Our Indoor Airsoft Range in Rochester, Kent: How It Works

There is a difference between reading a chrono figure on a box and watching your own gun put a knockdown target over at nine metres. Since June 2026 there has been an indoor range at the back of our Rochester shop, and it has quietly become the reason a lot of people now drive to us rather than order from a screen.

It is open to customers, it costs three pounds, and you do not have to join anything to use it. Here is exactly how it works.

The range at a glance

What you can shoot on it

Airsoft only at the moment. If you are looking to sight in an air rifle or try an air pistol, this is not the place for it, and we would rather tell you now than have you make the trip. Within airsoft, pistols and rifles are both fine.

Nine metres is short, and that shapes what the range is good for. It is excellent for red dots and reactive shooting, where you are looking at the target rather than through magnification. If you have a magnified optic to zero, do that on an outdoor range where the distance means something.

Bolt action rifles and DMRs are allowed for chrono checks and testing, and we will happily do that with you. We would gently discourage using your 20 minutes shooting one for fun, because at nine metres with heavy ammunition you are not going to see what the gun can actually do. Gas guns tend to be the most enjoyable on the lane, simply because of how quickly you can cycle through the targets.

On BBs: we do not provide them free, but we are a full shop with most brands and weights on the shelf. You are welcome to bring your own, though nothing exotic and nothing metal.

What it costs

£3 for a 20 minute session, per person. That covers the insurance while you are on the lane. If you bring a friend and they shoot too, they pay their own £3.

You can book as many back to back sessions as you like. Chronoing your gun is included in that time rather than charged separately.

Twenty minutes is longer than it sounds when you are shooting one lane, but it goes quickly if you have brought four guns and a bag of magazines. Bring what you actually want to shoot.

When it is open

The range hours are slightly tighter than the shop hours. That gap is deliberate: it gives our workshop time to test the guns on the bench without eating into customer sessions, and gives us time to tidy up between them.

Wednesday is the long day, with the shop open until 20:00 and the last session at 19:20. It is also the night the pistol club tends to meet, so it has become the busiest and the most sociable.

Booking

Please book ahead. Ring us on 01634 829063 or email [email protected] and we will reserve you a slot.

You are welcome to walk in and ask, and if the lane is free you can shoot. But there is only one lane, so if it is booked you will be waiting for the next free slot, and on a busy Wednesday there may not be one. A phone call the day before saves a wasted journey.

If you are collecting a repair and want to see it tested, mention that when you book so we can leave time for it.

What people actually use it for

Honestly? Mostly the knockdown targets. There is a scoreboard and a timer, and it turns out that being able to see your own best score is quite hard to walk away from. People come in to chrono a gun and leave forty minutes later having had three goes at beating themselves.

Beyond that, the common uses are:

• Chrono checks, before a game day or after a change
• Testing tech work, especially something you have done yourself and want to see under load
• Red dot and reactive shooting practice, which is exactly what nine metres suits
• Plinking, with a pistol or a rifle, for its own sake

Why it beats shooting in the garden

Plenty of people can put a target up at home. Four things here that you cannot easily replicate:

You do not spend the evening picking up BBs. The range collects them. We ask you to leave the firing point tidy and we do the rest.

There is a gun tech on hand the whole time the range is open. If something is not behaving, you can ask the person who fixes these for a living, while the gun is still in your hands and the fault is still happening.

There is a parts wall ten steps away. Test, find the problem, fit the part, test again, in one visit. That loop is genuinely difficult anywhere else.

It is a controlled environment. Same distance, same targets, same conditions every time, which is what makes a before-and-after comparison worth anything.

Testing repairs and upgrades

If we have built, repaired or upgraded something for you, our gun tech Ryan will take you onto the range and show you it working, and explain what was done and why. That was our policy before the range opened to the public and it has not changed.

We try to schedule around it so that people collecting repairs are not waiting for a lane, and people who booked a session are not waiting for us to hand a gun over. As the range gets busier that will get harder, and we will deal with that when it happens.

It also works the other way. The range has found faults that owners did not know about: guns over the limit, hop-ups set wrong, things that would have been discovered on a game day instead. In most cases we have been able to sort it there and then, through advice, the parts wall, or booking it in.

Try before you buy

Where we can, we put guns on the range for people to try. We have had our VMP2s on the lane at various points and let customers shoot them, and a fair few of those people are now VMP2 owners. Some went on to buy VMP1s as well. The same has happened with pistols.

We do not have a huge number of guns available to try at the moment, and we would rather be straight about that than overpromise. It is something we are actively building up.

Rental guns are coming. We are working on a set of rifles and pistols that customers can book without owning anything, aimed at people who are curious about airsoft or unsure what to buy. The plan is to have them ready around the end of August, at a slightly higher session fee to cover the cost. If you want to know whether they have landed yet, ask when you call.

The Airsoft Target Pistol Club

Separate from general range use, and worth knowing about if pistols are your thing. You do not need to join the club to use the range, and you do not need to use the range to join the club.

It is a formal-ish, informal club. Pete, James, the shop staff and the members who have joined so far get together, shoot the lane, and talk pistols. There is a big table upstairs, so when you are not shooting you can sit with a coffee and behave much as you would in a safe zone at a site, which is half the point of it.

• When: at least once a month, usually a Wednesday night, because that is our late opening and it suits most people
• Cost to join: free. If you shoot the range that night you pay the same £3 as anyone else, and that is the only cost
• Turnout: around 8 to 10, so it is small and still growing
• What you need: your own pistol for now. Rentals are on the way
• Membership benefit: the club is your route into Airsoft Defence, the UK player verification and RIF defence platform. That matters if you want a recognised defence for buying realistic imitation firearms without playing regular skirmish games

That Airsoft Defence route is worth spelling out, because it is the part people do not expect. If you are a target shooter rather than a skirmisher, getting a recognised defence has historically been awkward. To be clear on the money: joining the club is free, and Airsoft Defence membership costs £25. That fee is theirs rather than ours, so check the current price with them.

Competitions are part of the plan, and we are talking to brands about proper pistol-related prizes rather than tat. We would rather grow the membership first so the competitions are actually competitive. More on that when there is something real to announce.

Dates go up on our social media.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the airsoft range cost?

£3 per person for a 20 minute session. That covers insurance and includes chronoing. You can book consecutive sessions if you want longer.

Do I need to book the range?

Yes, please book. Ring 01634 829063 or email [email protected]. There is one lane, so if you turn up without booking you may have to wait for the next free slot, and there may not be one.

Does joining the pistol club give me an RIF defence?

The club is a route into Airsoft Defence, the UK player verification and RIF defence platform. It is aimed at people who want to shoot targets rather than play regular skirmish games. Joining the club is free. Airsoft Defence membership itself costs £25, which is their fee rather than ours.

Do I need to be a member?

No. The range is open to any customer over 18. The Target Pistol Club is a separate thing and joining it is free and optional.

Can under 18s use the range?

No. It is over 18s only, and that is a condition of our insurance rather than a house rule, so we cannot make exceptions even with a parent present.

Can I shoot an air rifle or air pistol on it?

Not at the moment. The range is airsoft only. If you need to zero an airgun you will want an outdoor range.

Can I bring my own gun?

Yes, and more than one. Just be realistic about how much you can get through in 20 minutes. Gas guns tend to be the most fun on a short lane.

Do you supply BBs?

Not free, but we stock a wide range in the shop. You can bring your own, though nothing unusual and nothing metal.

Is it supervised?

Yes. If you have shot before and are safe on the lane, you will be monitored by CCTV rather than watched over. If it is your first time, a member of staff will be with you for as long as you want them there.

How long is the range?

9 metres including the firing point, with enough room for a second person to stand with you or give instruction.

Finding us

We are on Medway City Estate in Rochester. The range is at the back of the shop, so you can browse, get something fitted, have a gun looked at and shoot it, all in the same visit.

Opening times and directions, or call 01634 829063. If you want something looked at while you are here, see airsoft gun repair and servicing.

Airsoft, airguns and tactical kit in Rochester since 2006. Workshop, mobile shop and now an indoor range.