Trying to restart the shooting club at college...

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Daedalus

Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2003
Messages
520
Location
Gainesville, Florida
The University of Florida has nearly 600 student organizations. None of them have anything to do with shooting sports. I went to the student activities center and perused the archives and found that there was indeed a shooting club back in 1996.
I am going to try to start it back up. I got a temporary permit to register rooms and such for the purposes of holding club meetings. I am planning on putting up some flyer next week and holding the first meeting the week after.
Has anyone else had any experience in starting or being involved with a shooting club at a college? If you have any advice or experience to help me in this endeavour, please post here or PM me.
 
One option would be to contact other universities that already have them and ask for copies of their bylaws and general advice about activities. Keep in mind that some universities mandate that every club has a sponsor, specifically a faculty or staff member.
 
Research the prior club and find out why it disbanded. There may be a certain circumstance that you can eliminate to open the door back up for you. Try to correct what they were doing wrong.
 
I tried looking into the old club, but they do not have any records from it and the only records they have in their computer system are that it existed in 1996 and that is it. No names of the officers or who the faculty advisor was.
 
Okay, I PM'ed ya. ;)

Here's basically what we need:

1. President
2. VP
3. Treasurer
4. Secretary
5. Faculty Advisor (he theoretically only has to sign the form)
6. Constitution

Do you have any friends interested in this? I figure you and I will be the first president and vice president, and two of our friends can fill the other two spots. We have to find a RKBA-friendly professor to help us - has to be a full-time faculty member. Then there's the constitution - pretty easy, but we'll probably have to have some way to eject members who are unruly/unsafe with firearms.

I figure we'll get some .22 rifles to train with, and to keep with the club. I have four guns now - a WASR-10 AK clone, an 870 express, a Marlin .22 semiauto, and a 700 Mountain. What do you have?

I looked into getting cheap training rifles in this thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=63964&highlight=training+rifles

Man, I haven't been this excited about anything in awhile. :)
 
Another thought--contact the NRA about it. They may be able to help you financially and or with the constitution.
 
Also, consider contacting the NCAA, since a few schools have intercollegiate shooting sports.
 
Good for you!

Myself and a few others are in the process of trying to start a high power rifle team for my school. We're still looking for a faculty sponsor but we're optimistic - things look good. We have lots of support from state organizations, and also from a shooting club that's pretty nearby. In fact we went out there yesterday and got to shoot a bit with an match-grade AR, M1A, and Garand. Lots of fun, and they said we are welcome back... told us when they practice for both high power and cowboy shoots. :D

The guy whose brainchild this was is going up to Quantico soon for a 2-weekend high power rifle training session. I desperately want to go but it's $125 and I just can't afford it right now.

At our school we're not allowed firearms on campus - and the campus police won't store them either (officially). But we figure they might be more receptive once we're an official, sanctioned school organization. If not, we're looking for private off-campus storage.
 
All of my shooting friends are SFCC students so I dont think they are viable as officers in the club. I am not sure that getting club firearms are a good idea, at least at first because I am sure there will be storage issues. I have an SKS, SAR1, Savage 64, Romak 3, and a Stoeger Model 2000. I do not have any problem with sharing, as long as they are responsible. I think the best way to start out is everyone brings whatever they have, and anyone who does not own any firearms can borrow them.
As far as ejecting unruly members, I think our goal would be to avoid having irresponsible members join. I figure before anyone is allowed to come to a range day we should require 2 club meetings and a character reference.
Walmart on Archer rd. has a rifle which is tagged "Plinkster" which is 89.99. It is a semiauto magazine fed and looks incredibly dinky. For that amount of money I am almost tempted to suggest we train people with Shooter grade SKS (The gas cutoff on the Yugo magically turns it into a bolt action) or mosins but I dont want to scare people with the recoil.
 
http://www.tntech.edu/athletics/Rifle/Rifle.html
http://www.flssa.org/

Daedalus, you might try contacting Tenn Tech (first link) or the Florida Shooting Sports Assoc (second link) with an eye towards becoming more than just a club... but training for competition and/or Olympic level recognition.
That may be more than what you're really looking for, but an attempt to start up an informal shooting club with the dreaded thoughts of (shudder) guns on campus (heaven forbid) is one thing for the authorities to think about... while fielding a group of serious potential Olympic Caliber athletes who compete and may bring home prestige to the University, is another thing entirely for the powers to be to consider.
Formation of an initial shooting club which may/shall lead to the next level (Competition) and that type of planned progress, with help from other schools or affiliation with state recognized shooting sports groups might also find you Alumni willing to sponsor air or cartridge rifle/shotgun/handgun purchase, facilities, etc.

Just a thought.

Good luck. An admirable goal worth working for. Put together your "Business Plan", seek outside 'official' help... Just Fricking Do It (JFDI)
 
think the best way to start out is everyone brings whatever they have, and anyone who does not own any firearms can borrow them.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Sounds fine to me. :)

I figure before anyone is allowed to come to a range day we should require 2 club meetings and a character reference.
Click to expand...

The meeting requirement is probably a good idea, but a "character reference"? From whom? Maybe it's better to stick with something simpler - be observant and watch for troublemakers - probably easier that way.

I am almost tempted to suggest we train people with Shooter grade SKS (The gas cutoff on the Yugo magically turns it into a bolt action) or mosins but I dont want to scare people with the recoil.
Click to expand...

The milsurp training .22s you suggested are a good idea. I'll get an SKS of my own from Mr. Smyder.

while fielding a group of serious potential Olympic Caliber athletes who compete and may bring home prestige to the University, is another thing entirely for the powers to be to consider.
Click to expand...

Something to definitely think about. I'm not a very good rifleman, but I know there are others who are. I'll e-mail them.
 
These guys are right there in Gainesville: http://www.afn.org/~ncfsa/

They are the North Central Florida Sportsmen's Association. Give them a call and see if they would be willing to help. Be sure to ask them if they (or F.L.S.S.A.) have any N.R.A. instructors who may be willing to help or give classes. Also be sure to ask if they are going to have any Women on Target events, or if they would be willing to have one at your range. These are fantastic events that are meant to make sport shooting approachable/less intimidating for women.

As far as equipment for your club, it will take some time, but you can apply for grants through Friends of N.R.A. They can be reached here: http://www.nrafoundation.org/friends/states/?state=Florida

Check with Florida Fish and Game http://www.floridaconservation.org/ and ask about the availability of Pittman-Robertson Act money that can be disbursed through grants for range improvements. The N.R.A. grants can be used for range improvements as well as for equipment. N.R.A. grants generally don't fund expendables (ammunition, disposable hearing protection, etc.) but if your program involves youth (as in this case) and/or outreach to women (I'll bet it does :)), then you should recieve at least part of what you ask for.

Also consider contacting R.O.T.C., N.R.O.T.C., American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AmVets, and similar organizations. Even if they can't help you materially, they may be willing to provide mentors, or they may be willing to sponsor Friends of N.R.A. grants for equipment.

Let me know how you do.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
University Shooting Club
Replies
20
Views
848
pikid89
P
H
  • Locked
Help with college gun club flyers...
Replies
9
Views
606
bratch
B
K
  • Locked
College Campuses Breeding ground for 2a hate?
Replies
23
Views
927
BunnyPuncher
B
U
  • Locked
school shooting club
Replies
8
Views
585
grnzbra
G
C
  • Locked
Hudson Valley NY Ranges / Gun Clubs
Replies
8
Views
1K
COPATCH
C
Back
Top