A way to get focused on shooting, I supposed.

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greener
Garrulous Maximus
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A way to get focused on shooting, I supposed.

Post by greener » Wed Oct 22, 2014 8:54 am

I haven't been shooting for about a month. When you are retired it's tough to work things into your busy schedule. At the end of September I was on the Outer Banks for the semiannual DGAF fishing, poker, lies trip.

Went shooting yesterday and noticed a sign on the counter at the range office that the name was changing to "Young's Shooting Range" and you would have to join "Young's Shooting Association" to shoot there after Dec 31. Black Creek Shooter's Association has leased the land and range from K. C. Young for a long time. KC has run the range, is there 7 days/week unless he pays for someone to substitute. KC is 79. 4 years ago the Association increased the dues by $50 to have funds for KC's retirement. The 2015 lease deal fell through.

My shooting association is sitting on over $300k of membership money and plans to do something not yet defined with it. The range will be even more totally in the control of a 79-year old who wants to retire and has no real interest in making any needed improvements. Neither of them have any interest in notifying the membership and both think computers are magic.

Anyway, I got a bit PO'd at both and had one of my better days shooting SA revolvers Ruger MK's I've had in a while.

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ruger22
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Post by ruger22 » Wed Oct 22, 2014 1:46 pm

Right now, I couldn't afford ten bucks a month for a range fee. I spend that in gas and munchies for a trip to my Forest Service range, which I'm grateful is free.

I've heard some gripes locally about membership ranges raising fees, so it's not just yours, if that feels any better. Just sounds like yours has no idea how to make the fees worth it to the members. If Young really wants to retire, why is he taking more control? Alzheimer's?

What he could do, if he has any children, is set up a deal for them to take over, and let Black Creek continue the operation. Sort of an early inheritance.

Glad you had good shooting. I've never understood why I shoot better when I'm ticked. Maybe part of the so-called "fight or flight" response.
* 2 Ruger Bearcat stainless, w/ EWK ejector housings & Wolff springs
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charlesb
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Post by charlesb » Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:51 am

The shooting club here had its 30 year lease run out recently, but after some negotiation the movers and shakers got us another go-round. Dues here are 40 bucks a month, with approximately 500 members, mostly out of town guys who fly in once a year to get sighted in prior to hunting.

I tend to show up in the morning on weekdays, and generally have the place to myself. The view, especially in the mornings, is spectacular.

Image

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Post by greener » Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:13 am

A much better view and longer range than I get for $150/year.

Very nice

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bgreenea3
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Post by bgreenea3 » Wed Oct 29, 2014 7:31 pm

I shall not be upset about my $60 a year dues. .....
"Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway."

-John Wayne

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charlesb
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Post by charlesb » Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:03 pm

greener wrote:A much better view and longer range than I get for $150/year.

Very nice
It's just 100 yards on the rifle range, though it looks longer in the picture because of my little digital camera. If you are there, those distant looking mountains in the pictures loom over you. My town is in a bowl-shaped basin with mountains on all sides.

When it looked like we might have lost the lease, some club members were advocating a property further out of town that would have given us up to 1000 yards - but would have had to be developed.

For my part, I'm glad they got to keep the old place, it's just a five minute drive from my house on the west end of town. - I see those same mountains out of my bedroom window.

I went downtown today and coughed up 40 bucks for a key to the new lock on the gate, I'll be good now for another year. I had a senior moment earlier; It's 40 bucks a year, not 40 bucks a month.

Getting old - It's better than the alternative.

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Post by greener » Thu Oct 30, 2014 11:17 am

Nice place for $40/year and 5 minute drive.

I did a google search for my shooting association and came on a blog where the Treasurer had told steel shooters about the problems. It gave me his email address.

I wrote him an "I'm not happy, strong message to follow email" mainly over the Board not notifying the membership. He called me yesterday. There were about 50 members at the annual meeting. They had another meeting and 7 of the 50 signed up for the meeting. 6 showed. BCSA has 750 7-day members and 250 week-day members. He didn't think it was a big deal that they had made no effort to contact more members. He also wondered why there was a turnover of about 500 members/year. It was my fault that I arranged my schedule so that I missed the annual meeting, even the one that was a family illness.

It was quite an interesting discussion and shows the problems with re-electing the Board every year by acclimation when they never had anything to do but collect money, send membership, send two mass mailings and write a check or two. The board was deadlocked on notifying the membership, so they are getting around to writing a letter.

The trouble with taking interest in a volunteer organization is they might ask you do do something. If you don't, you get clowns like this who are now sitting on a wad of members' money with plans to do something, somewhere, sometime.

The Association had "leased" the range from the owner who lived on site. He ran the range and maintained it as part of the lease agreement. The association provided insurance and liability cover. At 79, he wanted to retire. According to the association, he wanted more money, demanded 3 full time employees to operate the range 7 days per week (paid by the association) and that the association pick up all grounds maintenance with their own equipment.

Looks like if I want to shoot there, I get to pay my "dues" to a guy who wants to retire.

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charlesb
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Post by charlesb » Thu Oct 30, 2014 8:55 pm

I have run across a lot of this kind of difficulty in various amateur radio clubs that I have belonged to over the years.

In the long run, the best of them were not democratic at all, being run by perhaps three or fours individuals who basically organized and took care of everything. The more democratic clubs are always loaded up with ego problems, controversy, peeing contests, dumb "bright ideas", bad feelings and various kinds of ripoffs.

At one of the democratic ham radio clubs I was in, the best one, we would traditionally elect somebody who didn't make the meeting to be club president. Another club had one penny a year dues, it was just a formality because all we ever did together was drink coffee at the local diner on Saturday mornings.

In almost all of the gun clubs that I have belonged to, I just paid my dues and got a key to the facility. The most I've paid was a couple of hundred bucks a year, the least was 25 bucks.
As a new guy, I'd show up at off-times until I found a time-slot where I'd have the range to myself, and that would be my shooting time thereafter.

One exception to that is early morning shooting on week-days. At my present club, about half the time I'll find a few guys there whom I have struck up an acquaintance with. - We'll chat a bit, but not too much as we are all wanting to get our shooting in while the morning calm is in effect.

I hope things settle down to a good routine again at your club. - If not, the movers and shakers there might have to look for another location, hopefully nearby.

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Post by greener » Sat Nov 01, 2014 9:59 am

You usually get to be President or on the board of a volunteer organization because no one else will do it. My mother was President of her little old lady Sunday School class and was getting grief from the members. I suggested she offer to step down and let someone else more to their liking do the job. she made the offer and they told her what a great job she was doing for the next 3-4 years.

I used that a number of times during my decade as a Scoutmaster. "Hey, we can always use adults like you in the troop. If you'd like to be Scoutmaster, I'll be happy to be a committee person. If not, how would you like to do *******?" It tended to shut up the chronic complainers and allowed us to pick up a couple of pretty good adult leaders.

The one key in good volunteer boards is communication. It really doesn't take all that much time to put together a newsletter and now you don't even have to go through the mailing bit.

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