with Not Your Normal Gun Shop or Shooting Range · Not Your Normal Gun Shop or Shooting Range
LenderHawk analysis. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Acquisitions Anonymous.
The listing’s 25% net margin and $150,000 of cash flow imply an asking price of about 2.6x SDE, which is cheap on paper but must be weighed against lease and replacement risk.
A firearms range is only as durable as its real estate setup; if the lease expires or rent resets sharply, much of the business value can disappear.
An FFL creates practical moats for a gun shop because online firearm sales still need a licensed transfer point and background-check process.
Firearms businesses can be hard to sell to institutional capital because many investors and fund documents exclude the sector outright.
A rural or coastal location can protect a range from direct competition, but it can also create serious staffing and customer-access problems.
For businesses with specialized buildouts, a lease extension contingency can be more valuable than a small price discount.
This type of business is most attractive to an owner-operator who genuinely wants to be in the gun community, not to a buyer seeking passive cash flow.
The hosts treat remaining lease term as a core part of the asset’s value when the physical buildout is expensive to recreate. If the location cannot be secured long enough, the operating business is effectively a wasting asset.
When to use: Use when evaluating tenant-dependent businesses with specialized buildouts or high relocation costs.
The business is asking $388,000 for about $150,000 of annual cash flow.
Bill reads the listing economics and the hosts compare price to cash flow.
The listing implies roughly $600,000 of revenue at a 25% net operating margin.
Michael back-solves revenue from the stated margin and cash flow.
The range has eight lanes and is wheelchair accessible with a dedicated wheelchair lane.
Bill describes the physical setup from the teaser.
The lease has five years remaining with no increase during the current term.
The hosts focus on lease risk as a major diligence item.
The seller says the nearest comparable gun shop is hours away.
Michael uses this to argue the business has some local defensibility.
The inventory on hand is about $100,000.
Bill notes the business carries guns, ammo, and related stock.
The firearms industry can be so cyclical that Republican victories can lead to a demand crash, according to the hosts’ operating experience.
The panel discusses political-cycle-driven volatility in firearm sales.
Condition your offer on negotiating additional lease term or options before closing.
Why: A specialized business with only five years left on the lease can lose its value if the landlord refuses renewal or raises rent sharply.
Do not finance firearms businesses with heavy leverage unless you can survive a political down-cycle.
Why: The category is highly cyclical, so debt service can become unmanageable when demand drops.
Buy this type of range only if you personally want to operate inside the firearm community.
Why: The business is more like buying a lifestyle and a job than buying passive cash flow.
Underwrite staffing as a first-order issue in remote markets.
Why: Even a profitable business can become operationally fragile if you cannot recruit reliable local employees.
Michael describes a location more than an hour from the nearest major metro where hiring became so difficult that workers wanted reimbursement for the long drive. He uses it as a comparison for how hard it can be to staff businesses in thinly populated areas.
Lesson: Remote locations can look defensible on competition alone but still fail on labor availability.