Andover Sportsmens club or Mass Rifle Assoc?

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Cguarino10

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Hi, I'm looking into joining a gun range. I live in Newton, MA and Mass Rifle and Andover look like the best gun ranges within a reasonable driving distance. I have been to the Andover range and it is very nice but the drive is a bit long. I am going to check out Mass Rifle in the next week or two. If you have any other recommendations for any other ranges, I would be happy to check them out. I have a m&p 15 sport, mossberg 500 and m&p9.

I am looking for a range thats 24 hr, guest friendly and reasonably priced.
Please post which range you recommend and why and some pros and cons cons.

Thanks
 
Woburn Spotsmen, but the range is closed from midnight to 6am so I'm not sure if it still qualifies for you.
 
For me just getting into shooting, WSA was the right choice due to its facilities and location to me. I've never shot either of the other clubs so I can't compare to them.

To quote myself from another thread, Woburn is an all around great club for the area. Archery both inside and out plus a new raised archery platform, Trap, Black Powder, 200 yrd Outdoor Rifle, 50 ft indoor Pistol, 50 yard outdoor Pistol. The ranges are always open when I want and the facilities are very nice. Located right off Rt3 in Bedford/Billerica. The main draw back are some of the rules with defensive pistol shooting: No drawing from a holster, no rapid fire, 10 rounds limits in mags. For me, location and facilities won out over the cons. I walked in not knowing anybody or much of anything about shooting, but have made a number of friendship at the club and now I'm active in the club organization. The only other club I'd consider joining would be Harvard for the defensive pistol stuff, but I would definately keep Woburn membership due to its facilities and ease of access. PM me if you'd like a tour or any other info.

If you're a new shooter just getting into the sports, join a club close to you. You want to shoot lots to get acquainted with firearms and improve your shooting. Good luck!
 
Mass Rifle is a great club with a great group of guy and an active membership.

There is always something going on there if you want to compete. However, there are some definite caveats.

1) No holster draw other than at official events
2) Regimented range discipline, even if you are shooting alone. In other words, there are no "pits" where you can set up your own targets like steel or bowling pins and just blast away. There is a firing line, that you must stay behind to shoot. All the outdoor ranges have overhead baffles to prevent bullets from getting out, so you must stay on the firing line for them to work.

In other words, if your tendency is towards plinking or slow fire target style shooting, MA rifle has a lot to offer.

If you tend towards action shooting, it may still be a great range for you if its convenient, but there are limitations.

On the plus side the indoor range is open 24 hours a day and allows you to shoot just about anything there. Any handgun, Any rifle other than .50 BMG, Shotguns with slugs, and even machine guns.

I know several people who live inside 128 who use MRA as a convenient place to shoot with a bunch of nice guys, who also belong to Harvard Sportsmen as a less convenient place where you can go when you have more time. I can't remember how much MRA costs to join, I think about $250. Annual fees are $150ish if you don't do any work. $100 if you put in some time working for the club, it doesn't take much.
 
I belonged to Mass Rifle for a time and hated it and the issues it had. I now belong to Andover and love it and the people. It's more like a "club" than a "range". How close are you to Harvard? That would be my first choice if it were closer.
 
Thanks for the responses, I found out a friend of mine is a member of mra, so I'm going to check it out with him. Harvard is nice but too far. Is the pistol range 0- 50' or strictly 50' only? Thanks
 
Wayland Rod & Gun is much smaller than MRA and doesn't have 24-hour access, but it may be closer to you than MRA. Harvard Sportsmen's is an awesome club that has 24-hour access, but it may be a bit of a hike from Newton.
 
Thanks, checked out Wayland and I'm not a fan of the hours and it is the same distance as the others (about 30 mins) Leaning towards mra because of the indoor rifle range. Going to check it out soon. Thanks
 
Maynard Rod and Gun but the indoor range closes at 9:00pm and there are some restrictions when they have events. They have a web page if you do a search on the Maynard rod and Gun Club. I also heard there is a Walpole club that has about 90 acres and member supposedly can hunt there during the proper seasons. Might be a consideration as they are close to you than Andover.
 
Yea, your right andover and harvard are about the same without traffic. I first used my gps with traffic on it around 3 pm on a week day and it said it was almost an hour. Both are about 45 mins and 30 miles. Both woburn ranges are 30 min 18 miles. Decisions decisions.
 
Harvard has action pits where you can practice defensive shooting. It has 50, 100, 200, and 300 yard rifle ranges. 50' indoor range. It's pretty hard to beat. I'm a member of Wayland and live 5 minutes away, but these days I usually take the 35 min drive to Harvard instead. YMMV.
 
I wish I could do both but time and money are the two things that I am lacking. I have a low mileage lease, and I don't want to drive that far both ways. The closer ranges are too restricted for my liking (need range officer and bad hours)

What are the Guest policies at Harvard? I couldn't find much info on website
 
Cguarino10 said:
I wish I could do both but time and money are the two things that I am lacking. I have a low mileage lease, and I don't want to drive that far both ways. The closer ranges are too restricted for my liking (need range officer and bad hours)

What are the Guest policies at Harvard? I couldn't find much info on website
Click to expand...

I think he meant check both out. I've offered to show you around Andover. I'm sure someone here will show you Harvard.
 
Maynard you become a range officer so you shoot anytime you want within the limits of the club rules. But we don't have those action pits.
 
Cguarino,

You asked a question about MRA pistol ranges.

The outdoor pistol range is 50 ft, there are intermediate locations you can put your target at. I believe about 20 and 35 ft.

The 50 yard outdoor range can also be used for pistols as can the 100/200 yard range with restrictions.

The indoor range is 25 yards with a trolley system that can be set shorter than 25 yards. The shortest you are allowed to put the trolley for pistols is about 20 ft.

This comes back to one of the things I said earlier. MRA has a lot of rules. Some are dumb. If you are a practical shooter only you will feel limited. But I don't know of anywhere better that is closer to me.

If you are a plinker or target shooter, you will be totally satisfied. (How awesome is it that there is a range with trap, an indoor range that allows machine guns, and a 200 yard range all within 128)

The people are great.

I am very VERY happy with MRA. I will join Harvard at some point. Its like Disneyland for shooters. So so much great stuff going on there every week. But at this point in my life, with young kids, I'd probably only get there a half dozen times per year. As it is, with MRA being so convenient, I'm there 1 to 2 times per week. When my daughters get older and I want to do some of the youth programs Harvard has as well as bring her hunting with me in a safe environment, Harvard becomes even more of a no-brainer.

Is Braintree Rifle and Pistol closer? Thats another great group with a nice facility.

Don
 
Last edited:
Cguarino10 said:
What are the Guest policies at Harvard? I couldn't find much info on website
Click to expand...

That is because there basically aren't many. You can bring guests. You are responsible for them. Don't bring any that aren't responsible and don't bring more than you can supervise.

I'm a member at Harvard and can show you around. If you want to shoot trap and skeet, Harvard isn't the place. If you want to practice action shooting, Harvard is great. If you just want to compete in IDPA and/or USPSA matches at Harvard, you don't have to be a member for that -- those matches are open to the public.

ETA: I second Don's suggestion to consider Braintree.
 

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