Looking at joining the midlands club, answers please?

JasonBourne

Just wanted to ask a few questions.

I was there for my HCAP last year so i have been there and was fairly impressed with the setup.

I currently shoot a .22, fully custom 223, .270 & shotgun (considering a pistol) my questions are as follows.........

1- mid week by appointment open. so does that mean if i want to book in wed-fri between 10am-5pm i can book in?? reason i ask i mostly work weekends

2- can i just turn up and shoot as a member if i like? or do i have to book a place on a range at a particular time?

3- competitions. can i join them or are there any special conditions??

4- anyone got any pro's or cons to add about joining this club??

Thanks.

Cass

JasonBourne wrote: »

1- mid week by appointment open. so does that mean if i want to book in wed-fri between 10am-5pm i can book in?? reason i ask i mostly work weekends

New members must have 3 visits within 3 months, and be "signed off" on. Once this is done you may use the range mid week. You simply phone the day before traveling to make sure there is no work going on in the range.

2- can i just turn up and shoot as a member if i like? or do i have to book a place on a range at a particular time?

At weekends you can just turn up and shoot. During the week you must ring the day before to make sure the range is available.

3- competitions. can i join them or are there any special conditions??

No conditions. In fact as a member of the MNSCI you are affiliated to the NRAI so the amount of competitions available to you increases as you may take part in BOTH MNsCI comps, and NRAI comps.

4- anyone got any pro's or cons to add about joining this club??

I am a very vocal fan of the range. It is quite literally the biggest range in the country, and for short, medum, and long range target shooting it will not be rivaled. The range also hosts a number of other ranges to try and accommodate as many other disciplines as possible. Obviously no range can suit all types of shooting, but looking at what you shoot with all your needs would be covered.

Also as pros, if applying for a pistol later on the MNSCI would stand to you in terms of "good reason", and you have the 10 - 25 mtr range for your use. Not to mention the range is rated for every rifle caliber legally able to be purchased, and owned in Ireland. Then if you get a taste for long range you have one of only a couple of ranges in Europe (AFAIK) that go to 1,200 yards, and of course reloading through the Development Squad.

JasonBourne

thanks for that Ezridax

that answers a lot of questions. just to ask for example. can i turn up on a wednesday and i might be the only person and i can shoot all my disciplines from 10am-5pm?? if that is the case thats sounds quite therapeutic!! you see i work mostly weekends and would find it hard to commit and justify the large 1st year payment without this.

as for reloading. surely as a newbie (to the range) i wouldnt be able to do that would I?

what are the policy's on bringing guests?? for example my fiance shoots her own shotgun and if we wanted to bang clays for an afternoon or a friend wanted to come and watch target shooting would this be ok?

Cass

JasonBourne wrote: »

can i turn up on a wednesday and i might be the only person and i can shoot all my disciplines from 10am-5pm??

Once you have shown that you can act appropriately, and more importantly safely on the range by yourself, no problem. All ranges must have an RCO on duty whenever firing is to take place. The MNSCI has mulitple RCO's, and RO's. So this will not be an issue for you.

as for reloading. surely as a newbie (to the range) i wouldnt be able to do that would I?

Reloading is not available to all members automatically. However should you decide that you like long range shooting, and would like to take up F-Class shooting you may "sign up" to the Development Squad, which is a special squad designed to introduce, and teach long range shooting to new F-Class shooters. As a bonus to this you will be introduced to the world of reloading with courses, and demos run, and then you can decide to get fully involved, and buy your own gear or not.

Courses, safety courses, demos, the Development squad, etc are available to all members, and are all free of charge. It;s all covered in your membership.

what are the policy's on bringing guests??

You may bring a guest at least three times a year, and they can shoot under your supervision. They must have their own insurance, and be able to produce a card or some other form of verification upon arrival.

for example my fiance shoots her own shotgun and if we wanted to bang clays for an afternoon

Clay pigeon ranges are not subject to the same laws, and rules as rifle ranges, now while the shotgun ranges/traps are on the MNSCI site anyone can attend and shoot clays.

or a friend wanted to come and watch target shooting would this be ok?

Spectators, and visitor's (as opposed to guests with guns) are more than welcome. Make sure they have adequate hearing protection and you are good to go.

JasonBourne

i must say that is very interesting. i never really thought of joining cos of my work load and i thought the range was only open weekends. hmmmm i may have to take the plunge in time!!

i saw this on there website............ New Members - Get 17 Months for the Price of 12!
This offer applies to Membership Year 2012/2013 ending June 2013

I assume this is over now?? does anyone know if there will be any other offers coming up??

Cass

They run specials like that most years. That particular offer was introduced in February (i think). In September of the previous year (2011) they ran a reduced price for "late" members. As in people that wanted to join, but misses the yearly renewal of June (end of). So as not to discourage people, and so they did not feel as though they were paying the initial membership fee for 75% of the shooting they reduced the price by 25% to match the remaining time.

I have no doubt they will run a similar scheme in the coming months, but as i'm only a member i cannot guarantee this.

What i can offer you, as a member, is to meet you some day on the range (weekend/weekday), and show you around. Give you a chance to see the ranges, and if on the weekend show you the ranges in action. This would give you a better idea of how they are utilised, and which ranges you may find useful.

JasonBourne

Ezridax wrote: »

What i can offer you, as a member, is to meet you some day on the range (weekend/weekday), and show you around. Give you a chance to see the ranges, and if on the weekend show you the ranges in action. This would give you a better idea of how they are utilised, and which ranges you may find useful.

The proof of the pudding so to speak! yeah that sounds great. what ill do is send you a PM closer the time im free to drop down and see it and you can let me know if your free.

Thanks again for answering my questions.

Cass

JasonBourne wrote: »

The proof of the pudding so to speak! yeah that sounds great. what ill do is send you a PM closer the time im free to drop down and see it and you can let me know if your free.

Spot on.

Thanks again for answering my questions.

Insomnia has it's uses.:D

JasonBourne

Ezridax wrote: »

Insomnia has it's uses.:D

aka 1to1 time on boards