The VIP lounge includes a dining room, full-service bar and cigar lounge.[/caption]
Frisco Gun Club offers a variety of handguns and rifles for visitors to rent for the shooting range.[/caption]
Two women practice their marksmanship on paper targets on the handgun range.[/caption]The display cases at the Frisco Gun Club look more suited for jewelry than for guns. And the VIP dining room and cigar lounge looks like something found in a country club.
The idea behind the Frisco Gun Club is not to be like a typical gun range, Vice President for Marketing Brandon Johnson said. Rather, the club was designed to be a luxury, indoor gun range that offers retail, dining and training courses.
The 45,000-square-foot club opened more than a year ago on Eldorado Parkway and features 40 shooting lanes. At the time of its opening the club was the largest indoor shooting range in the country, Johnson said.
Owner Christian Putnam opened his first gun range in Plano called Bullet Trap. Bullet Trap was designed to be a traditional indoor range, Johnson said.
Putnam got the idea to start a luxury gun range after visiting Scottsdale Gun Club in Arizona, which was one of the first shooting ranges in a trend known as guntry clubs, or luxury gun clubs, Johnson said.
Johnson said after Putnam opened Bullet Trap he wanted to implement this idea of a guntry club. He said Frisco's demographics made it an ideal place to start the gun club.
"The idea of a more suburban environment was key to having an upscale club, with people who had some disposable income," Johnson said. "His original vision was he wanted this to feel like you were walking into a Neiman Marcus department store rather than the stereotypical gun range."
Frisco Gun Club appeals to a different demographic than traditional gun ranges, Johnson said. He said it is not uncommon to see families and women visiting the gun club.
Johnson said it is the type of gun club that can appeal to gun novices because of the services it offers to help beginners.
"We do have a lot of first-time people coming in here because it's more inviting, appealing," he said.
Classes range from beginner to advanced level and include concealed handgun license and home defense.
While the club offers memberships, the facility and its ranges are open to the public, Johnson said. VIP club members receive more benefits, such as after-hours access to private shooting lanes.
The club has 36 25-yard lanes, including six exclusive lanes for VIP members, and four 100-yard rifle lanes.
Each lane has a digital carrier system that will move paper targets to the exact distance the shooter wants them. The ranges also have an air filtration system that constantly pulls out lead and other gunshot matter from the air.
After leaving the gun range, guests can browse through the more than 7,000 square feet of retail space or visit the cafe for a sandwich or coffee.
VIP members can visit the VIP Club to have dinner, get a drink at a full-service bar or smoke a cigar in the cigar lounge. The VIP dining room serves dishes from Executive Chef Scott Romano, who has worked with chefs Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Palmer.
Johnson said Frisco Gun Club is not just a shooting range; it is a multitude of experiences culminated into one facility.
"It's that whole experience that when they come here, there's not just necessarily one thing that we're here to do," he said. "We want people to always know that there is a next step."
Frisco Gun Club monthly individual membership pricing:
- Regular, $25
- Platinum, $50
- Platinum Elite, $140
- VIP Club, $7,500 one-time fee, $200/monthly
- 6565 Eldorado Parkway
- 214-618-4144
- www.friscogunclub.com
- Hours: Tue.–Thu. 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 9 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
