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Tried of punching paper
- Thread starter hamptonyellowdog
- Start date
Feel your pain!
Feel your pain!
I wanted to get into IPPA or USPSA (practical pistol/shooting, whatever)
But only found Defensive shoots... Not exactly what I wanted, but was willing to try.
But I needed to join a club by the looks to practice... can't join a club unless you know someone... I don't know anyone at these clubs so I can't join.
I even called a bunch and got the same need someone to sponsor you stuff.
Sad.
So I just shoot my 45 alone...
Feel your pain!
I wanted to get into IPPA or USPSA (practical pistol/shooting, whatever)
But only found Defensive shoots... Not exactly what I wanted, but was willing to try.
But I needed to join a club by the looks to practice... can't join a club unless you know someone... I don't know anyone at these clubs so I can't join.
I even called a bunch and got the same need someone to sponsor you stuff.
Sad.
So I just shoot my 45 alone...
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
Re: Feel your pain!
Carter, can't you join Manchester Firing Line to practice? I know that they have memberships. www.gunsnh.com
carter said:
Carter, can't you join Manchester Firing Line to practice? I know that they have memberships. www.gunsnh.com
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
Re: Feel your pain!
They're both; IIRC, membership gets you big discounts on range time. They also rent class 3's. Friend of mine belongs up there and keeps inviting me up. I keep explaining to him that I don't have to pay at Riverside (once my dues are paid, that is), but I do go with him once in a while.
Lynne said:
They're both; IIRC, membership gets you big discounts on range time. They also rent class 3's. Friend of mine belongs up there and keeps inviting me up. I keep explaining to him that I don't have to pay at Riverside (once my dues are paid, that is), but I do go with him once in a while.
Yeah.. firing line is just a little bit down the way, and I've been there... that's fine, but I was unaware of them having any shoots...
Membership just gets you a slightly discounted rate on the ranges.
Regretfully I can do that stuff at the range I built.
[edit]
I have been there and shot as a non-member, and you can rent just about any gun off their wall, and the choices are simply amazing!
[/edit]
Was looking forward to more of a competition thing.... Test my skills... or see if I had any heh...
Membership just gets you a slightly discounted rate on the ranges.
Regretfully I can do that stuff at the range I built.
[edit]
I have been there and shot as a non-member, and you can rent just about any gun off their wall, and the choices are simply amazing!
[/edit]
Was looking forward to more of a competition thing.... Test my skills... or see if I had any heh...
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
carter said:
Oh... that's very different.
well, you could ask LenS about bringing guns into MA to come to some of the shoots here - just gotta be careful of our oh-so-wonderful gun laws here. Or you could spend $$$ for a non-resident carry permit. You'd get it... in 6 months or so.
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I am not aware of ANY gun club that don't have a mechanism for people to join without knowing people at that club in advance. ASK!!
Each club that I've been aware of in the 29 years I've been shooting had a couple of mechanisms for prospective members to use:
- Know someone who can vouch for your safety with guns and will sign the form for you.
- Be interviewed by the BOD or Membership Chairman/Committee and one of them will sign for you.
- Ask to shoot as a guest of another member so that they will be comfortable vouching for you.
It is a mechanism used to make sure that they don't hand a key to the place to some bozo that is going to shoot up the place, violate the range rules, or practice to be a terrorist. It's NOT used as an "exclusivity" method of restricting membership.
I have been a member of 3 clubs over the years and I've sponsored a number of people that I never knew until they showed up one day. I've advised some to show up on Sunday mornings and shoot skeet/trap (publicly accessible to anyone, at every club I've ever heard of) a few times so that one of them will sponsor him/her. I've invited some to join me as my guest to shoot at the club.
Another tactic I used was I called GOAL and got contact info on a club near someplace I was posted for a 6 week assignment. I contacted said person and got myself an invite to join them to shoot while I was out there. Could have done the same thing to join a club. This assumes that you are a GOAL member . . . one of the many benefits of membership.
Each club that I've been aware of in the 29 years I've been shooting had a couple of mechanisms for prospective members to use:
- Know someone who can vouch for your safety with guns and will sign the form for you.
- Be interviewed by the BOD or Membership Chairman/Committee and one of them will sign for you.
- Ask to shoot as a guest of another member so that they will be comfortable vouching for you.
It is a mechanism used to make sure that they don't hand a key to the place to some bozo that is going to shoot up the place, violate the range rules, or practice to be a terrorist. It's NOT used as an "exclusivity" method of restricting membership.
I have been a member of 3 clubs over the years and I've sponsored a number of people that I never knew until they showed up one day. I've advised some to show up on Sunday mornings and shoot skeet/trap (publicly accessible to anyone, at every club I've ever heard of) a few times so that one of them will sponsor him/her. I've invited some to join me as my guest to shoot at the club.
Another tactic I used was I called GOAL and got contact info on a club near someplace I was posted for a 6 week assignment. I contacted said person and got myself an invite to join them to shoot while I was out there. Could have done the same thing to join a club. This assumes that you are a GOAL member . . . one of the many benefits of membership.
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Just realized that you are in NH . . .
My comments still stand.
- If you want to join NH clubs, contact one of the two NH orgs, similar to my comments about GOAL above.
- To shoot in MA, you can NOT bring handguns into MA unless you have a MA NR LTC OR are participating in a competition (need proof of same) OR attending a gun show/exhibition. NO other exceptions unless you are LE. [This law prohibits just bringing handguns down to plink or to "shoot at a club".]
- Any mags or rifles have to be pre-ban if they are hi-cap or so-called AWB (same law in MA as the expired Fed AWB was).
My comments still stand.
- If you want to join NH clubs, contact one of the two NH orgs, similar to my comments about GOAL above.
- To shoot in MA, you can NOT bring handguns into MA unless you have a MA NR LTC OR are participating in a competition (need proof of same) OR attending a gun show/exhibition. NO other exceptions unless you are LE. [This law prohibits just bringing handguns down to plink or to "shoot at a club".]
- Any mags or rifles have to be pre-ban if they are hi-cap or so-called AWB (same law in MA as the expired Fed AWB was).
Rob Boudrie
NES Member
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MA
Ditto to what Len said, but the MA exemption *ALSO* requires that you have a permit to carry a firearm (I assume the MA definition of "carry", which includes in the trunk counts here) issued by any state, district or terriitory which does not issue permits to drug users or felons. (LEO authorized to carry counts as having a permit for this section) Contrary to "invented law" (i.e., law which self-professed legal scholars claim exists, but which has no basis in statute) being from a state which does not require permit is not the same as having a permit.
That being said, you can find all the USPSA matches in New England at www.uspsa-ne.org, and matches anywhere in the country at www.uspsa.org. If you join USPSA, you will find you will be welcomed at matches anywhere in the free world (plus Massachusetts, NY and New Jersey) which includes almost every state + 60 or so nations.
Ditto to what Len said, but the MA exemption *ALSO* requires that you have a permit to carry a firearm (I assume the MA definition of "carry", which includes in the trunk counts here) issued by any state, district or terriitory which does not issue permits to drug users or felons. (LEO authorized to carry counts as having a permit for this section) Contrary to "invented law" (i.e., law which self-professed legal scholars claim exists, but which has no basis in statute) being from a state which does not require permit is not the same as having a permit.
That being said, you can find all the USPSA matches in New England at www.uspsa-ne.org, and matches anywhere in the country at www.uspsa.org. If you join USPSA, you will find you will be welcomed at matches anywhere in the free world (plus Massachusetts, NY and New Jersey) which includes almost every state + 60 or so nations.
Thanks for the replies folks!!
After re-looking at the USPSA page, and getting very depressed that New Hampshire no longer has a one...
I'm going to go for Mass. I just fired an e-mail off to the Bass River Gun Club. My in-laws have a home in Dennis Mass so I go by that often.
They're schedule is here:
http://www.bassriverrod-gunclub.com/IPSC/2005setupipsc_idpa.htm
If anyone else has any other suggestions, let me know. I'd really like to try one or two this year, and if not, then definately next year.
I have my CCW in New Hampshire, and I'll see what hoops I'll need to jump through to make this happen, but I definately want this to happen.
Thanks for motivating me!
Carter
After re-looking at the USPSA page, and getting very depressed that New Hampshire no longer has a one...
I'm going to go for Mass. I just fired an e-mail off to the Bass River Gun Club. My in-laws have a home in Dennis Mass so I go by that often.
They're schedule is here:
http://www.bassriverrod-gunclub.com/IPSC/2005setupipsc_idpa.htm
If anyone else has any other suggestions, let me know. I'd really like to try one or two this year, and if not, then definately next year.
I have my CCW in New Hampshire, and I'll see what hoops I'll need to jump through to make this happen, but I definately want this to happen.
Thanks for motivating me!
Carter
Don't abandon NH for MA just yet! First, Pelham F&G has IDPA shoots every month. The next is Oct 2nd. They also have weekly league nights on Thursdays. Paul DiMarco runs it over there now, and they are a lot of fun. Check out Pelhamfishandgame.com (I think) for the info. Also, if you just want to compete like you say you do then you don't need to be a member of any club. No club that I know of requires you to be a member to compete in their matches. I shoot IPSC matches at Harvard in MA as well as IDPA at Pelham and I'm not a member. I'm a member of NFGA and run the Bullseye league and there are no membership requirements for our leagues and matches as well.
I still recommend you find a good local club (NFGA, Dunbarton or Pelham) in NH to join if you want a nice place you can shoot at year round, but for competing it's not necessary. Finally, NFGA just changed their membership requirements so by meeting the board as was discussed above you can become a member. I'm unsure about Pelham but if you ask Paul he could tell you.
I still recommend you find a good local club (NFGA, Dunbarton or Pelham) in NH to join if you want a nice place you can shoot at year round, but for competing it's not necessary. Finally, NFGA just changed their membership requirements so by meeting the board as was discussed above you can become a member. I'm unsure about Pelham but if you ask Paul he could tell you.
When I filled out the app for my local club, it was read to the members at a regular meeting who then, as a body, vote up or down.
When the membership guy read the app and announced I was an NRA life member, and former military ( I use the term "former professional soldier"), he said to the members, "Oh good ! We get another one who's not afraid to shoot someone if he has to !"
There were no dissenting votes.
When the membership guy read the app and announced I was an NRA life member, and former military ( I use the term "former professional soldier"), he said to the members, "Oh good ! We get another one who's not afraid to shoot someone if he has to !"
There were no dissenting votes.
