Qualified for Gun Club

This weekend Bitter and I had to switch me going down to her coming up, because I was told I had to show up to qualify on pistol for the gun club that weekend.  If I couldn’t make it, I’d have to wait until fall to get in.

It was pretty easy.   You had to hit a fairly giant 100 yard target at 15 yards.  They were mostly looking for safety.   If you could land 9 out of 10 shots on the paper, you qualified.  There were a few people that had problems qualifying.  I was told that they get people who pretty much exclusively shoot clays that have to qualify, and can’t shoot pistol to save their lives.  Everyone has to qualify on pistol though, and show they can competently handle one.

I’m mostly satisfied with their rules.  Most of them are common sense.  They do allow concealed carry, you just can’t shoot from a holster.  You’re not allowed to shoot the weapon you’re carrying, except in an emergency.   You’re limited to 5 rounds in a firearm.  One or two rounds on the clay range.

The reason given for round limitations was in case the gun had a malfunction that made it go full auto; to avoid sending a bullet in an unsafe direction.   This can happen, but I think it’s rare.  Personally, I would like to see the club open up the plinking range to full magazines, and allow people to fill revolvers, which can’t have that problem.  On outdoor ranges I’m generally more accepting of magazine limits just to someone can’t fire off a really long string when other people are ready to check targets.  The indoor range I’m currently a member of has no magazine limits and there’s never been a problem.

I get voted in Wednesday, pay the fee, and get my access card.  After that, I can shoot 24/7, and have use of some pretty nice facilities.

6 thoughts on “Qualified for Gun Club”

  1. Teaching clays shooters to use a pistol.

    Take a Glock or a 1911, anything with a slab sided slide, and remove the sights. Just sight along the slide like the barrels of a Perazzi. Anyone who can hit a clay bird going 45mph at 30 yards can hit a similar sized target sitting still at 15 yards with a bullet. You just have to get them to stop worrying and overthinking things, and just shoot.

    I discovered this by accident years ago. I had one of the old Detonics Combatmasters manufactured without sights, and a shotgun shooting friend tried it and found he actually could shoot a handgun, a skill that had escaped him for years.

  2. Congrats!

    Just to give me a reference, does your gun club charge a $400 entrance fee and $240 per year?

    That’s what the one here charges, and I think it’s a little steep.

  3. Our local range is public, and about 2 miles from here. It doesn’t cost anything, but it’s a mess. People on the county gun forum are planning to get together and go out to clean the place up. No qualifications. No fees.

  4. Centre County’s range is better than most of them. I have to drive to Lehigh County or Chester County to use a PGC range. They closed the one in Bucks County.

  5. $250 initiation fee, and something like 75 bucks a year to maintain the membership. You have to do 12 hours of work at the club a year, or pay 7 dollars an hour above that. It’s cheaper than my indoor range, which charges 200 a year, no up front fee. But it’s open to the public on a fee basis, you don’t have to be a member to shoot there.

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