Wooster Armory Indoor Range Pre-Registration

spookshack · May 16, 2024

I got no dog in this fight, but I would not be waiting over 4 months for a gunsmith project to be completed. As for paying upfront for a membership, I'd be looking to get my money back ASAP…..YMMV

SCARed · May 17, 2024

Would not surprise me at all to see them go under, or at least give up on the range and move to a smaller location with just a gunshop. The owner jumped into the deep end of the pool without any solid plans, just a large fantasy of what might be. Didn't have any idea of who's who in the Portland FFL community and who's connected to who. Having that info though, it was pretty easy to see how much BS the owner was spewing at the start of all this.

SCARed · May 17, 2024

Well, give it a couple hours and you hear more info...

I've heard they had a employee meeting a week or two ago and laid everyone off, and were going to close the place. Then, a couple hours later had a second meeting and said they weren't going to lay everyone off, but were going to cut everyone's hours down to only working a day or two a week, and were planning on closing in a short while. I can't say whether any of that is true, but its the latest gossip.
I understand the rent on that location is close to $30k/mo. Obviously there isn't any way they are doing that amount of volume a month.

TTSX · May 17, 2024

Mark_Dorman · May 17, 2024

SCARed said:
Well, give it a couple hours and you hear more info...

I've heard they had a employee meeting a week or two ago and laid everyone off, and were going to close the place. Then, a couple hours later had a second meeting and said they weren't going to lay everyone off, but were going to cut everyone's hours down to only working a day or two a week, and were planning on closing in a short while. I can't say whether any of that is true, but its the latest gossip.
I understand the rent on that location is close to $30k/mo. Obviously there isn't any way they are doing that amount of volume a month.

I wonder if that's what was going on when I called in and got a weird recording saying they weren't taking calls because they were temporarily closed.

I feel very conflicted here. From my conversation with Tyler about the gunsmithing work yesterday, it really didn't sound like they were worrying about closing their doors. They're offering to finish the gunsmithing work at their expense due to the inconvenience it has caused me. If they were really worried about it, you'd think they'd just want to say sorry and give the gun back. They can't exactly keep it or sell it if they close shop and then would be on the hook for returning a firearm they don't own.

Maybe there is some restructuring going on and trying to keep costs down while they finish the range. There is always hearsay in these types of situations. I need to look over my paperwork and see if there is clause in there about the membership fees if they don't open.

spookshack · May 17, 2024

Mark_Dorman said:
I wonder if that's what was going on when I called in and got a weird recording saying they weren't taking calls because they were temporarily closed.

I feel very conflicted here. From my conversation with Tyler about the gunsmithing work yesterday, it really didn't sound like they were worrying about closing their doors. They're offering to finish the gunsmithing work at their expense due to the inconvenience it has caused me. If they were really worried about it, you'd think they'd just want to say sorry and give the gun back. They can't exactly keep it or sell it if they close shop and then would be on the hook for returning a firearm they don't own.

Maybe there is some restructuring going on and trying to keep costs down while they finish the range. There is always hearsay in these types of situations. I need to look over my paperwork and see if there is clause in there about the membership fees if they don't open.

I'd collect my gun now vs trying to figure out how to get it back if things do end up going sideways. There have been more than a few instances here on the forum where members got screwed over and it was a nightmare to get there stuff back. My Spidey senses tell me it's not worth the risk.

spookshack · May 17, 2024

View: https://youtu.be/QoQZ0qmf-mk?si=a_ztWovlxxhUqXjp

Mark_Dorman · May 23, 2024

Update for everyone. Tyler has been very great with communication and found a new smith to finish the work on our rifle. He told me where it's going, approximate turn around time, and they're covering the costs of everything as a way to make amends. This is definitely helping my confidence. I am hopeful that we'll get the rifle back in the next couple months with all the work done plus some extra that they couldn't originally do.

doge_patrol · Jun 7, 2024

Anyone been by there lately to see if the range is coming along? I still see the big "premier indoor range" sign outside every time I drive by. I'm gonna be sad if the range never opens.

Mark_Dorman · Jun 11, 2024

Further update on my adventure. I confirmed yesterday that my action is indeed at the gunsmith in South Dakota and they've started working on it (spoke to them over the phone). Tyler also told me that it was there and he was tracking its progress. He is doing a good job rebuilding my confidence in the company.

Last message he sent said they are still a few months out from their grand opening with the indoor range fully operational, but things are coming along more smoothly now. It sounds like they replaced a lot of their staff so the stories of people getting laid of might have been more restructuring than financial issues. We'll have to wait and see, but when I go in to pick up the rifle in a few weeks I'll take a good look around and see how things are going.

Joe13 · Jun 11, 2024

I thought this Place seemed gawd awful expensive when I saw this originally and now the OP is listed as an expired vendor.

Hope everyone who threw down for pre-sales sees something for it.

AshWilliams · Jun 11, 2024

Mark_Dorman said:
Further update on my adventure. I confirmed yesterday that my action is indeed at the gunsmith in South Dakota and they've started working on it (spoke to them over the phone). Tyler also told me that it was there and he was tracking its progress. He is doing a good job rebuilding my confidence in the company.

Last message he sent said they are still a few months out from their grand opening with the indoor range fully operational, but things are coming along more smoothly now. It sounds like they replaced a lot of their staff so the stories of people getting laid of might have been more restructuring than financial issues. We'll have to wait and see, but when I go in to pick up the rifle in a few weeks I'll take a good look around and see how things are going.

"...said they are still a few months out from their grand opening with the indoor range fully operational..."

That's what they said when they first opened their doors.

Mark_Dorman · Jul 2, 2024

Got another update last week. Looks like the new Bolt Handle has been installed and the bolt is just waiting to get fluted. It should be on it's way book in the next couple weeks. Kind of depends on the gunsmith schedule and work load. But fingers are still crossed it gets done and back safely.

ktgee · Jul 2, 2024

Mark_Dorman said:
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.

Yes, they also cater to the Asian community as they advertise in local Chinese newspapers. They would translate for people who don't understand the laws, gun-buying process, and training. They opened at a time when we were having all these Asian hate attacks and robberies. In my opinion, most Asians don't like guns it would be a hard sell to a market that is very limited in the Portland area. They offered the Chinese man, who was beaten by a piece of wood a few months ago down by the waterfront, a free gun and training. I don't know if the guy took the offer.

They have a good concept with the biggest most modern high-tech shooting range in the Portland area and hoping to corner the market. I believe that the rent is in the tens of thousands. They want to be number one. Unfortunately, in today's economy and market, gun buying is slow all around. Shooting at a range is not cheap, especially paying for expensive membership fees to use the range. Good luck to them.

Mark_Dorman · Jul 2, 2024

ktgee said:
They have a good concept with the biggest most modern high-tech shooting range in the Portland area and hoping to corner the market. I believe that the rent is in the tens of thousands. They want to be number one. Unfortunately, in today's economy and market, gun buying is slow all around. Shooting at a range is not cheap, especially paying for expensive membership fees to use the range. Good luck to them.

I agree it's a good concept. It is on the expensive side, but we may be underestimating the number of people who are in the market for such a range (and have the disposable income to spend on it). The waiting list to get into Tri-County is over a year long and they have over 5000 members (might be over 6000, I can't recall). If they can sell half that amount of memberships for the same rate (~$250/yr) that's over $600k/yr alone. Granted, it isn't a giant gun range, but it's also much closer to the major metro areas and indoors.

AshWilliams · Jul 2, 2024

ktgee said:
Yes, they also cater to the Asian community as they advertise in local Chinese newspapers. They would translate for people who don't understand the laws, gun-buying process, and training. They opened at a time when we were having all these Asian hate attacks and robberies. In my opinion, most Asians don't like guns it would be a hard sell to a market that is very limited in the Portland area. They offered the Chinese man, who was beaten by a piece of wood a few months ago down by the waterfront, a free gun and training. I don't know if the guy took the offer.

They have a good concept with the biggest most modern high-tech shooting range in the Portland area and hoping to corner the market. I believe that the rent is in the tens of thousands. They want to be number one. Unfortunately, in today's economy and market, gun buying is slow all around. Shooting at a range is not cheap, especially paying for expensive membership fees to use the range. Good luck to them.

If you think it's slow now just wait until Measure 114 is upheld.