Smith & Wesson shooting range closed?

RichM

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The sign on the door says that they're closed until further notice.

Sent from my cell phone using Forum Runner. Please excuse spelling errors, formatting, and absent links.
 
I'm not sure what is going on. I was up there on Thursday and there was a sign saying they were "closed the rest of the week for inventory". Now they are closed until further notice? Hmm.
 
There must have been an incident. My friend said that someone came out and said they had "Too much liability."

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There must have been an incident. My friend said that someone came out and said they had "Too much liability."

Sent from my cell phone using Forum Runner. Please excuse spelling errors, formatting, and absent links.

Great - I hope they reopen soon. I've been a member there for quite a while, and it's very convenient for me to go there after work, which is something I try to do at least once a week.

I hope it's not anything too serious and they don't shut the range down.
 
One of the unanswered questions regarding rental ranges is the degree of supervision that must be provided to non-LTC holding renters using the facilities. Some PDs accept the premise that a clerk at the front counter is sufficient to trigger the MGL exemption for non-licensees shooting under supervision of a licensee, whereas others take the position that an LTC holder must be present with the non-LTC holder while the firing takes place. I say "unanswered" because there has, to my knowledge, never been a MA court decision that specifically clarifies this issue as it applies to commercial rental ranges.

This later interpretation, adopted by the Worcester PD, is what was responsible for the shutdown of the Boston Gun Range. The bread and butter rentals are non-LTC holders trying out a gun, and the "direct supervision of each shooter" requirement is economically impractical except in a class setting.
 

Probably not, I doubt that's the first time a PP has ever shot at the range.

My guess is something else happened, but who knows. Part of the problem is that the range is in one of MA's "big dump cities" (Springfield) and politics in such cities are often an absurd obstacle. Look at what happened to Boston Gun Range in Worcester, another wonderful big dump city in MA.

-Mike
 
Someone else in the parking lot said that there's a new sign on the door saying that felons are not permitted in the facility. I'm betting that the DA / AG / PD are putting the squeeze on the public range... maybe with regard to selling ammunition to one without an FID...

The bottom line is that a felon broke the law by lying on the release that he had to sign to use the range, and the range is being held responsible for the actions of a criminal. And the public (and the paying members) pay for the criminals' actions by being inconvenienced, and the facility loses money and lawyer's fees to defend itself.
 
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Would it be a bad idea to make it members only?

If you want ammo and have no LTC, go to a public range and packet some ammo.
 
Would it be a bad idea to make it members only?

If you want ammo and have no LTC, go to a public range and packet some ammo.

It'd be a stupid way to buy ammo, considering that someone can just drive into free america and buy whatever ammo they want/need without any kind of permit.

-Mike
 
Would it be a bad idea to make it members only?

S&w is the only local range you can rent at. Its also a great place to bring non shooters to get them introduced (You will be hard pressed to find a cleaner or well lit range). I rediscovered shooting there before I had my ltc or was a member.
 
S&w is the only local range you can rent at. Its also a great place to bring non shooters to get them introduced (You will be hard pressed to find a cleaner or well lit range). I rediscovered shooting there before I had my ltc or was a member.

Come to think of it, I rented there before I had a license, too.
 
Someone else in the parking lot said that there's a new sign on the door saying that felons are not permitted in the facility. I'm betting that the DA / AG / PD are putting the squeeze on the public range... maybe with regard to selling ammunition to one without an FID...

The bottom line is that a felon broke the law by lying on the release that he had to sign to use the range, and the range is being held responsible for the actions of a criminal. And the public (and the paying members) pay for the criminals' actions by being inconvenienced, and the facility loses money and lawyer's fees to defend itself.

Clearly there needs to be a law against felons lying. If there was one on the books this never would have happened.
 
The bottom line is that a felon broke the law by lying on the release that he had to sign to use the range, and the range is being held responsible for the actions of a criminal. And the public (and the paying members) pay for the criminals' actions by being inconvenienced, and the facility loses money and lawyer's fees to defend itself.

So what's the solution to keep felons from lying on paperwork ???
Is the state going to require some sort of NICS check on all non-LTC holders before letting them shoot ????
 
It'd be a stupid way to buy ammo, considering that someone can just drive into free america and buy whatever ammo they want/need without any kind of permit.

-Mike
exactly! Considering enfield is 10 mins from the range you could head down there and get any ammo.
 
The ranges will have to be set up like a FFL and do a NICS check before you can shoot. That should not be that hard to set up.
 
I do not know for sure , but it could be this:

When we had the NES S&W Tour I was talking with a few of the Tour Guides and the guy I set the tour up with.

They were telling me that the shooting center was all screwed up and that no one wanted to work there. They are but they arn't part of S&W so it is a different pay system, different benifets , ext...........

The guy that is suppose to be in charge isn't doing a very good job running things either (from what I heard and from what happened to us the day of the tour) so a lot of folks over there are pissed at eash other (from what I was told).

Again I do not have this in stone, but the things I have been told by the folks that I know over at S&W haven't been nice..................
 
Why are some people so against making sure that a firearm is not put in the hands of a felon.
 
I do not know for sure , but it could be this:

When we had the NES S&W Tour I was talking with a few of the Tour Guides and the guy I set the tour up with.

They were telling me that the shooting center was all screwed up and that no one wanted to work there. They are but they arn't part of S&W so it is a different pay system, different benifets , ext...........

The guy that is suppose to be in charge isn't doing a very good job running things either (from what I heard and from what happened to us the day of the tour) so a lot of folks over there are pissed at eash other (from what I was told).

Again I do not have this in stone, but the things I have been told by the folks that I know over at S&W haven't been nice..................

I have heard the same thing. There appear to be "issues" there.

With regard to PATRON's post about objections to making sure that a firearm is not put in the hands of a felon:

I'm not going to get all ideological and philosophical here, about how convicted felon status should not abridge "natural rights" or about how one has paid one's debt to society etc. Most convicted felons are recidivists and I don't want them using my guns or anybody else's guns to further their professional careers.
 
I've been a member of S&W for a long time and I'm just about fed up with it. In the past 3 months there has been about 5 different times I tried to go and they were closed for some reason or another, the most recent being closed for inventory as other people mentioned. I hate when they stick me next to first timers that act like cowboys, gangbangers or hot shots. I also love the type of guy who takes a girl to impress her but he can't hit the broadside of a barn yet he still acts like he just won top shot. I'm all for new people getting into shooting but most new people that I see go there don't have a shred of maturity. In all fairness there are new people that go there that are mature about it, I'm just never stuck near them. I'm going to still suck it up though and go when ever they decide to be open as this membership was a gift to me for Christmas and I am thankful for it so the least I can do is go until its out. Then my girlfriend and I plan to join Agawam Revolver Club. I haven't heard one negative thing about the club and its facilities so her and I are looking forward to it.
 
I do not know for sure , but it could be this:

When we had the NES S&W Tour I was talking with a few of the Tour Guides and the guy I set the tour up with.

They were telling me that the shooting center was all screwed up and that no one wanted to work there. They are but they arn't part of S&W so it is a different pay system, different benifets , ext...........

The guy that is suppose to be in charge isn't doing a very good job running things either (from what I heard and from what happened to us the day of the tour) so a lot of folks over there are pissed at eash other (from what I was told).

Again I do not have this in stone, but the things I have been told by the folks that I know over at S&W haven't been nice..................

From what I have seen and heard while I'm there sounds like it matches what you have posted. They are separate from Smith and Wesson and nobody that works there is ever really happy from what I have seen so it would probably be accurate to say they do not want to be there. Also I was in a heated discussion with an employee there while checking out some guns in the case. The conversation covered the many different gray areas in MA gun laws and constantly the employee kept telling me I was wrong about everything I was saying. So I finally told him that if I'm so wrong then they might want to change the information they teach in the License to Carry class because thats where I got the information I was sharing. Then he just kind of looked at me kinda dumbfounded and was at kind of a loss for words and I pretty much just walked away without saying much else. I've been a member for about 2 and a half years now and it has gone downhill in that amount of time.
 
I hate when they stick me next to first timers that act like cowboys, gangbangers or hot shots. I also love the type of guy who takes a girl to impress her but he can't hit the broadside of a barn yet he still acts like he just won top shot. I'm all for new people getting into shooting but most new people that I see go there don't have a shred of maturity. In all fairness there are new people that go there that are mature about it, I'm just never stuck near them.

Unfortuately, this type of behavoir is not just limited to the S&W range - it happens to one degree or another at just about all ranges and clubs. I won't even go near my club around hunting season - when the FUDDs come out to see if they can still hit the broad side of a barn. Talk about piss-poor gun handling!
 
Just spoke to a buddy of mine that works at the S&W factory, and he said they are doing serial number inventory this week at the plant.

Perhaps that's all it is after all...
 
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