Do you belong to a gun club ??

[MULEMAN]

Do you belong to a gun club ?? If so what do you like or dislike about it?? I think a long time ago there was a Blackpowder club here at home, but I don't know of any kind of shooting clubs in the area now. I think I would like to be in one. I quess a club would have regular meetings and maybe some planned shoots or practices thruout the year?? I have thought about putting an add in the paper to see if anyone was interested in starting one. I am not home much though and I hate to ask about starting a club just to turn around and tell them " Oh yea I am not home much, so you run it" Anyway, just looking for some insight on how they are run and opinion on how you all that belong to clubs like them.

[Gaterskiner]

Muleman
I read your post about the range you use now. Sounds like you have now what many of us wish we had. The club i belonged to was nice after you got past all the bickering and BS. Part of the problem there was age. I was in my 50's and felt like A kid when at the club meetings. Everyone wanted things done his way or not at all. everything that got done was done by the few in spite of the many.

[Brian in FL]

I belong to Gateway Rifle & Pistol Club in Jacksonville. I wrote about it and its silly rules in a post in PJ's Range Nazi rant thread. Unfortunately, the Range Nazis seem to be everywhere. :P

[MULEMAN]

I like the little range we have access to. I don't particularly like having to load up a truck load of target stands and holders every time we go. I have meet a few people there before and really enjoyed talking with them about my guns and theirs and kinda, comparing notes if you will, on our shooting results. I kinda fiqured that might be what a club was like, people with similar interest meeting on some regular basis to visit and discuss guns, of course I would want to include some shooting probably too!!

[planeflyer21]

I've had the good fortune to be in on the start-up of a new club, the Marana Shooting Club. Let me tell you, if it wasn't for the determination of a stubborn, thick headed, retired Navy vet, the club STILL wouldn't be in operation!

The club is on private property, utilizing a range that is shared by LE and military for training purposes, so scheduling is imperative. It is also located in a Federal Noise Exemption Zone (FAA for the airport nearby), so if noise bothers someone in the future, too bad so sad. Noise levels were measured and they are WELL below the level set for the airport.

We're going on our third year of operation and lots of members don't seem to get the "club" concept. Out of 50+ members, 18 or so are Range Safety Officers, and only about ten of them step up to cover the range for shooting events on a regular basis. People consistently shoot the frames to trash but don't show up to help build new ones. The only members that donate materials are the same few people.

Now for shooting and "range nazis" it is a big thing. Some people exhibit FAR less gun safety thinking than is needed! An example: there are two handgun bays which are open to the rifle range behind the shooters. Rules say that the rifle shooters must move the firing line forward, so as to not have a "forward of the firing line" situation...even if the handgun bays are 100 yards away. So one day, both bays were in operation, and the rifle line was moved up to where the rifle shooters had about 150 yards to play. One of the handgun shooters went to use the facilities, and another rifle shooter had setup targets BEHIND and to the side of the original rifle shooters, pacing off a distance. Not good!

Therefore, we have two SOPs, one for LE/military/trainers which is a "hot" operational procedure and and one for those that need babysitting, or "cold" range procedures.

Also to range nazis, another local range had a guy purposely blast himself in the head. The people running the range let the other ranges stay in operation, wouldn't call 911, wouldn't do anything until they got permission from the club president. That, IMO, is the opposite direction of a "range nazi". Pretty stupid people not abiding by basic common sense. The rescue helo had to circle until all shooting had cease on all ranges.

All in all, the idea was to "know the shooter next to you", which is working pretty well so far. Trying to boost peoples actiity levels is something else.

Jon

[lever addict]

I belong to a gun club. I relly don't want to get myself started though, but I will say this. The club never reached it's potential because no one could ever agree on anything! It could be so much more.

[M700]

I thoroughly enjoy my gun club. The facilities are old, but extensive including:

formal 600 yard rifle range suitable for NRA Highpower matches
informal 300+ yard ranges for plinking & hunting rifle shooting
pistol bays to 100 yards
trap & skeet
archery outoor
archery indoor
.22 range indoor
a "cowboy town" for that sport

And there are some steel targets out there at 800+ yards for guys who want to try their hand at the long distance stuff.

It really operates more like a set of smaller clubs within the big club. The shotgunners, the riflemen, the pistoleros, the cowboy action shooters, the archers... And occasionally we come close to agreeing about something. Good guys and a great place to shoot though.

Regards, Guy

[swany]

Yes, I belong to a MUCC aka Michigan United Conservation Club aka The Beaver Brigade blackpowder club.

Primary black powder club holding two open rendevous per year, they have three woods walks with 20 steel targets each on 80 acres adjoining hundreds of acres of the Manistee National Forest.

Walking bow course, tomahawk and knife course, two trap houses. Jr .22 range and a Covered 100yd ten bench range with 25, 50 and 100 yard berms. There is a way to get 200yds if you are there alone, easy during the week if your retired.

We have a nice club house and covered area out side. Members are considered owners of the land and as such can put in permanent deer blinds and apply for landowner doe permits for whitetailed deer. We have the Little Muskegon River running through our property have outside access electricity for 12 camp sights, enough area for at least 100 primatives on the club door yard.

The club has a private members only keyed gate and provides some privacy for hunting from the public, club property is posted No Trespassing Private Property Danger Rifle Range. It does keep those who would normally trespass out.

I've belonged to this club since 1970 so it is like old home week each time I go and it's only 3 miles from my house.

[mario]

Originally I joined a huge club about 45min away. Tavern, meeting space, covered rifle and pistol range, skeet range, archery range, etc. But...

$60 dues + either another $100 or you could work 30hrs during shoots, etc.

Well, being in the hotel/restaurant industry I can't commit to helping out during there events (mostly on weekends) and I wasn't going to pay $160 a year to be a member.

Then I found a small club 10 minutes away with an archery range, a covered rifle range, a skeet range and only costs $15 a year.

[Leverdude]

Yup. A rifle club Tomray introduced me to, Bell City Rifle club. Its pretty nice with a 50, 100 & 200 yard rifle range, 25 & 50 yard pistol range and an indoor 50' 22 rimfire range. I'm also a member/volunteer at a local public range that has a 0 - 50 yard rifle/pistol range and trap shooting every Tuesday.
The rifle club I believe is $180 a year including a $50 assessment from purchasing a neighboring property. The Public range is supposed to be $125 but since I work there it gets comped. At any rate I dont find the costs very high. It'd be nice to shoot for $15 a year but its just not the reality here & I spend much more on things I like alot less. The biggest problem I can come up with is they arent closer to home.