Shooting Clubs?

[jeff-10]

Anyone here a member of a shooting club with its own private range? If so what do you think of it? Had a scary experience this weekend at a public range and thought about joining a shooting club.

 

[EddieCoyle]

I am. I don't even know of any public ranges around where I live. If you want to shoot here, you gotta belong to a club. It's great - $50 per year and 3 out of 4 times I'm there, I have the pistol range entirely to myself. There are no Range Officers.

 

[Monkeyleg]

There are plenty of public ranges around this part of WI, both indoor and outdoor.

There's also plenty of club-owned ranges, and that's my preference.

Members tend to be more knowledgeable about firearms safety than the shooters at the public ranges. And, if somebody breaks the rules, they get booted out of the club.

 

[Chris Rhines]

Member of two, shoot regularly at five or six others.

Things to look for in a shooting club:
- Is the location convenient? If you have to drive an hour to use the club, you're not going to use it much.
- Are the facilities, and more importantly the spirit of the club, compatable with the type of shooting you want to do? Most of the clubs that I shoot at are USPSA/multigun/practical shooting clubs. If you want to do practical shooting, don't join a club that's geared solely towards bullseye or benchrest.
- Are you going to be able to keep up with the membership requirements? This will include attendance at club meetings, maintenance, etc.

With all that in mind, I much prefer to shoot at a private club than at a public range.

- Chris