Would you join a gun club that required NRA membership?

[smalls]

I think it really comes down to how a member views the NRA. Some people like it, and are already a member/ will become a member. Some view the NRA as useless, or don't agree with their mission, and will find a new club. Some don't care about the NRA at all, and will either not join because of the extra few bucks, or will join because it's only a few extra bucks.

 

[smurf hunter]

Clubs that do that typically get certain monetary gains from the NRA in return for being 100% NRA, whether it is liability insurance, range improvement money, etc.

+1

For the club I belong to, it VASTLY reduces our annual dues by leveraging NRA liability insurance. Also there are numerous grants offered. Most applicable to members are the instructional courses for only $20/person. I've taken a few, ranging from mediocre, to outstanding.

With this requirement of NRA membership, there's still a waiting list several hundred names long, as we've capped membership count.

 

[Poper]

Would I join a shooting club that required NRA membership?
Of course. I prefer it that way.

Poper

 

[aeriedad]

1. If you were an existing club member who's not in the NRA (for whatever reason), would you join the NRA in order to remain a member of the gun club?

Well, I'm already a Life Member, so...yes. Having five kids and a truly obscene grocery bill, an NRA Life Memebership was something of a sacrifice. If I liked the gun club, the NRA requirement would just be a further inducement to do what I would have been thinking of doing anyway (assuming I was not already an NRA member).

2. If you were a non club member and non-NRA member who wanted to join the club, would you join the NRA to gain club membership?

I don't know. It might depend on how much I thought I would get out of the gun club. Best answer: Probably.

 

[jfh]

The club I belong to--and have, for twenty-plus-years--requires it. It became a requirement in the Eighties, IIRC--because it was far and away the cheapest way for us to get range liability insurance, plus the other club benefits (national listing, etc.).

At the time I joined, the club was primarily a 'Sportsman's Club'--e.g., with a focus on shooting sports such as Trap and hunting needs. By the time the Nineties and antigun sentiment was in high tune, we also realized we could use the NRA expertise--and clout--in dealing with the lead-ban activism.

Now the club active membership has rolled around to a point where the club requirement is hardly a burden; members realize that for us it was a good way to maintain our location and viability.

Jim H.

 

[lilguy]

Both clubs I belong to require it and are old established and growing organizations. I had been a life member years before I joined a club. I live in Illinois and because the state required me to be a "licensed" gun owner I joined the NRA to fight this sort of idiocy.

 

[Old krow]

I personally have no problem with it. I'm a member and would be regardless of the requirements. I don't think that it's always in the best interest of the shooting community at large to impose the requirement, but, it probably is in the best interest of the club. By no way does that mean that I do not think that we should support the NRA, but if it turned off new shooters to the sport then our numbers would eventually dwindle and thus not be worth it. I haven't done a study it, it's a conditional opinion.

 

[Beak50]

My first club required it then dropped the requirement,don't ask me why?My other club requires it.I and my son are,he is 13, life members.There is no reason for anyone who own's a firearm not to belong to the NRA it's kinda like hand in glove.That's the way I was raised I guess.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Would you join a gun club that required NRA membership?

Yes.

In fact, if I opened my range to the public I would require NRA membership to shoot here (only adults of course).

 

[longknife12]

Been a member of Clear Creek County Sportsman Club for 18 years...NRA membership is mandatory. Club has about a 2yr waiting list! Rifle, trap, pistol and aw's. I was NRA before I got into it.
Dan
NRA Endowment

 

[JohnBT]

If I wasn't already a member, I'd be proud to join because of all the things the NRA gets done every year.

"with various heartfelt reasons for not wishing to support the NRA"

I'm amazed there's a soul out there who can't identify ten dollars worth of good that the NRA does every year. That's all an associate membership costs, $10, but you don't get a magazine. Surely the NRA does $25 worth of safety training or range design or something that a full member can be proud of.

By federal law, dues cannot be used for political purposes.

https://membership.nrahq.org/forms/signup.asp

Is this a free membership?

www.nrahq.org/FreedomAssoc/default.asp

John

 

[PT92]

Sometimes we over-complicate/belabor things that can be answered with a simple:

YUP

Enough said.

-Cheers

 

[lightman]

Yes to both of your questions.Right or wrong,and I don't always agree with them,The NRA is the loudest organized voice that we have as gun owners.I could make another statement or two,but would probably get this thread locked.If you are not a member,you should be. Lightman

 

[DAP90]

Absolutely

As far as requirements go I’d rather have that than a day doing maintenance; which I’ve seen as a requirement for one local club. I’m a member already anyway.

 

[kimberkid]

Our only local outdoor range requires NRA membership because the NRA is our insurer ... Not that it maters but I'm a life member anyway.

 

[browningguy]

Although I am an NRA member and have been for quite a long time the answer is no (if there were other options). The reason is I don't like people telling me what I have to do with my personal life. I feel that having a shooting club telling me what to do outside the range is no different than the government telling me what to do in my personal life.

Since it's there club they can require what they like, and I'm free not to join.

 

[Hocka Louis]

NO!

In fact I quit a Trap Shooting Club because they were instituting this same NRA membership requirement, and I was an NRA Member for as long as I can remember that is certified by them in a few ways, gets two of their magazines, and donates every time any of their groups ask -- every time. But I don't believe in forcing people, including myself, to do anything.

They could have their club and I could quit in protest. FYI, the club fell apart the first year I quit and never met again thereafter.

 

[Birch Knoll]

1. If you were an existing club member who's not in the NRA (for whatever reason), would you join the NRA in order to remain a member of the gun club?

Sure.

2. If you were a non club member and non-NRA member who wanted to join the club, would you join the NRA to gain club membership?

Absolutely.

 

[rem22long40x]

I would not join a club that would alow non NRA mimbers !!!!

 

[Manny]

The club I belong to is a gun club, not a sportsmans club and being the NRA is the big gun defending second ammendment rights I have NO problem with them requiring NRA membership. Those were the rules upfront when I joined and the club has recieved significant monies from the NRA for club improvements. Seems like a mighty fine deal to me. As a matter of fact one of our members was kind enough to sponsor me for the $300 life membership recently and I was thrilled. Something that I've wanted to do for years and could never afford until now.

 

[ball3006]

My club does. However, I have been an NRA member forever...........chris3

 

[Ignition Override]

Yes, with no hesitation.

My first club required me to join back in '08, and having been in the dark about gun issues until then
(lived in a cave until '07 at age 52, in terms of gun issues), it makes a lot of sense.

 

[Byrd666]

Being a Life Member, the question to me is nonexistent. YES.

On the other hand, some, though I don't know why, are scared to make a dedicated stand or choice of any kind. And with the NRA being just such a Body, people are scared to make a commitment to any political entity that could be/is a political firestorm. Even though they vote this or that based on the color of the sky or water flow, they really won't really stand up for anything. 'Cept the next and or latest PC thing.And also, IF weren't already a Life Member, I might question the extra cost involved in being a member of the range and then of a membership in the NRA. That might, and I do stress might turn me away.

To be honest though, I think it's a good idea. If for nothing else, as another already pointed out, more people will get a little more proactively involved in helping to protect our Second Amendment Rights, as well as a whole lot more of our Rights that might be lost in the future. As they say "It only takes the loss of one brick to crumble"

 

[jcwit]

I belong to 2 "clubs/ranges" both require NRA Membership, I was a member for years before even knowing of these clubs.

To me it only makes sense to support those that support my interests.

BTW, neither of these "clubs/ranges" are going away in the foreseeable future.

 

[abq87120]

I belong to two ranges/clubs also. Both require NRA membership for their insurance which I believe is provided via NRA.