Wooster Armory Indoor Range Pre-Registration

[GB1]

Wooster is a mess, obviously. The gunsmith you speak of is moving to J&B as I understand it. Good luck tracking down your bolt—not a good look for them.

Oh, if he's going over the J&B that's better than him leaving the state. That's actually my normal LGS and I'm pretty friendly with the guys there.

I'm hoping this doesn't become a complete cluster but I guess we'll see.

I don't know what happened but it seems there has to have been issues on both sides. I am interested in how it will all shake out as J&B is one of my go to LGS

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Is this place open? They were taking memeberships for the range back in September of last year as I recall. Didn't they have some premium or lifetime memberships or something? Is it even open?

 

[Mark_Dorman]

Is this place open? They were taking memeberships for the range back in September of last year as I recall. Didn't they have some premium or lifetime memberships or something? Is it even open?

The gun shop part is open. The range is not. Last time I was there they were just starting the major construction work, but @GB1 said:

I was there a couple weeks ago and was talking to the staff while shopping. They said they're hoping to be up and running in June/July; however, they have been pushed back almost 6 months now. I am hoping they will open sooner rather than later as its about 10 mins from me rather than the 40-50 mins to SafeFire, but having said that, a couple of the staff had mentioned city permitting and contractor costs. I have no clue what that means in this situation as I would think all (most, if not all) permits would be filed and approved before diving into construction and all. Who knows though this came from two separate people there about a month apart, but still hopeful it will open.

As for memberships, this is the link that has the information https://www.northwestfirearms.com/threads/wooster-armory-indoor-range-pre-registration.459527

I would assume thats outdated by now. The retail location did have their membership info when they had the first swap meet near the entry so theres a chance they might still have it in store.

I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't open until winter. Hopefully they don't fold before then. I signed up for one of their memberships but am thinking about asking for a refund as I worry it won't actually happen at this point.

 

[Gbirk]

The gun shop part is open. The range is not. Last time I was there they were just starting the major construction work, but @GB1 said:


I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't open until winter. Hopefully they don't fold before then. I signed up for one of their memberships but am thinking about asking for a refund as I worry it won't actually happen at this point.

Same boat. I grabbed a membership in December to get the free couple of months, but I am starting to worry they may not make it. The place is always empty when I go in, and their service is not great. I usually don't even get an acknowledgement that I am there from an employee. Actually come to think of the the gunsmith that left was the only guy I usually talk to. He was a nice guy to chat with.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Same boat. I grabbed a membership in December to get the free couple of months, but I am starting to worry they may not make it. The place is always empty when I go in, and their service is not great. I usually don't even get an acknowledgement that I am there from an employee. Actually come to think of the the gunsmith that left was the only guy I usually talk to. He was a nice guy to chat with.

Darn that doesn't look good. If good people leave there is usually a reason for it. Thx for the info!

 

[rob1516]

Same boat. I grabbed a membership in December to get the free couple of months, but I am starting to worry they may not make it. The place is always empty when I go in, and their service is not great. I usually don't even get an acknowledgement that I am there from an employee. Actually come to think of the the gunsmith that left was the only guy I usually talk to. He was a nice guy to chat with.

Same, I walked in and not a word from anyone working. Bad first impression.

 

[Gbirk]

I really want them to succeed. They are close to my house, and the range plans seemed great.

 

[Mark_Dorman]

I really want them to succeed. They are close to my house, and the range plans seemed great.

Same here. It's a convenient 8 minute drive between mine and my brother's house and would be great for quick little shooting sessions, ammo testing, etc. I really want them to succeed and do well. They're pouring a lot of money into it so hopefully they make it through the next few months.

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

So . . . no one has gone back to look at the first post in this thread?

 

[Mark_Dorman]

So . . . no one has gone back to look at the first post in this thread?

View attachment 1882577

Not sure what you're getting at aside from they're not longer a paying vendor here. The shop is still open.

 

[kmk1012]

So . . . no one has gone back to look at the first post in this thread?

View attachment 1882577

What, their vendor status expired or the last update was in 2023 to their post?!?

 

[AshWilliams]

@woosterarmory what's the dealio yo?

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

What, their vendor status expired or the last update was in 2023 to their post?!?

Both of those things

 

[kmk1012]

Both of those things

I saw that several days back, hope the business pans out but keeping people in the dark about opening isn't going to help much.

 

[spider]

They look like they are going out of business.

 

[sithc]

Other then window shopping their inventory (normal market price, nothing out of the ordinary to write home about) when they first opened, my only real experience with them was a private transfer as a buyer back on mid January 2024 and it wasn't the best experience. The transfer process itself was fine and fairly smooth and somewhat timely.

What I thought would be a total of $35-40 total transfer fee ended being $55 ($10 + $45) as I was told they just increased their fee that day. Hmm, not great and felt like I got taken advantage of. As I was awaiting my background check to clear (I'm normally an instant approval), seller and several employees were chit-chatting about the rifle I was buying, as the seller seemed to be a regular customer. I noticed up to 3 different employees were fondling, looking over my rifle with interest, racking the bolt etc. like it was theirs to do whatever with. As buyer, it was a little concerning that multiple hands were man-handling my potential rifle that they had no business outside of the one employee I was dealing with for the private transfer.

Like others have said, the couple of visit by me to check out inventory, it was always dead and never an employee at the gun counter to acknowledge you. I too want them to succeed, but something isn't working out and/or fishy going on.

 

[Mark_Dorman]

I have an update at least. I spoke with them today over the phone. First person to answer the phone wasn't the friendliest, but he got me over the Tyler who's managing the gunsmithing stuff and setting up their cerakote business. He was really nice and helpful. Turns out when I spoke to the owner he just didn't recognize the bolt because the handle had already been removed. They're definitely short staffed and trying to get on top of everything. But I felt a little better after talking to them. Tyler said he's trying to find a local gunsmith who can install the new bolt handle so he doesn't have to ship it to the midwest where most of the gunsmiths who specialize in bolt actions he could find are located. So hopefully they can get it done in a timely manner now. It's already been 4 months.

I honestly think the deal with them is they're trying to get the range up and running as that's their main attraction. The gun shop part seems like a secondary business. While I agree they need to work on their customer service, it might just a factor of saving money until they really open. Hard to say though.

I do know they do a lot of their business on the private side with the Asian community. One of the owners showed me/invited me to a giant WhatsApp group they run but forgot to ask if I spoke Chinese first. He definitely said that's where they did most of their business (at least back then - December 2023). I have been there a couple times after on weekends and there have been a decent number of people in the shop looking at guns. I hope for the best but there are definitely plenty of growing pains they need to work through.

 

[Gbirk]

I have an update at least. I spoke with them today over the phone. First person to answer the phone wasn't the friendliest, but he got me over the Tyler who's managing the gunsmithing stuff and setting up their cerakote business. He was really nice and helpful. Turns out when I spoke to the owner he just didn't recognize the bolt because the handle had already been removed. They're definitely short staffed and trying to get on top of everything. But I felt a little better after talking to them. Tyler said he's trying to find a local gunsmith who can install the new bolt handle so he doesn't have to ship it to the midwest where most of the gunsmiths who specialize in bolt actions he could find are located. So hopefully they can get it done in a timely manner now. It's already been 4 months.

I honestly think the deal with them is they're trying to get the range up and running as that's their main attraction. The gun shop part seems like a secondary business. While I agree they need to work on their customer service, it might just a factor of saving money until they really open. Hard to say though.

I do know they do a lot of their business on the private side with the Asian community. One of the owners showed me/invited me to a giant WhatsApp group they run but forgot to ask if I spoke Chinese first. He definitely said that's where they did most of their business (at least back then - December 2023). I have been there a couple times after on weekends and there have been a decent number of people in the shop looking at guns. I hope for the best but thing there are definitely plenty of growing pains they need to work through.

That is good to hear, and I am sure the range is the focus (and largest cost). Just like Threat Dynamics, they have guns to sell and provide services, but they are counting on the range to draw people in.

My father was a builder in Portland for almost 50 years, and I remember thinking to myself that there was no way in he!! they would get the range done by January. Watching my father try to work his way through the permit bureaucracy 20 years ago took ages, and it is even worse now. Getting permits and paying bribes takes a very long time.

 

[spookshack]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-WCFUGCOLLU&pp=ygUjc3RldmUgbWlsbGVyIHRha2UgdGhlIG1vbmV5IGFuZCBydW4%3D

 

[64MercurysRule]

Seems to me they are missing out on keeping this forum updated on their going ons . It is easier to keep the communication momentum going rather than playing catch up or damage control . It's all about relationship .