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Moved to Arlington - Looking for Clubs to Join

dcmdon

dcmdon

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Hi all,

As I've mentioned here recently, I'm moving from the relative "freedom" of CT to the People's Republik of Massachusetts. Please don't wast space on this thread telling me not to come. Its been done.

What I'd like to know is what any of you think of BRP and HSC. I've heard great things about each place. BRP is about 15 minutes closer to my house than HS. This matters since I've got two small children and time is limited. I'd rather spend as little time as possible on the road. As it is, this will be a huge change from how it is now, when I can go over a friends house and shoot 5 minutes away.

I know HS is known as a pretty active IDPA club.
I also know that BRP has a great CMP program. (Shoot their WWII M1 Garand and get 50 rounds of lake city 30-06 to shoot through it for $25)

Ideally, I'd like to hear from people who are members of both clubs.

Also, I'm looking for a 24 hr indoor range for quick trips on weekday evenings. Any info on that would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Don
 
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Not a member of BRP but I am at HSC. Harvard is a great club with so much to offer. Large membership keeps the club very active with events. I can offer to show you around HSC so you can get a feel from the inside.
 
What kind of shooting do you like to do? I don't know much about BRP, but I'm an HSC member. If you like the shotgun clay sports, that's HSC's weakest area. Another HSC weakness is organized bullseye and high-power. For everything else, especially IDPA/USPSA/cowboy, HSC is pretty hard to beat.
 
Sounds like you've made up your mind already. If you would like to check out BRP club, PM me. They have a large membership base and lots of stuff going on all year.
 
I live about 15 minutes from BRP and am a member. They have great indoor pistol/.22 rifle ranges. They have an active .22 bullseye pistol and rifle teams. The outdoor ranges are very nice too. I do drive the 75 minutes to HSC several times a month for the IDPA practices and matches. They have very nice outdoor ranges of all types. And I am likely to become a member before the end of there year there too. For me the biggest selling point when I was looking for a local club was the 24 hour access to the large indoor pistol ranges.
 
dcmdon said:
Hi all,

As I've mentioned here recently, I'm moving from the relative "freedom" of CT to the People's Republik of Massachusetts. Please don't wast space on this thread telling me not to come. Its been done.

What I'd like to know is what any of you think of the two respective clubs listed in the Title. I've heard great things about each place. BRP is about 15 minutes closer to my house than HS. This matters since I've got two small children and time is limited. I'd rather spend as little time as possible on the road. As it is, this will be a huge change from how it is now, when I can go over a friends house and shoot 5 minutes away.

I know HS is known as a pretty active IDPA club.
I also know that BRP has a great CMP program. (Shoot their WWII M1 Garand and get 50 rounds of lake city 30-06 to shoot through it for $25)

Ideally, I'd like to hear from people who are members of both clubs.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Don
Click to expand...
depends on what type of shooting you like to do. If you like practical or action shooting, HSC has a lot of action pits and plate racks, which is the primary reason I joined. The rifle ranges are also pretty good and have no stupid rules or range officers.

Shotgun shooting is limited to a few manually operated clay throwers.
 
cja1987 said:
Id say HSC, especially from Arlington where you are already slightly northwest of Boston. Going to Braintree requires fighting traffic through Boston or on 128
Click to expand...

good point. Driving through Boston on I93 is going to suck
 
Quincy - I haven't made up my mind at all. BRP seems closer, but with the fact that I'd need to go through boston, raises a good point.

Its funny, I shot IDPA for years and have always gravitated towards the practical sports. But then again, I shot in a bulls eye .22 league for years in hs and college. So its kindof a toss.

I guess another option is to join them both. Ha.

Can anyone comment on the dues at each?

Thanks again for all this good info.

Don

p.s. discothek - I'd heard that BRP requires a RO to be present to use the outdoor range. How much of a hassle is that in practical terms. Do you get there and you then can't shoot? or is it staffed by guys putting in their time for the year.
 
All RO in Braintree are volunteers as I recall. Don't know about the rifle range, there is no RO for clay shooting, as long as you pick up all the empty shells.

If you live in Quincy, it takes less than 15 mins to go to BRP, especially at night (They open 24/7 for indoor range) and weekend.
 
p.s. discothek - I'd heard that BRP requires a RO to be present to use the outdoor range. How much of a hassle is that in practical terms. Do you get there and you then can't shoot? or is it staffed by guys putting in their time for the year.
Click to expand...

RO's are all volunteers and I've never actually heard of a time when the outdoor range was closed due to a lack of an RO. I think they have something like 47 total that split time. Personally I've never had a problem with any that I've met and the ones I have spoken to have been nice and helpful. The only thing that bugged me one time was that an RO was covering for someone else who was supposed to have it that day and he was closing up the range a little earlier than I would have expected since it is technically open until sunset as printed in the paper that day.

Braintree is $100 a year (and one-time $75 initiation fee) and access to the indoor ranges are 24/7 and 365/year. Also the new member meeting is long and boring, have coffee or else you may fall asleep!
 
dcmdon said:
Quincy - I haven't made up my mind at all. BRP seems closer, but with the fact that I'd need to go through boston, raises a good point.

Its funny, I shot IDPA for years and have always gravitated towards the practical sports. But then again, I shot in a bulls eye .22 league for years in hs and college. So its kindof a toss.

I guess another option is to join them both. Ha.

Can anyone comment on the dues at each?

Thanks again for all this good info.

Don

p.s. discothek - I'd heard that BRP requires a RO to be present to use the outdoor range. How much of a hassle is that in practical terms. Do you get there and you then can't shoot? or is it staffed by guys putting in their time for the year.
Click to expand...

Don, I'll be happy to show you around BR&P and/or answer any questions you have about the club.

Dues have been answered.

Indoor range is one of the finest in the state. The HEPA system makes a major difference on the health of shooters who like to shoot indoors a lot. Old range is currently being modified with a HEPA system as well. Indoor ranges are 24x7x365, coffee pot always on as is the satellite dish TV. Family members are welcome, very active Juniors program, women's program, collectors group, rifle and pistol leagues, CMP, numerous members shoot at Camp Perry every year. Trap (no skeet) Sunday afternoons (or bring a friend to use the hand-trap other times).

Strictly a paper target club (other than .22RF plinking range) at fixed distances. All rules can be found at www.brp.org

Yes ROs are volunteers. Occasionally an RO can't make it and the outdoor ranges will be closed. I don't think it happens often however and most of those occasions seem to be during weekdays (as only retirees are available to volunteer as ROs). On my shift (I am one of the ROs) there are 3 of us, so if one doesn't make it, it does not impact members use of the ranges. Most shifts have 2 ROs scheduled.

Nobody can beat HSC for the "active shooting sports", but the distance for me makes it impractical to join. I belong to another local (to me) club where I can practice at any distance, shoot steel, etc.

I strongly suggest visiting both clubs and see which one aligns best with your needs/wants and join that one.
 
Harvard and Braintree are both excellent clubs and I'm a member at both. As some have mentioned before, it really depends on what you hope to be shooting. Harvard has many more pistol areas and is more geared towards competitive pistol shooting. For average rifle shooting, I probably would prefer Braintree (although there are some limitations on 50BMG, full auto, etc). Braintree also has very nice indoor ranges that are open 24/7 with new filtration systems. A limitation is that Braintree's rifle range is 100yrds and at Harvard you can qualify to shoot at 200 or 300yrds. Honestly I don't think you can go wrong with either of these clubs.

As far as range officers go at Braintree, they do require an RO on duty at the outdoor ranges during operation. Some people have negative feelings towards ROs for whatever reason, but from my experience (being an RO myself) is that as long as you aren't endangering yourself or others on the range, we leave you alone completely. If you notice that an RO is standing over your shoulder, you are probably breaking at least one rule.
 
I'm also a member at both clubs coming from the Watertown / Brighton area. Distance to both clubs is roughly the same, though the ride to BRP down 93 is a lot less predictable. Here are a couple other points / differences:

BRP:
- The Chief Range Officer is an FFL. Was very convenient on a couple occasions.
- I've been a member for 4 years and have had only a few occasions where a RO didn't show up for their shift. Eventually, I learned to bring a few pistols and get some trigger time at the indoor ranges.
- Motorized Target Carriers on the indoor ranges. I've been to only a handful of ranges in MA, but BRP is the only one that had motorized carriers on all indoor ranges.
- One guest per month limit (family excluded)
- No sponsorhip required. Looks like there is a monthly membership cap now.

HSC:
- Camping, Hunting, Hiking, Biathlon, action shooting galore
- No written guest limit as long as you're safe. Though it would seem that common sense applies with how many you bring and how frequently you bring them.
- Sponsorship required. Generally easy to get if you go to a few events or meet / already know members.

Both clubs have been phenominal when it comes to the membership. People have always been friendly, courteous, safe and very willing to let me try firearms, use tools, etc... I've never had an issue with BRP's range officers, they have been more than accomodating and easy going. I personally like BRP for the indoor ranges and HSC for almost everything else. I'm at HSC every Sunday morning to mid-afternoon, let me know if you want to come by for a tour.

-Kevin
 
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Guys,

Thank you very much for all the info.

Now one last thing that I maybe should have asked sooner.

Are these the two closest clubs to Arlington? Or is there something closer that I may want to look at.

With two small kids, It would be great if there was a close club I could get out to. Even if all they had was an indoor .22 range.
Based on the prices listed, theres no reason not to join both. BRP and HSC would still cost less than the one club I'm a member of here in CT.

Don
 
Mass Rifle Association in Woburn is close to Arlington. 24/7 indoor pistol/rifle range is good. Outdoors rifle ranges suck (5 rd limit on 50yd range, single load only on 100/200yd)
 
On Kevin & Flintoid's comments:

Guest policy at BR&P - Family members are NOT restricted. If you want to bring more than 1 at a time, just Email the CRO and he'll Email you an "OK", bring it with you in case any RO flags you on that point. I know that when I'm working as an RO, as long as people are wearing their badges (guest badges) and look like they know what they are doing, I don't give them any grief if there is more than 1. I've been a BR&P member since 1999 and I've NEVER seen/heard of anyone bothered because they brought more than one guest in a month. Obviously, like any club they don't want tons of regular freeloaders. IIRC, I hosted Derek, Brent and TonyD as my guests at BR&P one time. Another time I got CRO permission to bring 4 or 5 NES'rs to shoot while our SOs were taking a class at another club. It's not a big deal.

The "cap" on new members for each month is strictly because the clubhouse will only hold so many people (~100) so they have to shut it off at a certain point each month. We're getting ~100-120/month registering to join and ~80-90 actually showing up.

NFA - I agree, BR&P will not be very accommodating here. HSC is the right answer.

There are a lot of clubs North of Boston. I know nothing about them other than Westford (1st NES Shoot, looks like a great place for outdoor shooting including shotgun sports, never saw their indoor range) and Harvard (best outdoor ranges by far, indoor is not impressive).
 
Andover and Mystic Valley are two more that come to mind, but I know nothing of either one. The trip to Harvard shouldn't be too bad. All you have to do is hop on RT. 2 and head west for about 25 minutes. The way I drive anyway. Some could probably improve on that time.[laugh]
 
Thanks for the info. Mass Rifle Assoc looks restrictive, but may be just the place for evening indoor range trips when I don't have a lot of time. One plus is they allow full auto indoors. Something I've never heard of before.

6.9 mi and 17 min is not too bad.

Mystic Valley is even closer, but only indoors. 4.6 mi. I like that. looks like a nice indoor only club.

Andover looks far enough away, where I might as well go to HSC.

Thanks again, this is great info. I'm very pleased at how inexpensive these clubs are and what great facilities they all seem to have.

Don
 
dcmdon said:
Thanks for the info. Mass Rifle Assoc looks restrictive, but may be just the place for evening indoor range trips when I don't have a lot of time. One plus is they allow full auto indoors. Something I've never heard of before.

6.9 mi and 17 min is not too bad.

Mystic Valley is even closer, but only indoors. 4.6 mi. I like that. looks like a nice indoor only club.

Andover looks far enough away, where I might as well go to HSC.

Thanks again, this is great info. I'm very pleased at how inexpensive these clubs are and what great facilities they all seem to have.

Don
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was shocked at how expensive clubs in CT are when talking to friends down there.
 
I belong to BRP. Good group of people, always open. Also, free use of Club .22 rifles and ammo every Fri evening for youngsters
 
A friend of mine lives in Quincy as well and he is a member of Braintree and Holbrook.

Ive never been to either (yet) but I hear good things about both places.
 

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