Ranges that will let you try a gun?

[Roymond]

Hey Everyone,

I recently got my Class A LTC in Massachusetts and have been thinking about what my first gun purchase will be. I've come up with several ideas such as a Glock 17, Glock 22, S&W MP9, among others that will not only be good guns to possess as well as shoot but will also add to the collection that my father and I have.

However, I don't know if I'd like the Glock's safe action and I'd like to try it out before I make up my mind as to what to get. I know if I go down to Hoffman's in CT or Smith and Wesson in Springfield, MA I can rent a gun and a lane and try the pistol. I was wondering if there are more of these locations and if so where are they?

Any help would be much appreciated, and I apologize if this has been previously covered. It doesn't have to be in Massachusetts, it just has to allow MA residents to shoot (I'll obviously have to come back to MA to make the purchase)

 

[Mike-Mike]

Contact you local NRA instructor and explain your situation. It will most likely be cheaper and you will get a lesson as well.

 

[Len-2A Training]

No idea where you are, so I'll throw it all out there.

Public-Rental Ranges:
American Firearms School - North Attleboro
Manchester Firing Line - Manchester, NH
S&W Shooting Center - Springfield
Bob's - Salisbury

All of the above should have all (exception: S&W SC only carries S&W guns of course) the models you noted to try.

Mike-Mike's idea may be the best one however, as an experienced instructor near you can give you some pointers on what to look for, how well you shoot each gun, how it fits your hand, etc. Many have most if not all the guns you are looking at and they may make other suggestions based on what you are looking to do with it.

 

[SeanT]

2nd for AFS in North Attleboro. I was in your same situation and they had all of the guns I was interested in available for rental.

 

[Roymond]

Thank you for the quick responses everyone. I'll definitely look into AFS and Bob's.

 

[bfm]

Start a post asking if someone would be willing to invite you as a guest to their range and pick a weekend. Then post that you will be bringing pizza/chinese/bbq take your pick and invite other members who have the guns you want to try to show up for free food in exchange for trying their pistols. Also, offer to supply name brand production ammo (winchester white box etc) for your shooting.

 

[whatluck]

Where in MA are you?

 

[atmay]

I've got a Glock 22 and a Kahr K40c you can try out at Leicester Rod n Gun anytime.

 

[SeanT]

Another, always popular option is to go green and attend one of the NES shoots. From what I've heard, lots of people willing to let you try their guns, even more if you bring your own ammo. If you do this method, you might want to ask in the shoot thread if anyone has what you're interested in and if they can bring it.

 

[MrAl]

No idea where you are, so I'll throw it all out there.

Public-Rental Ranges:
American Firearms School - North Attleboro
Manchester Firing Line - Manchester, NH
S&W Shooting Center - Springfield
Bob's - Salisbury

Slight word of caution:

I have done this many times with friends after I was addicted to shooting but before I had my MA LTC. I have found that rental guns do give you a good idea of what feels good in your hand, but they are used about 100x more than a gun that you own would, and more than likely not maintained as they should be.

I have seen 3 Glocks from the same rental facility all jam with the slide sticking rearward, double feed, not lock back, double feed - you name it. When brought back to the counter the clerk simply put them back in the stock of other rental guns. I finally rented a Glock 26 and it worked fine, because this is probably the one that gets fired the least out of their selection.

I rented an M&P with a supposed "non MA" trigger at AFS, and it had to be the worst gun I have ever shot. Even the guys monitoring the range say that thing is screwed up. This almost turned me off the M&P completely, until I saw some at a different rental range(MFL).

I rented a Sig that had a slide that refused to chamber the round fully, and I had to manually push it forward to get it to fire - more than likely needed a new recoil spring and more lubricant.

The guns that worked the best were the ones that probably didn't get shot as much..compacts, larger caliber guns (you have to buy the ammo at the facility), usually aren't the popular rentals.

Bottom line: Renting can give you an idea how they may feel, but may not give you a good idea of how yours would shoot. Take this into account, and if you have questions, attend a NES shoot to see how that gun that isn't abused operates.

 

[Engineer]

Slight word of caution:
I have found that rental guns do give you a good idea of what feels good in your hand, but they are used about 100x more than a gun that you own would, and more than likely not maintained as they should be.

LenS gave you The List and MrAl provides experience matching my own.

AFS has good variety and are very flexible within same calibre, etc I really enjoyed my experiences there but the most popular guns were well used and a bit dirty. Jams weren't frequent but my experience with same M&P's at S&W Academy in Springfield was COMPLETELY Different.

S&W Academy is really nice but obviously can only provide experience with their Pistols & ervolvers. Though, they're still not immune to wear and tear issues.

Consider narrowing down the range of options @ AFS, MFL, etc then find some well maintained examples before making final decisions.

 

[Skater]

I had a simliar experience last night at AFS. I rented a Sig P239 that I wanted to try before I buy. I loaded the mag, click, no boom. 2x i cleared the chamber and mag, but still failed to fire. One of the AFS employees took a look at it, got it to fire, but had another FTF. He said it may have been the ammo( 9mm which i bought there), or needed a cleaning, and offered me another sig - but a different model. I think it was a 229. Not quite the same since the 229 is a hi cap 13 shot, and the 239 is an 8+1. Not quite what I wanted to shoot, but I was there anyway and they were pretty busy. You may want to try AFS when they are not so crowded, and they might be able to clean the gun if that's the problem.