any Nashua Fish and Game members?

[Lamina]

I'm thinking about joining ya'll, but I need some details the website isn't too clear on...

what is the total upfront costs of membership? and what are the total recurring costs?

also, are there any restrictive rules, like no holster draws or sustaining low rates of fire?

thanks in advance to anyone who has answers.

 

[doobie]

pipmaster1971 is a member. I *think* it would be about 200-250 for the first year, and 100-150 each year after. Look up their website.

Yes there are restrictive rules. You have to sit at a particular spot for standing/sitting/prone, and you have to shoot to the target for that spot. You can't shoot across lanes. I'm guessing they don't allow holster draws except maybe at the IDPA lanes. I'm not aware of any low rate of fire rules. I did let loose on my AR once and the people next to me left shortly there after. No 50BMG at the 600yd range AFAIK.

 

[natf]

I haven't been a member for more than five years, but I'm fairly sure they no longer allow any IDPA/IPSC style shooting at all. I have heard a few years ago the IDPA pits were closed due to a possible escaped round and the club is no longer friendly towards action shooting. They also have a "plinker" range but I believe it also is closed, but I am much less certain about that.

-Nat

 

[Brunosr]

The cost depends on when you join. There is a $100.00 initiation fee and a year membership is also $100.00. If you join after I think it’s August, we prorate the rest of the year plus add on the following year and the initiation fee so it could be up to $250.00.

Then the first year you need to put in at least 6 work hours. These are mandatory the first year. After the first year, if you do not get your hours in, all of them, there is a $50.00 work fine so that renewal would be $150.00. If your hours are in, it’s $100.00.

As for drawing from your holster, No way!! No How!! However, there is a movement underway to bring some form of Action Shooting back. We are putting together a few “action shoots” for members only, which will allow you to draw and fire but you can not move. So it isn’t action shooting at all. There is also talk about bring back the plate racks.

Also we currently rent out the Action Ranges to a government contractor and nothing “Action” will really take place till they are done with our ranges. And I do not know how long they will take.

There is also the indoor pistol range but it isn’t very friendly to anyone who doesn’t shoot bullseye. But this too is showing signs of softening up.

Rules: Ah yes, we have rules! We have rules on top of rules and rules that govern the rules. Never have I been anywhere that has had so many rules in my life. But all that put aside, it is a very nice facility. Most of the members are friendly enough and it’s a good place to go out and shoot.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lamina]

yes, that helps. thank you very much. all in all, too expensive and too restrictive. the search will continue.

again, thank you.

 

[Brunosr]

Where are you from? Might be able to steer you to another club, depending where you are. I am a memeber at three clubs all together.

 

[Lamina]

live in manchester. I'd like someplace that is close. south or west better than east and north.

 

[newenglandjeff]

Brunosr, how does the thursday morning practice work? Is it at the 600 y/l Are non-members able to participate?

 

[M1911]

yes, that helps. thank you very much. all in all, too expensive and too restrictive. the search will continue.

It is my understanding that the folks running IDPA at Nashua decamped for Pelham several years back.

 

[Lamina]

I'm not interested in IDPA per say. just the ability to practice some drills. I know alot of clubs are nazis about that kind of thing, and it's not really worth it for me to plunk down my money until I find a place that fits my needs.

largely because i don't have a hell of alot of money to plunk down.

 

[M1911]

I'm not interested in IDPA per say. just the ability to practice some drills.

If a club runs off IDPA (as happened at Nashua), then chances are they won't allow you to draw from a holster either. There are more than a few clubs that only allow drawing from a holster at an IDPA/IPSC match, under the supervision of a certified safety officer. Fewer clubs will let you do such unsupervised practice than will let you compete in an organized match/supervised practice.

I think Pelham may allow such unsupervised practice.

 

[Lamina]

yeah, I understand it's ostensibly for liability reasons, but it's just a pain in the ass. I like playing by big boy rules.

figure, a place like MFL is open to the public. they have no method of vetting their customers for things like responsibility and experience. and yet, they function under a philosophy of "as long as you are being safe, go ahead and do it".

whereas, a private club, that has vetted and charged its members significantly, more times than not treats said members like children.

 

[M1911]

yeah, I understand it's ostensibly for liability reasons, but it's just a pain in the ass. I like playing by big boy rules.

figure, a place like MFL is open to the public. they have no method of vetting their customers for things like responsibility and experience. and yet, they function under a philosophy of "as long as you are being safe, go ahead and do it".

whereas, a private club, that has vetted and charged its members significantly, more times than not treats said members like children.

It's not just "ostensibly" for liability reasons. There is very real liability there, not just for the club but personal liability for the officers as well. Unfortunately, some club members do behave like children.

All it takes is a single escaped round and a club can be shut down for good. So even if you somehow assumed all civil and criminal liability for an incident, the club could get shut down. Such "big boys rules" would not stop the club from getting screwed (shut down) in the end. Most members don't have the resources to fund such a judgment -- the club's real estate holdings would be a big target of any such lawsuit.

I have competed in IDPA and have taken defensive shooting classes. So I understand and support your desire to find a club that meets your very understandable needs.

But I also understand exactly why many clubs have restrictive rules.

 

[Lamina]

It's not just "ostensibly" for liability reasons. There is very real liability there, not just for the club but personal liability for the officers as well. Unfortunately, some club members do behave like children.

All it takes is a single escaped round and a club can be shut down for good. So even if you somehow assumed all civil and criminal liability for an incident, the club could get shut down. Such "big boys rules" would not stop the club from getting screwed (shut down) in the end. Most members don't have the resources to fund such a judgment -- the club's real estate holdings would be a big target of any such lawsuit.

I have competed in IDPA and have taken defensive shooting classes. So I understand and support your desire to find a club that meets your very understandable needs.

But I also understand exactly why many clubs have restrictive rules.

let me clarify. I said "ostensibly" because it's never for just one reason. hardly anything is. I've noticed a dynamic at a number of private clubs... the controlling club officers and senior members tend to be a good old boys club of retirees that love their hobby but view everyone else as incompetent, to a degree. they typically aren't nearly the experts of the entire firearms world as they believe themselves to be, and tend to ignore any stimuli that would tell them otherwise.

while "liability" is still accurate, many times it's used to cover "we don't think anyone is as capable as us, so we are going to prohibit you from doing things that stress us out."

I guess the thing I'm trying to get at is that while something like draw drills can be dangerous for someone who isn't experienced, it is plenty safe to learn and practice in a safe way... but it seems that many times the controlling interests at some of these clubs are a bunch of older guys who skeet shoot on sundays and have not interest in learning to do so, so they just label it as unsafe and ban it.

just my opinion. worth what was paid for it.

 

[M1911]

let me clarify. I said "ostensibly" because it's never for just one reason. hardly anything is. I've noticed a dynamic at a number of private clubs... the controlling club officers and senior members tend to be a good old boys club of retirees that love their hobby but view everyone else as incompetent, to a degree. they typically aren't nearly the experts of the entire firearms world as they believe themselves to be, and tend to ignore any stimuli that would tell them otherwise.

animal, I'm the VP of a club (not one of the ones mentioned in this thread). I have 200+ hours of firearms training, including LFI-1 and 2, Sigarms Concealed Carry and Advanced Concealed Carry, Cumberland Tactics Tactical Handgun 101. I'm an NRA certified instructor. IDPA certified safety officer. NRA certified Range Safety Officer. I've competed in IDPA and NRA service rifle. I don't consider myself to be an expert, but I do have knowledge that many of our club members do not have.

I don't view everyone else as incompetent. But if you come to my club, I can show bullet holes in the walls and ceiling baffles of our indoor range. I can show you bullet holes in the backstop on our outdoor range, 4 feet above where targets are posted. I can show you the wood we had to replace on our outdoor range where a member placed empty water bottles on the wood retaining the sand for our backstop. Said individual fired too quickly for his skill, pulling his shots low and damaging the wood. He then left the water bottles on the ground, for someone else to clean up. This is the type of crap that officers at a gun club have to deal with. Over and over again.

while "liability" is still accurate, many times it's used to cover "we don't think anyone is as capable as us, so we are going to prohibit you from doing things that stress us out."

That is your opinion. I respect it. But the reality is that a single incident can shut a club down for good. If someone is injured on our range, I fully expect to be sued, and that nightmare will continue for years. The liability is real and should not be minimized. The Westfield Gun Club is currently facing criminal charges as the result of an incident.

I guess the thing I'm trying to get at is that while something like draw drills can be dangerous for someone who isn't experienced, it is plenty safe to learn and practice in a safe way... but it seems that many times the controlling interests at some of these clubs are a bunch of older guys who skeet shoot on sundays and have not interest in learning to do so, so they just label it as unsafe and ban it.

I'm sorry, but I think you are minimizing the risk here. There is far more risk involved in drawing and reholstering than there is with simple bullseye shooting. Well trained people can and do screw up and shoot themselves in the leg. This has happened seven times at Front Sight, under the supervision of qualified instructors: http://www.frontsight.com/SafetyReports.asp?Action=ShowSingle&ID=5

There are clubs where you can do what you're looking for. I think Pelham is one of those clubs.

But I'll ask you to please give the officers at a club a little more benefit of the doubt. The issue of liability is far more severe than you are implying. I'm not saying that clubs should or should not allow defensive practice. What I'm saying is that I fully understand why some clubs take a very conservative approach to this.

 

[Brunosr]

To answer your questions about the 600 yard practice, they are pretty open and will most likely talk with you and let you shoot as they watch. They are a pretty good group of guys and if you like what you see, join the club.

As for action shooting, I go down to Harvard Sportsmen’s club. They practice on Wed nights and usually run a match once a month from April to Nov. They have both IDPA and IPSC where Pelham only has IDPA. Both are great clubs and so isn't Nashua, they are just rule heavy. And this goes beyond just safety concerns. I’m all for safety, NFGA just over does it a tad.

 

[Lamina]

animal, I'm the VP of a club (not one of the ones mentioned in this thread). I have 200+ hours of firearms training, including LFI-1 and 2, Sigarms Concealed Carry and Advanced Concealed Carry, Cumberland Tactics Tactical Handgun 101. I'm an NRA certified instructor. IDPA certified safety officer. NRA certified Range Safety Officer. I've competed in IDPA and NRA service rifle. I don't consider myself to be an expert, but I do have knowledge that many of our club members do not have.

I don't view everyone else as incompetent. But if you come to my club, I can show bullet holes in the walls and ceiling baffles of our indoor range. I can show you bullet holes in the backstop on our outdoor range, 4 feet above where targets are posted. I can show you the wood we had to replace on our outdoor range where a member placed empty water bottles on the wood retaining the sand for our backstop. Said individual fired too quickly for his skill, pulling his shots low and damaging the wood. He then left the water bottles on the ground, for someone else to clean up. This is the type of crap that officers at a gun club have to deal with. Over and over again.



That is your opinion. I respect it. But the reality is that a single incident can shut a club down for good. If someone is injured on our range, I fully expect to be sued, and that nightmare will continue for years. The liability is real and should not be minimized. The Westfield Gun Club is currently facing criminal charges as the result of an incident.



I'm sorry, but I think you are minimizing the risk here. There is far more risk involved in drawing and reholstering than there is with simple bullseye shooting. Well trained people can and do screw up and shoot themselves in the leg. This has happened seven times at Front Sight, under the supervision of qualified instructors: http://www.frontsight.com/SafetyReports.asp?Action=ShowSingle&ID=5

There are clubs where you can do what you're looking for. I think Pelham is one of those clubs.

But I'll ask you to please give the officers at a club a little more benefit of the doubt. The issue of liability is far more severe than you are implying. I'm not saying that clubs should or should not allow defensive practice. What I'm saying is that I fully understand why some clubs take a very conservative approach to this.

I hear you, and I agree with everything you're posting. I think I'm coming off as more dismissive and arguementative than I mean to here. one of the joys of web forums is it's difficulty to assess tone and temper with text only.

ultimately, my position is that while I understand the degree of risk is exponentially increased, and the liability concerns are staggering, it just bothers me to be withheld from something that is more benign than driving when done safely.

by no means was my assessment of senior club members all inclusive. and, it wasn't meant to be an indictment of all of them. I've just noticed the dynamic before. case in point, myself an another guy pistol shooting multiple targets in rapid succession at a certain range, somewhere around 2 rds a second, and one of the gentlemen at the clubhouse came down on two occasions and suggested that we were shooting something FA. now, we were firing quickly, but nowhere near what anything FA sounds like... but to him it sounded like it. he didn't ask us to stop, but his relative lack of experience was apparent, even though he was aproaching us from a position of authority. now, that guy has prob forgotten more than I'll learn in a lifetime about other shooting disciplines... but he wasn't as far along as he thought in the one at hand.

anycase, I don't mean to sound like a dink, so sorry if it comes of like that.

 

[M1911]

Gotcha. There are certainly fudds around and we've all experienced them. Unfortunately, the view from the other side of the table is just as ugly at times.

 

[Lamina]

Gotcha. There are certainly fudds around and we've all experienced them. Unfortunately, the view from the other side of the table is just as ugly at times.

tell me about it. there is no shortage of dangerously stupid people in this world.

 

[Brunosr]

If you are from Manchester, there is also the Chester Sportmeans club and Kinnicum in Candia.

 

[Lamina]

kinnicum? never heard of it. I've been to chester a few times with a buddy who's a member over there. too far out for my likes and I'm not a huge fan of the place. nothing really wrong with it, just don't feel entirely comfortable there.

 

[Brunosr]

Kinnicum is not too far off exit 3 on 101. Get off the exit turn right at the gas station bear right, fisrt right (right at bottom of hill) next right, down about 3/8ths of a mile. It's not a large club. They have a 25/50 yard range, a 100 yrd range and a trap range. They do hold cowboy shoots about once a month, though I know you don't shoot cowboy. It's $60.00 a year.

 

[Lamina]

Kinnicum is not too far off exit 3 on 101. Get off the exit turn right at the gas station bear right, fisrt right (right at bottom of hill) next right, down about 3/8ths of a mile. It's not a large club. They have a 25/50 yard range, a 100 yrd range and a trap range. They do hold cowboy shoots about once a month, though I know you don't shoot cowboy. It's $60.00 a year.

lol. how do you know I don't shoot cowboy? am I that obvious?