K2 Firearms Training Center Inc.

[ifixphns]

www.k2ftc.com
7860 West Jewell Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80232
303.989.8600

I'm sure some of you suburbanites remember the old indoor shooting range behind King Soopers on Jewell and Wadsworth. That dingy hole has been closed for some time now, but a Phoenix has risen from the ashes.

A brand new, modern facility stands in it's place. There's both a shop, and clean, well lit lanes downstairs. You no longer have to shoot shop ammo (just no reloads or steel core). There are 4 benchrest only rifle lanes out to 100 yds (you can fire calibers up to .50BMG!). There are also plenty of pistol lanes (where you can also shoot your rifle offhand). Nobody stands over your shoulder counting how fast you rapid-fire, or making sure you have 1 second intervals between your shots. All they ask is you don't shoot the target track rails. The range staff is attentive and professional. There are a variety of targets on hand for purchase, or bring your own.

The shop upstairs from the range is also clean, and well stocked. K2 carries Glock, Sig, S&W, Ruger, HK, Springfield, CZ, Walther, Winchester, and Remington firearms. To complement thier firearm selection, K2 stocks holsters, bags, cleaning supplies, magazines, ammo, and some accessories. They are also a stocking Surefire dealer. While the marked prices aren't the best, a little fenagling will usually get the prices dropped (dont' expect gun show deals). K2 is not a consignment shop, so don't expect to see a lot of used guns. There is a nice custom .45 1911 from Andy Anderson's Custom Guns under the glass, though.

Overall, I like the shop, staff, and environment at K2. Everyone is greeted with a smile and a hello as they walk in the door. It's a great local place to get sighted in, punch paper, and shoot the breeze. Oh, they also offer classes from some of the leaders in firearms training. Look 'em up, or drop by and say hello.

[Marlin]

"Dingy Hole" You were kinder than I would have been. I went in there once about a month or so before they closed, just to look around, I could have sworn that I heard "Dueling Banjo's" start up. :shock:

Glad to hear that it has been much improved.

[sticksman]

Good reveiw, I'm in there about twice a month. I like the fact I can breath while i'm shooting

[NickB]

I visited K2 a couple times a month during the summer, and even purchased my first Bushmaster AR from them 6-8 months ago.

Their staff is very friendly, always willing to help, but I must admit, they are not always the most knowledgable bunch. They seem to hire a new person every time I go in, but like the rest, they always seem to be very nice and helpful. The two owners (I forget their names) are very knowledgable, and incredibly helpful. I was having problems sighting in my first AR, and the owner personally helped me get started, and let me use his spotting scope for a couple hours without hesitation. By far the best service I've ever experienced at a gun shop.

The prices on their guns are a shade high. Sportsman's Warehouse listed my Bushmaster A3 w/ 16" HBAR at around $850, but K2 had it listed at a shade over $1000. After a bit of haggling, we agreed on around $900. It was still more than I wanted to pay, but the service is well worth the extra $50. One of the nicest things about their staff is they are just like us. When you ask about a railed forearm, a Hogue grip, or some other "tactical" part, they don't look at you like you're Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold.

I have yet to go through one of their training courses, but assuming they offer a CCW class, I'll probably take that sometime within the next 12 months.

All in all, they are by FAR my favorite gun shop!

[HunterCO]

I was one of the first to get a VIP membership. First off they did not follow through with what they said they would. They don't allow reloads and everybody I have ever sent thier came back with a negative attitude about the place.

Those of you who bought guns from them should really shop around they are so over priced I can't even believe they sold even a single gun.

It is one of the best indoor shooting ranges in the country but unfortunatley it is a joke in my opinion I will head for the hills when I need to shoot.

[Jay Kominek]

From listening to the employees talk, it sounds like they've got a couple of people who are ex-LE/military, and some people that are just out of high school. IMO you can sort of tell by looking.

I looked at their gun prices for a minute, and it didn't take me a calculator to figure out that Jensen's is a lot cheaper. (Closer to me, too.)

[NickB]

From listening to the employees talk, it sounds like they've got a couple of people who are ex-LE/military, and some people that are just out of high school. IMO you can sort of tell by looking.

I looked at their gun prices for a minute, and it didn't take me a calculator to figure out that Jensen's is a lot cheaper. (Closer to me, too.)

You hit the nail on the head there. A couple of the guys are great, but the majority don't know a whole lot. I'm not sure what their qualifications are for hiring someone, but it seems to me that the owner just hires people he knows and kids of his friends. I'm not sure what the deal is...

[mr_dove]

K2 seems to be in danger of closing. I got an e-mail from an instructor there saying as much.

I sent my wife down there to shoot her new Para CCW this weekend. There are a few signs of financial distress.

• ranges fees have increased (pistol is now $15)
  hours have been reduced (they are now temporarily closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)

I've only been to this range twice. The price is a tad high but I have to say that we can't afford to lose another pistol range in town. Try to make an effort to visit the range so they can stay in business for us.

[cheapo]

Didn't they only reopen this year? Something must have drastically gone wrong. Planning? Budget? a "build it and they will come" business plan?

[HunterCO]

Here is the problems I see with K2 and the reason I am surprised it has remained open this long. The range opened in march of 04 so it has been about a year and a half.

1. Their hours suck. People have to work they cant come in during the day. When it was foothills shooting center it was open untill 9 pm during the week. I know it was a dungeon back then but I damn near lived there and shot all the time after work.

2. Can't shoot reloads. Let's face it avid hunters like my self reload I can load much more accurate ammo than what I can buy at the store. I can also load target ammo for much cheaper wich allows me to shoot more.

3. They have VIP membership and don't give members anything for it other than reduced range fee's. I bought a membership before the place even opened and they failed to give me anything they promissed. For this reason I let my member ship go and did not renew it. They originally planned to have only 5000 VIP memberships at 250 per year and last I heard it's up to 350 you do the math that is alot of cash. They spent 1.5 million remodeling the place and that would have got them there investment back. Problem is to make it worth paying for the VIP you would have to shoot there one hell of a lot to make it worth it. For these reasons as well as the others I'm pointing out the VIP membership plan has failed.

4. Their prices. The prices they have on guns is assnine and only an idiot would pay those prices for a gun. You can go down the road not a mile to Green Mountain Guns and save yourself a whole lot of money.

5. They change hours and days they are open like a woman changes her mind. You cant run a business when people cant depend on you. If you say your going to be open on these days and hours you damn well better be.

6. When they first opened they had a staff of top notch people with great knowledge base. All those people are gone and they have nothing but young kids who don't know shit. The reason they probably had to let all the good people they had go is because business did not meet the planned expectations for the reasons I have stated.

Bottom line is this the facility is great it is by far one of the best indoor ranges in the country. I like Ken the owner he is a great guy but he does not have a damn clue how to run a business. The place needs somebody that can run a business to save it. They need to change the hours, lower the prices on guns, give people with VIP's what they promised, allow reloads just check to make sure they are not steel core and have the place open during the posted business hours period hell or high water.

Unless these changes are made the place is going to belly up I gaurentee it.