Gun club

[Battis]

If you don't have to belong to a gun club to shoot, consider yourself very lucky.
I have belonged to a nice gun club for many years, but every now and then, stupidity rears its stupid head.
I brought my H&K P7 to the range today, just to test function, not necessarily accuracy. But, a group of members had set up a bowling pin shoot practice session at the pistol range, and also commandeered the adjacent 100 yd range. It should have been posted on the website and every member should have been notified of the range closure. Never happened. Anyhoo, they said that I, and another member, could use the 200 yd range. OK, what the heck. The other shooter had an M1 carbine and I had the 9mm. He set up a target at 200 yds, and I only wanted to shoot at the berm (his M1 was a 9mm).
We were firing away, my P7 was flawless, then one of the guys from the bowling pin group drove over and told me I couldn't shoot the 9mm at the 200 yd range. I said I was shooting at the berm and he said - he really said - "can those bullets reach that far? I don't think they can." We thought he was kidding, but he wasn't. He said, "Let me see you hit it." What the heck - I fired off six shots and made a smiley face in the dirt - well, not really, but I made a relatively tight group in the dirt. He said, "You only got half of them in the berm." He had coke bottle glasses.
Can you imagine not knowing that a 9mm can hit a berm at 200 yds, while claiming to be a gun person?
Anyways, I ran it by the club president and he said he would have told the guy to go poop in his hat, and thanked me for keeping it calm.

[Arkansas Paul]

Yeah, that kind of stuff is frustrating.
I'm very lucky. My local gun club has 9 different ranges. It's only 10 minutes from my house.
So, I'm picky. If I go and there's a lot of folks shooting and all of the ranges are occupied, I turn around and go to the house.
Most of the time, I can find a range where no one is and have it to myself for an hour or so. Lots of other folks feel the same way, because there will be folks driving by slowly and going on to the next range if I'm there. It is a rare occasion that someone pulls up and starts shooting in the bay next to me, even though most of the ranges have 10-12 bays.
I'm fortunate.

[barnabus]

i shoot at crpc in charlotte. we have range nazis. most are old retirees that dont even shoot.when they come by my bench i just stop shooting till they leave

[Stew]

I live in an area where the state has public ranges in conservation areas. I have to drive about 35 minutes to get to the range, that's the only drawback. The only time I may have to wait for a shooting lane is on the weekends, but I'm retired so I try to shoot on the weekdays. There are two shooting lanes at 25, 50 and 100 yards which works out for me. If I wish to use a longer range lane, there are a couple private clubs within driving distance that have longer shooting lanes but I don't belong to any of them. So far I'm happy with what I have available.

[Shawlerbrook]

I am lucky and have my own range right out my back door. Most people are alright, but in every group there’s always “that guy”.

[sureYnot]

I miss all the free brass, lead, and ammo boxes/loading blocks. But I have a decent collection now and love my backyard range where I live now. I doubt they'd have been happy about shredded wet pack all over the lane.

[Half Dog]

During the summer months I’ll go in the middle of the day. I’ll usually have the range to myself.

[jsizemore]

Maybe the fella really can't hit the 200 yard berm with a 9mm. No telling where his shots are going. You and the clubs liability sets on this no shooting rascal's shoulders. That's why I got out of my gun club. I'm fortunate to have a big backyard.

[Sasquatch-1]

I belong to a club where once a month during the warmer months we would have a 2x4 shoot. The dates would be published on the club website and in the club house. We would only have 10 to 12 shooter max. Almost without fail someone would show up to use the 25 yd range where we held the shoot. We didn't get jacked out of shape but would tell the member as long as he didn't mind waiting, he could shoot between relays. He would also be invited to pay the supply fee and join us if he wished.

[MrWolf]

Would have told him if the 9mm couldn't shoot that far then what was he worried about? Probably would have said that after I told him to piss off.

[Nines&Twos]

Someone should tell Jerry Miculek that a 9mm won't hit that far out......


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ3XwizTqDw

[Battis]

They were holding an unannounced, unposted practice for an upcoming shoot. They should have waited for me to shoot, not the other way around. Even the club president was unaware of their practice session. The Karen wasn't shooting at the 200 yd range, but he went out of his way to bust 'em on me.
Maybe I can get a certificate for qualifying with a 9mm at 200 yds.

[dverna]

I only had a few "situations" at public ranges. Fewer at member gun clubs. None at all on my range until last year when I had a member of the hunt club challenge my safety rules - and that did not last more than a minute.

25, 50, 100 and 200 yard range off my back porch. Shooting table is semi-permanently set up by the grill.

I do not miss the "free" brass as I have enough to last a lifetime.

[Iron369]

There’s really only 2 outdoor ranges anywhere near me. One is pretty well known and really popular. The other is expensive and has shooting tubes. There’s a couple indoor ranges that I use for pistol shooting but they get crowded and sketchy at times.
I live on a 1/4acre in a subdivision with a n elementary school about 200y behind my house so a home range is a little out of the question.

[rbuck351]

When I retired I insisted on having a home where I could have a range on my own property. I found that place about 2 miles outside of the small town of Eureka MT. There are only 6 or 7 places within a 1/2 mile of me most have 20 acres or more. 4 of us have ranges. I can only get 170 yards on my place because of steep hill on the back of my place. I really got tired of having to deal with range nazis and the folks that just want to make as much noise as they can as fast as they can seldom with proper safety practice. I won't go to a public range or gun club.

[.429&H110]

If you are ever in Fairbanks AK, check out the Cushman range
it will make you scream where is the RSO. There isn't one.

[Adam Helmer]

I joined my local gun club the day before I bought my nearby farm in May 1988. I am a past Board Member and continue as a club member as a senior for $15 per year. During the week I am all alone on the 16-acre range with 6 covered firing benches with 50, 100, 200 and 250 target frames.

The problem IS the trap shooters have taken over the club board and the RULES for handgun and rifle shooters is the reason I like my 6 ranges on my 60-acre farm. I shoot in my backyard or out to 400 yards in the big hayfield.

At the club with about 150 members, we have "rules:"

1. No holster draw before firing.
2. No Rapid Fire-no more than 3 shots in 15 seconds.
3. No silhouette or humanoid targets.
4. Nothing TACTICAL. (Whatever that means?) I am glad I have an option. I provide an alternative to good people needing real training. I do exclude certain students who do not pass "muster."

I run handgun training classes on my farm nearby the club where a piece of paper, the B-27 silhouette target, has no concerns. CCW folks NEED to holster draw to "groove" their survival in gravest extreme. Gun clubs can descend into WOK or whatever nonsense. I am glad I can whistle up old dog, put the Garand or SKS into the Ranger and go ring gongs out to 400 yards at my discretion. The hayfield is 22.15 acres and is about 250 yards by 410 yards. Rapid fire depends on how fast I WANT to shoot.

Be well.

Adam

[fatelk]

I wish I had land I could shoot on. I grew up on a farm with plenty of room. Now I'm raising my family in town. Around here, you either need family land, or have to be wealthy to afford room enough to shoot on.

So I belong to a gun club less than a half hour away. There's no range master; members get a key to the gate and are responsible for following the safety rules. There are a half dozen pistol bays and a nice 100 yard rifle bay. It would be nice if it was longer but it's better than nothing. In the ten years I've been there I've only seen one annoying incident, and that was pretty minor, but I usually go during the week when it's pretty deserted.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Think yourselves "lucky" at our gun club you can't shoot any round that exceeds 308 Winchester so that excludes 17Rem, 270 Win, 30.06 etc; also any firearm with a barrel shorter than 20" is a no no.
And that is after paying $AU28/hour range fees.

[Shell knob]

There’s a large range a few miles from me. It comprises several hundred acres. Has about 6 acre pond for fishing. There’s trap, archery, and range to 600 yards I think. Many area law enforcement departments use the range. I do hear shooting from my home, sometimes full auto. I’m fortunate to be able to shoot the small calibers out the kitchen window in bad weather, and the big stuff from my patio. When there’s no crops in the field I could shoot to about 6-700 yards