Good one...

While looking for that law (I posted it once before here) I came across this little goodie...

PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT.
TITLE XX. PUBLIC SAFETY AND GOOD ORDER.
CHAPTER 140. LICENSES.

Chapter 140: Section 131. Licenses to carry firearms; Class A and B; conditions and restrictions.

[ Text applicable as provided by 1998, 180, Sec. 80.]

Section 131. All licenses to carry firearms shall be designated Class A or Class B, and the issuance and possession of any such license shall be subject to the following conditions and restrictions:

(a) A Class A license shall entitle a holder thereof to purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess and carry: (i) firearms, including large capacity firearms, and feeding devices and ammunition therefor, for all lawful purposes, subject to such restrictions relative to the possession, use or carrying of firearms as the licensing authority deems proper; and (ii) rifles and shotguns, including large capacity weapons, and feeding devices and ammunition therefor, for all lawful purposes; provided, however, that the licensing authority may impose such restrictions relative to the possession, use or carrying of large capacity rifles and shotguns as it deems proper. A violation of a restriction imposed by the licensing authority under the provisions of this paragraph shall be cause for suspension or revocation and shall, unless otherwise provided, be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000; provided, however, that the provisions of section 10 of chapter 269 shall not apply to such violation.

The colonel of state police may, after an investigation, grant a Class A license to a club or facility with an on-site shooting range or gallery, which club is incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth for the possession, storage and use of large capacity weapons, ammunition therefor and large capacity feeding devices for use with such weapons on the premises of such club; provided, however, that not less than one shareholder of such club shall be qualified and suitable to be issued such license; and provided further, that such large capacity weapons and ammunition feeding devices may be used under such Class A club license only by such members that possess a valid firearm identification card issued under section 129B or a valid Class A or Class B license to carry firearms, or by such other persons that the club permits while under the direct supervision of a certified firearms safety instructor or club member who, in the case of a large capacity firearm, possesses a valid Class A license to carry firearms or, in the case of a large capacity rifle or shotgun, possesses a valid Class A or Class B license to carry firearms. Such club shall not permit shooting at targets that depict human figures, human effigies, human silhouettes or any human images thereof, except by public safety personnel performing in line with their official duties.

Is IDPA illegal in MA?
 
Oh yeah... Here are those silly laws for you...

All men must carry a rifle to church on Sunday.
Hunting on Sundays is prohibited.
No one may cross the Boston Common without carrying a shotgun in case of bears.
Duels to the death permitted on the common on Sundays provided that the Governor is present.
 
Adam, you are ignoring the "preface" to the part you highlighted. Read the prior couple of sentences VERY CAREFULLY!

It actually says that any CLUB WITH A CLUB LTC-A must prohibit human shaped targets. TTBOMK there is only 1 or 2 such clubs/ranges in MA that were stupid enough to get Club LTC-As! There is NO advantage for a range/club to get this license, but if they do they are subject to all sorts of additional nasty stuff by the AG and this law.

This was part of the 1998 anti-gun law. Nothing new here, but it does still confuse plenty of people.
 
No problem Adam.

I had to square away a RO at Braintree R&P when I took my New Member Class. He said it was an arrestable offense to an entire class of ~40 new members! [roll] I kept my mouth shut but went home, grabbed the cite and Emailed the info to the club president (an atty) and he then corrected the RO and announced the "real rule" at the next membership meeting.

There may still be 30-something BR&P members roaming around who believed that to this day (most never come to meetings).
 
I wonder if it's some misunderstood variant of this law that makes my club have the silly rule of no silhouette targets on the indoor range while shooting at the 25 foot mark, but allowed if you run it down to the 50.

Adam
 
That may have to do with angles. Look where marginal shots from the line would pass through the target and then strike. I know that at Riverside, a 6' person shooting at a mid-range target would put the bullet into the floor if the very bottom of the standard IDPA target were struck.
 
Chris,
I had thought that myself, however when I asked during my orientation if that were the case (because I can print small silhouette targets) I was told something along the lines of. "It's so you are less apt to go out and shoot someone after, or something like that"

Member meeting tonight... I am going to try to make it. I would like to know the reasoning behind this, and also if there is any good reason we are not allowed to shoot jacketed ammo. At least a few guns out there on the market today, have the polyagonal rifling. Be nice to be able to shoot them indoors.

Adam
 
I just got done with 13 years as Chief RSO for Westford Sportsmen's Club. We've had a similar rule for quite some time, and for exactly the reason that Chris articulated. I've always counseled new members during the range orientation about the actual problem behind the rule, and telling them that I don't really care what sort of target they used at short range as long as they dropped the cute stuff and shot center of mass, thus avoiding the problem. Frequently people who weren't around when the original discussion took place still feel that their credibility (or manhood) would suffer if they answered a question honestly with "I'm sorry, but I don't know. I'll try to find out and get back to when I've got an answer to your question."

Ken
 
Well,
I didn't make it to the meeting last night. Kim had to go down to Dana Farber to have her blood levels checked out, and needed both blood and platelets. She didn't get home until around 6:30, then I made dinner and all, so the meeting just didn't happen.

I'll have to get the contact info for the person that represents the indoor range and give him a call...

Adam
 
She is doing great... She had her second to last round of Chemo last week. That's why I was not able to make it on Sat to the get-together. She was pretty drained, and not feeling so well. I needed to be with her to take care of both her and the little one. Her counts were a little low this week (chemo has a habit of doing that) so she needed 2 transfusions and some additional platelets yesterday to bring her counts back up.

Now, she gets a couple weeks off, and the week after Christmas she has her last round!!! 2 short days of Chemo infusion and she will be DONE!

We are both looking forward to being able to spend Christmas together this year. She was pretty sick after her first round of Chemo in late December last year, and ended up in the hospital from Dec 18th until Dec 31st. So we weren't able to be together at home.

Of course this year, she is going NUTS with Christmas stuff. I gave her and open ticket to decorate however she damn well pleases, and made a promise to myself to stand back and let her make the most of it. I did have to interject a little when we went shopping for a tree, and she was insisting on the "Most beautiful tree EVER". I had to explain to her that it would be a bit hard to fit the 10'+ tall tree into our house with 7'6" ceilings in the living room!

Me... I'll probably be spending most of my day off tomorrow trying to figure out how to hang the copious amounts of lights on the outside of my house! :D :D

What the hell...

SHE'S DAMN WORTH IT!!


Adam
 
I wonder if it's some misunderstood variant of this law that makes my club have the silly rule of no silhouette targets on the indoor range while shooting at the 25 foot mark, but allowed if you run it down to the 50.
I've got to agree with Chris and Ken. This is mostly likely due to the angles involved.

I'm chief RSO at the Wayland Rod & Gun Club. On our indoor range, we require that all targets be placed at the full travel of the target hangers (50'). That way, if you hit the target, you hit the backstop. The closer the target is to you (and the larger the target), the greater the chance that you'll hit the target but miss the backstop.
 
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