Hey guys new member here. I have been looking for a gun club in MA for some time with no luck so far. Most of the places I go to are either capped out and have a waiting list or cost an obscene amount. I don't care what other things the club has to offer (hunting, fishing, archery, etc). All I am really looking for is somewhere I can take my pistols to and have a fun day of target practice. Any suggestions? Thanks
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Gun ranges in MA?
- Thread starter Nickgibson72
- Start date
warwickben
bubba Kalashnikov
Worcester . Springfield .roxbury.
I looked into Worcester. The waiting list is almost a year last I heard. I will look into the other two. Thanks
warwickben
bubba Kalashnikov
dude it was a joke . I didn't know Worcester had a range . I just picked 3 areas with high crime rate lol ....
Welcome Nick. There are several clubs around the area that you could get into. There is Singletary, Century Sportsmen and the 200 club in the Oxford/Sutton area. North Grafton Fish and Game has a wait I believe. Hopkinton, Maspenock, Southboro and Rockdale are all options as well.
Welcome aboard. If you want to tour Singletary or Hopkinton, I can take you.
Welcome aboard. If you want to tour Singletary or Hopkinton, I can take you.
Varmint
NES Member
Chelsea. There's a nice Peruvian restaurant too, if you don't mind shooting in and out for a quick bite.
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Harvard sounds awesome, how far is that for you?
Harvard Sportsmen's Club. http://www.harvardsportsmansclub.com/
MisterHappy
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OP:
Define "fun day" ....some clubs are more lenient than others, when it comes to "fun".
It will help people give you suggestions.
Define "fun day" ....some clubs are more lenient than others, when it comes to "fun".
It will help people give you suggestions.
Basically just looking for a place that will let me set up targets and shoot. A lot of the places I went to walked me through all the different locations and talked to me about how the refill the fishing pond every month or have pool tournaments in the bar every Friday. I'm honestly just looking to go shooting and maybe meet some fellow gun lovers. I would definitely be interested in the Sturbridge location since it isn't too far from me.
greencobra
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To some people, that's important. I can't think of too many "gun" clubs that don't offer other things besides shooting. Shooter have kids, they like to fish, Harvard stocks birds for members to hunt. Sounds like you'd be better off just finding a public range and rent time. Most people appreciate the extra amenities offered at their different clubs.
ETA and welcome to NES
Brookfield Rod & Gun club would be a good place to shoot your pistols and it is only $35.00 a year.
It does not have much for shooting activities but should be good for what you want to do.
It does not have much for shooting activities but should be good for what you want to do.
Thanks everyone for the information. I went and dropped off my application at Eight Point (Sterling) this morning so hopefully all goes through.
Cost an obscene amount? Really?
Harvard Sportsmen's Club: $150 initiation $150 dues and you can work off a portion of the dues. For that cost, you can as often and for as long as you want. There is an indoor range. Outdoor 7, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 300 yard ranges. Plus about a dozen action pits.
Compare this to a public range like American Firearms School at $20 per hour. So for the cost of 7.5 hours at AFS, you can shoot all you want at a place like Harvard.
Or look at it another way. That is just 500 rounds of 9mm ammo.
Gun owners are such cheap bastards.
Cheap bastards? Really? $150 for initiation and $150 for dues. So that's $300 so far. Harvard Sportsmen's club is about an hour drive each way from where I live so that's a good amount in gas if I go more than once a week. Doesn't seem like a practical or cost effective option for myself. For your information, I own 4 pistols and 2 rifles. I would not consider myself a "cheap bastard" as I have invested more than $2500 in my collection. I was simply asking if there was a cheaper alternative to the places that make you pay for all the extra amenities. I clearly stated I was only interested in an outdoor range that I could use to practice. Why would I want to pay more than $300 a year if all I am looking for is a simple pistol and rifle range. Maybe next time you could just refrain from acting like a pompous asshat and just allow for a harmless question.
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Only 2500 on 6 guns? Cheapskate. You should buy a Barrett or something fancy!
Although I am not familiar with the cost of the various clubs in your area.
- Keep in mind that the initiation fee is a 1x only fee, so if you are a member for a number of years, that amortizes to a noise level cost.
- IIRC someone stated that there is a work-off option at Harvard (and perhaps some other clubs) which can reduce your cost if you invest some time.
- A strong club is one that offers numerous events, options as that brings more members and thus results in a strong treasury to keep up whatever infrastructure they have or desire plus offers some political clout when some NIMBY tries to shut down your club by proposing by-law changes in the town, etc.
- Over time your interests might broaden and having that capability to expand your interests without having to join another club is something you might consider as beneficial.
- $200-300 up-front may seem very expensive, but paying $20.00/hour adds up to exceed the typical $100-150/year dues of most clubs rather rapidly . . . you just may not realize it because it is a "slow leak" in your wallet.
- My only personal experiences with pay ranges has been S&W (now closed), AFS (teaching a class there) and observing MFL in action (never shot there). There are a lot more people on the range exhibiting unsafe practices (pointing guns towards others) than you will typically find at a club. There is a wait to get a shooting lane (MFL is awesome but I've been there when people are waiting 30-60 minutes for a shooting lane), so if your time is valuable this might be a consideration. There is a clock ticking and a cash register clicking away on your time at the range. I've belonged to 4 clubs over >35 years and never had to wait for a shooting lane/position, my cost doesn't increase if I spend more than 1 hour on the line, fewer people are pointing guns at me and I prefer shooting outdoors which is an option not available at any area pay range. Three of those clubs allowed 24x7 access to their indoor ranges (4th club has no indoor facilities at all), so I don't have to worry about business hours.
- I do agree with you about travel time to get to a range/club. Definite consideration! I rarely go to BR&P since it takes me twice as long to get there as to MF&G.
Some comments about my club/range experiences over the years.
- I'd pay more to NOT have clueless people, aspiring gangbangers, etc. pointing guns at me on a range!!!
- My first club had fishing, which I had no interest in, but the dues were similar to other clubs without fishing (they actually charged more to fishermen to pay for stocking the ponds). I started out shooting .22 rifle and then pistol, later took up trap and skeet. In 1998 I decided to get an AR-15 before they were totally banned and since their outdoor range didn't allow CF rifle, I went looking for another club. Since the indoor range had no working air intake, it made it a health hazard to shoot indoors, so first I stopped all indoor shooting and later quit this club. Small club where we never had adequate money in the treasury, so club upgrades weren't typically done.
- My next club (BR&P) had 2700 members when I joined (now >5K) and a very healthy treasury, 2 indoor ranges (now both HEPA filtered) for a total of 23 positions and 7 outdoor ranges. Unless there is a match, I've never encountered a wait to shoot. Property is well cared for and when a decision to upgrade something is made, it is put out to bid and done by hired contractors. It is run like a business.
- The other 2 clubs were to fill a need of being closer and allowing some tactical shooting, reactive targets, etc. Due to the political leadership, I quit one of them and although we don't have any indoor facilities at MF&G, I am very happy with the freedom allowed on the outdoor ranges and the efforts that resulted in building a short training range for us instructors to use without inconveniencing the membership.
YMMV but I hope the above gives you pause to consider what you really want to do and assists you in making the right decision for you.
Initiation fee is a one time fee. That is why it is called "initiation."
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
. As for the $150 per year, as I mentioned, you can work off a portion of that.I am a member of the Wayland Rod & Gun. It is a 5 minute drive. It takes me about 40 minutes to get to Harvard Sportsmen's. I don't think I've been to Wayland Rod & Gun in 3 years. For me, it is worth the drive to get an action pit in which to practice. So yes, I spend the gas to drive my 15 mpg SUV that far.
PS: if you think $300 is a lot, don't go looking to join a country club.
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Initiation fee is a one time fee. That is why it is called "initiation."
I am a member of the Wayland Rod & Gun. It is a 5 minute drive. It takes me about 40 minutes to get to Harvard Sportsmen's. I don't think I've been to Wayland Rod & Gun in 3 years. For me, it is worth the drive to get an action pit in which to practice. So yes, I spend the gas to drive my 15 mpg SUV that far.
PS: if you think $300 is a lot, don't go looking to join a country club.
$150 annual dues (minus work credit) is pretty cheap and that initiation fee is lower than both of my current clubs. $150 a year is less than $3 bucks a week. I spill more than $3 bucks worth of coffee in a week.
When I first looked at joining a club I put together a whole spreadsheet of what it would cost for X club or Y club vs. shooting at different pay ranges. It boils down to a very few amount of factors:
1) How often do you see yourself shooting in general?
2) How far is it?
3) Are the facilities enough to keep you coming back?
4) Can you swing the cost?
If you are just going to go to prove 1-2 times a year you can hit a target then pay range is easy.
If it is awesome but you spend more time driving there than shooting it gets harder to go back every week.
If you like shooting but can't do what you want at that club, you will have a hard time justifying the cost.
If you are going to go shooting frequently, it has all the facilities you want + more, and is within your tolerable driving radius then the cost of gas, ammo, and any new guns will FAR outpace what the membership cost is.
1) How often do you see yourself shooting in general?
2) How far is it?
3) Are the facilities enough to keep you coming back?
4) Can you swing the cost?
If you are just going to go to prove 1-2 times a year you can hit a target then pay range is easy.
If it is awesome but you spend more time driving there than shooting it gets harder to go back every week.
If you like shooting but can't do what you want at that club, you will have a hard time justifying the cost.
If you are going to go shooting frequently, it has all the facilities you want + more, and is within your tolerable driving radius then the cost of gas, ammo, and any new guns will FAR outpace what the membership cost is.
MisterHappy
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You need a thick skin on NES.
Here are the realities:
1) You live in Mass; public, open areas where you can shoot are pretty much non-existent
2) Commercial ranges do not require an up-front fee, but 5 - 10 hours on the range +> Club yearly membership
3) You are in Worcester ( according to your info) ; there are several clubs near you...but NO pay-to-play facilities closer than a club.
4) Your options are limited; you asked for advice and got it. Shooting is not cheap; saying "It's too expensive to join a club" makes you sound cheap.
5) The advice you will get from more-experienced shooters at a Club is more valuable than the money that you will spend on membership fees.
This is where you are, in reality. And, snarkiness aside.....$2500 is a good start
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
If you're interested in an outdoor range, you will join a club, or buy enough property that you don't have to. Welcome to the world of Guns in Mass. And, welcome to NES. Don't get too offended at less-than-coddling replies, and you'll find it an excellent resource.
