new to gun club

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Axis II

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I have always used public ranges and last year attempted to get into a gun/hunt club that is only 10min away from home. I found out I knew a couple members so I placed the application, turned in my initiation fee because that's what I was instructed to do. well all the open spots went to family and friends of higher members already in so I was pushed to the side for 4 months. no-biggi.

well on month number 5 my check was cashed and I was told I was getting in. month 6-7 went by and still no answer and I found out others beat me out again. I then asked for my money returned until it was 100% I was in and had paperwork to prove so and was told if that's the case they wont let me in period. I talked to the club president and he was on my side and told the treasure/old president refund my money. 2 more months went by and I called the president and said look I will be contacting the courts or someone. my money was returned that week.

One of the guys I know that's a member asked if I got in last week and I said no, why? he said they have 25 spots open and took 10 last weekend and should have voted me in. well my application wasn't called so he went there last night and stuck up for me and they decided to pull my application and let me in. he said within a month I will be called and told come do the paperwork.

I'm having second thoughts about this because all the B.S. I went through in the past with them taking my money, pushing me to the side and letting others in, etc. a couple friends think they will screw with me cause I caused trouble to get my money back to not even mess with it and just move on. the clubs 10min from home and there seams to be a lot of decent people there and the dues are really cheap. I kind of feel there will be hard feelings with some of the people involved.

I'm also new to this whole thing and a little nervous joining because I don't know anyone. I've heard some great reviews of this place and also some horrid ones. I went there to shoot with a guy from work and a guy was down range and I went to put my scope turrets back on the top of my scope and pick up my bench and one of the guys in charge started yelling at me don't touch the gun, don't I know the rules, etc. he was being a real a-hole. I not so politely asked him who he was and why was he disciplining me, he then told the guy at work he didn't care for me.

walk away or give it a try?
 
"I went there to shoot with a guy from work and a guy was down range and I went to put my scope turrets back on the top of my scope and pick up my bench and one of the guys in charge started yelling at me don't touch the gun, don't I know the rules, etc. he was being a real a-hole."

At both of the clubs I belong to you are not allowed to handle any firearm while the line is "cold" i.e. during a cease fire. Handling a firearm while people are down range violates the safety rules of every range I have been on. One of the clubs requires that all handguns be benched with the slide back, magazine out, and cylinder open with magazine and cylinders empty. All rifles are to be racked with the action open and magazines out. Even then you are to remain away from the shooting bench during the cease fire.

You were a guest of a member of the club. That member should have told you what the range safety procedures are and supervised what you were doing as his guest. All of the members of my clubs act as range officer from time to time. As range officer I have had to tell other shooters to PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW. All members wear name badges while on the range so it is no problem to get the name if it comes to that. The range officer is the range officer and is in total control of the range and is to be obeyed at all times.

Both clubs require that new members attend a safety orientation after they have been voted it and before they get their membership card and the key to the range.

If you were the range officer and looked down the range during a cease fire and saw someone handling a rifle or pistol during a cease fire what would you do?

If you are not willing to obey all of the range rules then walk away.
 
Well, it sure sounds like you got off to a rocky start, but if it were me, I'd try to join anyhow, and try to fit in. With the passing of time, things will improve. What you describe is not uncommon, and sometimes quite a bit worse. Just try to keep the end goal in mind and don't put too much importance on how it comes to pass. Threatening them with a lawsuit might not have been a good idea. That what you do after a year or two, not a few months.

You definitely should learn the rules though. That was a pretty blatant violation and they were right to say something. Just try to let it blow over and don't do it again.

If you just want to enjoy the club, and have a place to shoot and meet some friends, I'd say go for it. If you want to get involved in club politics and find stuff to be worked up about, probably best to walk away now.
 
The delay and political stuff definitely wasn't necessary and would give me pause.

As for the safety violation (attempting to put the scope turret cap back on), that's standard operating procedure at almost all ranges. When the range is cold, guns are down, actions open, and no one is allowed to touch them. I've had to be the bad guy more than once at BSA shoots. I've been called all sorts of names, but that's an absolute. Same as someone wandering downrange while the range is hot. You're going to get an earful from me. I'd just chalk that one up as a learning experience.

Matt
 
You cash my check and I am in. That is my thinking anyway. Some clubs are very good, well run and managed and some are a bunch of ... well you get my drift. This is a place I would have no interest in.

Ron
 
I had a similar experience with a private sporting clays/shooting range in Eastover, SC. Fast forward two years and the club/range has been acquired by DNR and will soon open as a public range so it's probably best my application kept getting ignored.
 
Rules are in place for a reason, safety is a top priority at our club and something like that your friend should have told you about, at the very least, that one rule.

If it were me I'd go forward with the application ... One thing is for certain, I don't want someone messing with their gun while I'm down range, not even just to put on the scope caps, and I'd feel safer knowing that is a policy that is strictly enforced.
 
Maybe what you could do is get a copy of the Member Guidebook, or whatever they call their publication with the range rules.

If the club has a website, you may be able to find it on their website. If you can get a copy of the club's range operation procedures, and read them it may give you a better idea of whether you want to comply with the range rules - and that will give you better insight into becoming a member or not.

FWIW - I belong to a private club. The club keeps membership applications on a list that is in the order, by date, that the application was received. When accepted, you are required to go through a two hour range orientation that covers range operation and rules.

One of the rules is that when the shooting line is "cold," gun actions have to be open and you cannot touch a gun for any reason. You are asked to step away from the shooting tables until the range is declared "hot."

While the member yelling at you didn't handle the situation in the best way possible, it did get your attention, and you will remember not to touch your gun when the range is cold.
 
I'm with Morcey on the delay and the games with the application process. Not everyone has the best personal communication skills in the world either and the message might have been done in a more friendly but firm way.

But Ohi, safety is all we have at the range. The guns go down and hands off when the range is cold. Someone dumps an ATV through the ice on a lake or slams into a tree while skiing no one is going to say more than wow too bad.

An AD at a range that so much as injures a club member and you can bet every cable news outlet will have it 24/7 for weeks. The least of which could be the insurance bill at that range might cripple it.
 
Different ranges, different rules. I belong to a range that has a hands-off policy when a range is cold. They've never had any "accidents" in 50+ years either. You're allowed to handle/load mags, but can't touch any firearms- even to adjust windage-elevation. Everyone is considered a range officer and there is no dedicated RO actively monitoring any ranges.
Membership has been closed for the past few years. I really like it, but I'm going to have to let my membership expire. Someone shot something like a piece of tin roofing or something, so the board mandated that the entire membership undergo retraining. Part of me wonders if they're trying to thin out the membership, I'm not sure honestly. I question my own suspicions because the range is never so crowded that you can't find a lane with at least one additional lane on each of the one you're using- even on the weekends. Anyway, I'm just at a point in my life where I don't have the time. I'd rather spend time "re-training" with my family and tooling around in the basement. There's always another range or location where you can shoot. Of course, I've seen some incredibly dangerous stuff go on at a public range (e.g. someone shooting at targets while another person was well downrange changing target- funny thing was that I was given looks like I was being a jerk when I was hollering that there was a guy downrange- and the guy downrange didn't appear perturbed by what was going on at all). Good luck finding a new place.
 
I get the safety thing and agree with it 100% what irritates me is the guy walking down range was going to check a target cause he couldn't see the holes, my buddy and I shot with the guy that yelled at me and he seen me pull the bolt out of my gun to cool, 10 min later I placed it in the case and was packing up and started screwing the side cap on. He knew the gun wasn't loaded cause he said something about me taking the bolt out but he can site on the bench behind an at-14 with mag in it but bolt open. He was a board member so I guess he's exempt. I'm just worried about being messed with cause of the money, etc. the turret thing happened 2-3 years ago so that guys probably gone.
 
CLP said:
Different ranges, different rules. I belong to a range that has a hands-off policy when a range is cold. They've never had any "accidents" in 50+ years either. You're allowed to handle/load mags, but can't touch any firearms- even to adjust windage-elevation. Everyone is considered a range officer and there is no dedicated RO actively monitoring any ranges.
Membership has been closed for the past few years. I really like it, but I'm going to have to let my membership expire. Someone shot something like a piece of tin roofing or something, so the board mandated that the entire membership undergo retraining. Part of me wonders if they're trying to thin out the membership, I'm not sure honestly. I question my own suspicions because the range is never so crowded that you can't find a lane with at least one additional lane on each of the one you're using- even on the weekends. Anyway, I'm just at a point in my life where I don't have the time. I'd rather spend time "re-training" with my family and tooling around in the basement. There's always another range or location where you can shoot. Of course, I've seen some incredibly dangerous stuff go on at a public range (e.g. someone shooting at targets while another person was well downrange changing target- funny thing was that I was given looks like I was being a jerk when I was hollering that there was a guy downrange- and the guy downrange didn't appear perturbed by what was going on at all). Good luck finding a new place.
Click to expand...
I was at an odnr range and was down range and policy is you step 10 ft from the bench, I get down range and hear a slug gun slam shut. I was soo mad, no one else seen a problem with it. I guess I was wrong by putting the cap back on but it was just that.
 
At the club one Saturday. Maybe eight shooters, two of the group were a man and his grandson. Range goes cold, all guns made safe, most moved downrange. Grandson starts to mess a pistol so I asked him to stop because a "cold range" had been called. He gets a bit ticked at that and says its not loaded. I just said "cold range means do not touch the guns. That way there can be no accidents" He still didn't like it...but he stopped. He thought he could get "back up" from grand daddy...but that didn't happen so the event was over.

Got to stand up for safety.

My son made a great comment at an unsafe situation. " We all want to end the day smiling...not crying at the ER".

It is so easy to let a slip in thinking. I'll try to remind myself of this each range trip.

Mark
 
ohihunter2014

Sounds like this gun club is a might cliqueish in terms of its leadership council. I have dealt with neighborhood home owners associations that were very much the same way. It's like it's there own private and exclusive club and they only take on new members that they know or else all they want from you is your membership dues. At any rate they don't seem very friendly and I would not want to be a member there.
 
Our club range has "cold range" rules - if the line is cold you don't touch your gun. That is the only way to stay safe. The range officer in the OP could certainly have handled it better.
 
Beware -- any club that treats prospective new members like that has a good chance of being populated at least in part by jerks...

I think the question is: do you really want to be a member? If you do, swallow all the garbage until you're in. If not, move a long.

FWIW if they are a 501(c)3 non-profit and they're playing games with new members (particularly if you're a: female, racial minority, handicapped, homosexual or senior citizen) a quick letter from an attorney questioning their tax-free status and the games would likely put an end to them.
 
its 10min from home and dirt cheap. I'm going to attend a couple meetings and see what its like. I asked the guy from work if I don't like it can I leave and he said any time I want.

ive never been a part of any hunting/shooting clubs so just looking for some friendly advice. if I go to these few meeting and I don't like it I'm running.
 
Club Questions

Go to the meetings.

Go to the range with your buddy.

Observe and listen-no shooting-no gun.

Simply go and observe.

Be a nice person.

Make your decision. People never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Listen to your heart and your gut feelings...:)

You will do the right thing-for you.
 
I'm a member of the Board of Directors of my primary shooting club so I have a bit of a different perspective, maybe. I can't give you any really simple answers, though.

First thing is, shooting club officers are (almost always) volunteers who've been kind of roped into taking on a second job, of keeping the club running, the bills paid, the snow plowed, disputes handled, members taken in ... and removed when necessary, and all the other horribly boring non-shooting crap that just plain has to happen for the place to exist. There's some really good people in those roles, and some pretty disappointing ones -- and a whole lot of really average folks who are really too busy to bother but feel they need to make the effort because they don't want to see the place close down.

Waaah, waahh ... sympathy. :) I know, that's a lousy excuse for folks being slow, and messages (and applications) getting lost or delayed or misplaced or (yeah...it happens) ignored. But it's reality. If you want to participate in a gun club and use the facilities, you pretty much have to deal with the hand of cards you're dealt (meaning whoever's trying to run the place) and approach the whole thing with complete patience and an unshakable smile.

The good news is that once you're in, you mostly don't have to fuss with the bureaucracy of the club any more than you're willing to. You can just show up and shoot, and the hassles of joining will be behind you.

I would encourage you to consider getting involved, though. Club meetings are usually pretty sparsely attended, and it wouldn't take sitting through many meetings before you'd know all the club officers and would feel comfortable adding your voice and your vote to club issues. Once you're in it is your club, too, and you can help share the responsibility for its success or failure.

As for the rules violation? Don't let it bother you. Listen and learn, and don't make the mistake again, but know that it doesn't mark you for life, or mean you have some character flaw. MOST folks who aren't used to shooting on a formal range, or in competitions either, tend to not be used to thinking in the higher level of safety terms that those situations need. You can be perfectly safe on your own with a gun out in the woods plinking. But if there's two of us, you have to be aware of twice as many possible dangers and mistakes. If there's 10 of us, it's more like 50x the risk and the rules start to get pretty rigid.

That's why, "Don't worry, it isn't loaded," is mostly good enough for YOU when you're by yourself in your shop cleaning your pistol, but not even CLOSE to good enough when you're in public and/or on the range. Touching your scope when you've no intention of loading or firing the weapon is very safe, of course. But when trying to protect a crowd of people from a whole host of accidents that might happen, the SOs have to enforce "NO TOUCHING AT ALL!" It's just the layers of safety that we use to protect everyone from the worst of the worst tragedies of coincidence, mechanical defect, and mental error.

Good luck!
 
Frankly, I'm with Groucho.

Any club that would let somebody like me in, I wouldn't want to be a member of. :)
Denis
 
I used to be a board member at a few of the ranges I belong to. "Used" is the operative board. Talk about a thankless job that's full of nothing but grief. All it takes is one member to make your life miserable. One range I belong to has been going through a lawsuit for almost two years. Not only is it costing the club thousands in legal fees. The board members have spent hundreds of hours of their own time on this case. I'm glad I'm just a member.

All that being said. It's human nature to have "cliques". Most of the time it leads to nothing. But I've seen power hungry boards at both gun ranges and firehouses. Thankfully the gun ranges aren't there to save lives so it's just an annoyance.

If they voted you in you are good to go. If you have to attend meetings as part of your membership than attend them. If it's not a requirement than it's at your discretion. I'm assuming the bylaws are set up so that once you're in you're in. You would need to be voted out by a two thirds majority. So you really have to screw up to be voted out. You don't have to wrap yourself in any of the politics if you don't want to as a general member. Pay your dues, use the facilities and go home. It's really nice to just be a member.
 
Liberty1776 said:
Our club range has "cold range" rules - if the line is cold you don't touch your gun. That is the only way to stay safe. The range officer in the OP could certainly have handled it better.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. Abide by the rules but the range officer didn't have to be a jerk about. He probably isn't a very patient instructor either.
 
I'm really shocked, but guess I shouldn't be. I joined my club about 5-6 years ago and it has been pretty flawless. I come and go at will and have never had a problem. I had a small delay in my renewal one year, but a single phone call corrected it. I've never encountered an overzealous range officer. Years ago I went to a public range once and only once. The guy supervising the indoor pistol range that day was verbally aggressive and insulting. i solved the problem by never going back...life is too short to put up with crap. That said, I'm inclined to suggest to our OP that you duck your head and join the club. That 10 minute drive is worth a lot...my club is 30 minutes which occasionally deters me from going. Hopefully, once you get through the initial hassle it will be worth it. Be Safe and be happy.
 
well I got my acceptance letter for the club today. I'm thinking I might have some issues cause rumor is the guy who cashed my check early is a little upset I got in. oh well. trying it out this year and we will see what happens.
 
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