Bringing a Group to the Range Without Anybody Standing Around
Four people, one afternoon, and nobody is quite sure what it costs or whether the eleven-year-old can come. That is the state most group range plans die in. Here is what actually happens when a group walks through our door, priced from our own posted rates, including the option most people do not know exists for the genuinely nervous friend.
TL;DR
Groups share lanes here. You do not need one per person. The lane is $25 an hour, and each extra shooter on it pays a guest fee: $20 for 18 and up and $15 for 17 and under, so four adults on one lane come to about $85 rather than $100.
Children can shoot from age 8 with a parent or legal guardian present who has signed their waiver, and no one under 18 shoots unaccompanied. Nobody under 12 is left unattended, and a sibling or family friend cannot sign for a minor.
For anyone truly anxious about noise, our video simulator uses no live ammunition at all and takes up to five people at once, starting at $45 for a 30-minute session. It is the single most useful thing on this page for a nervous first-timer, and almost nobody asks about it.
Do You Need a Lane for Everybody?
No, and this is the assumption that makes groups overestimate the cost by double. A group can put several people on one lane and rotate through it, paying a guest fee per extra shooter rather than a second full lane fee.
Only one person shoots at a time anyway. The rest stand back behind the firing line, which is where the coaching, the filming, and the passing around of eye and ear protection happen, and it is a better afternoon than four people in four separate booths shouting at each other.
The practical limit is patience, not a posted cap. Three or four people on one shared lane works comfortably. Push to five or six who all want real trigger time inside an hour, and somebody spends forty minutes waiting, so book a second lane. We have 18 lanes across two bays, nine in each, at 25 yards.
One exception matters. If somebody is bringing an outside instructor to teach your group, that is a formal arrangement with membership and insurance requirements attached, and three or more students means a range has to be scheduled rather than shared. Friends taking turns is not that.
Lanes rent by the hour, never the half hour.
What a Group Actually Costs
very figure a group needs, taken from our
posted lane and rental rates.
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Lane, pistol or rifle | $25 per hour |
| Additional shooter, 18 and up | $20 per hour |
| Additional shooter, 17 and under | $15 per hour |
| Pistol or revolver rental | $15 per hour |
| Rifle rental | $25 per hour |
| Eye protection rental | $3 |
| Ear protection rental | $3 |
| Targets | 1 free per customer per visit, then $2 for 40+ choices |
| Splatterburst targets | $3 small, $4 large |
| First responders and military | 20% off lane fees |
Run that out for real groups on a single shared lane for one hour: two adults come to $45, three adults to $65, and four adults to $85. An adult with one teenager aged 17 or under is $40. Add rentals at $15 a pistol for anyone who does not own one, ammunition on top, and $3 each for eyes and ears if nobody brought their own.
The free target per person is worth knowing about because groups routinely buy targets they did not need to. One each, free, every visit.
Tuesdays are the outlier.
Ladies Day means half off range fees and free rentals, which for a group of women turns a $65 afternoon into something closer to $30 plus ammunition. If your group can move to a Tuesday, move it.
Can Kids Come to the Gun Range?
Yes, from age 8, and the conditions are firmer than most parents expect. A child of 8 or older is welcome to shoot as long as a parent or legal guardian is with them at all times in the range and has signed a waiver for that specific child. Our staff also reserve the right to decide whether a particular child is ready to shoot safely, which is a judgment made in person rather than by age alone.
Three rules trip families up, and all three are worth reading before you plan a cousins-and-nephews outing:
- A sibling cannot sign. Neither can an aunt, a family friend, or an older brother of 19. The waiver for a minor, and for an 18- to 20-year-old, must be signed by a parent or guardian.
- Nobody under 12 is left unattended anywhere in the building.
- No drop-offs. Unaccompanied minors are not allowed unless they are enrolled in a camp or class built for youth.
That last exception is the useful one. Youth programs run on a different footing, and our Top Gun Youth Camp takes ages 9 to 12 while Top Gun Camp covers 13 to 17. Parents are encouraged to stay for camps even where they are not strictly required to.
Two more numbers for families. Anyone 18 or over may shoot unaccompanied and may buy ammunition. Handgun rentals start at 21 unless the renter holds a Texas License to Carry, and rifle rentals start at 18, so a 19-year-old in your group can shoot a rented rifle but not a rented pistol.
What actually works with a younger shooter
Age is the legal question. Readiness is the real one, and it is worth thinking about honestly before you book, because a child who is not ready has a bad time and does not come back.
The practical test is whether they can follow an instruction they do not like, immediately, from an adult who is not you. That is the whole of range safety for a child: the range officer says stop, and they stop, without a discussion. A kid who can do that at 9 will be fine. A kid who cannot do it at 13 is not ready, regardless of how much they want to be.
Start them light and start them short. A 22 rimfire has almost no recoil and a mild report, and twenty minutes of it beats an hour of anything heavier. The goal for a first session is that they leave wanting to come back, which is a much lower bar than most parents set for themselves.
Doubling their hearing protection matters more for children than adults, because the effect described in the next section falls harder on a smaller person who cannot tell you they are uncomfortable until they are already miserable. Foam plugs under the muffs, every time.
And book the quiet part of the day. A weekday morning after school has gone back is a calmer floor than a Saturday afternoon by a wide margin, and a calm floor is most of what a nervous nine-year-old needs.
The Noise Is What Actually Gets People
Recoil is not what unsettles a nervous first-timer. The noise is, and it is worth taking seriously rather than talking somebody out of it.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders puts the safe threshold plainly: sounds at or below 70 A-weighted decibels are unlikely to cause hearing loss even after long exposure, while "long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss". For scale, the same page rates a fireworks show at 140 to 160 dBA and names gunshots among the sounds that can cause immediate damage rather than cumulative damage.
The workplace numbers point the same way. OSHA sets a permissible exposure limit of 90 dBA over an eight-hour day, requires a hearing conservation program from 85 dBA, and uses a five decibel exchange rate, meaning every 5 dBA increase halves the time you can safely be exposed.
None of which is a reason to stay home. It is the reason eye and ear protection is mandatory on our lanes rather than optional, and the reason experienced shooters double up foam plugs underneath earmuffs when they bring somebody new. Somebody who cannot hear the concussion as sharply relaxes faster, and relaxed beginners shoot better and stay longer.
The other thing that works every time: have them stand behind the line with good ear protection on and watch a calm friend shoot a magazine before they ever touch a gun. The noise stops being a surprise, which does more than any amount of encouragement.
The No-Live-Ammo Option Nobody Asks About
Here is the part of this page most worth knowing, and it is barely mentioned anywhere else.
Our 300-degree video simulator uses no live ammunition at all. Five screens, a three-dimensional environment that responds to what you do, up to five people at a time, and modified Glock 17 Gen 4, SIG P320 M17, and Knight's Armament M4 platforms that deliver up to 75% of live-fire recoil, so the handling is genuine while the ammunition is not.
For a group with one genuinely anxious member, a family with younger kids, or a first date where nobody wants to admit they are nervous, that changes the shape of the whole afternoon.
Nobody has to be brave first.
| Session | Up to 3 people | 4 people | 5 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | $45 | $55 | $65 |
| 60 minutes | $80 | $90 | $100 |
Those are the current promotional rates, sitting at roughly half the standard pricing listed beside them. The system is not available at any other range in Texas or the surrounding states.
A pattern worth stealing: half an hour in the simulator, then an hour on a lane. The nervous person arrives at the firing line having already handled the platform, and the confident ones have had their competitive streak fed. It is the smoothest group visit we run.
Birthday Parties, Corporate Groups and Real Events
A rotating lane is one thing. An actual event is a different booking, and we do a lot of them.
We host birthday parties, anniversary parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, corporate events, team-building days and employee appreciation events. The building has two classrooms, the Texas Ranger and the Lone Star, plus retail space that can be taken partially or in full, with a maximum capacity of 200.
The event side comes with catering prep space and running water, an oversized entry for vendor load-in, 60-inch round tables, 36-inch high-boy cocktail tables, and folding chairs. A catering menu is available on request. Packages are built around lane time, rental guns and ammunition as requested, one free target per shooter, and the simulator by the hour, half day or full day.
None of that runs through the front counter. Events are planned with the events team, so if you are organising anything with a guest list rather than a group chat, book a range party in McKinney through the scheduling form rather than turning up and hoping.
The Rules That Catch Groups Out
Most range rules are obvious. These are the ones that surprise a group mid-visit, and knowing them beforehand saves an awkward conversation with a range safety officer.
You cannot rapid-fire until an instructor or a range safety officer has cleared you for it, and the working standard is that you do not shoot faster than you can control with aimed fire. Roughly a second between rounds is the guidance for a controllable rate.
Drawing from a holster also needs approval. Once an officer has watched you do it safely, you are fine, and appendix, cross-body, behind-the-back, and shoulder draws are not permitted regardless. Hip draw from the gun hand only.
Nobody shoots two guns at once.
That one comes up more often than you would think, usually about forty minutes in, usually from the person who was quietest at check-in.
Targets have limits too. You may bring your own, but exploding targets, bleeding targets, and anything that is a lifelike representation of an actual person are all prohibited, and spray adhesive is not allowed anywhere in the building. You may pick up your own brass by hand, though not with range equipment, and only your own.
On ammunition, bring your own for your own guns within the posted restrictions, but rental guns run ammunition bought at our counter without exception. Our guide to what clears our lanes covers the full prohibited list, and it is worth a glance if anyone in your group is bringing something unusual.
How the First Visit Actually Runs
Set expectations in the group chat with this, and nobody will be annoyed on the day.
Get everyone to complete the waiver before arriving. A group of five doing paperwork on clipboards in the lobby is fifteen minutes nobody enjoys.
The first ten minutes on site go to check-in, verifying waivers, picking rentals, buying ammunition and targets, and handing out eye and ear protection. A group of first-timers eats that time, so build it in rather than counting it against your lane hour. Then a short safety orientation at the lane covers the target carrier, muzzle direction, trigger discipline, and the range commands.
The hour itself is the rotation. Put first-timers up first while they are fresh and everyone is still patient, and let the experienced shooters fill the gaps. Remember that Last Mag is called ten minutes before closing, so a 6:45 arrival is not an hour of shooting.
Plan on 90 minutes to two hours in the building for a first group outing even if you only booked one hour of lane time. The extra is check-in, coaching, and the inevitable one more magazine.
Bring photo ID for everyone shooting, closed-toe shoes, and a shirt with a higher neckline, because hot brass down a collar ends somebody's first visit faster than anything else on this page.
Planning Your Group Range Day
One person should own the plan: pick the day, count the shooters, decide who is renting, and buy a little more ammunition than you think. Everything else takes care of itself.
If somebody in the group is nervous, put them on a Tuesday if you can, start them in the simulator, and give them one calm coach rather than four people shouting advice. If you would rather hand the introduction to somebody who does it daily, our training team runs private lessons and a beginner first-timer always has an instructor in the lane regardless.
Groups that come back often eventually work out whether a membership pays for itself, and the Range Buddy tier exists specifically for two friends who shoot together. A one-off outing needs none of that.
No membership is required to shoot here. Bring IDs, bring waivers, and come see us at The Range in McKinney, 415 Industrial Blvd, or call (972) 330-4415, and we will help you size the booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a group share one lane at a gun range?
Yes. Groups regularly put several people on one lane and rotate, paying a guest fee per additional shooter instead of a second lane fee. One person shoots at a time while the rest stand behind the firing line. Three or four people share comfortably; five or six want a second lane.
Can kids go to a gun range?
From age 8 here, with a parent or legal guardian present at all times who has signed that child's waiver. Siblings and other adults cannot sign for a minor; nobody under 12 is left unattended, and drop-offs are not permitted outside youth camps and classes.
How much does a group range day cost?
On one shared lane for an hour: about $45 for two adults, $65 for three, and $85 for four, built from a $25 lane fee plus $20 per additional adult shooter. Rentals are $15 per pistol, eye and ear protection $3 each, and everyone gets one free target.
What is the best way to bring a nervous first-timer to the range?
Start them in the 300-degree simulator, which uses no live ammunition and takes up to five people for $45. On a live lane, double up their hearing protection, let them watch somebody else shoot a magazine first, and give them one calm coach rather than a crowd.
Can you have a birthday party at a gun range?
Yes. We host birthday, anniversary, and bachelor or bachelorette parties alongside corporate and team-building events, with two classrooms, capacity up to 200, catering available, and packages built around lane time, rentals, and simulator sessions. Events are booked through the events team rather than at the counter.
The Range in McKinney
415 Industrial Blvd., McKinney, TX 75069
Tuesday–Saturday 10 a.m.–7 p.m. | Sunday 12 p.m.–6 p.m. | Closed Mondays
