Hi everyone. I'm moving to Indianapolis at the end of the month and I'm looking to meet up with some like minded people and find a range and gun store that's friendly to non-conservatives and women (see below).

I don't currently own a gun since I live in Boston and it's been impossible to get the BPD to schedule my safety test, but now that I'm relocating to Indy that won't be an issue and I want to get back into shooting. I have experience with firearms (primarily hunting rifles, shotguns and some with pistols) but my wife does not. She's interested in learning and would like to learn in a space she feels comfortable. If you have any recommendations for the above please let me know.

Also, rather than teach her myself, we'd both prefer a certified instructor. I saw that there's an LGC instructor in Bloomington but none in Indy. Any recommendations for an instructor in the Indianapolis area that, like the range and store, are friendly to non-conservatives and women would be helpful. I'd be interested in taking the class alongside her as both a refresher and because the last classes I took ended up being pretty fun.

Thanks!

Welcome from the nebulous interior. My brother lives in Somerset. He hates guns, so fits in well. Great you could escape.

to the "midwest" from Louisville, a bit under two hours' drive south of your soon-to-be-new home!

I'm a member at RangeUSA, and the monthly fee offsets two range visits a month plus offers a 5% discount on ammo and accessories (at the mid-grade level).
Looking at their web site, I note that they have two Indianapolis locations and a Greenwood location.

When my spouse and I were starting on the gun journey, a coworker of hers said that this chain's people didn't look at him with the side-eye just for walking in, like most shops did (he's a good-sized Black man). I guess that being a chain, they teach a bit more professionalism (if only a small bit) that includes "don't be obvious about your politics." I've had staff at the store here in Louisville comment favorably on a couple of morale patches on my range bag, to include the one that reads, "FCK NZS"

The place is clean, pretty well kept, and stocked. Their ammo prices aren't particularly good (I buy most of my ammo online anyway), but they have a fair selection of popular calibers.

They have instructors, or should. I have seen National African American Gun Owners Association do meet and greets in my local store, too, if that means anything.

https://rangeusa.com/

Thanks for the welcome and the info. I'll check them out!

Welcome from southern California. I'm about 150 miles east of LA, not in the basin.

Hey, high desert, I lived in SoCal for over 14 years. We lived up in Ventura County. I've probably driven through your general neighborhood more times that I can count since I have family in AZ. Thanks for the welcome.

Voyager wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2025 11:26 am Thanks for the welcome and the info. I'll check them out!

If y'all ever feel like hiking down this way, let me know! We can make some holes in paper, and afterwards have a decent bite to eat!

from SE AZ.

Voyager wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2025 4:13 pm Hey, high desert, I lived in SoCal for over 14 years. We lived up in Ventura County. I've probably driven through your general neighborhood more times that I can count since I have family in AZ. Thanks for the welcome.

Beautiful Ventura County north of LA County, it suffered some damage from the Palisades Fire, but nothing like LA. Plenty of LaLa Landers pass through my county enroute to Arizona and Nevada. Around the holidays it seems like there are more vehicles with AZ license plates on I-10, than California license plates. Indy and Boston are a big change from Ventura County.

Bearpaws. Thanks! I'm sure I'll head down to Kentucky at some point. One of the benefits of all the moving my wife and I have done over the years is the exploring the new places around us.

high desert, that's for sure. While we lived there my wife's parents often made the trip out for Thanksgiving which inevitably included trips up and down the coast. For Christmas we'd flip it and head to AZ for the week.