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Boston Gun club does a good job of not standing out
- Thread starter Sh0tgun
- Start date
You shoot your way in and you shoot your way out.
It's a plain small single-story brick building with one overhead door and one regular door.
Do not park in any lot. Park on the street.
It's a plain small single-story brick building with one overhead door and one regular door.
Do not park in any lot. Park on the street.
I'd say listen for the gunfire, but it's tough to tell if it's from the range or the general area.
Interesting firearm choice in the photo at the bottom of the Facilities page. Might be LEO though, there are quite a few that were members.
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We used to have USPSA matches there in the winter but had to stop year before last because the air handlers couldn't keep up. It was a nice club at one time but I don't think they put a lot of $$ or time into upkeep these days. And yes, the neighborhood made me wonder if I was going to get to and from the match without an impromptu side match outside
Too much is made of the neighborhood that BGRA is in. Like most of Boston it's reasonably safe as long as you're not one of those people who can't settle their commercial disagreements in court. The streets I had to drive down to get there saw far more violence than did the intersection of Dot Ave and Faulkner. Even there, the violence was largely limited to people with long-standing 'disagreements'.
The club itself is very rundown and not well maintained. It's too bad too, because it could be a gold mine if it had a face lift and some motivated management.
The club itself is very rundown and not well maintained. It's too bad too, because it could be a gold mine if it had a face lift and some motivated management.
I live a mile away and my kids have friends that live nearby.
Love to hear the experts from Brookline and NH talk about how dangerous it is. OK - you're scared of colored people. Got it. The place is next to a T station that often has an MBTA police presence and is about 300 yards from the C11 police station as the crow flies, though you can't see it. It definately isn't a pretty area.
I joined BRP because the facilities are better and I've never met anyone from there. I could get there by T in a few minutes. as it's the next stop.
Agreed.
For what it's worth I never was hassled coming or going from there even at night. Kept a membership to support the place (how can we let the only club in Boston die?) but no longer shoot there due to concerns with the ventilation system and general decrepit state of the facility.
This spot has a special place in my cap bustin heart. It was where I took my safety course and met some cool shooters (some that post here.) I was a member there for a couple of years and always enjoyed going, because it was never packed and on most Saturday nights me and whoever else I happened to be shooting with usually had the place to ourselves. The location was NEVER the problem. In fact for me it was the most convenient place to to shoot, because I live in the city and have for 38 years. I once even locked my keys in the car with it running on Dorchester Ave, went in and shot for an hour only to discover my problem, when I approached the car and realized it was running. Oops. I spent the next hour trying to break in to my own set of wheels, because I was too stubborn to call AAA. It actually turned out to be a fun story and a few people passing by stopped to help or offer suggestions during the ordeal.
I didn't renew at BGRA and joined MFS, primarily because I could bring new shooters as guests and they have plenty of guns to borrow from the armory at MFS. There's no question, I definitely miss BGRA at times, especially when I'm dealing with the massive crowds at MFS. As others have cited, the current management hasn't taken care of the place and the last time I stopped by a few weeks ago, there was the same trash barrel catching water from the same hole in the ceiling from last year. If they took care of the place better and maybe loosened up the guest policy a bit, I would rejoin in a heartbeat.
I didn't renew at BGRA and joined MFS, primarily because I could bring new shooters as guests and they have plenty of guns to borrow from the armory at MFS. There's no question, I definitely miss BGRA at times, especially when I'm dealing with the massive crowds at MFS. As others have cited, the current management hasn't taken care of the place and the last time I stopped by a few weeks ago, there was the same trash barrel catching water from the same hole in the ceiling from last year. If they took care of the place better and maybe loosened up the guest policy a bit, I would rejoin in a heartbeat.
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The people who run BRGA are generally pretty nice, but it's worth noting that this is a club on the business model - it has owners who charge a fee, pay themselves, and maintain/run the place with the leftover. It is not run on a non-profit volunteer basis, so there is little incentive for the members to come in to do free labor, and the owners have chosen not to make what would, by now, be a major investment in upgrading the system to MFS like standards.
lowbuckbob
NES Member
I spent a lot of time there both on and off the job. I used to shoot the Sunday matches and met Massad Ayoob there (we were shooting a snubby combat match). A number of people I know had elevated lead levels in their blood from spending too much time there. One was a popular instructor there who later died from his exposure. I haven't been there in a few years. I should probably stop by and see Pat...
How odd. One would think they'd want to invest in the business to continue attracting members/customers. Unless there's a sizeable "captive audience" of shooters who don't have cars and need a place on the T for them to draw their customer base from.
I always thought the same thing myself, but it would seem as if BGRA just doesn't have the funds to invest in the much needed improvements. It seems as if Pat runs the show by himself, with a few dedicated members organizing matches (Kimmie1911 comes to mind). When I joined, I got the impression that a bulk of the club members were simply fulfilling the club membership requirement BPD had at the time. That would certainly explain why the range was mostly empty every time I shot there despite what I understood to be a pretty high member count.
Stopped in one or twice while working in the area, wish they had a way for licensed people to do some shooting there. No way I can afford to join just to hit it once or Twice a month.
And yes,I understand how complicated it gets having a range open to the public (aka have gansta-wanabee's at a unnamed place in Attleboro).
Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk
And yes,I understand how complicated it gets having a range open to the public (aka have gansta-wanabee's at a unnamed place in Attleboro).
Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk
I'm shocked that they haven't reached out to the membership to see if a roofer could replace the troublesome roof at cost.
Appearance things members could help with labor/donations but there's never been outreach to do so:
Replace the ceiling tile once the roof is fixed
Paint the place and use garage epoxy to seal the floors
Replace the signage with uniform professional looking stuff
Get rid of the carpet, faux wood panels, and upholstered furniture from the 70s which probably has absorbed God knows what over the years.
Clean the entire club outside the range with lead removing detergent.
Maybe replace the lighting or use retrofit if an electrician member could comp the work
Replace the faucets
Cleanliness which does have a slight added consumables cost and require an ammo restriction due to the antiquated air system:
Have a professional company clean the range and ventilation system. (I think they'd need to do the roof too prior to the replacement due to potential residual contamination at the exhaust ports)
Electrostatic range walk off mats
Wipes/dlead soap provided instead of conventional soap
Replace the brass brooms with casino rakes
Add a second door/vestibule to the range entrance to keep the air pressure constant
Have B&D reloads provide cleanfire TMJ as the training ammo and require cleanfire TMJ/non-toxic frangibles (for rifles) to be used on the range.
Police departments have done this with older ranges exactly like BGRA and managed to maintain good air quality and little to no contamination with those minor changes.
Stuff that costs real money:
A new rubber backstop, ports, and carriers rounds a bit over 200k which I'm sure the NSSF/NRA would provide partial grants for.
A modern air system would be pushing a million+ for that size range.
There's no reason why the place shouldn't be able to be in as good of condition (and attractive to more new members) as MVGC with an appeal to the existing membership and some minor investment by the owners.
The on site lockers (could add more/tall ones for rifles), accessories shop (cleaning sundries/etc.), and reputation as a training center (why not offer courses to companies instead as an alternative to corporate 'trust falls' teambuilding bullshit? Women's groups, colleges, etc?) could be capitalized on to generate more club income too if only there was the will to do so.
Appearance things members could help with labor/donations but there's never been outreach to do so:
Replace the ceiling tile once the roof is fixed
Paint the place and use garage epoxy to seal the floors
Replace the signage with uniform professional looking stuff
Get rid of the carpet, faux wood panels, and upholstered furniture from the 70s which probably has absorbed God knows what over the years.
Clean the entire club outside the range with lead removing detergent.
Maybe replace the lighting or use retrofit if an electrician member could comp the work
Replace the faucets
Cleanliness which does have a slight added consumables cost and require an ammo restriction due to the antiquated air system:
Have a professional company clean the range and ventilation system. (I think they'd need to do the roof too prior to the replacement due to potential residual contamination at the exhaust ports)
Electrostatic range walk off mats
Wipes/dlead soap provided instead of conventional soap
Replace the brass brooms with casino rakes
Add a second door/vestibule to the range entrance to keep the air pressure constant
Have B&D reloads provide cleanfire TMJ as the training ammo and require cleanfire TMJ/non-toxic frangibles (for rifles) to be used on the range.
Police departments have done this with older ranges exactly like BGRA and managed to maintain good air quality and little to no contamination with those minor changes.
Stuff that costs real money:
A new rubber backstop, ports, and carriers rounds a bit over 200k which I'm sure the NSSF/NRA would provide partial grants for.
A modern air system would be pushing a million+ for that size range.
There's no reason why the place shouldn't be able to be in as good of condition (and attractive to more new members) as MVGC with an appeal to the existing membership and some minor investment by the owners.
The on site lockers (could add more/tall ones for rifles), accessories shop (cleaning sundries/etc.), and reputation as a training center (why not offer courses to companies instead as an alternative to corporate 'trust falls' teambuilding bullshit? Women's groups, colleges, etc?) could be capitalized on to generate more club income too if only there was the will to do so.
I think BGRA's biggest problem is that it is a business, not a club. Thus there is no free labor pool of dedicated volunteers to draw from.
I used to shoot the PPC matches there many years ago when local IPSC shooters would have to put their guns away in December and await the spring. I enjoyed the range and members so I joined and remained a member for several years. I let my membership lapse when travel time got ridiculous. My commute began at about 1/2 hour and eventually grew to 1 1/2 hours. At that point I gave up.
I was delighted when BUAS began hosting USPSA matches at BGRA, it was like a homecoming for me, nothing had changed. I guess that was part of the problem; no changes= no improvements. What does puzzle me is the air quality problems. When I was a member I was told that BGRA rented the range to the Feds and had to meet certain standards. I guess this is no longer true.
I used to shoot the PPC matches there many years ago when local IPSC shooters would have to put their guns away in December and await the spring. I enjoyed the range and members so I joined and remained a member for several years. I let my membership lapse when travel time got ridiculous. My commute began at about 1/2 hour and eventually grew to 1 1/2 hours. At that point I gave up.
I was delighted when BUAS began hosting USPSA matches at BGRA, it was like a homecoming for me, nothing had changed. I guess that was part of the problem; no changes= no improvements. What does puzzle me is the air quality problems. When I was a member I was told that BGRA rented the range to the Feds and had to meet certain standards. I guess this is no longer true.
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They also do not offer 24x7 "self service" access with each member having a key to the place. This is the sort of thing that clubs do (the Weston Gun Club is the only commercial operation I have seen that also takes this approach) that gives members a feeling of "ownership" that it is "their place". At BRGA you are really a "customer" rather than a "member".
I do lots of work at my club (Hopkinton) free of charge (if it runs on 5, 12 ot 24 volts, it's my problem) since I am a true "member", but I would be sending a bill for each trip if I were a "customer" of the club.
BGRA having on site lockers makes it understandable why they require staff and limited hours for security reasons. I'm really curious how Weston works because it seems they are following a similar business model with some 24 hour access.
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Weston also has lockers. The front entrance, and the entrance to the locker room, is controlled by a card key which I think also needs a fingerprint read (I know the readers have fingerprint scanners). This gives them a record of exactly who was in the building at any time, with additional info available via video.
The Weston approach may turn out to be a key for its long term survival. I took Bill's wound class there one weekend, and there were no staff on duty - but members were showing up to use the range. As soon as you start to staff a range at all open hours, the expense starts to add up quickly - which means you need crowds to pay the overhead.
I'm not sure about the present, but during my membership BGRA had staff on duty 24/7. The "club" was also headquarters for Alpha Security. Unfortunately the range closed at either 11pm or midnight despite the presence of staff. Daytime hours were also severely restricted due to rentals.
Last I checked, their hours were:
Mon-Fri 2pm-10pm
Sat 9am – 10pm
Sun 9am – 5pm
Some mornings the range was used by some security company or armored car company and was not available for others.
You could bring a licensed guest for $10.
Mon-Fri 2pm-10pm
Sat 9am – 10pm
Sun 9am – 5pm
Some mornings the range was used by some security company or armored car company and was not available for others.
You could bring a licensed guest for $10.
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