My group decided to go shoot over the weekend and as expected the wait was long, 1-2 hours in the Qless queue for a private lane (7 people ahead of us). We hit the road when there was 1 person ahead of us and once we arrived we waited 15-30 minutes before we could shoot.
We purchased the Premium Rental Fleet package (rifles/pistols unlimited exchanges) and shot:
Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Compact, 22LR, no issues.
Ruger SR22, 22LR, first 3 shots, all failures to feed. Exchanged the gun for something else. On second note the slide felt sticky, so excessive lubrication and dirt may have been the cause of the failures to feed.
Ruger GP100, 22LR, the gun shot very accurately for everyone, the only problem was with ejecting the spent casings. No one could get the casing out by pushing/banging the ejector with their fingers/hands. We had to bang the ejector against the table (as I was informed by the staff when I got it) to eject the spent casings. In my opinion if the gun was properly maintained, a user should be able to eject the casings without having to hit the gun against the table. My guess is that a mixture of oil and dirt in the ejector rod mechanism was the culprit. Worst case scenario the ejector was defective on this rental gun. A review/article on the internet found no ejection problems on a new GP100, 22LR.
Ruger SP101, 22LR, the gun simply would not fire. We tried both single and double action, checked that the rounds were seated all the way, and pulled the trigger multiple times with no success. My guess is that there might have been a problem with the firing pin and/or the transfer bar was malfunctioning and was keeping the hammer from striking the firing pin.
Beretta M9, 22LR the M9 in 22LR handled just like an M9 in 9mm. The gun performed well, was easier to operate than the smaller 22LR pistols we shot, had a capacity of 15 rounds, but for some reason it seemed to be louder than the other 22LR pistols (not a con, just something I noticed).
Smith & Wesson M&P 9, 9mm, no issues.
Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Shield (ported), 9mm, it was loudest gun we shot for the day (due to the porting), but the porting also seemed to slightly reduce muzzle flip. I recommend using double hearing protection in any indoor range, but especially if you're going to shoot large calibers or ported guns.
My group was there for several hours and the staff never gave us any indications that we had overstayed our welcome, so big thumbs up for that. Overall the staff was courteous and helpful. As other reviewers have mentioned already wait times can be long, so be sure to use their Qless system on their website.
It is very nice that Shoot Smart provides free eye and ear protection (which is not the norm), but I wish the staff recommended people to use double hearing protection (ear plugs AND earmuffs), even if they charged for the ear plugs.
Their rental guns could use some extra love in the maintenance department. I was bummed that I didn't get to really use the SR22 and the SP101.
As far as I know for all rental guns that use magazines you only receive one magazine. Providing at least 2 magazines would allow people in groups of 2 or more to load their magazine ahead of time and as a result shorten everyone's wait time before they get to shoot (and free up the room quicker). The second magazine would also be useful for people practicing their reloading and rapid fire skills.
Overall this is going to be my go to indoor gun range. read more