Tomekeuro85
Member
Im sitting here at work kindof bored. I was about to join Darnall's Rifle range in Bloomington Illinois. The yearly membership there is $65. I once considered the Illinois State Rifle Association, but their yearly membership is $170. I initially picked Darnall's because who wants to pay $170 when you can pay $65?
However, I looked further into this. Darnall's is 2.5 hours away from my house, or 140 miles. ISRA is 52 miles/1 hour away from my house. I used a base of 9 trips per year to each range. Fuel costs to Darnall's would be $263.70 per year as opposed to $121.50 for ISRA. Thats a $142 difference. This ends up being a total membership cost of $291 per year for ISRA, and $328 per year for Darnalls.
Secondly, the ISRA is open to me all the time, and all the ranges. Darnall's is arranged in a way that severly limits shooting distances and choice. For example, if there are shotgun shooters, all the rifle ranges are closed. If there are 100 yard rifle shooters, the 200 and 300 yard ranges are closed. This only allows the rifle ranges to be open from 9am-12:30pm, or 3.5 hours. Not to mention I would save about 1200 miles a year on my car, and save 3 hours of driving if I switch to ISRA.
In conclusion, I've discovered that what initially seems like a bad deal ends up being far better than the other choice.
As you can see, I have far too much time on my hands, but this discovery made me much happier. I'd much rather pay the more expensive amount now if it means saving more later.
However, I looked further into this. Darnall's is 2.5 hours away from my house, or 140 miles. ISRA is 52 miles/1 hour away from my house. I used a base of 9 trips per year to each range. Fuel costs to Darnall's would be $263.70 per year as opposed to $121.50 for ISRA. Thats a $142 difference. This ends up being a total membership cost of $291 per year for ISRA, and $328 per year for Darnalls.
Secondly, the ISRA is open to me all the time, and all the ranges. Darnall's is arranged in a way that severly limits shooting distances and choice. For example, if there are shotgun shooters, all the rifle ranges are closed. If there are 100 yard rifle shooters, the 200 and 300 yard ranges are closed. This only allows the rifle ranges to be open from 9am-12:30pm, or 3.5 hours. Not to mention I would save about 1200 miles a year on my car, and save 3 hours of driving if I switch to ISRA.
In conclusion, I've discovered that what initially seems like a bad deal ends up being far better than the other choice.
As you can see, I have far too much time on my hands, but this discovery made me much happier. I'd much rather pay the more expensive amount now if it means saving more later.