Charging LEOs to use Club Range

[Shark_Cage]

Never mind the state property. The cities and towns should be responsible to fund and maintain their own ranges. For as long as I can remember police agencies have gone out begging for ranges to use for training and qualifications. When I was in the Mass. Environmental Police, I was the lead Firearms Instructor and armorer. I was always on the hunt for ranges to use. Some were free, others we had to pay.

If the staties can have an underground driving range in Boston, why can’t they have a shooting range?

 

[Dadstoys]

Disregard I misread your post

20-25 years ago your probably correct

My apologies

No problem.
Your right though , the last few years I wouldn't have set foot on that range on a bet.

 

[FalArAk]

If the staties can have an underground driving range in Boston, why can’t they have a shooting range?

???

 

[heck ya beaches]

Our town used to have a PD range East of and about 30 degree off parallel to SR114 in Southern NH but had to move as they shot a few cars. They moved to town property with the transfer station about 45 degree off the line of shooting but shot the buildings anyway. So, they now shoot indoors at commercial ranges.

Shot a few cars? Excuse me? I don't see how 1 is excusable, but more than 2?

 

[M1911]

Shot a few cars? Excuse me? I don't see how 1 is excusable, but more than 2?

He's not excusing it.

 

[In God We Trust]

If they want to use it, each of them can get a yearly membership like us regular people.

Why is that concept so hard?

They can buy armored vehicles and assault rifles but can't pay $200 per year per officer so they can practice?

For practice on our own time, I always just joined as a member and did my own thing like everyone else at the club.

We were required to shoot qualification once a year as a department and it took a couple days to run everyone through since we all couldn’t be there at once.

If I were in charge of the range I would tell the town department that they can use it for free two day a year for qualification. Shut the range down for those two days while they are there and have them ask the officers to apply for membership for further use.

It earns good will with the police and the town (Joe taxpayer is footing whatever fee you charge, not the cops) which can help you out down the road when liberals complain about the noise or whatever. Goodwill is worth more than whatever money you would reasonably charge

 

[heck ya beaches]

This is in NH, so no reason to check "compliance".

NFA still applies

 

[heck ya beaches]

He's not excusing it.

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest he was. I meant it more in "seriously?" in surprise

 

[enbloc]

If the staties can have an underground driving range in Boston, why can’t they have a shooting range?

 

[FisherTech]

If the staties can have an underground driving range in Boston, why can’t they have a shooting range?

The Mass State Police have a covered range at the New Braintree Complex.

 

[whacko]

I've heard of similar instances where they show up and chase the members off claiming the range is "theirs" today.
I still remember going up bob's in Seabrook when it was the original Bob and asking WTF happened to the range ?
Skid marks where bullets went down the sides of the walls , ricochet marks on the floor, bullet holes in the duct work across the ceiling .
He just rolled his eyes and said Cops

We only had that issue with them showing up non scheduled that one time.....and they lost their ability to use our range immediately. Our relationships with the pd that use our ranges has overall been positive. Maybe we're just lucky.....

 

[Broc]

It earns good will with the police and the town (Joe taxpayer is footing whatever fee you charge, not the cops) which can help you out down the road when liberals complain about the noise or whatever. Goodwill is worth more than whatever money you would reasonably charge

Does anyone have a story of cops actually helping a gun range when neighbors complained?

 

[meh]

Riverside does a lot of it. They take the 60 yard range and conduct their drills downrange when they're there. I just have to go to the 25 or 100. There's generally very little interaction besides a "Hey, how ya doin'" The only time I actually had a conversation was one day when I was shooting the BP Kentucky Rifle I built (and no longer shoot because f*k that, metallic cartridges were a great idea). I assume the club needs the revenue.

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

I have no horse in this race, but will just say I hated the fact that when I was a member of Boston Gun & Rifle, BPD could shoot 556 there and no one else could. Not that it did anyone all that much with it being a 50' range, but still....

 

[DW357]

Have a LE Agency wanting to use our one of our ranges probably a couple days a month. For other clubs that are doing this what do you charge? Per person per day? Set fee for the range for the day? Or?

I’m a member at Cape Ann sportsman’s club in Gloucester and the club allows the police to use the outdoor ranges 3-4 times per year. No idea if they charge them a fee. I doubt they do. It’s always during the week so it’s not a huge deal.

It’s closed to members when they’re there so I can’t comment on their trigger discipline or shooting abilities

They posted photos on their FB page last month.

I will say they don’t trash the range and they usually leave behind buckets of brass. Which I may or may not pick through

 

[LTCRN]

At my club we let the police use range for there qualifications at no charge you want them on your side if the neighbors are against you

At my club, local and non local agencies, would practice with new recruits. Hunters were trespassing on club land and rounds went into the houses, narrowly missing a Grandmother in front of her kitchen window. It took the police six months of shutting down ALL ranges, to finally figure this out. The police were looking to blame the club. It cost the club more money to install preventative measures and to increase the already enormous berms to satisfy them and the sheep. It was proven to be impossible for the rounds to come from the shooting ranges. Any fool could see this, well almost any, from the day the investigation started. And the best part, none of the club members received any type of refund for their lost time.
I'm not sure if range training time is still given. If the police are supposed to be on a club's side because they are given FREE range time. I would hate to see what happens when they aren't.

 

[DW357]

What happens when someone on one of those police depts launches a round that goes outside of the club property? Who is going to take the hit and have a range closing issue? It won't be the PD it will be the club. Camp Curtis Guild's ranges were shut because of a Cop F*** UP.

This is what I wondered about. I don’t go to club meetings to know the agreement our club has with the PD.

 

[DW357]

Dunno. We aren't allowed anywhere near them when they have the ranges...

Gloucester PD used a range that was near a reservoir in town, for many years until the moonbats shut it down recently

Gun range closed for good

It is official: the shooting range behind the Haskell Pond Reservoir is closed for good. Meanwhile, Gloucester Police officers completed weapons qualifications locally, but need a place to train long

www.gloucestertimes.com

 

[Yazz]

Tell them to ask Maura if they can use her country home back yard.

 

[SHOCKNAWE]

I’m a member at Cape Ann sportsman’s club in Gloucester and the club allows the police to use the outdoor ranges 3-4 times per year. No idea if they charge them a fee. I doubt they do. It’s always during the week so it’s not a huge deal.

It’s closed to members when they’re there so I can’t comment on their trigger discipline or shooting abilities

They posted photos on their FB page last month.

I will say they don’t trash the range and they usually leave behind buckets of brass. Which I may or may not pick through
View attachment 687045View attachment 687046View attachment 687047View attachment 687048
View attachment 687049View attachment 687050

I'm the last person who should talk.shit about anyone's training but I hope they know a car door is terrible cover

And what the hell is up.with there optic set up? Why not just go flat top?

 

[DW357]

I'm still a little pissy about the Gun Club shut downs when Covid started. Didn't Harvard have Police at the gate...??? Or am I remembering wrong?

I think so.
Gloucester PD would have been fools to do that at our club. We had no issues at the club throughout Covid luckily.

 

[eddy1953]

Years ago, my wife and I went to Bob's Tactical with our Savage .223 bolt gun. No dice, we were told. Those high velocity bullets would wreck their target frames. Obviously, high velocity police rifles are exempt.

 

[DW357]

I'm the last person who should talk.shit about anyone's training but I hope they know a car door is terrible cover

And what the hell is up.with there optic set up? Why not just go flat top?

Lmao I knew I’d get some comments posting those photos.
Ya I have no idea . Their firearms officer on the force is my neighbor though I don’t talk to him. He’s in the second to last photo.

 

[whacko]

I'm the last person who should talk.shit about anyone's training but I hope they know a car door is terrible cover

And what the hell is up.with there optic set up? Why not just go flat top?

The first cco we were issued in the army were set up exactly like that. To zero it you look through your sights as usual....and adjust the cco so the red dot sits right on top of the front sight post. I thought it was a good setup. If your cco breaks or fails.....just use the irons. It's called "absolute co witness "

 

[556USER]

How exactly are they keeping you safe?

Not at all. When Antifa comes to Maura's paradise and starts burning your neighborhood they will just stand by and watch. Ya know, it's all about the pension.

 

[DW357]

 

[eddy1953]

For .223, real simple. I zeroed my Savage .223 to hit dead-on at 200 yards. The scope is 4x-12x. I'm good to 600 yards. No worries!

The first cco we were issued in the army were set up exactly like that. To zero it you look through your sights as usual....and adjust the cco so the red dot sits right on top of the front sight post. I thought it was a good setup. If your cco breaks or fails.....just use the irons.

 

[enbloc]

I think so.
Gloucester PD would have been fools to do that at our club. We had no issues at the club throughout Covid luckily.

My club shut down everything for like 4 months...

 

[M1911]

Does anyone have a story of cops actually helping a gun range when neighbors complained?

Back when a neighbor tried to shut down the Wayland Rod & Gun Club and later pushed for a no discharge warrant article for town meeting, our then police chief went to a number of Selectmen's meetings and was helpful in talking sense to the board. I don't believe that the Wayland PD used the club property for qualification.

 

[Len-2A Training]

And it will be the same PD that serves the order !

Truth!

Now that I no longer live in MA, I can tell the story.

A man was shooting a pistol at Massapoag Sportsmen's Club and had a skip-shot that struck a person taking a cigarette break at Crescent Ridge Farm (police estimate was 1/2 mile away), striking her in the arm and the spent bullet just fell to the ground. Sharon PD was called and found the shooter, confiscated the gun, MSP ballistics proved that the bullet came from his gun, etc.

The chief ordered the Lt. to shut down Sharon F&G Club outdoor range (which wasn't involved and >1 mile away). It took a lawyer, $14K in baffles and >6 months to get the selectmen to okay opening the outdoor range again. Sharon F&G was where SPD and a handful of other PDs qualified each year at no cost to them. I attended the selectmen's meeting after the club was shut down and I also had some words with one of the selectmen about it (he was and still is an a-hole attorney).

Subsequently and on advice of counsel, SF&G demanded a $1Million insurance policy naming the club before allowing any outside agency to use the facilities. SPD refused and only Boston College Police provided the required policy.

The Sharon PD chief begged me to bring to the BOD his plea to use the range as they were having to pay OT and travel to Raynham to qualify officers. I was legislative chairman of that club for 14 yrs and thus a BOD member. I told the chief that I would put it on the agenda but wouldn't support it. It failed and SPD was not allowed to use the facilities.

I know that after I quit the club in 2000, at some point they again allowed SPD to use the facilities. That same chief ordered an officer to shutdown Wednesday evening skeet/trap shooting one Summer night ~6:30PM after a Karen called to complain about the noise (this was within the past 10 yrs). SF&G was incorporated in the 1930s and I personally know that Wednesday night skeet/trap has been going on there since at least the 1970s . . . and I heard this particular incident on the police scanner directly.

For practice on our own time, I always just joined as a member and did my own thing like everyone else at the club.

We were required to shoot qualification once a year as a department and it took a couple days to run everyone through since we all couldn’t be there at once.

If I were in charge of the range I would tell the town department that they can use it for free two day a year for qualification. Shut the range down for those two days while they are there and have them ask the officers to apply for membership for further use.

It earns good will with the police and the town (Joe taxpayer is footing whatever fee you charge, not the cops) which can help you out down the road when liberals complain about the noise or whatever. Goodwill is worth more than whatever money you would reasonably charge

At Sharon F&G, members were forbidden from going up to the outdoor ranges when the police were shooting. I think it was for our own personal safety to avoid being "accidentally" shot.

Does anyone have a story of cops actually helping a gun range when neighbors complained?

Yes, read the post here somewhere about the lawsuit against a harassing neighbor of Londonderry F&G. Litchfield Police (and maybe Londonderry Police as well, the property is in both towns) investigated the neighbor complaints and concluded that none of the alleged incidents came from LF&G ranges. But NH is a very different state and culture!