West Coast Armory - Bellevue

[Northwest Firearms]

This thread is for the general discussion of West Coast Armory - Bellevue . Please add to the discussion here.

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[TwoPoint]

excellent range, with an outstanding crew.
They are being messed with by the City of Bellevue, so they have had to modify their rules.
at the moment they only sell to members at this location.

however its a reasonable price

Range Has two Bays, one 20 yards for walk in and a 25 yard for members
you can use up to a .308 in the 25 yard.

the bays are temp controlled so it was warm all last winter.

and the individual lanes are state of the art!

 

[j4545]

This place is nice. Probably the best indoor range in the Puget Sound area.

Very clean, nice staff, great selection of firearms to buy, great rentals, the booths have plenty of space so you don't feel like a caged hamster, reasonable member prices, easy location (near I-90/405 interchange), and ample parking. I've been to many of the indoor ranges in the Seattle area and this facility wins hands down. I was quite surprised with the cleanliness of the facility. If you have the time just to check it out or take a brief tour, I think you'll very impressed.

P.S. I am not affiliated or an employee...lol. Just a satisfied patron.

 

[ChicagoGuy]

I joined as a member a few months back, and have to say this is easily the nicest range on the Eastside.

I used Wade's before mostly because it was close to work so I could get time in during lunch, but compared to Wade's, this place wins hands down. Better facility, better staff...just better.

 

[Lightning Jeff]

I joined as a member a few months back, and have to say this is easily the nicest range on the Eastside.

I'm thinking of joining as well, even though I've not yet even set foot in the place. (I have bought two Glocks and a Sig 556 from the Issaquah store, whose staff are truly a pleasure to work with, so I'd expect the same quality experience at their range.)

Are there days/times when the range is particularly busy? Ever have to wait for a lane? (I'd mostly be stopping by on the way home from work.)

Anyone know how this place is for kids? I'd probably take my 12 year old son once in awhile - possibly enough to warrant the family membership.

As one who has really only done his shooting outdoors (state/national forests back when one could find places to shoot; and presently on family acreage in Eastern Washington), I expect shooting at a range will be a bit of an adjustment. Any tips?

 

[vico512]

Discovered this place from the posts on this forum. I've been looking for a good indoor facility, close to home, since shooting on crappy days like today at the outdoor range in Kenmore is not appealing.

The West Coast Armory (Bellevue Gun Club) is a top-notch facility. They now have 3 ranges available a 20 yd pistol, a 25 yd pistol/rifle & a 25 yd open LE range. The staff was very helpful, and I got a complete tour of the facility. I joined on-the-spot, and spent an enjoyable couple of hours popping caps.

Their Pro-shop is also well stocked, and has a large inventory. Friendly service in the shop.

Highly recommended!

-vic

 

[WCTLEGUNSMITH]

West Coast Armory is now officially the only 5 star rated range in Washington. The NSSF rep was just in to let us know. The NSSF(National Shooting Sports Foundation) only gives out 2-3, 5 Star ratings a year nationally. There are only 18 5star ranges in the US.

 

[MookNW]

I shopped and shopped for a place to give my money to. WCA/BGC won hands down. Service, selection, price, facilities and location are all factors that they have proved themselves in. I'll renew my membership.

 

[raverm]

Bought my first gun (Glock 19) here. Bought a lifetime membership here.
Selection, staff, service are all amazing.

Also, congratulations to WCA/BGC in being one of the few NSSF recognized 5 star shooting facilities!
http://wheretoshoot.org/Find_Range/5star.asp

 

[enjr4]

I have been a member there since day one. This is the best range and range shop I have ever had the pleasure to use. The people are great and always ready to help you with anything you may need. They will even help a novice with any kind of question and stop to give them an impromptu shooting lesson. My wife and I go at least once a week and never had a wait time. My granddaughter (13) and I go whenever she has the time for an old guy.

A great place,

 

[Bellehood]

My best friend just purchased a Gold Membership here, and I went shooting with him 3 times this week, and I have been very impressed. Much better than any other indoor range in King County, or possibly the state. The store at the range in Factoria has a fairly good selection as well, with lower prices than Wade's or Discount Gun Sales.

My only complaint, is that the third time we went shooting, this last saturday, we were going through several boxes of cheap 9mm FMJ's from Walmart, I don't even remember the brand name, when we turned around from a very focused session of shooting (our own handguns) to see a range master digging through our large shooting bag, that was sitting on the bench behind us. We both politely asked what he was doing, to which he responded, "You are using ammunition which we do not allow, I am confiscating it from you". Never once did he ask us what we were shooting, or if we had more, or if we knew that it was not allowed, simply dug right into our range bag and took it. He informed us that the particular brand we were using had "steel cores, with a thin copper jacket to hide the steel". The boxes said NOTHING about steel, we meticulously looked over them afterward, only description of the ammo was "115 Grain Full Metal Jacket". This particular employee told us he "knew from experience, and that if we EVER brought this ammunition to the range again, we would both be banned from the range".

I was shocked by this rude, accusatory behavior. We had no idea that this supposed "steel core" ammo was not allowed, or that it even had a steel core. Two days before my friend purchased a Gold Membership, a handgun and a shotgun, he is no stranger to the range, and knows half the staff by name. I was blown away, by this individual employee.

Outside of that particular experience, I love this range/shop, extremely nice employee's, no elitist attitude so common in the industry, great place to shoot and buy.

 

[crusader4x]

"You are using ammunition which we do not allow, I am confiscating it from you". Never once did he ask us what we were shooting, or if we had more, or if we knew that it was not allowed, simply dug right into our range bag and took it.

Wait.... he STOLE from you? Did he return the ammo to you as you were leaving?

 

[Bellehood]

no, we were allowed to have it back once we left. Like i said, not enough to prevent me from ever returning, but I still considered it to be very rude behavior

 

[vico512]

Sounds like it could have been handled better -- this sport seems to have an over abundance of guys way too full of themselves. Without knowing all the details in this instance, I'd have some issues with someone pawing through my personal bag without permission.

I'm also curious about the Walmart claim -- is that stuff really steel? I would think that the bullet would have to be considerably longer to maintain the same weight?

 

[raverm]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience...this is their loss. I'm a regular at WCA and this has yet to happen to me. If I remember correctly, Wally World sells a few different types of 9mm. From knowledge, I know they sell 115 grain 50 round Federal Champion, 115 grain 250 round UMC, and possibly 115 grain Winchester WB. If your friend bought these types of ammo, it should not be an issue as they are all brass cased. I can't remember if Wally World sells steel cased ammo...possibly Brown Bear?

While I agree that the situation could have been handled differently, hopefully this doesn't taint your experience at WCA. I would call the range and see if you can sort this out? If you remember the build, height, and facial features of the rangemaster that did this, it should be pretty easy to find out who it was. There aren't too many people that work there. Please update us!

 

[crusader4x]

I concur, could've been handled better. From my personal experience at WCA, combined with what seem to be MANY more GOOD experiences, you're wise in chalking this up to one bad day and not letting it effect future sessions at WCA. I'd do the same.

 

[Bellehood]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience...this is their loss. I'm a regular at WCA and this has yet to happen to me. If I remember correctly, Wally World sells a few different types of 9mm. From knowledge, I know they sell 115 grain 50 round Federal Champion, 115 grain 250 round UMC, and possibly 115 grain Winchester WB. If your friend bought these types of ammo, it should not be an issue as they are all brass cased. I can't remember if Wally World sells steel cased ammo...possibly Brown Bear?

While I agree that the situation could have been handled differently, hopefully this doesn't taint your experience at WCA. I would call the range and see if you can sort this out? If you remember the build, height, and facial features of the rangemaster that did this, it should be pretty easy to find out who it was. There aren't too many people that work there. Please update us!

We are going again on thursday, and if the same guy is there, I might approach him and let him know how we felt about the situation, just ask that he inform us if we are doing something against range protocol. This range is still much better than anything else around here, they still have my business. A bad day at WCA is better than most my range days at Lewis, but I have disgruntled NCO's to blame for that

his issue was not with the casings, but rather that he insisted that we were using "steel core" ammo, and that they were likely to cause dangerous ricochets. I've never even heard of steel core 9mm, let alone that is sold at Walmart.

 

[raverm]

We are going again on thursday, and if the same guy is there, I might approach him and let him know how we felt about the situation, just ask that he inform us if we are doing something against range protocol. This range is still much better than anything else around here, they still have my business. A bad day at WCA is better than most my range days at Lewis, but I have disgruntled NCO's to blame for that

his issue was not with the casings, but rather that he insisted that we were using "steel core" ammo, and that they were likely to cause dangerous ricochets. I've never even heard of steel core 9mm, let alone that is sold at Walmart.

well that was embarrassing on my part, reading fail much? i'm pretty sure that any steel core ammunition would have a label stating it...i'm quite sure you guys were shooting federal champion or UMC.

while the rangemaster's intent might have been good to avoid putting anyone in danger, the vibe you describe definitely came off on the wrong end. if you do see the same person when checking in, i'd double check with the rangemaster and show him your ammo first to show good intentions, and then notify him of the previous situation.

good to hear you'll be going back soon. i might see you shooting there one day! btw...nice name, your name reminds me of an inside joke with my friends

 

[Bellehood]

haha yes, i was born and raised right here in "Bellehood", a name myself and a few buddies came up with in high school, based off the ONE low income housing apartment complex right next to our high school that had police activity EVERY day, when the rest of the city is as pristine and economically advantaged as can be.

 

[Bellehood]

So I'm hoping for some understanding of something. Yesterday I purchased a Glock 19 from the shop at the range, and since I am still waiting for my CPL to come in the mail, I have to go through the 5 day waiting period. I knew this going in, but what surprised when I was told that I can pick it up on April 27, 9 days after the date of purchase, April 18. I'm assuming that Saturday and Sunday don't count towards the 5 days (which in itself is pretty stupid), but that still does not account for the extra few days. Am I missing something?