range - I do that while I am watching some idiotic show on the boob tube.

Been there 3-4 times in the last six months and each time I spend an average of $50-$60 dollars on ammo, targets or whatever fees and I am a LT member, but the rules can't be bent for someone who has been a member for 15+ years.

I've owned a service business for 26+ years and if I did that with my customers they'd tell me to take a hike. Julie there is a great person, but she really needs to start listening to what customers want. You can do that w/o cutting into profits.
 
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