What are must haves for a good club?? Considering starting a club.

What are you're top priorities in a club

  • Rifle range

    Votes: 109 81.3%
  • Pistol range

    Votes: 107 79.9%
  • Action pit

    Votes: 65 48.5%
  • Archery

    Votes: 12 9.0%
  • Steel Range

    Votes: 73 54.5%
  • Clubhouse access

    Votes: 23 17.2%
  • Amenities (bbq,firepit,seating,hangout)

    Votes: 9 6.7%
  • Shotgun Range

    Votes: 27 20.1%
  • Scheduled events

    Votes: 13 9.7%

  • Total voters
    134

Cars&Guns

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If you were going to start a club or improve a very basic club what are the top priorities you would want?
Have access to a small parcel of land (25-30 acres) in a remote setting.
Working with a very limited budget and manpower but I'd like some input on things I may not be thinking of also.
Why do you love or hate your current club and what would you do differently if given the choice.
 
I voted for the basics, rifle, pistol and action pit.

Clubhouse access is a variable for me, I don't really care as I go to shoot and do my thing without the need to socialize but that's just me.

I think the tough part is that so many people are into so many different things it's hard to sell anything to get members

I like to kit up, and make a fool of myself trying to get better with AR and fast pistol while other guys want to spend 2 hours ringing in a handful of shots with their deer slayer lever action and you getvthe drunks who don't give two shits about shooting they just want to show up and bitch
 
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Being able to use non-paper targets set up various distances (determined by the shooter).
If I want to shoot soda cans, I want to be able to shoot soda cans. If I want to shoot Twinkies or ChocoTacos, I want to be able to set up Twinkies and ChocoTacos.

That and accommodation for PCCs at pistol ranges.
 
I would use the 25-30 acres for myself.. screw the club bullshit... too many cooks spoil the soup.. LOL.

but seriously... I'd keep it simple.. at least to start... rifle/pistol ranges.. as long (shooting distance) as you can safely build them. The more stuff you add, the more complicated it gets to manage.
 
I prefer action pits, but long enough to shoot rifles too. Its so nice to have a pit to myself, especially when sighting in something new. I can reset targets whenever I want and not need to wait for a cold range.

For pistol shooting, having pits setup with steel and racks is great. It's less stuff I have to bring with me every time.

Honestly, I think what I like best about the pits is that I don't have to disturb other people and they don't bother me. If you could setup a range so that people can set targets without having to go cold, then that would be fantastic.

A nice clubhouse is nice too. It's nice to have a bathroom right there and especially to wash my hands when I'm done shooting. I've done a ton of transfers/sales in there too and used the wifi for the efa10s.

Honestly, I don't really socialize much at either club.

Since you screen name is cars & guns, put together a weekly car show/cars & coffee. Lots of car guys are in to guns.
 
I like to shoot trap and have access to shoot during off times. It also depends on how long it will take me to get to the facility if I would be interested. Thanks
 
I prefer action pits, but long enough to shoot rifles too. Its so nice to have a pit to myself, especially when sighting in something new. I can reset targets whenever I want and not need to wait for a cold range.

For pistol shooting, having pits setup with steel and racks is great. It's less stuff I have to bring with me every time.

Honestly, I think what I like best about the pits is that I don't have to disturb other people and they don't bother me. If you could setup a range so that people can set targets without having to go cold, then that would be fantastic.

A nice clubhouse is nice too. It's nice to have a bathroom right there and especially to wash my hands when I'm done shooting. I've done a ton of transfers/sales in there too and used the wifi for the efa10s.

Honestly, I don't really socialize much at either club.

Since you screen name is cars & guns, put together a weekly car show/cars & coffee. Lots of car guys are in to guns.
Currently there is no power or water on property it has a generator. It's down a long dirt road so taking nice cars down there is not an option either.
I agree with you 1000% on nice having a pit to yourself and not worrying about others or going cold to reset and shoot etc.
Thanks for input
 
Forget the "club" keep it private and run it as a "pay to shoot" business.

Offer ammo for sale on site, make sure you have a couple of decent, maintained, clean bathrooms, a covered pavilion with some tables and benches or chairs, maybe a good BBQ pit for scheduled events and ample DRY NON MUD PIT parking.
 
It's a bit expensive, but if you attach a Toyan RS-S100 wankel engine to a tactical baton, you too can create your own Rotary Club.
 
Top priorities in New England for me would be to have very good lawyers on retainer and a very good cash flow to support your legal battles. I’m not saying this tongue in cheek. That’s the name of the game right now. The other side has very good lawyers, unlimited funding and is applying unlimited pressure.
 
on what planet are you planning to do this on?

How much does .223 round drop over 300 yards in a ammonia atmosphere?

what would I want?

For it to be close enough to be able to use...... there are clubs near me that are notoriously "Fuddy", but they are long established and in NH... I have chosen not to apply at them.
 
The people voting for "pistol range" don't know what they want.

Every damn club has a pistol area.

What you need is steel.

So few clubs have steel, at least for pistol.

Hopkinton and Westwood habe steel for pistol and it is great. I tried to get Reading to add some steel but they won't, they give me all sorts of excuses.

The next best is action pits for people to set up their own targets and steel. +1if those action pits already have some steel.
 
on what planet are you planning to do this on?

How much does .223 round drop over 300 yards in a ammonia atmosphere?

what would I want?

For it to be close enough to be able to use...... there are clubs near me that are notoriously "Fuddy", but they are long established and in NH... I have chosen not to apply at them.
No need to sh*t on the OP.

People stepping up is the reason we can enjoy this sport.

COPICUT has its first steel challenge match coming up, because ONE NES member stepped up and convinced the board.

As people get old, younger people need to step up and keep this going so people that like to sh*t on everyone's ideas can enjoy it.
 
Currently there is no power or water on property it has a generator. It's down a long dirt road so taking nice cars down there is not an option either.
I agree with you 1000% on nice having a pit to yourself and not worrying about others or going cold to reset and shoot etc.
Thanks for input
Pits are nice. But pits for rifles can be tough to build, too long, a lot of dirt or cement blocks needed.

What you can do is divide the rifle range in 2 or 3 sections. That way if there are only 2 shooters, they can each use a pit. If there are 10, each section can go cold whenever they want.

But the material, time and money needed to do that for 100 yards or longer is better spent on small action pits.

I saw a range in Florida that has like 10 action pits set up next to each other, looks pretty cool.
 
Being able to use non-paper targets set up various distances (determined by the shooter).
If I want to shoot soda cans, I want to be able to shoot soda cans. If I want to shoot Twinkies or ChocoTacos, I want to be able to set up Twinkies and ChocoTacos.

That and accommodation for PCCs at pistol ranges.

Being able to shoot whatever you want would be nice... too bad most people ruin it for everyone else by leaving their trash all around. And shooting food and leaving those scraps around invites varmints.
 
I voted for the basics, rifle, pistol and action pit.

Clubhouse access is a variable for me, I don't really care as I go to shoot and do my thing without the need to socialize but that's just me.

I think the tough part is that so many people are into so many different things it's hard to sell anything to get members

I like to kit up, and make a fool of myself trying to get better with AR and fast pistol while other guys want to spend 2 hours ringing in a handful of shots with their deer slayer lever action and you getvthe drunks who don't give two shits about shooting they just want to show up and bitch
Ya no asswipes at the club
 
The most important part of a club is governance. This could also be stated as "the most important thing is the people." Several previous posters have already mentioned this same point.

The most important part of the plan is whether you want to run a business where people pay you, and you are responsible for services. Or do you envision a non-profit where volunteers keep it going? Each of these models has some advantages, and some big disadvantages. If people are paying you, they won't volunteer to do anything. If it is all volunteers, then a few people will do real work, and most people still won't do anything.

All aspects of the actual facility will be determined by the people. If you run it, you will need to consider what will bring people in. If it is driven by volunteers, then the ones who work will build what they want, and everyone else will complain about it.

If it is a non-profit organization, it will need to have governing rules, which are essentially a constitution. No matter how carefully these rules are written, over time, small cliques will tend to take over. This happens to most clubs, and sometimes the results are fine, and sometimes not.
 
I'd pay extra for action pits that you can reserve. Have to put some guardrails on it - amount of time, frequency, days of the week, etc. But if I could stick an 'appointment' on my calendar a week or two out that I know 100% I'll have the range to myself that would be a huge perk.
 
Pits are nice. But pits for rifles can be tough to build, too long, a lot of dirt or cement blocks needed.

What you can do is divide the rifle range in 2 or 3 sections. That way if there are only 2 shooters, they can each use a pit. If there are 10, each section can go cold whenever they want.

But the material, time and money needed to do that for 100 yards or longer is better spent on small action pits.

I saw a range in Florida that has like 10 action pits set up next to each other, looks pretty cool.
So there's enough room currently without much clearing to have a 100yd rifle range for 4 shooters/tables/straight on targets, 25yd pistol for 2 shooters.
There's ample room to build 2 40-50yd action pits off to the side where the 100yd range is and they would have natural berm on two sides and need to build the back berm up.
There is space to expand off the side of pistol range and also behind it in opposite direction for shotgun activities.
 
When people say they want steel do they want a few gongs on the 100yd rifle range?
Plate rack in the pistol area?
Steel dedicated area in the action pit?
Steel everywhere?

Issue is obviously people who suck and shoot it with shotgun killing what's holding it up and people who have no brain and shoot inappropriate guns at it.

Basically from what people are saying is just copy Harvard on a smaller scale.
 
I'd pay extra for action pits that you can reserve. Have to put some guardrails on it - amount of time, frequency, days of the week, etc. But if I could stick an 'appointment' on my calendar a week or two out that I know 100% I'll have the range to myself that would be a huge perk.
Like 20 bucks for 3-4 hour window or something like that? That's actually a good idea. Make it free to members who are there and ability to reserve it and pay little premium.
Also maybe $5-10 guest fee for non members would help too
 
The people voting for "pistol range" don't know what they want.

Every damn club has a pistol area.

What you need is steel.

So few clubs have steel, at least for pistol.

Hopkinton and Westwood habe steel for pistol and it is great. I tried to get Reading to add some steel but they won't, they give me all sorts of excuses.

The next best is action pits for people to set up their own targets and steel. +1if those action pits already have some steel.
Independent in Foxboro has multiple steel targets on the pistol range.

Another thing a good club should avoid is Fudd leadership that prohibits PCCs on the pistol range.
 
Rifle range is too generic.
100yd range, those are a dime a dozen. A staple of nearly any club.
200 and 300yd, now you are standing out
600yd you may have something rare. in MA i only know of devens (possible closed perm to civilians), and i think north redding.
>600yd you have something special.

( i used MA as an example, i don't know where you are proposing this, and location may matter)
 
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