Review of the Georgia Gun Club

[wiseguy]

I had a chance today to attend a vendor presentation for some technology products that was being hosted at the Georgia Gun Club.  I will skip the vendor stuff and get to the review of the range. 
The Georgia Gun Club is located in Gwinnett County off Braselton HWY.  Not too far from the mall of Georgia.  http://georgiagunclub.com/
First let me say this place is impressive.  It’s big, and its clean.  We all have been to that seedy gun shop in the old part of town where the dust probably hasn’t been cleaned off of anything in the last 20 years.  The Georgia Gun Club is not that type of shop.  It hosts three different ranges (two pistol and one rifle).  They generally open one pistol range and the rifle range during the day. 
The rifle range goes out to 100 yards.  So you can shoot out to a football field in length.  They even will let you shoot large calibers up to the .50 BMG. 
Target systems are touch screen electronic and you can set your range.  They even have target turning options and timers built in.  Very cool features.
This is a modern indoor gun range with extra clean air filtering.  There wasn’t any smoke from anyone shooting. It all filters out quickly.  You are not coming home blowing black junk out of your noise from the gun smoke.  (still miss the smell of cordite….) 
This range even has a separate sink for washing with special lead removal soap. 
The range also offers a pistol target simulator for practicing your reactions to real life scenarios….oh and if you want to dive into some fantasy, there are zombies and space aliens. 
All this comes at a price.  The range prices are higher than most in the Gwinnett area.  But its CLEAN.  My wife hates a dirty range and she would be at home here.  Its 18.00 per hour for the pistol range and 25.00 per hour for the rifle range.  (did I mention 100 yards…INSIDE and AC)  Second person on each line is at a reduced price. 
The Georgia Gun Club also has a very impressive selection of rental guns.  I shot a Springfield M1A, but they have bolt action 308’s, AR’s, an FN SCAR rifle, and all sorts of pistols.  They even have a bolt action suppressed 50 cal BMG that they will rent you…. The BMG is $10.00 per shot!!!  (But you know you want to cross it off your bucket list. 
The other option if you are so inclined is to become a member.  Sort of like becoming a member of a health club, but this is a pistol and rifle packing club.  The cost of membership runs from $299.95 for current or retired military and LE, 499.95 for normal individuals, 599.95 for families, and there is a “founding member”  that is $2000.00.  (WHY so high… I can’t see a big difference in benefits).  With all the memberships, you can add a second person for $100.00. (except for the family…which already covers immediate family.) http://georgiagunclub.com/membership/
The club occasionally offers special membership options.  There is a “Summer” 90 day special for $90.00 for example. 
The membership basically gets you unlimited range time, unlimited gun rentals (they ask that you use their ammo in the rental guns), discounts on ammo, guns, gunsmith, etc.
The down side from my point of view is they are limited in what they have displayed as it relates to accessories, and ammo.  The firearms for sale seem very reasonable selection, but I would have liked to have seen more options in optics, bulk ammo, holsters, cleaning gear, etc.  They certainly have some accessories, but not as many as I have seen in other shops.   
So if you want a really clean place to shoot, I would highly recommend the Georgia Gun Club.  I think as a retired LE, I might go for the membership, but it’s still a stretch considering the last time I went to a range was last year, and like a gym membership, a lot of people sign up and never use it.  I wouldn’t want that to be true with a gun range membership. 

[Lilburner]

It IS a nice place. I attended an Appleseed there.

I'd love a membership, but its just SOOOO expensive. There are always free coupons for the range in Lilburn, and I always get free passes from the owner, so I'm set for life on pistol. So it would take me 20 trips, almost two a month to break even on a membership at the rifle range (I'm not a big renter). Also it's not terribly convenient to me.

Is the LE membership for family? I could pitch in if you adopt me.

I need to head up there regardless in the coming weeks. I love going to Wilson Shoals for effectively free, but it's only 85 yards and I need to sight in some rifles to precise distance.

[wiseguy]

The LE membership is only for the LE.  If you add a second person its $100.00.  But members do get free passes. 

I like the Mainstreet Guns in Lilburn.  I think that's the range you are talking about.  I need to see how to get free or cheap passes there....Maybe I could get a hookup.   

Having that precise range at the Georgia Gun Club is great for zeroing in a rifle.  Takes the wind out of the equation and gets you on target.  I have several that need to be zeroed, and will probably spend a few hours there zeroing in some of my babies. 

[Lilburner]

There is a magazine called "Our Town" that for the last year or so has had a free range coupon in it. There wasn't one this month, and I hope that's not a sign of things to come. It's a free magazine, too, and sometimes they even have a stack of them right in the store.

Another way to get free passes is to spend what some would call an "insane amount of money" there. Not that I do that or anything. Frankly their prices aren't that great unless you go in about every two days and catch the occasional ridiculously undervalued used guns from trades. But do that enough times and it adds up. And sometimes they're pretty competitive, and they say they match prices until I come in there with ridiculous deals I've unearthed, so I quit bothering them with that. Although they did once knock $100 off a gun to match Academy. Also, when shopping new, check out their website. A lot of things on there are competitive (Ruger Charger comes to mind) that you can get basically like buying online, but without shipping or transfer fees.

I used to have a membership, but I didn't renew. The good thing about living close by and being able to go at odd hours, is I can be real particular about when I go. My biggest criticism is their love of Groupons which can really pack the place with unskilled shooters. I like to go when there are as few people as possible and I always take a rifle so I can avoid the handgun side (you can shoot handguns on the rifle side). As often as not I have the rifle range to myself.