Goodbye, Mass Rifle Association

[Admin]

Imagine if Derek required all of use to qualify before joining NES.

The test would be comprised of one stage...


1. Buy Derek a frosty Sam Adams.

 

[kendall-op]

OK I (we?) get it - Martlet is not happy at MRA - enough of this post going around in circles and turning into a bitch session of what's wrong at MRA.

Martlet admitted that "Overall, MRA isn't a bad club at all"

If he thinks leaving MRA and joining another club is the answer and truely thinks he'll have no issues at another club - I wish him well.

Is the grass always greener on the other side? who knows.

If he does leave MRA it's his loss - MRA is a great place to shoot and does have a lot to offer.

+1 The End.

 

[dwarven1]

Apparently you have never fired several rounds in rapid succession from a firearm.

Uh... right. You haven't been following the Appleseed Project thread, have you? The muzzle only rises if you have no control over what you're doing and if you're just pulling the trigger to make a noise. If, on the other hand, you're actually trying to hit a target, rapid fire, you get back on target first.

And those with semi-automatic rifles often like to shoot rapid fire.

I certainly do. Never sent a round over the berm, though... and I've still never heard of a club that will only let you fire one round at at time. Maybe you folks should take some of that money and build brows over the range like Mansfield & Braintree have.

 

[Mikey]

The test would be comprised of one stage...


1. Buy Derek a frosty Sam Adams.

Anytime!

 

[Martlet]

OK I (we?) get it - Martlet is not happy at MRA - enough of this post going around in circles and turning into a bitch session of what's wrong at MRA.

Martlet admitted that "Overall, MRA isn't a bad club at all"

If he thinks leaving MRA and joining another club is the answer and truely thinks he'll have no issues at another club - I wish him well.

Is the grass always greener on the other side? who knows.

It IS a good club overall. As I stated, it just doesn't meet several key areas I require to enjoy a club. I'll probably join a club that offers much less than MRA, but does offer the things I need. "The grass is greener" is a cliche that doesn't apply here. MRA just hasn't been offering me any grass lately, due to my requirements.

If he does leave MRA it's his loss - MRA is a great place to shoot and does have a lot to offer.

I would have liked to think that the loss of a member who paid his dues on time, has only missed one workday since joining, keeps the range clean, and regularly helps out less experienced shooters when on the range would be a loss to the club also. Hopefully, it will be looked upon as a gain for another club.

 

[M1911]

Ummm yes you did.

But anyway I do not think it is necessary especially in MA where a "safety class" is required for an LTC or FID, which should be good enough for your club.

What I actually said was:

What they were trying to do is make sure that people follow proper safe procedures.

and

You disagree with trying to ensure safety?

Notice the word "trying". That means it will not work all the time. Perhaps I could have been more clear.

Note that some of the MA safety classes do not require any range time at all. For example, the NRA Home Firearm Safety does not involve any shooting, so someone can have an FID and LTC and still not know how to safely handle a gun. They have been talked at for several hours but may have had very little chance to actually handle a gun, let alone fire one.

Also, the requirement for a safety class is only for people who did not have an FID or LTC when the law was enacted. People who already had one were grandfathered. I clearly remember two instances at a club where members were careless about safe direction. Both had been shooting for decades and were grandfathered out of the LTC requirement for a safety class.

I'm not saying that clubs should have range tests. As I mentioned, the club for which I am an officer does not have a range test. But I do understand the reasoning behind range tests. I'm not trying to promote range tests here, just to explain some of the reasoning behind them.

 

[Martlet]

The test would be comprised of one stage...


1. Buy Derek a frosty Sam Adams.

Harpoon.

Or Ardbeg.

Either will do for me, thanks.

 

[M1911]

Harpoon.

Or Ardbeg.

Either will do for me, thanks.

Mmm, Harpoon IPA. Never tried Ardberg. Lately I've been drinking Hen's Tooth, which I like much better than Harpoon or Bass Ale.

 

[MassMark]

I would have liked to think that the loss of a member who paid his dues on time, has only missed one workday since joining, keeps the range clean, and regularly helps out less experienced shooters when on the range would be a loss to the club also. Hopefully, it will be looked upon as a gain for another club.

Well said - wish you were closer to Lee - we'd love to have you and it's a whopping $50.00 per year...

 

[PMD]

I would have liked to think that the loss of a member who paid his dues on time, has only missed one workday since joining, keeps the range clean, and regularly helps out less experienced shooters when on the range would be a loss to the club also. Hopefully, it will be looked upon as a gain for another club.

agreed.

It is a loss to loose members who are active and give back..

 

[Supermoto]

I seems to be very simple. there are a few choices.
1. Leave the club, find one that suits your needs better.
2. Stay and help fix the problems
3. Accept the club as it is and deal with it.

I was a member of one club. I didn't really care for the facilities and the direction the club was going. They had no interest in changing. I left...

I joined another club, they had everything I wanted except IPSC They had a nice pit for it, but you could only shoot static. I asked them if I could run a weekly practice and they were more than happy to do it. They purchased targets and steel just for my practice.
The club was always interested in action pistol, but never had anyone to volunteer. Now I am working on IPSC rifle and shotgun practices. It takes a lot of work to set up practice stages, help people the come to the practice, and tear down everything after. but the gains I get in return are huge. I get to practice IPSC once a week for 2 hours. It takes Volunteers to make clubs work.

 

[dd]

This thread has been very interesting, reading thru all of the posts.

I think that the primary point is that MRA is a key card club and many of the posters are also members of a key card club. I am not. With a non-key card club you are faced with reduced range availability and the need for a Range Officer to be on duty while ranges are open. Sometimes this is not something that a person can accommodate into their own schedules, but ...

My Club has 80 acres, double trap & skeet, 70 position 100 yard outdoor range, plate range, black powder area, indoor 16 position 50 foot range, indoor archery range, outdoor archery range thru the woods, and a stocked trout pond.

We also have some restrictions, but no range quals since we have ROs on duty, PLUS, every member is charged with SAFETY.

Unfortunately, there is only Monday night for indoor range shooting due to other club commitments such as pistol teams and junior division plus safety courses. We DO have each safety course attendee shoot .22 rf revolvers and pistols.

Another club to which I belong did have me qualify for .22 rf and CF pistol in order to use the indoor range. That club is a key card type so I could see the need for this due to liability, i.e. “We have every member qualify on the range ...etc.”

The original poster seemed to have three gripes, which are all perfectly valid in my mind. Range use not posted. Safety violations. No action by officers.

Each gripe has been fully addressed by posters here. The Club needs to act on them in a general sense by posting notices about safety as well as number of guests that may use the facility, have more ROs volunteering to oversee activities, and requiring a 30 day notice of match schedules on a club calendar.

To me these seem easy things to do and some improvement will be evident, altho significant improvement will occur only when attitudes change.

dd

 

[MFP4073]

I seems to be very simple. there are a few choices.
1. Leave the club, find one that suits your needs better.
2. Stay and help fix the problems
3. Accept the club as it is and deal with it.

It's that simple.

 

[FalArAk]

Did I ever tell the class about the time I got muzzle swept by a loaded Thompson MG ? The dudes finger was even on the trigger !

I would complain,but the adrenaline rush was out of this world.

Too bad ya can't make it up to Harvard Martlet,if you ever want to go on the weekend,LMK and you can be my extra special guest.

 

[Nickle]

Originally Posted by derek
The test would be comprised of one stage...


1. Buy Derek a frosty Sam Adams.

Harpoon.

Or Ardbeg.

Either will do for me, thanks.

Otter Creek or Long Trail here. Of course, they're local to me (OC is VERY local, next town).

As to the club and the comments, folks, Martlet is looking for the club to change it's ways. I read his comments, and frankly, if that had been me instead of him, I would have been done with them, right then.

Unsafe situations are unacceptable, period. That's got to be fixed.

As to the non-posted event situation, that isn't right. People travel a ways to go to the range. They expect to be able to shoot when they take the time to check to make sure ahead of time.

As to the rudeness of people there, well, that's just fellow member's attitudes and it's a symptom of a "who cares" attitude, and therefore, refer to the Safety comment above.

It's been beat to death, so fix it at the club, and move on.

 

[Gammon]

Otter Creek or Long Trail here. Of course, they're local to me (OC is VERY local, next town).

As to the club and the comments, folks, Martlet is looking for the club to change it's ways. I read his comments, and frankly, if that had been me instead of him, I would have been done with them, right then.

Unsafe situations are unacceptable, period. That's got to be fixed.

As to the non-posted event situation, that isn't right. People travel a ways to go to the range. They expect to be able to shoot when they take the time to check to make sure ahead of time.

As to the rudeness of people there, well, that's just fellow member's attitudes and it's a symptom of a "who cares" attitude, and therefore, refer to the Safety comment above.

It's been beat to death, so fix it at the club, and move on.

I find the "rudeness" odd. I shoot the Sunday matches when I can and know most of the other competitors. You would be hard pressed to find a better bunch f people.

 

[PistolPete]

If the match was posted "at the range" would Marlet still have driven there? He did mention he hadn't been in a while so he prob. would still have driven down there. Doesn't change the fact that it wasn't posted but just an observation.

 

[rscalzo]

Our club has a web site and it is maintained by an outstanding member who volunteered to design and keep it current. While is responds to requests concerning the site, it isn't instantaneous. Once again the club's success depends on dedicated members who want to add something to the club and not simply show up and demand services.

 

[M1911]

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Our club has a web site and it is maintained by an outstanding member who volunteered to design and keep it current. While is responds to requests concerning the site, it isn't instantaneous. Once again the club's success depends on dedicated members who want to add something to the club and not simply show up and demand services.

There are numerous free database driven calendars that can be incorporated into web sites (Google, Yahoo and Bravenet come to mind) that will allow any club official with the password the ability to post an item to the publicly available schedule with instantaneous availability to the membership. "Waiting for the webmaster" for updates to routine schedule items is a somewhat dated concept.

 

[rscalzo]

There are numerous free database driven calendars that can be incorporated into web sites (Google, Yahoo and Bravenet come to mind) that will allow any club official with the password the ability to post an item to the publicly available schedule with instantaneous availability to the membership. "Waiting for the webmaster" for updates to routine schedule items is a somewhat dated concept.

That's what we use. But when we need a notice that is conspicuous on the title page of the site that will catch everyone's attention, the webmaster must do it when he can find the time. Sad to say but no one seems to check the calendar before coming down to use a range.

 

[bostonshovel]

Well I may not be one to talk as I have only been a member of MRA for a few months now but I had to pipe in.

1.0 I have never been to the Loeb Range where I could not get a lane. I keep a weird schedule and go at many different times. Even on Wednesday Nights, I can usually get a lane.

2.0 Although the MRA forum is not always active when I get questions I bounce over there and can usually hear from someone pretty quickly (Massman)

3.0 Before joining I asked around and got good feedback from people about the club and one concern was the carrier systems. One member told me they are pretty easy to fix, and if you notice one broken try to take care of it. I spent about 1 EAsy hour one night after shooting and fixed almost all the carriers that had string problems. It was easy to fix and took no time. which made the ranges more enjoyable for other members.

4.0 Saftey issues. i havent had to deal with anything like this lately.

5.0 I dont know if it is just me but it is run by volunteers. I ran a volunteer motorcycle organization for years and I know how taxing, aggrivating and frustrating it all can be when you include everday life, so I tend to cut them slack as i know its a tough job.

I joined the club because it was close to home, open 24x7 and had a variety of activites. Im glad i joined and met some great people already and I havent had any problems there yet. This is all just my 2cents though. I will agree that sometimes people do ring in many guests and common courteosy would be for them to remove their guests from a lane when a paid member has arrived.