Dave
Ultimate Member
I wish Hap Baker all the success in the world. I'm 5 min away and refuse to step foot there. More people that go there, less look elsewhere at the private club ranges :p Why anyone would get a membership there is beyond me.
"Going to greener pastures somewhere now I suppose."
Guntry is right down route 140 a bit and it costs only $50 an hour for a lane on their 100 yard range. Small price to pay for paved roads and other amenities if those items are high up on your priority list. Assuming the hourly cost results in less wait time for a lane.
AGC is the best value I have found and I never had an issue with them closing early.
If I was only going to shoot for an hour, I'd probably wait until I had more time to make the trip worth it. Hap also has up to 200 yards which makes it more worthwhile. Hap is far from from perfect but for 10$ I can shoot as long as I want and from one bench 25-50-100-200 yards. I'd love to join a club, but I've got zero free time to meet membership requirements where I'm "volunteering" for events and maintenance.
Not all the clubs require events and maintenance. MSI for example. $25 to join MSI and that gives you the ability to buy the range badge at AGC for $200. $225 per year for unlimited shooting. No requirements for meetings or hours.
Not to mention no waiting. In the 7 or 8 years I’ve been an AGC member, I’ve only ever had to wait for a lane one time.
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I feel like that is an often overlooked benefit.
Only times I encountered that was on a hunter sight in day and when a pistol match was going. If I had bothered to check the calendar, I would have known better.
I've been there a few times with friends over the years and more than once an RO? would give us the stink eye for whatever reason I'm not sure. Is it still like that? Also, I really do not like the bring your own target stand set-up system. The sad thing is, it's only 15 min from my house, but I just don't like shooting there as much as Hap, and I really don't like Hap much anymore.
Hap baker is decent if you get there before 9:30AM.
RSO’s have always been friendly and are doing their best to watch over everyone. 2 years or so ago, all the RSO’s where Aholes it seemed like. (Different group)
Only drawback is waiting til open. If you get there at 10AM or later, might as well turn around and go home. People will sit there all day and literally bring lawn chairs and lunches… i’ve seen it. Kinda sucks for the poor guys who just want to sight in their rifles and move on. Is what it is i guess.
That must be new. I haven’t been since October last Fall (or thereabouts), and I was shooting three rifles. Nobody said anything to me, but I was there on a Wednesday at about mid-day and there was only 2 other shooters there. Maybe they were cool with me since it was dead that day?
I never go there with less than 2 long guns, btw. But I also don’t d**k around and hog the lane all day like some folks do. They know I’ll be in and out efficiently so maybe they let me slide?
Good to know, I’ve been shopping for a range cart to carry a small arsenal with me down from the truck. That might be a non-starter now. Thanks for the heads up.
I have been there a few times since then and almost always take 3 rifles and sometimes a couple of pistols. Never had anyone say a word to me about a limit on firearms. My cart is always full when I check in.
I try to put them back into the case as soon as the barrels are cooled down, too. Occasionally, all three will be out when developing loads. Switching rifles allows the barrels to cool between ladder steps, and insures a good test session. It also allows me to accomplish what I want to do much faster, so another shooter can get a lane more quickly.
Using large chamber flags makes it easy for them to see that my rifles are in a safe condition when not at the firing bench.
The RSOs generally use their common sense and remember that safety is the primary goal.
After reading what I just read about his experience, I was going to mention the same thing. I haven't shot this year, but if I finally get around to it, I will be joining Littlestown.You know for $75 you can join Littlestown Fish and Game---20 minutes up the road(Rt 97) from Westminster--just over the Pa line--rifle and pistol ranges--public trap and sporting clays---during the week its not crowded--check out their website----just google it---good bunch of guys there.