Range Master Outfitters to close doors in Chesterton

CHESTERTON | A local retailer of fishing rods, hunting bows and firearms will close its doors next month after a decade of business in Chesterton.

Range Master Outfitters is selling off its line of outdoor sporting goods equipment and will close Sept. 16, said Marilyn Busch, who owns the business with her husband, Brian.

The couple wants to get out ahead of the arrival of national chains Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, Marilyn Busch said.

"We want to leave while we have time to get rid of our inventory," she said.

With consumer dollars about to be split among several big retailers, "There's no reason to hang around and wait," she said.

Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro Shops is building a 130,000-square-foot store in nearby Portage, housing its line of hunting, fishing and boating equipment, along with a restaurant and other attractions.

Bass Pro Shops is expected to open late this year or early next year.

Outdoor mega-store Cabela's 185,000-square-foot retail center planned in Hammond is expected to open by the end of 2007.

Range Master Outfitters opened in downtown Chesterton in 1996 and moved three years ago to its 1505 S. Calumet Road location, which includes a firearms shooting range built to government standards and an archery range.

Plans are to sell the shooting range and to lease the archery range along with the retail space, Busch said.

Both ranges will close this week.

Longtime customers were told early this month of the store's upcoming closure, allowing them first chance at discounted items, Busch said.

About 15 employees will be out of work when the store closes.

"The worst part is hoping the employees find work," Marilyn Busch said. "They're all very talented."

The couple owns the retail center that is home to Range Master as well as a graphics business and a medical testing facility, Busch said.