Should I Join a Gun Club/Range?

[redlevel]

Now that I'm about to be re-tarred (three more days!) I am seriously considering joining a gun club with a nice range. At least the pictures on the website look good. I have talked with some members at a booth they set up at local gun shows recruiting members. The ones I have talked with are old and grey-bearded like me, and at least one is a retired teacher. The price is right, the rules seem fair, and the pictures show a nice facility.

I own plenty of property on which to shoot, but have often wished for a more formal environment with permanent benches, yardage markers, covered shooting positions, etc. Also, I would prefer to sight-in my deer rifles somewhere other than the farm. There is enough gunfire as it is. The only time in my life I have ever shot at a formal range was when qualifying at the Police Academy back in the early seventies.

The only down-side is that the range is about a 45-50 minute drive. Living in a rural setting, we are accustomed to driving this far to shop, eat out, go to the doctor, movie, etc., so I guess this wouldn't be much different. At the price, it would be worth it if I only used the range three or four times per year.

What do y'all think? Should I, or not?

[HAWKEYE10]

Sounds like a good deal to me. I think you will find you will go at least once or twice a month. I drive about 35 minutes to a state range thats nice. I have been retired six years and find you need something to do beside stuff at home. Don

[m657]

It helps discipline you in various ways. It gives you opportunity to prowl the gun shops around while you're looking for that next big hunk o'BBQ!

A little socializing, a LOT of shooting; exposure to new guns/products you won't run across on your own staying home.

And it gets you away from the dreaded Hunny-Do List....for a while....

a chance to pick up reloading supplies...gawk at the new fishing boats....check out stuff you might need but forgot you wanted....

[jeffsmith]

Joining a range will do more than be good for shooting
Now that you are retired it will provide some people to Shoot the Breeze with

However, putting up "a more formal environment with permanent benches, yardage markers, covered shooting positions, etc"
on your own property might be a good project too

[n4zov]

As I get older and have more health problems, the idea of being alone in an isolated area has less and less appeal. Being a member of an organized club with a good range sounds great to me.

[Strato]

I was gonna suggest setting up your own range since you have the land but m657 made some really good points.

[Maddog 521]

I am also retired. I drive 40 miles round trip to get there and back. I go early in the morning during the week when no one else it there. I would rather be there alone than with a group of people. If I were in your position I would spend the money and make a nice range on my property. You could invite some of those old duffers out to shoot at your place.

[cowboy117]

Go for it!I'm retired also and belong to a range[5 miles from my house].The friends you will make there will be worth it alone,plus the shooting is great.If you're into club shooting,there is plenty to do.Win,win.Set up a range on your property also.The best of both worlds.

[Andy Griffith]

I highly recommend it.

I heard there is a fairly nice, long outdoor range around Macon (600yds?) to shoot. I don't know if this is the same one, but I have a friend that belongs to it and he likes it.

I wouldn't know what to do if I had a 600 yard range to shoot at! I guess I'd have to start using .22 LR instead of shorts or something.

[s&wchad]

Yes, you should join a gun club. It's a lot of fun, your skills will improve and you‘ll make new friends. You may have more than one in the area and they’re all different, so look around and choose the one that suits you best.

The club I belong to is a non-profit member based association that offers skeet, trap, sporting clays, indoor pistol, 50/100/200 meter rifle, archery, slingshot and horseshoe. Almost everything is run by volunteers. We have Friday night fish fries, various leagues and organized events (NRA classes, fishing trips, hunts, casino trips…) and a strong junior program. We can lower our annual dues from $200 to $125 by volunteering our time, so I work as an RO on the pistol range in the winter (it‘s heated). I also help out with the shotgun league and the NRA Women on Target events and have a great time doing it.

As an added bonus, one of our members makes group purchases of reloading supplies and has the best prices around. Members often post guns for sale and we have swap meets (mini gun shows), where you can find treasures you didn't even know you needed!

[sipowicz]

I run the mobile range for our dept. and can shoot pretty much all I want, but those 3 indoor lanes can get a little claustrophobic...I like going to the outdoor range once a month...not only do you meet new people, but everyone seems to like showing off their guns more than shooting them..so I get to try all kinds of guns....really helps to keep the gun buying bug down to a minimum when you can shoot them for free.

[Pilgrim]

I can shoot in my back yard.

There is a range/club 1/2 mile from my house and I joined there just to get away.


Right off the bat, I meet some good old guys of like interests. I'm 64 and need some other old pharts to 'hang' with.

Next thing you know, I'm the club president and enjoying the club even more.

Do it, you'll never know how good it might get. The worst that can happen is that you don't want to go anymore. The best is new friends, new activities and a new place to get away to.

[JamesArthur60]

If the price, distance, and facility is good it should be worth your time. I've been a local range member for years. Very nice modern range. But, I find during the summer months I make fewer visits. During the ****** cold Ohio winter I tend to go more due to boredom. I will tell you at times a close booth indoor range can be a little nerve ending. Some of the rental customers tend to shoot holes in the side walls or ceilings. Plus, it can be annoying when you are shooting a .22 and the guy next to you is shooting a .223 assault rifle rapid fire or 12 ga. shotgun. You might find it best to shoot on certain days at certain hours. When all us old guys are there.

[H Richard]

Belonging to a club range gives you the opportunity to learn new shooting disciplines and make new friends. Perhaps join in competition. Gives you a place to go and a reason to go there. I belong to 4 different clubs, and am an officer in one. One is an indoor bullseye range. One is a trap & skeet club. one is a multi use range that has everything but indoor and shotgun sports. One is just 5 minutes from my house.

[BarbC]

My dad moved to Florida so he could join Port Malabar Rifle & Pistol Club . He's there every morning except for bowling Tuesday.

[oldman45]

If I had the place to do so, I would build my own range. I could shoot on my times, have friends over to shoot and being retired would give me time to do the things needed to make it first class.

Then the cost of range fees, coupled with fuel costs to get there and you could buy a lot of ammo to shoot at home.

I tried the membership in two ranges. One outdoor and one indoor.

The outdoor was closed on Sundays and during rain. There went $300 a yr that I did not feel I got my moneys worth of benefit but it was 10 miles from my house. My membership lasted two yrs before I said enough.

The indoor was nice. Closed on Monday, 15 miles from my home and offered a lot of incidental benefits. Down side was a lot of people chose to shoot at the same time I wanted to shoot so I would often wait a hour or more to get a lane. The fee was $175 per yr and $15 per hr on the range per person so if I carried someone with me, that was $30 per hr. Then they would only allow lead bullets and I hate shooting lead in some of my guns. They checked what you were shooting with a magnet. Their reloads were high priced and their factory ammo was out of sight in price. A B-27 target was .25 each. Then there were a few inuries that happened there and we learned they did not carry insurance to cover accidents. Not being a member I pay $25 per hour and only use it occasionally.

I would build my own and use the other a time or two a year as a guest.

[Rule3]

Yes. Why not? If the price is good you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I am so glad I joined mine. It is nothing special but it is private and I do not have to go to the crazy public range. The public range is nice as far as layout and condition but just to many people. The private is just a a few bays in the woods but usually only a few people are there..

Go for it!

[okie john]

Your experience will depend on the facility itself, the rules and how they’re enforced, the people who are allowed to shoot there, and the cost. I worked on three indoor commercial public ranges. All had clubs attached. Max distance was 25 yards, and the noise and blast were pretty bad with anything bigger than a 38.

On weekends, these ranges were crawling with idiots. It was loud, unsafe and not much fun. But on a weekday morning, it was quiet and you could get some interesting work done without a busload of Japanese tourists showing up and waving guns at each other or sudden cease-fires followed by the rangemaster chewing someone out on the PA system.

If the range permits the type of shooting you like to do, and you can have the place to mostly yourself at least some of the time, and the cost isn’t prohibitive, I’d say sign up.

Usually, the more retirees there are as members, the better the place will be run.


Okie John

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I've been a member of a private indoor pistol range for many years. Me and a handful of guys meet most every Friday... we shoot as much bull as we do bullets. I shoot rifles at a State operated public range. Me and a handful of guys meet most every Monday... we shoot a lot of bull and bullets. If I could only shoot on my property by myself I wouldn't shoot near as much as I do, wouldn't be learning from others, and be missing out on some great friends.

[sipowicz]

BTW, if you don't like people, then you may want to consider not joining.

[ladder13]

I have a private range about 2 miles from my house. Has 100 yard rifle, 25 and 50 yard pistol, Bianchi plates, and trap range. Cost $125 for the year, shoot from 8 am to dusk.
My friend Louis, who's also a member, prefers Tenoroc in Lakeland Florida He drives down every third month and spends 2 weeks there. Likes to throw the bull with the ol' timers, he says.

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Sounds like it's a little ways off, but I reckon it's worth it just for the socializing. Up here in what used to be Fat Teddy's territory, there are actually a LOT of clubs within CLOSE driving distance (which makes up for the fact that you can hardly shoot anywhere else), but, while I do shoot weekly, I just find it good for my sanity to be around sane folks on a regular basis. That may not be as difficult in GA (it's not even really hard on Cape Cod), but it's always good to get together with some folks of similar interests. Leastways, that's how I see it.

[PDL]

I have a feeling you'd meet a lot more people with common interest at the range.
Go for it, if it's reasonable. You can always change your mind later.

[jkc]

Given the opportunity,I'd develop my own range long before paying fees and driving any distance to a range, assuming the lay of your land permits.

All nearby ranges here are open to the yahoo public, along with dues paying members, and this puts you on the firing line with careless gunhandlers, rude jerks who'll obliviously and uncaringly rain hot semi/full auto brass on neighboring stations, sight in their muzzle-braked elephant guns right next to some poor sap who's trying to fine tune his trigger release on a 500 yard prairie dog rifle, etc. I hate shooting at the available public ranges, and use them only when I absolutely need the stable cast concrete benches and long range sighting-in facilities.

I once belonged to a truly private gun club near Grand Rapids, MI, and this was a joy --- no outsiders allowed. The facilities were adequate for my needs, dues were modest, folks friendly... If presented with a similar opportunity, I guess I'd go for it, at least on a trial basis...

[kraigwy]

I have my own range, up to 400 yards, (when I get the 400 yard targets built).

But I'm still a member of a club in town, it makes it easier to use their range when I put on my High Power Clinics. One thing is they have a place for a class room.

[Model29Lover]

These guys have said it all, I agree with them that a good range is hard to beat. I wish mine was more like S&WCHAD's but I can't complain too much!! I am just about to get into IDPA with my model 29 at the range, and can't wait!!!