Range profile
Cliff's Black Iron and Trading Post
The short version
Indoor 25-yard shooting range, gun shop and trading post in Brookland, Arkansas offering lane rentals, firearm rentals, retail sales and conceal-and-carry training in a family-friendly, beginner-welcoming setting.
The hits
- 25-yard indoor range with easy-to-use lane controls, $1 targets and provided eye and ear protection, plus a broad rental fleet from subcompacts to rifles.
- Welcoming instruction for beginners and conceal-and-carry students, including enhanced carry classes, renewals and one-on-one help with firearm operation and malfunctions.
- Full-service gun shop and trading post with ammunition, holsters, reloading supplies, cleaning gear and specialty items such as hive-direct honey and Amish-sourced products.
- Strong reputation for accommodating service, including staying open late to finish sessions, assisting with jammed firearms and facilitating trades.
- Family-friendly and veteran-friendly environment noted as clean, organized and approachable for varied skill levels.
The misses
- Inconsistent hours and phone responsiveness, with multiple reviewers reporting arriving to a locked door during expected hours or receiving no answer when calling about range fees.
- Periodic facility and range-management issues, including a July 2025 report of roughly half the lanes being down/broken, brass on the floor, a warm range environment, and an isolated but detailed report of unenforced firearm safety.
- Retail inventory gaps tied to supply-chain constraints, with visitors noting difficulty finding specific firearms, dies and reloading components despite a broad general assortment.
About Cliff’s Black Iron and Trading Post
Cliff’s Black Iron and Trading Post is an indoor shooting range, gun shop and gun club at 622 N Holman St in Brookland, Arkansas, serving the Jonesboro-area community as a combined range, retail shop and training site. Operating as a 25-yard indoor range with electronic lane controls, the business offers hourly lane rental and yearly memberships and provides eye and ear protection for shooters, with reviewers noting a selection of $1 paper targets ranging from standard silhouettes to novelty options such as zombies, carnival games and rubber duckies. The retail side functions as a trading post as well as a gun shop, stocking ammunition, holsters, cleaning supplies, reloading components including dies, surplus items and apparel, along with rental firearms that reviewers describe as spanning subcompact pistols to larger handguns and rifles. Services reported by visitors include enhanced conceal-and-carry instruction and renewal, beginner orientation for first-time handgun owners, firearm trade-ins, and gunsmith work, with several accounts noting assistance clearing jams and performing repairs.
The business changed hands around February 2023 and later again during the COVID period, and many reviews after the transition describe improvements to the space, lower pricing, and more attentive ownership. The experience most consistently described is informal and family-friendly rather than tactical or exclusive. Reviewers repeatedly characterize staff and ownership, including Tony, as friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and willing to stay open late or walk rookies through fundamentals without condescension. Families, father-son pairs, couples and out-of-town groups are frequently mentioned among visitors, and multiple reviewers describe the atmosphere as laid back, warm and dry, clean and organized, and veteran-owned and veteran-friendly. That approachability extends to rentals and try-before-you-buy support, with one visitor noting a same-day trade of an ill-suited purchase for a preferred model.
Practical notes appear alongside the praise. Reviewers describe occasional operational inconsistencies, including visits where about half the lanes were down or broken, brass accumulation on the floor, and a range that can run warm despite being climate-controlled. A detailed July 2025 account reported lax safety enforcement with muzzle sweeping and a young child handling a loaded pistol without correction, contrasting with the otherwise positive safety and helpfulness comments. Hours and phone responsiveness are also recurring issues, with several visitors reporting traveling to find a locked door during posted hours, discrepancies between hours painted on the door and actual Thursday-Sunday operations noted after the ownership change, and calls going unanswered when inquiring about fees. Supply availability has been uneven as well, with ownership acknowledging supplier and supply-chain constraints affecting stock of specific firearms and components. Honey sold in mason jars described as straight from the hive and products sourced from the Amish community are also mentioned as part of the trading post assortment.
Recurring feedback
What visitors consistently mention
- Consistent praise for friendly, patient and knowledgeable staff and ownership, especially for helping beginners, families and first-time handgun buyers.
- Value perception tied to low lane and target costs, reasonable membership pricing and helpful trade and gunsmith support, with post-2023 ownership noted as more affordable.
- Family-friendly and laid-back atmosphere frequently cited, with visitors bringing spouses, children and large out-of-town groups and returning as regulars.
- Operational friction around hours, phone contact and occasional lane maintenance, with a small number of safety-enforcement concerns contrasting with otherwise positive service reports.