Harvard Sportsmen's Club

Very funny Jack. There is no GC stenciled anywhere on the chair ...
(I just got the joke).

That chair was shot at last year I think.
You'd think it would have learned its lesson by now.

I qualified and still barely use it because they won't allow .22lr. You can shoot a 50cal...but not .22lr because of "safety". I do not understand the logic.
Would you have to hold so high
that you'd be aiming up in the air like a freaking mortar tube,
and a small elevation error from there would lob a round over a hill?
(This is just mansplaining; a guess).

For all I know there's a wicked crosswind and it's azimuth that's the danger.
🤷‍♂️
 
(I just got the joke).


You'd think it would have learned its lesson by now.


Would you have to hold so high
that you'd be aiming up in the air like a freaking mortar tube,
and a small elevation error from there would lob a round over a hill?
(This is just mansplaining; a guess).

For all I know there's a wicked crosswind and it's azimuth that's the danger.
🤷‍♂️
I, and many others, regularly shoot out to 400yds with .22lr. You don't just aim at the sky like a mortar, you adjust the elevation turret on your scope accordingly. A slight adjustment error with a centerfire rifle is going to send a round over the berm a lot easier than a .22lr. That whole rationale is ass backwards.
 
I do not understand the logic.
the logic is to prevent .22lr going over the berm at 300yds due to imbecilism of some operating operators - look at 100yds and machine gun ranges for samples.
there is a farm beyond that berm, if i am not mistaken. and a 60yds range which is more in danger for that.

i would love that rule changed, may be when the range changes the chair, eventually, we could have this conversation...
 
the logic is to prevent .22lr going over the berm at 300yds due to imbecilism of some operators - look at 100yds and machine gun ranges for samples.
there is a farm beyond that berm, if i am not mistaken.
understood... but that imbecilism is FAR more likely to send a centerfire round over the berm than a .22lr round.
 
There are many centerfire rounds that are also not allowed at the 200/300. The .45/70 is a good example. That caliber was used in matches as far as 1000 yards so there's no doubt it would easily reach the 300 yard backstop. The problem with all these calibers is not their power but their rainbow trajectory. Most shooters don't realize that these calibers hit several feet low at 200 and 300. The club doesn't want some nitwit bouncing bullets off the ground on the way to the backstop.
 
Quite frankly, none of it makes much sense and nothing will change until the range chair changes. Said range chair didn't want to let me qualify at 200y because I had a "short barrel" (16") rifle with iron sights (gasp!) chambered in 5.56 (which is only good out to 100y, according to him). I had to convince him and then I easily passed the test.
 
I know I complain a lot but the reality is that Harvard is a great club with a lot of people working hard to keep it running. It's like Yelp reviews - people are less likely to leave a review if they had a positive transaction than if they need to bitch about a negative experience. Here too I often point out the things that don't make sense to me but I don't spend enough time acknowledging all the good things the club has going for it.
 
There are many centerfire rounds that are also not allowed at the 200/300. The .45/70 is a good example. That caliber was used in matches as far as 1000 yards so there's no doubt it would easily reach the 300 yard backstop. The problem with all these calibers is not their power but their rainbow trajectory. Most shooters don't realize that these calibers hit several feet low at 200 and 300. The club doesn't want some nitwit bouncing bullets off the ground on the way to the backstop.
I get it, but I would question if that is actually a realistic safety concern. A 40gr .22lr at 300yds is not carrying enough energy to hit the ground, go over the 20ft (guessing) berm and then continue to travel the additional 100+yds through dense trees to the private club road, let alone an additional 400 or so yards to the next property.
 
I don't see a problem with a 16" 5.56. My son qualified at 500 yards with an M16 and no optic and I believe the M4 has a 14.5" barrel. If you can shoot, 16" is plenty and if you can't, no barrel will be long enough.
 
I know I complain a lot but the reality is that Harvard is a great club with a lot of people working hard to keep it running. It's like Yelp reviews - people are less likely to leave a review if they had a positive transaction than if they need to bitch about a negative experience. Here too I often point out the things that don't make sense to me but I don't spend enough time acknowledging all the good things the club has going for it.
I love Harvard and consider it one of the best clubs in MA. I'm just frustrated over this one archaic rule that has really put a damper on my use of the range.
 
Quite frankly, none of it makes much sense and nothing will change until the range chair changes. Said range chair didn't want to let me qualify at 200y because I had a "short barrel" (16") rifle with iron sights (gasp!) chambered in 5.56 (which is only good out to 100y, according to him). I had to convince him and then I easily passed the test.
I'm surprised. It might be because Ed likes me, but I qual'ed with an iron sight 16" AR. Is it possible he was busting on you?
 
I love Harvard and consider it one of the best clubs in MA. I'm just frustrated over this one archaic rule that has really put a damper on my use of the range.
I've been frustrated with the fact that I can't shoot my 10/22 at the 25y plate. Try as I might I haven't made any progress with getting that changed.


I'm surprised. It might be because Ed likes me, but I qual'ed with an iron sight 16" AR. Is it possible he was busting on you?
It's possible, I suppose.
 
I've been frustrated with the fact that I can't shoot my 10/22 at the 25y plate. Try as I might I haven't made any progress with getting that changed.
i see people shooting .22lr rifles at those 4 plates on the left end of 25yds range all the time - somebody gave you grief over that? hmm. it is not what i would do, but, just surprised to hear that.
 
i see people shooting .22lr rifles at those 4 plates on the left end of 25yds range all the time - somebody gave you grief over that? hmm. it is not what i would do, but, just surprised to hear that.

Listed on the rules board. I do recall it being discussed a number of years ago at a club meeting.

An example of creeping rules. Someone had a problem with it.

For that matter, didn't the fifty have steel plate at some point?
 
I get it, but I would question if that is actually a realistic safety concern. A 40gr .22lr at 300yds is not carrying enough energy to hit the ground, go over the 20ft (guessing) berm and then continue to travel the additional 100+yds through dense trees to the private club road, let alone an additional 400 or so yards to the next property.
At the Monadnock car shoots some of the handgunners would hit the car on the second skip. Jack.
 
... these calibers hit several feet low at 200 and 300. The club doesn't want some nitwit bouncing bullets off the ground on the way to the backstop.
There you go, that makes more sense.

One of the generic (i.e., non-Harvard) horror stories I'd heard in the past
was idiots shooting at stuff sitting on the ground on an iced-over range's forecourt
bouncing ricochets over the berm.
 
I love Harvard and consider it one of the best clubs in MA. I'm just frustrated over this one archaic rule that has really put a damper on my use of the range.
Harvard's a fantastic range. From reading this thread it sounds like the 100 has some steel on it. If true that's amazing. When I asked about steel on the rifle ranges 10 years ago they acted like there would be a body count from the carnage.
 
Yes there was steel at the 50 and at the machinegun range too. As for the plate rack, if people were shooting .22 rifles, they were standing right next to the sign that says handguns only.
 
The sign at the 25y used to say to rifle calibers on plates or something to that effect, so I used to shoot .22 rifle there all the time - fantastic for new shooters, ladies, and kids. Then they changed to sign to say no rifles at all, which is a shame.
 
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