Shooters Station Conroe, TX Range Review

[Tejano Scott]

Shooters Station
13748 Highway 105 West
Conroe, TX 77304
Phone: 936-588-3333
Fax: 936-588-3338
Firearms Store and Indoor Shooting Range Conroe, TX
General Info
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Cost: $15.00 per person/per hour ($3 off law enforcement, $5 off for active military). ​

Facilities: Great parking. Handicapped accessible. 24 individual shooting bays. 12 have 100 yard capability. Shoot calibers up to 338 Lapua. Climate Controlled. Brand new construction on the 100 yard lanes, extremely clean. Each 100 yard land came with a video monitor to show your target at 100 yards. Spotting scopes available for shorter distances. Each lane has a built in shelf to hold you guns/accessories while standing. The shelf will fold away and allow for a bench if you prefer to shoot benchrest. The lanes were spacious and there was ample space in the back for people/gear. They need rifle racks to secure excess weapons while not being used, but I predict that will be a matter of time. The waiting room has a window that allows you to view the range. The waiting room is stocked with HD TVs, plush leather couches, pool table, pinball machines, etc. Very well stocked pro-shop with lots of guns, gear, safes, etc. This place is set up to be a man's dream(all it lacks is bikini clad babes serving you grapes)!

Staff: Very friendly. The Store Manager is Madd Mike, he will be glad to help you out with anything. Rainman(aka Todd) oversees the range check in, etc. Brandon is the sales manager. Guy is the Rangemaster, former military and extremely friendly and safety conscious. I also got to meet Chris, one of the guys behind the counter- very nice and more than willing to help. The last time I visited Shooter Station(more than a year ago), I had a negative customer service experience. Clearly, they have cleaned house up here. Everyone went out of their way to proactively assist us with any questions we had about guns/gear. You can tell these guys are proud of their facilities and eager to enhance the customer experience.

OPINION:

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I give this range an A+. It's seriously one of the nicest places I have ever been to. They have invested significant money into building a truly state of the art range. They are still learning how to dial in the Air Conditioner system, but they have units capable of keeping the range very cool. If you have a mini fan, I would still recommend bringing it since a steady breeze in the face is always a nice way to cool down.

Check in procedure. No cased firearms are allowed into the store. Guns must be brought in action open/muzzle DOWN. They are very serious about patrolling the kinds of ammo used. They are not unlike most/all indoor ranges in terms of not allowing armor piercing, tracer, incendiary, steel jacketed and steel core bullets. However, unlike some ranges they WILL want to inspect all ammo that is being brought into the range. So they will ask to inspect your range bag for the type of ammo you are using and to make sure prohibited ammo is not being brought back into the range. This sounds like a hassle, but they were very fast and friendly with their inspection. With as much money as they have invested in their facilities, I can understand their strict enforcement of this policy. If I believed people were capable of following simple rules, then I'd say this was uncalled for. Sadly, we all know that's not the case.

The facilities are just nothing short of amazing. HD TV's, couches, pool tables, pin ball machines, cold drinks available, etc. The facility is just truly awesome, no other way to describe it. The ranges are divided into different rooms. The division of ranges into separate rooms really lends itself well to corporate events/birthday parties/TGT range days since you can have the feeling of a range "all to yourself". If they are smart, they will aggressively market that group of clientele. We shot in one of the 100 yard ranges that had 6 lanes. There was plenty of room behind the firing line for gear, etc. My only wish is that they had some type of rack to hold long guns while they are not on the line.

NFA items are still a very new animal to them, which is not uncommon per se for gun ranges. No full auto, but suppressors and SBRs are allowed. I've never personally had a range ask to see my ATF paperwork. I can tell this place really wanted to do that. They asked Chuck, Chuck basically said no and wasn't pushed. I spoke with their Range Master named Guy, he was extremely friendly/professional and VERY familiar with the NFA process. He assured me they aren't looking to make copies of anyone's paperwork, etc. But he did remind me that the ATF does make periodic inspections at businesses such as this and they want all of their shooters to be in compliance. We left this as kind of an open issue. I plan on talking with them some more. I think they will eventually see that NFA stuff is so common today that it's just pointless to force people to prove legal ownership/possession.

I like the current staff they have here. They are all pretty geared towards the customer. Its refreshing seeing people so excited about their facilities, and these guys definitely have a lot to be proud about. The staff is also very Texas Gun Talk-friendly, so be sure to mention us when you go see them. Ask for Madd Mike and Rainman, introduce yourself.

Not much else to say, here are the pics and videos from today. Forgive my crappy iPhone pics.​

PICTURES:​

 

[Tejano Scott]

Shot some of the best 50 & 100 yard groups to date out of my Anschutz. 10 shot dimes at 50 yards. A few decent 100 yard groups, I have to hold over approx 7 inches at 100.

 

[Tejano Scott]

And yes, we met the infamous Rainman!

 

[Sugar Land]

Very nice review Scott. I agree with your conclusions. Very professional and helpful. They seemed to go that extra mile to make sure your visit is pleasant. I can see myself visiting on a regular basis. It is about 40 miles from my house but is well worth the drive instead of being outside baking. Thank you for the autograph Rainman. I will put it in the safe along with my Chuck Noris.

 

[Tejano Scott]

And btw, Madd Mike and Rainman are both members of our forum.

 

[Radioman93]

Uhm so just to clarify one question your review brought up. You have to uncase all long arms and carry them in actions open. So no multi rifle cases with tools and other range needs in them? Or am I misunderstanding what was said? Also no pistol cases to carry in multiple pistols?

Radioman

 

[TundraWookiee]

As I said earlier on the phone, this place looks nice. Nicer than any range I have ever been to personally at least. I look forward to my first visit.

There are a few things I take issue with. While it may be normal for some ranges to require uncasing before entering, this is just a pain. During our last range day at SGA it was difficult enough to carry everything and that was just carrying my range bag, 2 rifle bag, and camera bag. Trying to hold on to uncased firearms while carrying ammo and any other necessities just seems like a real hassle unless you're only bringing a single gun.

The other minor issue is the approach to handling NFA items. I realize they're just trying to cover their ass but its really not necessary as I don't see how they could be liable. Ranges aren't liable if a felon shows up with an illegally obtained firearm to shoot and are not required to run background checks on patrons before renting out guns. If they wanted the added peace of mind it would be as simple as adding a section to the standard waiver that all ranges require. The waiver could simply state that by signing you are agreeing to the range terms and that if you are in possession of any NFA items, you also possess the necessary stamp or paperwork. That way the shooter is not required to show their paperwork and the range can rest easier knowing they covered that angle.

 

[TXARGUY]

Been there. It's very nice. I just realized that I've met rainman too. I just didn't know it because at the time I wasn't a member here.

 

[Tejano Scott]

They let me bring in pistol case. I believe they want rifles uncased. They might still allow u to bring in case as well, they allow range bags. They are not going to jump your ass. If you have any questions, just walk in and ask for Mike, Todd, Or Guy.

 

[Sugar Land]

Hey Jared. You do not have to bring in your guns in one trip.

 

[TundraWookiee]

Hey Jared. You do not have to bring in your guns in one trip.

I figured as much but I'm not fond of leaving guns unattended at all, much less uncased. I may just end up limiting the number of guns I bring the first time.

 

[Tejano Scott]

Its less of a pain in the ass than it sounds.

 

[Sugar Land]

I agree.

 

[benenglish]

Interesting. I've been there several times and this looks like a gigantic improvement. I'm looking forward to trying the place. I'm assuming the target market for the 100-yard indoor rifle range is the mass of hunters who need to sight in prior to deer season and the facilities look adequate for that. They're certainly cooler than sitting outside, in the heat, walking your targets downrange.

Two questions -

Are there any left-hand rifle benches?

Since it's pretty clear that any target at 100 yards is liable to catch bullets from any pistol shooter in the next couple of lanes, how bad is the crossfire problem?

 

[Sugar Land]

I did not see any left handed lanes on the side we were on but then again I was not looking either..

I would guess that crossfire could happen pretty easy between lanes. We will just have to be careful...

 

[Bily Lovec]

it is a good range, I was one of their early members when they opened.

I havent been since Ben left, I moved south.

 

[alexrex20]

Facilities look awesome! I might swing by there today just to check them out.

 

[Tejano Scott]

Interesting. I've been there several times and this looks like a gigantic improvement. I'm looking forward to trying the place. I'm assuming the target market for the 100-yard indoor rifle range is the mass of hunters who need to sight in prior to deer season and the facilities look adequate for that. They're certainly cooler than sitting outside, in the heat, walking your targets downrange.

Two questions -

Are there any left-hand rifle benches?

Since it's pretty clear that any target at 100 yards is liable to catch bullets from any pistol shooter in the next couple of lanes, how bad is the crossfire problem?

If I remember correctly, one of the 100 yard rooms was bench only and had 6 ambi-dexterous benches. I think that's right, my memory is just a bit hazy.

Crossfire seems like it would be kept to a minimum. There are only 6 lanes per room. The lanes are very spaced out. Not going to say it can't happen. But it would require a healthy mix of luck and bad shooting.

 

[Tejano Scott]

Facilities look awesome! I might swing by there today just to check them out.

They damn sure are. Make sure you tell them you're with TGT. Ask for Mike and Rainman, introduce yourself. Nice guys.

 

[Tomservo92]

I haven't been to SS in quite some time (one of the range officers was rude to my wife) but the facilities look great. I may have to go back without her some time check it out.