UPDATE - Chicopee Sportsmens Club

[FPrice]

My 13 yo son and I attended the mandatory safety briefing for the Chicopee Sportsmens Club this morning for two reasons. One being that it is a mandatory class effective July 1st, and second to check on the alleged age restrictions reported in this thread:

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...icopee-Sportsmans-Club-New-Range-Rules-coming

What I heard this morning from the club officers is that there will NOT be age restrictions which would keep children like my son from shooting. Children will require supervision from either a parent or an authorized instructor/safety officer, probably until they have their own FID/LTC. This seems to be in accordance with MGLs regarding handling firearms by unlicensed individuals in Massachusetts. Children will also need their own club cards and range passes, readily available under Family Plan memberships.

This pretty much refutes what Bob originally posted.

However, if the Commonwealth in it's wisdom decides to enact laws which forbid any person under a certain age or who does not possess the requisite license from handling firearms, I think every club and range will be up the creek without a paddle. But that would be a different issue.

Anyone who has any questions should either go to the safety briefing or contact the club officers and speak to them.

Oh, and CSC is looking at changing it's rules on no guests shooting to allow people ways to bring guests on a one-time or infrequent basis. This is still be worked out.

 

[RichM]

Thank you, Frosty!

I have not yet renewed my membership due to my concerns about these proposed policy changes. I have also lobbied with a member of the board about allowing some kind of a guests-can-shoot policy, to no avail. I'm glad to hear that they may allow it. As it stands right now, I can't bring my father to the range to shoot when he visits from out-of-state under the current rules.

I would also like to see them open up the range for NRA instructors to hold classes there, on a fee-per-use basis, but I've gotten nowhere with that request, either.

 

[FPrice]

Thank you, Frosty!

I have not yet renewed my membership due to my concerns about these proposed policy changes. I have also lobbied with a member of the board about allowing some kind of a guests-can-shoot policy, to no avail. I'm glad to hear that they may allow it. As it stands right now, I can't bring my father to the range to shoot when he visits from out-of-state under the current rules.

There was another individual at our class who made the same comment. The club president and the board are trying to work out a way to do this. The next time your father is scheduled to visit, call the club ahead of time and they may be able to help you. But at least keep up freindly pressure to make some sort of change.

I would also like to see them open up the range for NRA instructors to hold classes there, on a fee-per-use basis, but I've gotten nowhere with that request, either.

This one may be much harder to address, especially since the club conducts their own classes.

 

[MARINE96]

That is great news to hear for all who belong or have been holding out on joining/renewing.

 

[swampy]

How are we supposed to expose new people to the shooting sports if we can't bring guests to our clubs? Without new shooters club memberships will eventually drop. Cllubs should require each member to bring at least one guest a year that has never shot before to the club to expose them to the sport. If we can make a shooter out of a non shooter chances are good that person will bring a non shooter into the sport and so on and so on. Being unfriendly to guests is simply bad for the sport.

 

[FPrice]

How are we supposed to expose new people to the shooting sports if we can't bring guests to our clubs? Without new shooters club memberships will eventually drop. Cllubs should require each member to bring at least one guest a year that has never shot before to the club to expose them to the sport. If we can make a shooter out of a non shooter chances are good that person will bring a non shooter into the sport and so on and so on. Being unfriendly to guests is simply bad for the sport.

That is what training classes are for. Last I knew CSC conducted two per year giving non-shooters exposure to the classroom work then bringing them out to the range and allowing them to shoot under expert guidance.

The down side of guests is that the club is still liable for their actions and problems.

 

[bob68]

i truly hope for the members there that everything turns out for the best and you will be able to have your kids shooting with you. i remember when my kids were lots younger and were shooting with me. now its the grandkids turn. we need to have the younger generations out there on the ranges for the future of our hobby. if we dont then our hobby will slowly die. i dont care what club it is or where it is located but lets keep getting the kids interested.

 

[ochmude]

That is what training classes are for. Last I knew CSC conducted two per year giving non-shooters exposure to the classroom work then bringing them out to the range and allowing them to shoot under expert guidance.

The down side of guests is that the club is still liable for their actions and problems.

That's a really horrible policy. That same "no guest shooting" policy is why I let my Westfield membership lapse and got a membership with Agawam Revolver Club, which has basically an open door policy when it comes to guests. If it wasn't for Agawam's open policy, my wife would never have gotten involved in shooting at all and wouldn't have an unrestricted LTC today.

 

[FPrice]

That's a really horrible policy. That same "no guest shooting" policy is why I let my Westfield membership lapse and got a membership with Agawam Revolver Club, which has basically an open door policy when it comes to guests. If it wasn't for Agawam's open policy, my wife would never have gotten involved in shooting at all and wouldn't have an unrestricted LTC today.

I guess my question to you would be why bother to pay your dues to support a club when you can just be a "guest" over and over and over?

Supporting your local clubs is the third part of my patented three step program that every firearms owner should follow in order to protect our freedoms. They are national, state, and local. One of the easiest ways to restrict and eliminate our freedom to keep and bear arms is to eliminate the places where we can shoot.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I guess my question to you would be why bother to pay your dues to support a club when you can just be a "guest" over and over and over?

Alternatively, why would I pay dues to a club where I can't bring a newbie to show them how to shoot; let them try a gun for the first time; or let someone who is thinking of buying a used gun from me test fire it as part of the purchase evaluation process?

That is what training classes are for. Last I knew CSC conducted two per year giving non-shooters exposure to the classroom work then bringing them out to the range and allowing them to shoot under expert guidance.

I run a few different shooting classes on a volunteer basis for my club (even have state instructor license # 007 - really) so I would meet most reasonable definitions of someone who is qualified to take an inexperienced person out shooting for the first time. Fortunately, the two clubs at which I maintain memberships (Hopkinton and Harvard) don't mind guests as long as the guests are not regulars who should really be paying dues.

I agree with the policy many clubs have of requiring that the member must be supervising all shooting by their guests; one guest per member shoots at a time; the member and guest never shoot at the same time.

 

[dba62]

I guess my question to you would be why bother to pay your dues to support a club when you can just be a "guest" over and over and over?

For the same reason that I do. So I can go to my club when I want to and so that I can invite guests as I see fit.

 

[ochmude]

I guess my question to you would be why bother to pay your dues to support a club when you can just be a "guest" over and over and over?

Supporting your local clubs is the third part of my patented three step program that every firearms owner should follow in order to protect our freedoms. They are national, state, and local. One of the easiest ways to restrict and eliminate our freedom to keep and bear arms is to eliminate the places where we can shoot.

I understand that, but I know a LOT of people, my wife included, that are extremely self-conscious and uncomfortable with such things. If they were presented with the choice of attending a formal safety class for their very first exposure to firearms or saying to hell with it, they'd say to hell with it. I think, more important than supporting local clubs, creating new shooters is crucial to protecting our freedoms.

 

[bmach]

I do not like the no guest policy but I think there should be at least

a rule that will allow you to at bring a member of another club. I used to belong to another club and they changed their rules to only allow guests on Saturday and I used to bring one during the week. Now I let him take me to the club he belongs to when we shoot together.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

My 13 yo son and I attended the mandatory safety briefing for the Chicopee Sportsmens Club this morning for two reasons. One being that it is a mandatory class effective July 1st, and second to check on the alleged age restrictions reported in this thread:

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...icopee-Sportsmans-Club-New-Range-Rules-coming

What I heard this morning from the club officers is that there will NOT be age restrictions which would keep children like my son from shooting. Children will require supervision from either a parent or an authorized instructor/safety officer, probably until they have their own FID/LTC. This seems to be in accordance with MGLs regarding handling firearms by unlicensed individuals in Massachusetts. Children will also need their own club cards and range passes, readily available under Family Plan memberships.

This pretty much refutes what Bob originally posted.

However, if the Commonwealth in it's wisdom decides to enact laws which forbid any person under a certain age or who does not possess the requisite license from handling firearms, I think every club and range will be up the creek without a paddle. But that would be a different issue.

Anyone who has any questions should either go to the safety briefing or contact the club officers and speak to them.

Oh, and CSC is looking at changing it's rules on no guests shooting to allow people ways to bring guests on a one-time or infrequent basis. This is still be worked out.

I received a call from the president of the club this past week and I was invited to speak at the safety meeting last week. He said that they were working hard to try to avoid age restrictions. Fred was aware of my post here and asked me if I made it and I told him that I did.

I am grateful for the update and I am glad that there will not be any age restrictions. This is great news.

I attended a different meeting back on February 28th and the message was different in the meeting I attended. I stand by what I said and I couldn't be happier to see that there will be supervision guidelines in lieu of age restrictions. I am also glad to see that they are working on a policy to allow limited guest shooting at the club. It is a great way to introduce people to the sport.

Bob

 

[MisterHappy]

My club treats the Membership as a family plan....no restrictions on how often spouse and dependent children can come out. (My club gets good value out of my kids, especially the 11 yo! ).

The Guest poilcy is liberal, but simple - guests are welcome, but if they're "always" there, and they have a job, they should join! By and large, there's no real problem, as the majority of the Members are reasonable adults....

This way, we can Convert the Antis or non-shooters in a more informal atmosphere. A non-shooter freind's wife expressed interest, and I took them out. She's not a convert, but she's less Anti, and was planning to bring the target with the 9mm-sized holes to work!

 

[bob68]

that is great news for your club members. imho there should be no age limits for kids as they should be supervised by parents. good for your club officers

 

[M1911]

I agree with the policy many clubs have of requiring that the member must be supervising all shooting by their guests; one guest per member shoots at a time; the member and guest never shoot at the same time.

We have a similar policy at our club. We also have a policy that a particular guest can only be brought to the club a maximum of 3 times per year.

I understand the club's concerns about age limitations in the law. I've read that section of the law a number of times, we've discussed it here several times, and I still can't make heads or tails of it.