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Opinions on Nashua F&G vs Pelham F&G

Quinn800x

Quinn800x

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I trying to decide which club to join. I've been to Pelham a few time and really like the club but its about 45-50min away from me. I have never been to nahua's, I ve only seen it on there website(which looks decent), but its only about 25 min from my house. Just courious on your guys feed back on the two. I live in Brookline NH, so if you know any other clubs that are nice and close by I would appreciate your opinions.
 
What kind of shooting are you into? Both are nice clubs but only Nashua has a 600 yard high power range. (Pelham has one but it's been "under construction" for a long time.)
 
When I was a member of Pelham they had full auto ranges. I don't know if they still do but that may influence your decision?
 
I pretty sure you can still shoot full auto at pelham. I do not have any high powered rifles as of yet but will, I ve seen the 1000 yrd range thats "under construction" at pelham. The range is cleared and everthing, what else to they need to do to make it useable? I also like the fact that Nashua has a fish pond but I know Pelham has one in the "making". The thing that I liked about Pelham was that it is huge and the handful of times I was there there was only a few people on the skeet range.

Other things I really liked about Pelham was the Silhouette range and archery range that had about 20 3D targets. The only thing I don't like is the drive from my house and the fact that the 1000yrd rifle range and fish pond have been under construction for about 2 years(maybe they just need some good help). I guess I should really take a ride to Nashua and scope it out. Does anyone know how crowded it gets on the weekend?
 
Nashua doesn't allow drawing from a holster or some crud like that on the pistol ranges, last I remember, except during "sanctioned events" Not very friendly to action shooters. (unless this has changed in the past few years.... doubtful)

-Mike
 
drgrant said:
Nashua doesn't allow drawing from a holster or some crud like that on the pistol ranges, last I remember, except during "sanctioned events" Not very friendly to action shooters. (unless this has changed in the past few years.... doubtful)
Click to expand...
If you want to practice defensive shooting or the action shooting sports, then you want to join Pelham -- you just can't do that at Nashua.
 
M1911 said:
If you want to practice defensive shooting or the action shooting sports, then you want to join Pelham -- you just can't do that at Nashua.
Click to expand...

Wow that makes my decision easier! Does anyone have any other suggestions to any ranges that are in my area?
 
Quinn800x said:
The range is cleared and everthing, what else to they need to do to make it useable? I also like the fact that Nashua has a fish pond but I know Pelham has one in the "making".
Click to expand...

I think it is actually a 600 yard range that is being worked on. I went to Pelham's member's meeting last week and someone asked about it, as we always do, and the president of the club said it is really a matter of money.

A range of that size needs more than just a bench on one side and a berm on the other. They need to have the funding to build the target stands and pits (probably not the correct terminology, I'm not a high power rifle shooter so IDK?) but from what I understand it is something like this:
sirapc_targets_rear.jpg


So there is a lot of excavation work with heavy machinery and concrete work that would have to be done, which adds up really quick.
But every new member brings it one step closer to getting done...

I like the club, I think it is really a nice place. I just bought my son a new bow and picked on up for myself so we have been using the archery range recently, which is nice. I just wish they actually had some archery events there, I guess there hasn't been much interest in the past couple years.
 
I'm a member at Nashua F&G. The ranges are nice, It can get somewhat crowded on Saturdays, especially if they are running an event at one of the ranges. Sundays are less crowded, especially as the afternoon wears on.

They are currently constructing an "Action Pistol" range, which hopefully will be completed by this fall. I haven't been involved with it, as I work crazy hours and I always seem to be at work when they are holding qualifiers at the range or they are working on it, but from emails and such I've had from official sources, it looks like they will allow holster drawing and such. They might even be doing pseudo IPSC or IDPA shoots, although im not 100% sure about that.

The official guest policy is one guest at a time, and that guest can only come to the range once per year. Family is unlimited, so I have a couple of "brothers-in-law" [wink].

Overall, it's a decent place to shoot. Everyone I've encountered has been very friendly and I don't get dirty looks or comments from Fudds when I break out the converted Saiga shotgun or an AK like I used to when I was a member at Candia.
 
Bigtuna said:
Does anyone know what the guest policies are for Nashua and Pelham? How often can you bring one guest?
Click to expand...

Pelham you can bring a guest whenever you want as many times as you want. However, the rule is that the guest must be under your supervision at all times. That means if they are shooting, you are not. If you are shooting, they are not. I believe that you can actually even have more than one person with you, but same rule applies. That being said I've been checked on when I used to go with a buddy, before I got my own membership, our "supervised" shooting may have overlapped a few times...
 
I've been to Pelham, but am a member of Nashua. This is mainly due to location, I'm 5 minutes from Nashua but 30-45 minutes from Pelham.

I can't really therefore comment on Pelham, other than to say that on the few visits I made it seems like a good club.

What I can say about Nashua:

PROS:
Great facilities.
600 yard range, trap, the Fowler (25/ 50yard and 100meter) range, indoor range, "Plinking" range, new action pistol range.
It also has a fishing pond and an archery range.

CONS:
Somewhat conservative. This isn't due to any FUDD attitude, but because the club does have neighbors close by and they are terrified of rounds leaving the club property.
For example, you have to qualify on most ranges, the Fowler range is designed with baffles and other mechanical devices to almost guarantee no rounds will see "blue sky".
The other problem is that the trap, action pistol and the Fowler ranges are all interlocked. This means that all ranges can't be in use at the same time. The Fowler range takes precedence over the other ranges unless there is an organized event. I don't think that this is normally a problem, and there's also the chance that rule might change.
 
Pip, thanks for all you replies with good info. I think Iam leaning to pelham even though its a 45min ride compared to 25 because of the wider verity of ranges they offer. Things that I really like about pelham is the silouhet ranges, the archery range and the fact that its never really crowded. I think that those might be be worth the extra 20 min.
Ive seen the pics of the archery range at nashua wich is a common for a fish and game club but I really like the how pelham has all 3d targets, also I like shooting at silouets more than I do paper. Plus pelham has, I thinks 3 seperate fowler pits and 3 otherranges not including the 600yrd (thats in the making) and skeet range. It also like nashua has a indoor range. Also Pelham is not so restrive on guests which is a BIG plus in my eyes.
Downside is no fish pond, but not my main reason for joining a club.

Thanks,
Quinn
 
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I'm a member at NFGA, and I like it alright. The high power and fowler ranges are really nice, as is the plinker range. However, Its a little conservative for my liking. I think they take the "no blue sky" theory a little too seriously. I've been confronted a few times and questioned as to my membership and whether or not I've checked out on the range in front of family guests. I then had to verify that they were family and not just friends. Also, Id like to have the option to shoot at reactive targets instead of just paper. I've given some thought about switching over to Pelham next year. Aside from those few things, it is a nice club.
 
It seemed a little odd to me. But I thought maybe I was making too much out of it. The other thing is no drawing from the holster. I know there are plenty of places that have this rule, but in their safety induced paranoia they also say while that you can have a concealed weapon, once you decide to fire it on the range, you can't reholster it until you leave. Some of these rules just seem like a little much.
 
I'm willing to sponsor people to Pelham. I live a few minutes from Nashua, but their overly restrictive rules led me to Pelham. It is a long drive, but worth it.
 

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