Hap baker closed, why

[JKrew]

Recently went to delmarva sporting clays again after years of not shooting there. No more hap baker for me. DSC will be the go-to range.

Those are nowhere near similar choices for some of us... hap is a ~50 minute round trip for me, not including range time; DSC would be a 5 hour round trip, more assuming traffic.

Delmarva is still my favorite even though it is also 5hr round trip if there's no traffic. I don't get out to ranges too often so I typically just go there since it's the best experience.

 

[BADSHOT]

Hap Baker is a dump.

LOL!!!

 

[AlBeight]

Damn, gotta be a better way to communicate other than FB. What did I give them my email address for when I signed up for membership?

I got the email back in January when it was closed for weather, but that was 6-8” of heavy wet snow. Yesterday we got 2-3”, maybe tops. Didn’t get any email this time.

 

[JKM525]

I was gonna be upset. Glad it's just for a reno.

 

[AlBeight]

Weather closure. Reno was last year.

 

[Chriss]

Hap Baker is a dump.

I see what you did there

 

[offthepaper]

I was a member at Hap back in the 1990's early 2000's. I believe it was around 2004/2005 there was a fire at the rifle range that destroyed it and threatened the newly built pistol range. It was closed a very long time for that while they argued in court who would pay for the damages. When I first started shooting at Hap in the nineties, it was great, not busy, sleepy little county owned range. had to buy a membership, but they were stupid cheap, $25 for a non-county resident, $15 for a resident. it was great for years, then a decision was made to allow daily paid shooters in and that just opened the flood gates. always on a waiting list after that and several times I drove there (1 hr 15 min each way back then) and waited for hours on a list only to be told that I would not get to shoot that day as there were still multiple people ahead of me on the list.
I kept my membership paid for another year after the fire, even though you could not use the range, but eventually left and was able to join the Balto Co Game and Fish Protective Assn.
A great place to belong to.
Not knocking Hap, but they just seem to be oversold sometimes. should go back to memberships.

 

[GuitarmanNick]

When I go to Hap Baker, I get there early to avoid/minimize the need to wait. Most times, I am one of the first round of shooters.

The thing I do not like about the facility is the rifle benches. They are not secured very well, and will move as you shoot. This makes any precision shooting difficult, at best. It is a pain while working up new loads, too.

Overall, I enjoy myself when I go, and find it more affordable than AGC. For the savings, I will deal with the quirks.

 

[Neutron]

I used to go there a few years ago and it seemed to me that the interval between the range going cold was too long. Also no time limit on how long a shooter could stay on the range. Some of those guys would stay for hours with a long waiting list of people wanting to shoot.

 

[AlBeight]

I was a member at Hap back in the 1990's early 2000's. I believe it was around 2004/2005 there was a fire at the rifle range that destroyed it and threatened the newly built pistol range. It was closed a very long time for that while they argued in court who would pay for the damages. When I first started shooting at Hap in the nineties, it was great, not busy, sleepy little county owned range. had to buy a membership, but they were stupid cheap, $25 for a non-county resident, $15 for a resident. it was great for years, then a decision was made to allow daily paid shooters in and that just opened the flood gates. always on a waiting list after that and several times I drove there (1 hr 15 min each way back then) and waited for hours on a list only to be told that I would not get to shoot that day as there were still multiple people ahead of me on the list.
I kept my membership paid for another year after the fire, even though you could not use the range, but eventually left and was able to join the Balto Co Game and Fish Protective Assn.
A great place to belong to.
Not knocking Hap, but they just seem to be oversold sometimes. should go back to memberships.

You can still get the membership, for what it’s worth. Last spring, mid-April maybe, I signed in around 10:15 am with my annual membership badge, just 15 min after they opened and it was already packed. They put my name on a 2nd sheet of paper on the clipboard that had one other name on the list that wasn’t already crossed off. The top sheet of paper was all daily paying customers, for the next 4+ hours they called all of those folks one by one, including dozens that came down the hill from the parking lot hours well after I got there. They did that until I finally complained to call the County Parks Department that Monday. I finally got a rifle bench at 2:30. The guy occupying my lane took his damn sweet time packing up his stuff and getting out of there, so by the time I was ready to shoot there wasn’t much time left in that first cycle.

I had volunteered to sight in a girlfriend’s new AR red dot and iron sights. Before I got it all squared away the range went cold again, then finished that early in the next hot cycle. Packed that up and got out my Ruger American Predator 6mm to sight it in. Halfway thru that hot cycle the RSO came over and told me that was the last shooting cycle we’d have that day, it was only about 3:00-3:15 pm. I managed to get my 6mm on paper at 100 yds and near the bullseye but not what I’d call zero’ed. Then just like that, clean up we’re closing, keeping in mind they’re supposed to close at 4:30pm. I packed up, sherpa’ed all my stuff up the to the truck, drove home 25 min, including stopping at the Wendy’s drive-thru for dinner, and then home. I was home eating my burger at 4:00pm, yet they were supposed to be open until 4:30. That was the last straw. In an entire day I got one AR and iron sights / red dot sighted in, and a 6mm CM partially zero’ed (7 or 8 shots down range only). I shredded my membership badge that afternoon, and have only been back there to shoot twice since, on daily rate.

They used to have summer hours until 6pm, but now kill the joint at 4:30 (posted times) year-round. In summer that hurts, 4-1/2 hours more daylight and they’re closed. Plus they always close about 90 minutes before 4:30 every day, and the Parks Department won’t correct that. It really saps the fun out of shooting having to deal with that. Shameful.

 

[babalou]

C,S, & N approve-- Haplessly Hoping. Home Free, too.

 

[Russ D]

You can still get the membership, for what it’s worth. Last spring, mid-April maybe, I signed in around 10:15 am with my annual membership badge, just 15 min after they opened and it was already packed. They put my name on a 2nd sheet of paper on the clipboard that had one other name on the list that wasn’t already crossed off. The top sheet of paper was all daily paying customers, for the next 4+ hours they called all of those folks one by one, including dozens that came down the hill from the parking lot hours well after I got there. They did that until I finally complained to call the County Parks Department that Monday. I finally got a rifle bench at 2:30. The guy occupying my lane took his damn sweet time packing up his stuff and getting out of there, so by the time I was ready to shoot there wasn’t much time left in that first cycle.

I had volunteered to sight in a girlfriend’s new AR red dot and iron sights. Before I got it all squared away the range went cold again, then finished that early in the next hot cycle. Packed that up and got out my Ruger American Predator 6mm to sight it in. Halfway thru that hot cycle the RSO came over and told me that was the last shooting cycle we’d have that day, it was only about 3:00-3:15 pm. I managed to get my 6mm on paper at 100 yds and near the bullseye but not what I’d call zero’ed. Then just like that, clean up we’re closing, keeping in mind they’re supposed to close at 4:30pm. I packed up, sherpa’ed all my stuff up the to the truck, drove home 25 min, including stopping at the Wendy’s drive-thru for dinner, and then home. I was home eating my burger at 4:00pm, yet they were supposed to be open until 4:30. That was the last straw. In an entire day I got one AR and iron sights / red dot sighted in, and a 6mm CM partially zero’ed (7 or 8 shots down range only). I shredded my membership badge that afternoon, and have only been back there to shoot twice since, on daily rate.

They used to have summer hours until 6pm, but now kill the joint at 4:30 (posted times) year-round. In summer that hurts, 4-1/2 hours more daylight and they’re closed. Plus they always close about 90 minutes before 4:30 every day, and the Parks Department won’t correct that. It really saps the fun out of shooting having to deal with that. Shameful.

This pretty much sums up the whole issue with the place. I was a regular shooter there for the last 20 plus years, but the last 5 have been miserable to say the least. I've since joined a private range, and probably will never go back. I really do miss those late summer evenings shooting 200 yard groups with old Jim the RO. We had matching Tikka Master Sporters, his in .223 and mine in 22-250. He took the braggin' rights more often than me as I was not handloading yet. My profile pic is me and the rifle at a Hap bench from back then.

 

[boothdoc]

Sadly I don’t think they care if they make you mad or disappointed. They figure they are always busy and they can act like jerks all day and it doesn’t matter.
I used to got here at least once a week for years.

 

[JohnnyE]

Sadly I don’t think they care if they make you mad or disappointed. They figure they are always busy and they can act like jerks all day and it doesn’t matter.
I used to got here at least once a week for years.

You mean they close at random times without notice? That sucks because, and IDK about anyone else, but it takes me more than a little time to gather up a gun, ammo, targets, and other shooting supplies, and never mind the long drive, and the last thing I'd like to do is get out there and find it closed!

Do they post info about closures on the interweb? The Izaak Walton chapters of which I am a member do a very good job of noticing us, in advance nonetheless, of range closures.

 

[Jakers07]

I was considering trying this range just to see how it compares to others. Guess I wont make it a priority.

 

[BeachLiving2021]

Same issues here. Loved the price but always had issues with the guys working

 

[boothdoc]

They changed in recent years and have become oppressive and arbitrary with the hrs they are open.
The staff does not believe the county run range is responsible to provide a service to the county residents.
I went from going there two to three times a month to that many times a year because of their shenanigans.

 

[jc1240]

I saw a sign at Hap Baker on Wed that they are closed until further notice. Storm damage?

 

[jkeys]

I saw a sign at Hap Baker on Wed that they are closed until further notice. Storm damage?

Crap. I need to sight in a rifle before heading to Peacemaker next weekend.

 

[Boondock Saint]

Should be open now. Closed Wednesday for storm clean up.

Carroll County Government | Hap Baker Closed Today 7/13 Carroll County, Maryland

www.carrollcountymd.gov