Havard Members, post your opinion on clays at the range (and other misc topics)

Dench

Dench

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There is a new rule in town at harvard: No shotgun clays at any range other than the shotgun range. So, no more laying clays on the berms of any range. This rule is relatively new, and I think it is not in the spirit of Harvard Sportsmens Club.

the reason given is that the clays break up into pieces and become trash on the range, so a new rule is in place, although there is still no signage up saying that this is prohibited.

I posted about it here at NES and Harvards president directed me towards Harvards forums / the clubs BoD meetings.

Please post your opinion, support or not I think its needed.

http://www.harvardsportsmensclub.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2717#2717

The post also covers range signage and AR500 being not allowed on the range.
 
They are like uranium, it takes a while to disappear and in roughly the same time frame.
 
el duderino said:
Are they using biodegradable clays? That just sounds dumb to restrict people from having even more fun.
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Yes, they are biodegradable. From the President directly, they 'dont biodegrade fast enough.' But realistically speaking I have never seen a clay issue at Harvard since i joined in 09'. The shotgun range has a ton, sure, but ive never noticed this massive collection of old clays on backstops thats been implied thats ruining the range.

economist said:
No AR500? I see people shooting steel at HSC. Is the rule that you can only shoot club steel?
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Yes, there are exceptions made I think. I'm pretty sure the pistol competition guys bring those steel popper things and shoot those (i could be mistaken, please confirm/deny). Members are not allowed to do the same.

and yes, you can shoot club steel if its provided by the club and "approved." But, its limited at this time. I put some pokers out about having steel out at the 100,200, and 300 and was shot down immediately, even though there is occasionally steel on these ranges anyway thats apparently approved sometimes and not approved others, and shot either way.
 
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Some people clean up after themselves and some don't. I know one concern they have at the action pits is that they are used by lots of groups and don't want to have people paying to use the club come onto a dirty range. I know members have mixed feelings about that issue too(renting the club), but I like a lot of the activities, and enjoy participating at my home club.

I'm all for the laissez faire attitude the club generally has towards range use, but I also don't like to come in and find a range littered with brass and garbage. I am not saying I think this is a major problem, or even a problem, but people have different ideas about what constitutes cleaning up after yourself, and for some people that probably means that if they see any orange at all it's too much.

I was out there over the weekend, and while I picked up a bit of stuff (just old targets) at the 100 yard range, one of the range bosses(Rancho, I think?) showed up to shoot and police the range. My guess is that most of us see the range after its been cleaned up by someone, not necessarily the way it was left. But that is just my guess.
 
My personal views:

1) I think it's ridiculous that clays aren't allowed at the 100 yard range. I can see it at the 50 yard range as it is the most heavily used range and really is the face of the club. At the 100 yard range, I believe that clay fragments do not detract from its appearance nor do they affect its functionality.

2) I can see restrictions on personal steel as there are plenty of retarded shooters who have no idea how to safely shoot steel. I've had to stop idiots shooting the plate racks with rifles.
 
vellnueve said:
2) I can see restrictions on personal steel as there are plenty of retarded shooters who have no idea how to safely shoot steel. I've had to stop idiots shooting the plate racks with rifles.
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Harvard could implement a system similar to the qual thing they have for the 200-300 yard range but with steel plates. Come in, talk to a range chair about plates, safety, rules and limitations, and boom that person can be cleared on not clear to manage their own steel. I came into Harvard and got my 200-300 yard sticker in my sleep, that was a total breeze and i didn't even do it with a gun i owned [rofl]. The same could be done for plates.
 
Never thought clays on a shooting range made it look messy, only issue ive seen with clays on the berm at my club is that nobody can seem to hit them [laugh]
 
if you guys are members at harvard please keep track of the thread on havards forum. so far we have a good amount of support for "Pro clays" [rofl]

Maybe we can get the club to change its mind.
 
So let me see if I understand this. Clays can be shattered and millions of tiny pieces on the trap/skeet range and they are not considered a mess but if they are on the rifle range they are.

Holbrook has a trap range and its VERY active. If you have ever seen it is like a sea of orange. There is no such rule at Holbrook as to shooting clays on the berm at the plinking range, 25 yards, or the 200 which has a 100 yard berm. The clays at the rifle range end up either shattered in a few days to the point where you cant see them or covered with dirt from folks who cant hit them.

Sorry to hear that your club is seeing that its somehow messy. Hopefully somebody will step up and change the rule.
 
I was at the safety walk through for new members on SAT and there was no mention of clays being prohibited, only that you clean up after yourself..... As a matter of fact someone was setting up clays while we were walking through. Perhaps there may be some communication issues Im not sure. Either way, why not raise the question to the board directly as mentioned before?
 
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I will favor to have clays target on either range. I purposely purchase several cases of biodegradable clays and hope to have some plinking fun with my kid.


Sent from my iPhone 5.
 
xtry51 said:
There's already steel plates on the 300. We fixed the chain on one the last time I was there for range maintanence. Did they take it down?
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thats good to hear. everytime i check it, which is not often, therre is no gong up on that range. I'll have to check it out next time i go!

**DRB** said:
I was at the safety walk through for new members on SAT and there was no mention of clays being prohibited, only that you clean up after yourself..... As a matter of fact someone was setting up clays while we were walking through. Perhaps there may be some communication issues Im not sure. Either way, why not raise the question to the board directly as mentioned before?
Click to expand...

Per the President last week:

Dan Hurley said:
Probably, this forum isn't the place where clubs discuss details of their policies and rules. But I'll do my best briefly. Follow-up discussion should perhaps be on the HSC forum, in person, or at the meeting this Thursday. This is not because it is a secret, but because the NES format is more beneficial to folks who are investigating various clubs.

A couple of the recent HSC e-mail messages referred to clays. HSC still does it's best to support "plinking" wherever possible; this includes the 25/50 Yard Range, the 100 Yard Range, and both Class III Ranges. Plinking targets include plastic jugs, tin cans, etc.; items that do not shatter, leave debris, or prevent the bullet from passing easily through and impacting the vertical berm. (But the 65 Yard Range is technically one of the Action Pits, and only paper targets are allowed in the Action Pits. )

Also, in response to my mis-statement regarding clays, the various Range Chairs clarified to me that clay targets belong only at the Shotgun Range. It is true that there are biodegradable clays, but the Shotgun Range crew can verify that they do not degrade in any practical time frame (the Shotgun Range crew rakes up thousands of biodegradable clays). Since the Range Chairs do a tremendous amount of work cleaning the berms, I respect their wishes.

Please bring this discussion to Thursdays meeting. If you think we are becoming too "FUDDly," we can discuss needed changes. But if you also note that you enjoy how clean the ranges are currently, we need to listen to those who clean them, and maybe lend a hand.
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Anyway, i made a much longer post on the Harvard forums. I only made this thread to direct attention towards the thread on those forums, as they are essentially dead (and not read or checked often). That is the intention of this thread.

If I have to end up going to the BoD to ask to be able to shoot clays, I guess I will at this point since i am in it this deep, although i think its silly that I have to actually do that.


just as an interesting and sorta funny side note, the president is saying you cant but the treasurer is saying you can as long as you clean up. It looks like there is not a strong consensus on this rule, as some range chairs with the president say you cant, and some other people along with the person giving range tours plus the treasurer are saying you can.

hopefully we get some solid answers soon.
 
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Rider said:
Some people clean up after themselves and some don't. I know one concern they have at the action pits is that they are used by lots of groups and don't want to have people paying to use the club come onto a dirty range. I know members have mixed feelings about that issue too(renting the club), but I like a lot of the activities, and enjoy participating at my home club.

I'm all for the laissez faire attitude the club generally has towards range use, but I also don't like to come in and find a range littered with brass and garbage. I am not saying I think this is a major problem, or even a problem, but people have different ideas about what constitutes cleaning up after yourself, and for some people that probably means that if they see any orange at all it's too much.

I was out there over the weekend, and while I picked up a bit of stuff (just old targets) at the 100 yard range, one of the range bosses(Rancho, I think?) showed up to shoot and police the range. My guess is that most of us see the range after its been cleaned up by someone, not necessarily the way it was left. But that is just my guess.
Click to expand...

I agree with you I too dislike the garbage and junk at the range . As for clays I don't see a problem with it but if the consensus is that they should be used on shotgun only then so be it. I for one enjoy shooting the clays on the berm but like I said I hate to see a range that looks like this rangeshots 001.jpg rangeshots 002.jpg
each one of us as members have a duty to ourselves and fellow members to act responsibly ad to me that includes cleaning up after ourselves.

on another note I am not the range "boss" lol.. I hate that moniker . I stepped forward with another member to be co-chairs for the 100 yd range because I felt like I use it enough why not take some action and help out more. I would really like to thank the grounds crew for cleaning up the 100yd so well..

Let me add too that I am in favor of steel on the 100yd range..
 
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xtry51 said:
There's already steel plates on the 300. We fixed the chain on one the last time I was there for range maintanence. Did they take it down?
Click to expand...

I saw them on the 200 last Saturday. 300 was too far for my eyes to see.

Personally, I don't have any problem with not being able to shoot clays at the 25/50 and 100 yard ranges.
 
Rancho said:
I agree with you I too dislike the garbage and junk at the range . As for clays I don't see a problem with it but if the consensus is that they should be used on shotgun only then so be it. I for one enjoy shooting the clays on the berm but like I said I hate to see a range that looks like thisView attachment 29598View attachment 29599
each one of us as members have a duty to ourselves and fellow members to act responsibly ad to me that includes cleaning up after ourselves.

on another note I am not the range "boss" lol.. I hate that moniker . I stepped forward with another member to be co-chairs for the 100 yd range because I felt like I use it enough why not take some action and help out more. I would really like to thank the grounds crew for cleaning up the 100yd so well..

Let me add too that I am in favor of steel on the 100yd range..
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if your pointing out the bottles and broken target stands or the clays, but I think the dead leaves and broken target stands look far worse than a few broken clays on the ground.

Maybe they should make a compost pile(if they don't already have one) and put the leaves and clays there.
 
What drives me crazy are the broken target stands. Nobody misses that consistently. People shoot the stands on purpose.
 
Tim94gt said:
I'm not sure if your pointing out the bottles and broken target stands or the clays, but I think the dead leaves and broken target stands look far worse than a few broken clays on the ground.

Maybe they should make a compost pile(if they don't already have one) and put the leaves and clays there.
Click to expand...

mostly just the general look of a junk yard is what I was pointing out. It was just a nasty mess is all. Like I said, I am not against using clays on the berm I've seen it at every range I have been to so far and I have used them myself at other ranges.
 
economist said:
What drives me crazy are the broken target stands. Nobody misses that consistently. People shoot the stands on purpose.
Click to expand...

I'm a pretty good shot, but have put a round or two into a stand in my day. Mostly with a pistol while moving, but still.

Never attribute to malice what can be equally explained by... you know.
 
Rancho said:
mostly just the general look of a junk yard is what I was pointing out. It was just a nasty mess is all. Like I said, I am not against using clays on the berm I've seen it at every range I have been to so far and I have used them myself at other ranges.
Click to expand...

That does look bad, is there sign in/out sheets to keep track of who cleans up after themselves?
 

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