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Gun Ranges vs Gun Clubs

SPO38

SPO38

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*PRE-POST DISCLAIMER* I'm 5 days into quitting a 13 year pack-a-day habit and I'm a little on edge. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.

Can anyone recommend an outdoor rifle range that wouldn't require me to be part of a club? I used to shoot at Wayne's in West Boylston, however since he's moved to Florida, I've had to seek alternatives.
Nothing against gun clubs, I'm just not really social and if I'm paying upwards of $300 bucks for my first year, I don't feel I should be required to attend meetings just so I can hear about how Eddie Benchrest placed first at the most recent turkey shoot.

For example, I have resided approximately 3 miles from my local club literally all of my life, however the wait list is over a year and a half because ancient fudds refuse to turn in their membership so they can show up to every event in the same canvas hunting vest with 1978 NRA pins on it despite not having discharged a firearm since Clinton was in office.

I don't want to be a part of a club, group, or collective. I simply want to exchange currency for access to facilities where I can discharge my firearms in accordance with facility rules and local laws. Is there such a place?
 
What you're looking for doesn't exist in MA or NH as far as I'm aware. The only for-profit not-club ranges in this area are all indoor (e.g. Manchester Firing Line)
 
SPO38 said:
Nothing against gun clubs, I'm just not really social and if I'm paying upwards of $300 bucks for my first year, I don't feel I should be required to attend meetings just so I can hear about how Eddie Benchrest placed first at the most recent turkey shoot.

I don't want to be a part of a club, group, or collective. I simply want to exchange currency for access to facilities where I can discharge my firearms in accordance with facility rules and local laws. Is there such a place?
Click to expand...

So join a club and then don't go to any meetings. I've belonged to two and, while they like people to show up, neither one ever required it.
 
Toast said:
So join a club and then don't go to any meetings. I've belonged to two and, while they like people to show up, neither one ever required it.
Click to expand...

The thing is, there's always more to it than that. For example, I took a liking to the Hopkinton Sportsman's Association. In order to become a member there, you need to attend an invitation-only meeting to be voted in. To get an invitation, you have to go to their public events and convince a member to write a letter to the club board talking about how great of a guy you are. Again, I'm not there to make friends.
 
Most clubs either want you to put in work equity or pay extra. At least my 2 clubs operate that way.
 
Here's another gem. This is the path to membership in the Woodville Rod & Gun Club.

  1. Get sponsored by a club member.

  2. Find a sponsor, and fill out application form and submit to the club. The $40.00 application fee is due the night of your interview. The application will be reviewed by the Membership Committee. Plan to attend the next Membership Committee meeting held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 7:00pm, after which you will be attending your 1st meeting the same night. Or make special arrangements with the Membership Committee for an interview on a different day. Application fee is refundable only if the membership committee does not accept the application. Your sponsor must accompany you to the interview.

  3. After attending this 1st meeting you need to make 2 more meeting within the next 5 meetings or within the next 2½ months.
    Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of the month and the yearly membership fee of $80 is due when voted in.

  4. Participate in 3 work details with other club members within the first year of membership.
Nobody finds this odd at all?
 
No, I don’t.

I’ve been in the leadership of a gun club and I’ve seen the damage done to the club by morons. I understand their attempt to screen the members.

If you want to join a club, then follow the rules and join the club. If you don’t want to, then don’t.

Put the energy you are putting in to bitching about their rules into actually joining a club.
 
SPO38 said:
*PRE-POST DISCLAIMER* I'm 5 days into quitting a 13 year pack-a-day habit and I'm a little on edge. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.

Can anyone recommend an outdoor rifle range that wouldn't require me to be part of a club? I used to shoot at Wayne's in West Boylston, however since he's moved to Florida, I've had to seek alternatives.
Nothing against gun clubs, I'm just not really social and if I'm paying upwards of $300 bucks for my first year, I don't feel I should be required to attend meetings just so I can hear about how Eddie Benchrest placed first at the most recent turkey shoot.

For example, I have resided approximately 3 miles from my local club literally all of my life, however the wait list is over a year and a half because ancient fudds refuse to turn in their membership so they can show up to every event in the same canvas hunting vest with 1978 NRA pins on it despite not having discharged a firearm since Clinton was in office.

I don't want to be a part of a club, group, or collective. I simply want to exchange currency for access to facilities where I can discharge my firearms in accordance with facility rules and local laws. Is there such a place?
Click to expand...
Im a member of a club and have pretty much used it as youve described in the bolded section of your post. I pay, go there and shoot whenever I want and leave.
 
SPO38 said:
Here's another gem. This is the path to membership in the Woodville Rod & Gun Club.

  1. Get sponsored by a club member.

  2. Find a sponsor, and fill out application form and submit to the club. The $40.00 application fee is due the night of your interview. The application will be reviewed by the Membership Committee. Plan to attend the next Membership Committee meeting held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 7:00pm, after which you will be attending your 1st meeting the same night. Or make special arrangements with the Membership Committee for an interview on a different day. Application fee is refundable only if the membership committee does not accept the application. Your sponsor must accompany you to the interview.

  3. After attending this 1st meeting you need to make 2 more meeting within the next 5 meetings or within the next 2½ months.
    Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of the month and the yearly membership fee of $80 is due when voted in.

  4. Participate in 3 work details with other club members within the first year of membership.
Nobody finds this odd at all?
Click to expand...
It's more than my club requires. But it's not odd. One thing you need to keep in mind.....Gun clubs are non profit. They require volunteers to do the work to keep the club running at the membership dues rates they charge. If nobody volunteers to do the work......then you have to pay to have the work done.....dues go up to pay for it.

Personally.......I enjoy my $175 membership fee and I put in about 4 hours a month at the club getting shit done and running events some events.

My point......."show up and shoot" dues are going to cost you more because someone's gotta pay for the maintenance costs if nobody is doing any work.

Good luck in your search for a for a range to just pay, shoot, and screw and not have to go through a sponsorship.

One last thing......we actually do have plenty of guys at my club that pay dues, shoot, and screw. About 800 of them. These guys were a bit different than you though in at least they didn't bitch about even finding a sponsor willing to vouche for them that they weren't unsafe shitheads just looking to be dickheads and cause damaged to our ranges.
 
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So buy a piece of land that backs up to a hill somewhere and a chain saw.
It's sharing the costs with all those other members who don't shoot that make it affordable. If our club was made up solely of just the folks who do actually shoot dues would probably come in at $300. $300 a month. Maybe a week.Besides the volunteer stuff, having a broad spectrum of member resources can be priceless when the SHTF, as it often does with outdoor ranges.
Besides, I'm guessing with a Savage .223, decent glass and some handloads you can hand Ol' Eddie Benchrest his ass at the next turkey shoot anyways.
 
SPO38 said:
*PRE-POST DISCLAIMER* I'm 5 days into quitting a 13 year pack-a-day habit and I'm a little on edge. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.

Can anyone recommend an outdoor rifle range that wouldn't require me to be part of a club? I used to shoot at Wayne's in West Boylston, however since he's moved to Florida, I've had to seek alternatives.
Nothing against gun clubs, I'm just not really social and if I'm paying upwards of $300 bucks for my first year, I don't feel I should be required to attend meetings just so I can hear about how Eddie Benchrest placed first at the most recent turkey shoot.

For example, I have resided approximately 3 miles from my local club literally all of my life, however the wait list is over a year and a half because ancient fudds refuse to turn in their membership so they can show up to every event in the same canvas hunting vest with 1978 NRA pins on it despite not having discharged a firearm since Clinton was in office.

I don't want to be a part of a club, group, or collective. I simply want to exchange currency for access to facilities where I can discharge my firearms in accordance with facility rules and local laws. Is there such a place?
Click to expand...

Well then.

You sound like not much fun to be around anyways . . .

Thanks
 
SPO38 said:
The thing is, there's always more to it than that. For example, I took a liking to the Hopkinton Sportsman's Association. In order to become a member there, you need to attend an invitation-only meeting to be voted in. To get an invitation, you have to go to their public events and convince a member to write a letter to the club board talking about how great of a guy you are. Again, I'm not there to make friends.
Click to expand...
Hopkinton does not require any letters to the board.

What it does require is a member sponsor who will stand up with you when you apply and vouch for your ability to shoot without scaring everyone in the immediate area. Members are only allowed to sponsor 2 people a year (board members have no such quota). The club is a bit hard to get into, but once you are a member you have access to all facilities on a self-serve basis except the skeet, trap and sporting clays machines.
 
I'm going to be that guy.

Why are you so unsociable and reclusive? Every club has a few a**h***s but many fun people to be around. It's too easy to avoid the a**h***s.
Reclusive people make me nervous around guns without a solid reason for the behavior.

Good luck with kicking the habit.
 
Maybe one of these decades the Barnstable range will reopen.

Isn't their a town public range similar to Barnstable in the Fall River or New Bedford area?
 
SPO38 said:
The thing is, there's always more to it than that. For example, I took a liking to the Hopkinton Sportsman's Association. In order to become a member there, you need to attend an invitation-only meeting to be voted in. To get an invitation, you have to go to their public events and convince a member to write a letter to the club board talking about how great of a guy you are. Again, I'm not there to make friends.
Click to expand...
You really dont need to "make friends" just make the efforts to get what you need to get in the door.
I know a club that will gladly take your $300 and wont care who you are and dont want to be gour friend either
 
Most clubs I've been a member of have been practically empty on the weekends, asides from the occasional event or competition. I like Harvard since they have lots of smaller ranges. I drive around until I find an empty one. Even when you have a few neighbors, most people don't engage too much in conversation and will usually take the hint if you aren't too chatty.

All clubs will want you to attend at least one meeting to meet the board. But that's usually it. I'll gladly pay an extra $100 or so per year to not do yard work or whatever maintenance the club needs. I am very grateful for those that do, but I have limited free time and I'd rather spend it shooting or enjoying another hobby.
 
SPO38 said:
*PRE-POST DISCLAIMER* I'm 5 days into quitting a 13 year pack-a-day habit and I'm a little on edge. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.

Can anyone recommend an outdoor rifle range that wouldn't require me to be part of a club? I used to shoot at Wayne's in West Boylston, however since he's moved to Florida, I've had to seek alternatives.
Nothing against gun clubs, I'm just not really social and if I'm paying upwards of $300 bucks for my first year, I don't feel I should be required to attend meetings just so I can hear about how Eddie Benchrest placed first at the most recent turkey shoot.

For example, I have resided approximately 3 miles from my local club literally all of my life, however the wait list is over a year and a half because ancient fudds refuse to turn in their membership so they can show up to every event in the same canvas hunting vest with 1978 NRA pins on it despite not having discharged a firearm since Clinton was in office.

I don't want to be a part of a club, group, or collective. I simply want to exchange currency for access to facilities where I can discharge my firearms in accordance with facility rules and local laws. Is there such a place?
Click to expand...

My club is like this, not that far from Waynes either......we have many members that just pay the extra. In fact I used to be that way, but now I'm way more involved. There is no wait list.

You need two sponsors, and have to attend one business meeting at initial sign up. Where you will just have to stand up and they will vote you in without saying a word to anyone. That is all, If you want I can get myself and one other guy to sign your sponsorship. After that you can do as little or as much as you want. There are 15 hours mandatory to pay the 60 dollar fee, if you don't do them you simply pay more Which like $150 I think. There may be a one time first year initiation fee as well, gotta look at the paperwork.

Note that alot of Saturdays in Oct and Nov, the rifle range is closed because we pheasant hunt the property. Open on Sundays though.
We do a lot for kids at my club, that's why I got involved, and honestly I met a lot of nice guys, and now its a big part of my life. I never thought i'd get anywhere near this involved.

In general though, there is like 200 members and it's definately not overcrowded on 325 acres with skeet, trap, 100 yd rifle and 25 yd pistol ranges. All outdoor
PM me if interested.

Please note, if your going to be the guy that bitches when/if we raise the price of non working members.....we don't want you. With a small club where 10-20% of people put in work hours we highly value those who do their work hours. And doing work hours doesn't require being all social, in many cases you can do work hours all by yourself and just put them in. There fore when it comes time to raise the price of membership, those who sit on their ass get hit first.
 
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SPO38 said:
I don't feel I should be required to attend meetings just so I can hear about how Eddie Benchrest placed first at the most recent turkey shoot.

because ancient fudds refuse to turn in their membership so they can show up to every event in the same canvas hunting vest with 1978 NRA pins on it despite not having discharged a firearm since Clinton was in office.
Click to expand...
[laugh]
 
worcester pistol and rifle CLUB.

I went to 1 meeting in 3 years and that was to get voted in. pay your dues ($160/yr I think) and that's it. done.

sometimes I don't even talk to people that talk to me at the range...i just pretend like i'm a mime and they eventually leave me alone.
 

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