Gun club costs and usage

I belong to a nice rural club with covered pistol and rifle ranges. There is also shotgun. Cost is $25 per year or $200 lifetime for the gate key combination.

The $200 lifetime was the best money I ever spent.

Usually have the place to myself. A "crowd" is 4 or 5 shooters.

For starters, if you shoot Trap, Diamond Trap Range is not too far from you. No membership needed. It's not cheap, but you can shoot Trap year round without freezing.

There are a couple nice ones in/near Bloomington; C.I. Shooting sports is $20 a day, as long as you want, all the guns you want. They rent guns, too. Darnall's is just west of Bloomington, has indoor/outdoor shooting, membership is $325 a year.

milemaker13 said:

Hey gang! Just need to mull something over with you. Back in march, I was accepted in the gun club near me (relatively speaking, its still 1+ hour drive). Cost like $600 bucks in the first year. Supposed to drop to 300 after that but with special assessments and work hours to buy out, its still 600 a year.
I got in just before the world ended, and have not been back since! They were closed for covid at first, and with everything going on I have not had a single day available to drive out. Total bummer. I've never actually gone shooting there!
So now its renewal time. Another $600. I don't really see much time coming available in the next year... considering its probably going to look alot like this year. Buh.
What do you think? I'd hate to give up the membership but wasting money like that sucks. I thought I had done good by getting in vs going to the regular outdoor range. Its only $30 a day but you deal with idiots all day. Ive had people actually shoot up my targets I just walked down and put up. No kiddin.
They have an inactive option that I plan to ask about. $50 to hold your membership. Maybe.

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the range i "belong to", it costs $250 for one year. that's mon-fri, 9 AM till 1PM, no nights, or weekends, 1 hour of range time.

i went with the $350 per year, for morning, afternoon, evening hours, at 1.5 hours, 7 days a week.

at a local "real gun club", near me, they want $100 yearly, with a first time initiation fee of $65, and $10 for a key fob deposit, and it's anytime i want to go there. BUT, with 6 meetings a year, that i would have to attend.

so check around, there may be "hidden clubs" in your area, like this real club is in my area.

I usually shoot at a little range down on the Rio Grande flood plain that charges $100 per year plus NRA membership.
I haven't used it this year - COVID deaths topped 2,100 so far in-county... .

George P said:

Sounds like Southern Tactical in Holt, FL

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No

I read things like this and feel blessed. I belong to a club 10 miles from me that costs $35/year. It's outdoor but there are multiple pistol, rifle and shotgun ranges out to 300 yds and two of the ranges are under cover, one is not only roofed but also closed on three sides which really helps in the winter. Members get a gate code and the facility is available 24/7. While organized activities are on hold due to covid I can still go there and shoot anytime I want. It's never crowded, often I'm the only one there since I usually go on weekday afternoons when non-retired guys are at work. If they charged me $300/year I wouldn't even hesitate to pay it.

milemaker13 said:

Hey gang! Just need to mull something over with you. Back in march, I was accepted in the gun club near me (relatively speaking, its still 1+ hour drive). Cost like $600 bucks in the first year. Supposed to drop to 300 after that but with special assessments and work hours to buy out, its still 600 a year.
I got in just before the world ended, and have not been back since! They were closed for covid at first, and with everything going on I have not had a single day available to drive out. Total bummer. I've never actually gone shooting there!
So now its renewal time. Another $600. I don't really see much time coming available in the next year... considering its probably going to look alot like this year. Buh.
What do you think? I'd hate to give up the membership but wasting money like that sucks. I thought I had done good by getting in vs going to the regular outdoor range. Its only $30 a day but you deal with idiots all day. Ive had people actually shoot up my targets I just walked down and put up. No kiddin.
They have an inactive option that I plan to ask about. $50 to hold your membership. Maybe.

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I belong to 2 gun clubs in my county.

The farther one is about 25 min drive,the closer one is 5 minutes.

As a senior member of both clubs [ OVER 65 & member for 10 years ] I pay 60.00 for the closer one & 50 for the farther one [ that is in MUCH better shape too ].

So I am guessing your location is the issue ?.

There are a few public ranges around but I too pay $600/yr. It is high by the standards I see here but it is worth it to me. There is a shotgun only range nearby that is $1000/yr so that is a comparison.

As far as ranges go, there are very few rules to follow. Just basic safety and etiquette that if your paying $600 for, then you know already. No ROs either. Full service too. Tactical bays, 500yd range. 2 ea of 100yd rifle and 25 yd handgun ranges. 2 skeet, 1 trap, and a 10 station Sporting clays course and 5 stand.

Limited membership with a long wait too at that price. All those ranges with wait times must need to up their dues.....

Unfortunately, my place is expanding and really trying hard to get big time competitions there. There was a big GSSF thing going on earlier that was annoying because it was right when I was sighting in for deer season.

They are trying to get on the sporting clays map too and have had a few events.

Overall, it is annoying. I see dues going up in the future and membership expanding. More big tournaments as well. All things I don’t want. I will pay big money for fewer people but that is going away I fear.

It’s only a matter of time before they do the thing that destroys ranges for everybody. Elect a BoD and all the BS that comes with that and get super political and petty about everything.

I have a plan, I am buying more land and will probably forgo renewing. 26 acres to myself but a longer drive away will be worth it to me.

If you have a $30/day range nearby that seems like the better option since it sounds like you aren't going to be able to go regularly enough to make $600/year worth it. Just find unique targets to shoot. Last time I was at my range a guest I had brought, who's no idiot, accidently shot another guy's target who's looked just like his. I was there one other time and an older guy was b!tch!ng about someone shooting his targets and staring at me, the youngest guy who had just showed up. I just shrugged him off, he was shooting at 100 yards and I was shooting at 50 yards, no way it was me. I also print my own targets and bring several options so I can make sure I'm shooting at something different from everyone else. Unless people are dangerous with their firearms, I can generally deal with other types of idiots.

I inquired about 3 different private ranges. One is $10 year, $15 per hour on top of that. Indoor, pistol only.
Another is $25 per year, outdoors with 100 yard rifle ranges, covered benches and trap/skeet and pistol ranges. Must attend 4 meetings per year.
Last is outdoors, $150/year or $1500 lifetime. Amenities the same as #2.
I stuck with shooting on property my family owns. Cost is mowing a couple times a month and losing brass occasionally. $150 seemed really expensive. The first 2 options may get further consideration.

It is interesting to see the variability in fees, in different areas. The pandemic has prompted me to contemplate private range membership.

milemarker, as you are becoming aware in this whole area, northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin, there is not much available for rifle ranges. Plenty of indoor pistol or shot gun trap but longer range rifle, not happening. I know of three private clubs that offer open to the public hours and fees here in SE Wis. and then there is the one very public range, McMiller Sports Center, which I work part time. They did away with their annual pass starting 2021 but they offer 1 range - 1 hour passes or two different all day passes, the more expensive one ($30.00 per day) includes all ranges including the 300yd and trap range. Sporting Clays is a separate fee.

Last night I also did a search for the southern area of Illinois and there isn't much there either. Public of private. Good luck with your search.

Mine, where I have been a member for almost 41 years, is $250 to join, $100/year after that plus 15 work hours. Rifle, pistol and three trap fields plus archery range and a great clubhouse. Been on the board the past ten years. I shoot trap there twice a month and we the other ranges a couple times a month beside. The other club is a trap and skeet club and dies are $150/year. I shoot trap weekly from April through Sept and combo trap/skeet Sept through Oc t.

I below to three different gun and since I am a senior citizen member (over 62, AKA Old Fart), I pay the following yearly membership fees: 37.50. 45.00, and 15.00. Each gun club had something different to offer, so I'm active at all three clubs.

My closest private range charges $150 a year. They only open up enrollment in March of every year and I have yet to become a member in the 10 years I have lived here. They offset the cost of running by having "work days" where members come by and help with range maintenance or pay a tack on fee to their renewal charge.

This year and possible next are basically write offs. not much we can do till we get the Rona under control.

I havent been to my range at all this year. I will keep paying my dues, despite that fact.

Here in FL, as well as GA, gun stores, ranges and similar are considered "essential businesses and have never closed.

My club is 150 bucks a year. Unlimited use but no guests I love it for 12.50 a month.

The range I'm a member of has just increased dues to $100 a year, or $80 for seniors, with a $100 initiation fee. Rifle ranges to 600 yds, multiple pistol ranges, and a general purpose shotgun range. About 30 miles from the house. It has key access.

There's another range that is action pistol competition oriented that is more costly that has a two tier membership fee depending on whether you are an active competitor or not that is a similar distance from me and also key access.

There are a couple indoor ranges close by with $12 - $15 day use rates. The $15 one will allow some rifles at certain times. They both have gun shops and rent handguns.

My club is $300 to join and $50/year after that with work days and RSO duties. We have a rifle & pistol range and trap/clay games side. Club meetings serve steak & salmon and we have a full bar as well! Costs are subsidized by having public hours a few days of each week, although it have been 'members only' since covid-19 closures and are still operating in the black. Not bad for being in the middle of Silicon Valley!

I wish I had the time and connections to travel around to see other clubs and what you get for what you pay. As I said earlier, I also pay $600 but it seems that is a serious outlier by double of most here. I’m curious what I am getting compared to the other folks here who seem to be getting better value. I am not complaining. There is a public range near and I forgo that option voluntarily to get what I get.

I have some perspective. There is a range 1.5 hours north of me that is around 300/yr. I was a member for a year before I got into my current one which is only 40 mins away. This place was poorly maintained, the benches were rickety, there was long grass and ticks all over, the trap and skeet range malfunctioned a lot.....but it got the job done for my uses.

Worst part though were the other members and funky rules. Very unfriendly people who were always eyeballing you like you were an outsider. It was like being in an HOA. Still people were lining up to pay 300/yr.

I would have continued my membership in the local club except that I would have been required to attend the safety meeting - in a crowded room packed with elderly, sickly people - before I could be allowed to join... .

tarosean said:

This year and possible next are basically write offs. not much we can do till we get the Rona under control.

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Another nice thing about the club I belong to is that the virus hasn't affected availability to me at all. Members get a gate code and unrestricted access. It has affected the revenue stream for the club as they've cancelled the weekly shotgun shoots, some IDPA and black powder competitions and pistol classes though. They've also put a halt on renting out the clubhouse for events. I figure worst case they might have to raise dues to make up for the lost revenue but since it's only $35/year now an increase wouldn't be a problem.

I belong to an outdoor club that's an hour west of Chicago. Between the dues, assessment and buying out my work hours I pay $500 a year. I'm there 1 to 2 times a month, so it costs me about $30 to $40 per range trip, depending on how often I go. I can bring my youngest son or other guests at no cost. They have pistol and rifle bays ranging from 25 feet to 600 yards, plus two shotgun ranges, archery and fishing. Most importantly the other members are great. Most days we have a bay to ourselves, and the times we share a bay with other members it's common for us to talk with those members and try each other's guns. We pass a fantastic barbeque place on the way owned by great people, and stopping there to eat is part of our routine. Much of the time I go there with family or friends, so to us it's more than a place to go shoot.