The Pros: Anyone can walk in and fire a gun of any type.
The Cons: Anyone can walk in and fire a gun of any type.
First time shooter here. I had taken a intro to shooting class from a 3rd party instructor and then we came here to take my first shots. The instructor provided the guns and ammo.
This place has everyone from first timers to very experienced. The people working the counter are friendly and knowledgeable. There are a ton of guns that you can demo/rent and the pricing seemed fair and nothing was overly expensive. The range time was affordable, the rental guns were affordable and the ammo was decent.
I had taken a class because I wanted to make sure I was properly handling the gun, knew the functions inside and out and what to do if the unexpected happened like a jam or misfire. I also had the instructor guiding me and standing right over my shoulder giving feedback. I started with a .22 and moved my way up to larger calibers as I got used to each one. This I felt comfortable with.
However, the other people shooting in the range, not so much.
On one side of me were kids (like 12 and under) firing something in the .40-.45 range. Yes there was someone with them assisting, but listening to the kids fire off a round and scream from the recoil and then go running away was a bit unnerving.
On the other side of me was someone that picked up a military grade gun from the demo counter with about 30 seconds of instruction.
Keep in mind that you are only a few feet apart with a piece of wood between the lanes that isn't going to stop anything shot in the wrong direction. This was probably the most unnerving part. Me handling the gun was easy. Me worrying about how the others were handling the guns, not so much.
In short, would I do it again, YES! It was a blast and it's an incredible feeling to fire off some rounds. I do wish that you were required to have some sort of a basic (even if very basic) intro course before being allowed to shoot on your own. Best advice from my instructor, there is nothing you can fix by looking down the barrel of a gun. Ha!