Midwest Guns

I have gone to this place over the past fifteen years for fishing and firearms needs mostly because it’s about five blocks from my house. I have been treated very rudely by their staff many times over the years, but kept going back out of convenience. There is a very anti-​government vibe that these employees give off and I would not recommend going there if you are law enforcement related or at least don’t mention that if you are going to use their range and just pay the extra couple of bucks (discount not worth the stink face and rudeness you’ll likely receive). I guess the reason they get away with this kind of behavior is because there really aren’t too many places like it around the area and people just keep going there because it’s close. Also now that concealed carry is legal this place is packed most of the time. If you can go anywhere else I would drive the distance and pay the extra money to avoid the headaches with these sovereign citizen types. Also they don’t sell anything fishing related anymore which was my last reason for going there. STAY AWAY!!!

I’m a guy who likes to get out and pop a couple hundred rounds off now & then. I’m 60 & have been shooting since my early teen years. Been here several times & it gets worse & worse. Why can’t u practice under 30′? Stuff can happen at close distances as well as longer. Also get better lighting and much better ventilation. By far the dingiest range around.

It seems like one of the requirements to work here is to be rude. Everyone is rude. If you come here because it’s your closest location, then drive an extra 20 minutes and go somewhere else if customer service is important to you.

Very friendly and helpful staff. The guys at the front desk, the salespeople upstairs, and the range official were nice and ready when I needed them. Easy to get to from the city and a big selection of merchandise (although a bit overpriced, they’re local and can get you anything just like the big corporate chains).

I came in with a friend to shoot a few rounds. Everyone was friendly until I spoke to the guy downstairs (older balding guy). He was rude and even more so when we asked to have two different lanes. Then my friend had to go switch guns (he paid for unlimited rentals) and this guy charged him again. We pointed out his mistake and he got angry because he had to retract the charge. Then he blames us and calls us idiots. It’s unfortunate that I’m giving this place ²⁄₅ because everyone else was pretty friendly.

I go there to pick up my weapon aftrer paying for It i ask can someone show me how it works first time buy a semi-​automatic rifle so the lady ask this short Mexico guy to help me he told her want is it now he told me to two thing and walk away did not give me a chance to so anything plus there ammo is to expensive

Great service ! Highly recommended !! Especially Don ! Wide range of gun too …
Will be back.

Walked around for half an hour. No one spoke to me. Employees deliberately turned around when I walked by and talked to each other instead. Three of the guys are off in a corner dry firing long guns. I wonder if they know how bad that is? Prices were high and no service. I will not be returning.

Took the conceal and carry class this past weekend. The class was great, more than I thought I wanted to know. It was obvious the instructor knew his stuff and did a great job interjecting humorous videos with instruction. He answered every question the class had.
My only gripe were the negative comments about public officials and discussing racially charged current events. I do understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but when you’re in a position of authority, which as the instructor you are, It’s not the right time to project your beliefs.

I was very hesitant to try this range out given all the terrible reviews I’ve seen on it, but finally made my way here to see for my self. As far as the range goes, it seems pretty well ventilated unlike what people were saying maybe this was recently upgraded. Lighting is ok, not sure why people would say it’s way to dark in there cus it isn’t. As far as the people working there, all the ones that I came across today we’re pretty friendly. Didn’t check out the gun sales area yet, so next time I’ll do that and maybe give it 4 stars.

Stopped by today to use the range. After that I stopped upstairs where they have the actual gun store and was looking for a magazine extension. I’m a novice when it comes to firearms so I asked the worker to make sure I was going to purchase the right one. After the man working there told me it was, he told me I would need a tool to install it. However, he was nice enough to install it himself free of charge in under a minute. Very nice gesture and professional. I will definitely be back.

Went in there for the first time and had a great experience. Staff had no problems answering my questions. My friend and I had a great time.

Had a great time. super helpful staff, polite and everything was just great .Raul, The range officer, that was there when we went was great, he had my fiancé shooting like a pro after a couple quick tips. Definitely going back even though their are shooting ranges closer to my house this one is definitely my favorite

This place is well stocked with numerous handguns, rifles and shotguns of different calibers. They also carry a wide variety of holsters and other gun related accessories. The range is only for guns no rifles. The staff is very knowledgeable. Be patient cause you may be standing there for a few minutes before someone helps you due to store is busy. I was lucky and was being helped by 2 employees. One was helping me with my Sig P239 and stripped AR-​15 lower and other was looking for left-​handed holster. Good Job Guys!

This place is small, it has older equipment in their gun ranges, but thats rustic. The guys are knowledgeable and when I first came here back in 2006, I was intimidated. Thanks to my family and friends in law enforcement, I got the hang of the place. I can arm and disarm, clean and shoot. Over the years, I had to keep my gun in another county because of Chicago’s rule. Thanks to the Carry n conceal I Am able to keep my baby home, where it belongs.
If you have never pulled a trigger but want to learn, are considering buying a gun, I highly recommend this place. They will walk you through the steps. They will answer ANY and ALL questions. Once your questions have been answered and you want to practice in the range, you will be required to show your FOID (fireowner I. D card). If you own your own gun, come in and you can purchase your ammo and head straight to the range.
If you are here just to buy a gun, they have nice ones. They are a bit pricey.
Parking is a pain sometimes, and you have to find parking within the block.
I usually come in the evenings with my uncle to release steam and get my practice in.

Went shooting there first thing today. No wait, in and out. Good group of guys.
Range has everything you need. It’s not a country club it’s a gun range. Fit my needs and will be back.

I stopped going to this store about five years ago. They have some friendly staff members, and a wide selection of guns. This is the best part of the store. Their range is around 25 yards long and it’s ok for shooting a pistol or shotgun.
The worst part of the store are some of the people that work there. I was talking to a girl behind the counter that reminds me of Annie Oakley. I told her that and that there was a PBS documentary on the life of Annie Oakley out and that she should see it. I also told her that I thought that Oakley was a very attractive woman. ;-)
This idiot behind the counter, a jerk I have seen in action before with his crude, blue collar, don’t mess with me because I have a gun on my hip attitude, said, «I think she’s ugly.» He didn’t say it in a joking way. It was like he wanted to reprimand me on my viewpoint.
His attitude on more than one occasion was enough to keep me from going there.
But there’s more!
I was double tapping targets on their range. Some moose came right up to me, face to face, as if he wanted to fight me while I was holding the gun pointing down range, and said that I was shooting too fast!
Tact? Great timing?
He could have said, «Hey buddy, can you come here a minute?» I would have walked over and had a chat with him about it peacefully.
Who wants to shoot with some bum breathing down your neck for something very minor.
My friends in other states rent fully auto weapons at similar ranges and shoot all day. When I tell them of how I was treated at this place, they say, «Harry, I am sorry you live in that sorry state of Illinois. Here in Georgia we can shoot like the devil and no one says $hit.»
Try other ranges that are more tolerant to double tapping.
Double tapping is nothing. I am in my 50’s, I have served in the Army and can prove it. I have a 40 hour armed security license so I am no threat to range safety. Yet this range treats people who double tap like we are going to shoot the place up or something.
I have no plans to ever shoot at this place again. I would rather drive 20 miles to the other ranges than shoot here and it’s a shame, because there are some nice people who work there. I just can not stand the idiots.
–Former customer.

First off, they did an excellent job with handling the FOID application process. Everything was done like it should. They took the picture and made sure it was all filled in correctly and even sent it out for me. It came in 4 weeks later. Once my FOID came in, I was doing some research on the first firearm I wanted to buy. I didn’t buy it from Midwest because I did find other stores to have a little better price. Even though it was a little high, they do have select few guns each month that have some pretty good deals on them, which I plan on buying very soon from them. As far as the rest of the store goes, everything is priced pretty well and the workers there are very helpful and are full of knowledge.
Now going on to the shooting range downstairs. It costs $ 20 per person which is a little high and their ammo is a little over priced too, but I get my ammo some where else anyway. The best time for me to go and also for many others are obviously on Sunday’s. The one tip I have for anyone wanting to go do some shooting on a Sunday is to get there at 9:40AM. Only reason is because there is a line outside the door before they open. If you don’t make it in time, you will be waiting at least 45 – 60 minutes. If you go on a week day, you should be fine at no matter what time. They recently upgraded the lighting and the air ventilating their, which is much better than what it was before. The range is pretty decent for the size it is. The only complaint I have is that the lines that pull out the targets are not too great. They tend to bounce and the clip that holds the target is loose sometimes, which caused my targets to sway from side to side. One time, I don’t know if it was the line or the reel, but it stopped working half way from when I was trying to pull my target back in. Other than that this place is excellent and fun to go too. Would recommend to anyone.

This review is in two parts and focuses on customer service:
My first experience at Midwest was 15 years ago after someone broke into my home in the middle of the day. The police took 40 mins to arrive at my home (even though the station was 3 blocks away). I remember thinking what if my wife and two pre-​school daughters had been home alone? I was so angered I registered for a Firearms Owners Identification Card and went to Midwest to buy a gun for my family’s protection. I don’t remember the employee’s name who served me but he spent 20 minutes educating me of the Illinois gun laws and the liabilities of owning (and firing) a gun within the Chicago city limits. Evidently he knew I was there out of anger and made sure I was making a sober and clear decision before making a purchase. I left the store without making a purchase but was always thankful that he was more concerned about me making a good decision than making a sale.
Speed up to day…
After my daughters left for college I decided to purchase a handgun for home defense and conceal & carry because I work the night shift and my wife is now home alone while I“m at work. I’d already done a lot of research and spoken with a few gun owners about what gun I wanted. The store has a pretty decent selection of handguns both new and used and most of the popular models were available.
Even though this was my first purchase when I arrived at the store I knew what I wanted to buy. Customer service was spot on and my wait was fairly short even though the store was fairly busy. The salesman was extremely helpful insuring I was familiar with the gun’s operation and processed my sale and paperwork quickly.
Upon returning to pick up my firearm (36 hour wait) the staff member attending me was helpful and reviewed my purchase insuring that everything was in order before checking me out.
I haven’t tried out the range but they offer free range time with the purchase of a firearm which I thought was a nice bonus.

If you’re new to the gun scene like me and my girlfriend and are looking to buy your first gun, do yourself a favor and go talk to Tom. He was incredibly helpful and informative and didn’t pressure us to buy a gun on the spot. He took 30+ minutes to walk us through the pro’s and con’s of several different guns and then suggested we go shoot a few before buying to ensure we were getting something we liked.
Tom mentioned his 35+ years in law enforcement as well as a few personal anecdotes about guns and how/​why he has developed certain preferences.
This is specifically a 5 star review for Tom… I can’t speak for the other employees.