High cost of renting a gun you are considering buying.

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Playboypenguin

Moderator
Man, I had never realized how expensive it is to rent a gun you are thinking of buying. Another member just brought up the topic in another thread and I said it is much cheaper to just find a friend that has the gun and shoot theirs. I say that because a friend of mine wanted to buy a certain model Glock a couple months ago and I went with him to the rental range. I will not say the range name since I do not like to slam small businesses but I will say it was surprisingly expensive.

It seems only a couple places in PDX rented the gun he wanted and they all required you shoot their ammo in rental guns. By the time he paid for the range fee, rental fee, and their ammo he was into the gun about $85 before even buying it. The gun he was looking at costs less than $500 normally so that was almost 20% of the total cost of the gun. That is outrageous to me.
 
When I started shooting (I'm not that old) nobody had EVER heard of ANYONE renting handguns. Or maybe I just didn't get out much. I think it's a helluva idea, and I would think that it would help generate (or even just push along) some sales, so I'd like to see them go a bit cheaper.

Yep, they do require that you shoot their ammo, but I can't say I blame 'em on that one.

As for costs, most of the places around here require that you obviously buy range time and buy their ammo for use in a rented gun, but I think they go for about $10 an hour. One of the nicer ranges in my area may even forward the rental fee toward a firearm purchase if made the same day.
 
Thats a tad high,heres my local prices.

Range fee- $10 for 30 minutes or $23 all day
Gun rental- $10
Their ammo- $20 since most that should cover 50 rounds of about any target ammo.
So $40-$53 +tax

Now one place which i havent shot at yet but went and looked at their inventory offered to let me shoot the gun and they would reimburse the gun rental and range fee,and id just buy the ammo if i bought the gun.
Too bad they are sooo far from me,almost a 1.5 hour drive to that range.

Maybe your bud could have asked for a deal like that?
 
I am a member of a local club that cost $40 a year.I would really have to be undecided on a pistol before I laid out any money for gun rental as I've never
rented one.Laying out club dues was hard to swallow as I grew up where there
nothing but gravel pits and the old State Police Range.Like anything when it's a
good deal you always have 10-15% that screw it up for the rest of us ! I remember recycling brass shells from 38,357 rounds for the brass that paid big bucks in the late 60's and early 70's.It took 16 38wadcutters to make a pound.
we made spending money.
 
I'm pretty new to shooting and have only been to one range a handful of times or so.
I pay:
$10/hour per lane.
$12/rental, you can change which gun as many times as you want.
and you gotta buy their ammo.
One of the guys, who always remembers my dad and I, usually gives us a deal on one thing or another.
 
You are mixing up renting the gun with the expense of going to the range. Most rentals go for $10-$15 which is cheap if you are considering buying one. The range fee and ammo costs are part of going to the range. Yes, you can save money if you reload but you always have to use their ammo because they don't know how well you reload and how much "punch" you put in the ammo. So, if it's $15 to rent a gun, that's the cost, not $85. With your own gun you'd still have the range fee, cost of ammo and targets. It's not fair to say that's part of the rental fee. $15 plus the additional ammo cost (if you reload) seems pretty cheap to see if you want to spend $500+ on a gun you may not like.
 
$15 plus the additional ammo cost (if you reload) seems pretty cheap to see if you want to spend $500+ on a gun you may not like.
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I must say I agree.
A range I frequent rents guns for $15 + you have to buy their ammo.
If you save your receipt, they give you the rental fee off the purchase of a gun from them as well as giving you a voucher for a free rental at the time of purchase.
Not a bad deal really, except they are a little overpriced on their firearms to begin with.
 
I know that renting a gun is good if you are undecided about what you are doing, but for my money, I'm pretty certain that if I load a magazine or cylinder with bullets, point the gun in a safe direction, and then pull the trigger, it is going to go bang and a bullet will fly out of the muzzle.

With that being said, I would want to hold the gun before I got to the point where I was going to spend money to rent it. If it didn't feel good at the counter, it most certainly will not feel any better when you go to shoot it. I would examine it closely to see if it is to my liking.

If I reach the point where I am 99% certain I want to buy it, but want to shoot it first, I would say to the gun store that I want to rent the same model gun. If I buy the gun, I want the price of the gun rental subtracted from the price of the gun or said another way, the rental is free. I would still pay for the bullets and the range time will be a freebie.

Most every dealer where I live will give several free range passes when you purchase a gun. If they are not agreeable to this, I would not want to buy a gun from them. Also, shooting a gun prior to purchase isn't the deal maker for me, but could be the deal breaker if the gun performs like a sick dog. But then again, that would be an indicator that I didn't do my homework properly.
 
Here in Spokane WA area, you can rent a gun at my range for $8.50 plus ammunition. (There are a few exceptions on the rentals like the .50 AE Desert Eagle).

Range time is $17 all day rate, or $20 per month membership for unlimited shooting.

Best deal in town around here.

Also to add, I was lucky enough to be able to rent before purchase 2 of my 4 handguns. My first, Smith M&P, and my second, Glock 26 (really important in a carry gun).

My other two I did not rent, but both have turned out beautifully.
 
There are many reasons to rent before you buy. Handguns aren't cheap, to start with. It's like buying a car without test driving it first unless you've owned one before or driven a friends.

I personally like the 1911 pistols. I like how they feel in my hand and the balance they have. I like how they handle the recoil. However, it is not the best for deep concealment and I needed "a few" other choices.

The Glocks have a different grip angle. I did buy one but I don't really care for the grip angle but am used to it. Others may find it uncomfortable for their own use and renting one first would show them that. They can do all the research in the world but firing it would give them the real deal.

Some guns absorb recoil better than others. Some people are recoil sensitive and shooting a rental would show them what it's like. Again, all the research won't tell them how they will react to the recoil.

Another potential buyer may wish to step up or down in caliber. If they've only shot 9mm and want a .40S&W, they should shoot as many as possible to see which one they can control enough for a follow up shot. Personally, the .40S&W has a "harder" recoil than the .45 but that's my own opinion. Someone who rented that .40S&W may try the .45 instead. Huge mistake if they don't like the .40S&W enough to carry it after a range visit or two.

If you've shot for years and have used all the calibers and are well rounded in how they "act" then doing research may be enough. To people new to handguns or have only shot one particular handgun and nothing else then renting a few different guns can save them a lot of money and grief. If you spend $700 on a gun you find out later you don't like then it may be a safe queen and you've wasted a lot of money.
 
This is how I do it:

List the guns I'm considering buying
Research them to narrow the list
Look for a good deal on used guns on the list
Buy them when I come accross a good deal
Shoot them
Sell the ones that don't live up to my expectations

I almost always break even or even make a small profit.
 
Shot at a range in CA some years back where they had a fixed rental fee that allowed you to shoot any of their rental guns as long as you used their ammo. So you could start with one, if you didn't like it, take it back to the counter and ask for another one. Pretty good idea for someone gun shopping.
 
Buy them when I come accross a good deal
Shoot them
Sell the ones that don't live up to my expectations

I almost always break even or even make a small profit.
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That's exactly how I like to "rent" a gun. This way, I get to spend a lot more quality time with the pistol before I decide to keep it or not.
 
By the time he paid for the range fee, rental fee, and their ammo he was into the gun about $85 before even buying it. The gun he was looking at costs less than $500 normally so that was almost 20% of the total cost of the gun. That is outrageous to me.
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Yep!

That's why I never rented a gun. I just do some research and order it up. Besides pretty much the guns I was interested in nobody would have them. The money I didn't spend on the rental I put towards the already discounted price so it's a double savings, in a way. I only bought 1 out of 12 guns that I wasn't quite happy with (Subcompact), but it's still a good gun, but I can't seem to shoot it well "yet".

Now that I have some cool guns, I see people shooting at the range with a gun I might be interested in, and I'll ask them what they are shooting. Thankfully most people like to show there guns, and are always curious what the heck was making so much noise, and I show them my .357 collection and let them shoot a few full power .357s. And they always let me try there gun.

I've tried about a 100+ deferent guns in the last two years that way. Mostly popular guns and some enique guns.

I still haven't fire an Ruger SR9 yet, which I might buy but I need to shoot it first without paying $80 for a rental.
 
Ohhh, I also bring ammo of calibers I don't own. Some people don't mind you shooting there gun if you have your own ammo.:D
 
Youreplace sounds a little pricey.

My indoor range:
$12hr for individual lane/$18hr for two people together (if no one waiting shoot as long as you want. Mon $6 with NRA discount. Thursday ladies shoot free, share lane w/ lady $9. $100 punch card good for 10 lane rentals)

$15-$21 fmj 50 rd ammo

$10 gun rental. Try as many different ones you want that day.

$1.00-$2.00 for target

Eyes/Ears-Free

req their ammo in rentals.
 
"he was into the gun about $85 before even buying it."

Sounds like a cheap date to me. :D Compared to dinner for two, tickets to a show and drinks.

John
 
That is a high! I have rented several pistols before but I was able to use my own ammo. One place I rented at would not let me use reloads. Which was fine I just used a couple of boxes of Mag Tech's. I think the most I ever spent on a rental was $50. Usually, I try to find a fellow shooting enthusiast or a friend who has a firearm that I would like to shoot and go to the range with them. Buy a couple of boxes of ammo and run thru 50 rounds and let them have 50 rounds.
But if you don't have the option of borrowing a friends or a fellow shooters firearm, what are your options other than rent? 20% of the cost of a firearm is high. I am glad when I have to rent a car it isn't that high!
 
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