If you run a shooting range and you’ve been shopping software, you’ve almost certainly hit Gearfire Axis and Bravo. Both are excellent — but both are built first and foremost for the gun-store counter, with range tools bolted on top. If your actual day-to-day headache is memberships, recurring billing, and getting the right people through the door at 2 a.m., you may be evaluating the wrong category of tool. This is an honest breakdown of when Axis or Bravo is the right call, and when a membership-first platform like ManageMemberships fits better.
Axis and Bravo: powerful POS systems — for retail
Credit where it’s due: Gearfire Axis and Bravo are two of the strongest platforms in the firearms industry, and for the right operation they’re hard to beat. Axis unifies point of sale, ATF compliance, inventory, and distributor integrations into one system. Bravo says it’s trusted by 3,300+ stores nationwide and goes even wider — retail, compliance, e-commerce, plus pawn, gold buying, and consignment on a single platform.
On compliance, both are genuinely deep — native digital 4473, eNICS, serialized inventory, and cash-reporting triggers. If you’re moving real volume of firearms across a retail floor, that depth isn’t optional.
Both also include range modules: lane scheduling and reservations, memberships with recurring billing, rentals, and classes. So this isn’t a case of “they can’t do range.” They can. The question is whether paying for a full firearms-retail platform is the right way to solve a membership-and-access problem.
Where a membership-first range gets stuck
For a range whose revenue is driven by memberships and range time rather than gun sales, running everything through a retail-first POS can feel like buying a delivery truck to commute to work. It does the job, but you’re paying for — and maintaining, and training staff on — a lot of machinery you never touch.
Three friction points come up again and again:
- Cost and complexity you don’t use. Inventory modules, distributor feeds, and FFL compliance tooling carry cost and setup overhead. If you’re not running a serious retail floor, that’s budget and onboarding time spent on features that never earn their keep.
- Access that isn’t truly tied to billing. When membership status and door/lane access live in systems that only loosely talk to each other, a lapsed member can still badge in — or worse, a paying member gets locked out at 2 a.m. over a sync hiccup. For an unstaffed or after-hours range, that’s not a minor bug; it’s the whole product.
- A UI built for the register, not the member. Retail-first systems optimize the checkout counter. The member-facing experience — self-serve signup, waiver, app, booking a lane — is often the afterthought, when for a membership range it should be the main event.
Comparison: ManageMemberships vs. Gearfire Axis vs. Bravo
| Feature | ManageMemberships | Gearfire Axis | Bravo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Range memberships + access | Gun-store retail + range | Retail + pawn + range |
| Recurring membership billing | Core strength | Included | Included |
| 24/7 lane / door access | Built-in, auto-lockout | Not the focus | Not the focus |
| Digital waivers + member app | Included | Included in range module | Included in range module |
| FFL / 4473 / eNICS / serialized inventory | No — not what we do | Yes, deep | Yes, deep |
| Pawn / gold buying | No | No | Yes |
| Price | $99–188/mo | Quote-based | $99–350/mo (their range) |
Pricing and features change — confirm current details on each vendor’s site before deciding. Axis is quote-based. Bravo’s own site says most FFL dealers run between $99 and $350/month depending on add-ons. ManageMemberships runs $99–188/mo depending on whether you add door access.
The real differentiator: access that follows billing
The single feature that separates a membership-first platform from a retail POS with a range add-on is access control tied directly to payment status. With ManageMemberships, a member’s key fob or app credential opens the lane and the front door only while their membership is current. Miss a payment, and access shuts off automatically after your grace period — no staff member manually deactivating fobs, no spreadsheet reconciliation, no awkward confrontation at the counter.
Paired with automated dunning (the system retries failed cards and messages the member on a set cadence before access is affected), this turns your two biggest silent leaks — members still getting through the lane on a dead card, and members quitting over a clumsy billing experience — into a process that runs itself. That’s the model a 24/7 or unstaffed range actually needs, and it’s the piece retail-first systems treat as secondary.
When Axis or Bravo is the right call
Be honest with yourself about your business. If your operation includes a substantial retail floor — serialized inventory, high firearm sales volume, distributor ordering, or pawn and consignment (Bravo) — Axis or Bravo is very likely the right system. The FFL compliance depth, inventory management, and integrated e-commerce they offer are not things a membership platform should pretend to replace. If retail is your core, buy the retail system and don’t look back.
When ManageMemberships is the right call
ManageMemberships is the better fit when your range is membership- and access-driven rather than retail-driven. That typically means one of these:
- A range or gun club where recurring dues and range time — not gun sales — are the business.
- A 24/7 or after-hours range that lives or dies on reliable, billing-linked lane and door access.
- An operation that already has a store POS it’s happy with, and just wants a better membership and access layer alongside it.
- Any range that wants memberships, waivers, billing, and access working simply — without buying (or learning) a full firearms-retail suite.
You get recurring and calendar billing, automated payment recovery, 24/7 door and lane access tied to membership status, digital waivers that gate entry until they’re signed, a branded member app, and reporting — at a flat, predictable price. What you don’t get, and what we’ll tell you plainly, is FFL retail: no 4473, no eNICS, no serialized inventory. If you need those, you need Axis or Bravo. If you don’t, you’re probably overpaying for them today.
Do you have to rip out your current system?
No. Plenty of ranges keep a retail POS for the store side and run ManageMemberships for memberships, access, and billing — the two live side by side. And if you’re moving off a system entirely, migration is hands-on: we help move your members and set up your lanes, waivers, and access so you’re not rebuilding from scratch. You can explore the full picture on our shooting range membership software page.
Real-world result: Lawman Tactical
Lawman Tactical runs its memberships and range access on ManageMemberships and has streamlined exactly the operations this article is about — membership management and dependable lane access without a retail-heavy system in the middle. Read the full case study. For deeper dives, see our guides on gun range waiver software and shooting range lane management.
Frequently asked questions
Do you handle 4473 forms and FFL compliance?
No — and we’ll always be upfront about that. ManageMemberships is built for memberships and access control, not firearms retail. For 4473s, eNICS, and serialized inventory, Axis or Bravo is the right tool.
Can I run ManageMemberships alongside my existing store POS?
Yes. Many ranges keep their retail POS for the counter and use ManageMemberships for the membership, billing, and access side. They don’t conflict.
Is lane and door access automated for members?
Yes. Access is tied to membership and payment status — current members get in, lapsed members are locked out automatically after your chosen grace period, with no manual fob management.
How does the pricing actually compare?
ManageMemberships is $99–188/mo depending on whether you add door access. Bravo’s own site says most FFL dealers run between $99 and $350/mo depending on add-ons, and Axis is quote-based. The honest comparison isn’t just the sticker — it’s whether you’re paying for retail features you’ll never use.
Run your range on membership software built for it
Recurring billing, 24/7 lane and door access tied to payment status, digital waivers, and a member app — without the overhead of a firearms-retail system. See it on your own setup.
