DCF Guns Range report

[TheGrey]

I'd like to report on my experience with the indoor range at DCF Guns in Castle Rock.

I booked a lane a few days in advance. I explained that the lane would be used by myself and another person, and our Firearms Instructor would be there as well. I explained that we were taking our concealed carry class, and we would be using rifle, shotgun and pistol, but the instructor would be giving us one-on-one time with each firearm, so we would only require one lane. Although their booking program only allows them to reserve lanes two days out, they wrote my information down and told me they would make sure there was a lane available.

Today we all went to DCF Guns for our range time, after four hours of classroom instruction. The place was pretty busy, but the atmosphere was professional and friendly. There were families in the store.

The range had my lane all ready, although I was told that I should have informed the owner that I was having a Firearm Instructor there, so they could have made arrangements. They followed that up by letting me know it wasn't a problem, so if anyone else is planning on using DCF Guns for their range time in conjunction with their firearms class, be sure to let the owner know. They welcomed us and checked us in.

They provide hearing and eye protection if you don't have any. I also overheard that they will be offering gun rentals soon.

Despite it being busy, both customers and workers were polite and friendly. The range itself is terrific; there are cameras that keep an eye on everyone that you can watch by the range counter so you can see available lanes. You are able to use rifles, shotguns and handguns, with a few restrictions. There is a Range Master in the range at all times, and I saw him help several people during the time I was there. He also kept the area behind the line swept clean of brass. The temperature was very comfortable.

In the lanes on either side of me, there were families teaching their children gun safety. There were two older gentlemen that were taking a concealed carry class offered through DCF. There was another family (Grandma, parents, and kids) all sharing a lane and cheering each other on as they practiced on a deer-zombie target.

My .357 wasn't working right, for some reason. That could have been a disaster...but all I did was walk it out of the range and into the store, where the on-site gunsmith had it fixed within ten minutes.

How about that?I was back to shooting in 15 minutes, tops.

This is a terrific indoor range. I am so very glad to have a membership here! If you haven't had a chance to check this range out, I suggest you do so. I don't think you'll regret it.

[TheGrey]

Remember my review from the beginning of February? Well, forget it.

I’m actually pretty upset. It was MY word that brought in three additional clients that became members at DCF guns, based on my enthusiastic report. All of the people I brought in were work colleagues and friends. Now I’m the one with egg on my face, because they took me at my word that this place was solid.

In the past two months, I have gone into DCF guns no less than five times and been completely ignored. I don’t mean, “Hi! We’ll be with you as soon as we can, but you can see we’re pretty busy.” I mean, the workers won’t even make eye contact. I wish I had not given a good review in the beginning of February. I take it all back.

I brought my boss in during lunch hour at the end of February. For once, it wasn’t very busy - there were six people in the entire store. We stood there for 45 minutes, watching three people behind the counter have nice long chats about the merits of this gun over that gun with customers and each other, before one of them deigned to say to us, “We’ll be with you in a minute.” By that time, lunch hour was done and we had no more time to stand around.

I went there last month with one of my other friends. I was excited to show him the nice indoor range, but the blond guy working behind the range counter had such a snotty attitude that my enthusiasm was tempered by my friends’ humiliation. It was an unpleasant transaction all around. We left after about twenty minutes because we were both so angry that it was no longer fun.

My other friend had emailed DCF guns a couple of times in the hopes of finding out more information about gun classes than what was on the website. There was no response to her emails. She, too, tried to go into DCF to speak with someone in person about gun classes and benefits to her membership (members are supposed to receive a tshirt, membership card, and other perks. We haven’t received a thing.) After not being even acknowledged on three separate occasions, she left in disgust. She wrote a letter and mailed it to them, requesting to cancel her membership. She received a very snotty email back, declaring that it is DCF’s policy to have good customer service and that she should contact them when incidents like that occur. Apparently, because it is DCF’s policy, those incidents never occurred.

This email actually scolded her for stating her dissatisfaction, and made it seem as though it were her fault. To add insult to injury, the email went on to declare that she signed a yearly contract, and that they were going to hold her to it. She gets to pay over $1000 for this treatment. I was very embarrassed, because I'd encouraged her to join this gun club.

There was no apology in this email, no “what can we do to make this better,” nothing acknowledging her complaint, NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ALL. This email had all the charm of an eighth-grader justifying how they were right and she was wrong. Nice, huh?

My friends and I aren't looking for special treatment - we're just looking for basic customer service. You know, the kind that recognizes you as a customer.

I will certainly make sure that all of my friends and fellow gun enthusiasts know what to expect from DCF.

[sroz]

Sorry to hear about your experiences. Have you looked into the Firing Line in Aurora? Single membership is $125/year with some small admin fee the first year only. Family membership is not much more. No monthly maintenance fee, but you do have to pay $7 +tax per visit with no time limit. Handgun & .22 rifle only. I'm sure it's not as nice a DCF, but at least the cost of abuse is much less. I'm always abused when I walk in, but I deserve it. Sneakerd works there and can provide more info.

[TheGrey]

Some of our friends have used Firing Line. I didn't know that there was no monthly maintenance fee- that's really nice! It's a shame that it's just handgun and .22 rifle only, but I'm also realizing that a modicum of customer service holds a lot of weight. We could probably limp along within those parameters.

I'll add Firing Line to the ranges for consideration. We are DEFINITELY leaving DCF Guns.

Thank you for the suggestion! I appreciate it.

[ray1970]

I'll stick to my private ranges. Don't have to deal with anyone or reserve anything, and can shoot any day or time I want. Doesn't even break my budget paying the $65 a year for membership. Sure, I have to drive a bit to get there but it's a small price to pay.

[Webphisher]

I had similar treatment at Firing Line. Bought a pistol there, then when I informed the guy I had never shot a pistol and asked what I needed to know, all he would say is "the range is back there" and point behind him. I went twice and felt like I had black lung every time I left. And a gun store that doesnt allow conceal carry with permit doesnt make much sense to me. Id suggest checking out BluCore Shooting Center. Its a drive for me but worth it. $350 for a membership gets me reservations and NO lane fees. Along with some other perks listed on their website. You can shoot most things there. Pistols, shotguns, rifles up to .50 BMG. 100yard indoor rifle range.

[sneakerd]

I'm gonna call BS on this one. NOBODY working there now would do that. When people come in and say stuff like that- we're not likely to direct you to the range, because you're not safe. We're immediately going to suggest that you take a class. Unfortunately we don't have instructors who are there simply to instruct. If we're not busy, most us are ability-qualified to teach, but may not have the shingle. There are huge liability issues at a pistol range when an employee takes on the responsibility of "teaching". ALSO- concealed carry is absolutely fine as long as you don't display it (keep it concealed) or want to show it to us or another customer. There's a sign on the FRONT DOOR explaining our policy. Pull a loaded gun in a gunshop and you're likely to have one pulled on you. People who are carrying regularly want to pull their pistol to show it to you or try on another holster. So we are extremely strict about that. Another perk over BlueCore, FL's member discount on stuff is 20%, at Bluecore it's 5%. FL has a Ladies DAY. Bluecore has Ladies NIGHT. Beyond any of that no one should simply buy a pistol when they have never shot one. Not overly........ intelligent. Don't buy a car before you learn to drive..... right?

[sroz]

Yep. I CC at the FL all the time. Btw, I've recommended BC to several friends for rifle. Not into knocking anyone down. Just suggesting options.

[sneakerd]

Bluecore has the only indoor 100 yard rifle-range around that I know of. The owner is a true stud. They have a fantastic state-of-the-art filtration system. Good for them. Everyplace has it's niche.

[spleify]

Wow, sorry to hear you had such a bad experience at DCF Guns TheGrey, I was only in there once and it seemed "OK" but that was back in November or December(Cant remember exactly when).

Please let me know if your friends are still looking to get some firearms training or if they would like to take our CCW class and we will take very good care of them I assure you of that.