Looking for a GTA club
- Thread starter aussz
- Start date
digitalblue
CGN Regular
- Location
- GTA unfortunately
Thanks! This one might just be the ticket. From what I see on their site the facilities are pretty extensive. Driving up to Barrie tomorrow so maybe there's a chance to drop by for a look or a chat on my way back. My application is already submitted, in any case.
I shot quite extensively at TITSC about a decade ago and they had some of the nicest facilities for clay shooting. Definitely the most worth it if you plan to do lots of clay shooting.
Consider whether you're a clays shooter only or have other shooting interests. At one extreme Uxbridge is an awesome clays club but that's all it's got. Going the other way, Barrie has clays and rifle ranges and an indoor pistol/22 range so you can try it all there. TITSC is colocated with TIRPC so branching out into rifle or pistol is possible. Oshawa has options too.
An Italian Classic
New member
- Location
- Central Ontario
It was pretty straight-forward. I think I only formally scheduled one of the 3 probationary shooting sessions and the conclusion meeting to those. A couple of them were just done by me showing up at their busy times and asking for a sponsor to shot with. Bryan was President at the time, who was very helpful in the process.
No one is going to sponsor someone they don't know. Your behavior reflects on your sponsor. If you slip up bad enough, they could potentially be in trouble too.
I understand that but still worth trying. Thanks for feedback.
I think the clubs that have closed memberships, waiting lists and intiation fees and no guest/walk-on allowed policy, need to change their Board of Directors. Stop acting like their gun club is a private country club. How does the sport grow when you are throwing all these road blocks in the way of attacting new shooters?
My club allows for walk-on trap and skeet when those activities are being shot. If someone with zero skeet experience showed up on a Sunday to shoot skeet with a PAL, a shotgun, shells, hearing protection and $8, someone in the club will take them out for a round of skeet. Brief expanation about lead on each station and let the have some safe fun.
Make the people feel welcome and they will come back. Some come out a few times then join the club, some come out the next Wednesday (trap night) and join the club. Some had fun but have other priorities in life. We do not have a waiting list except to the time they submit their application and pay their membership fees to join, and the next monthly meeting when new members are accepted.
In the following weeks they get a safety walk through and the range rules are explained. If they wish to pay an extra $20 they are given a key card with access to the club and indoor range 24/7. This also gives them access to the 100m outdoor range.
Why club make stupid rules, cap membership, don't allow guests etc is beyond me. They must be doing so well that they can turn down money and still keep up their country club style.
My club allows for walk-on trap and skeet when those activities are being shot. If someone with zero skeet experience showed up on a Sunday to shoot skeet with a PAL, a shotgun, shells, hearing protection and $8, someone in the club will take them out for a round of skeet. Brief expanation about lead on each station and let the have some safe fun.
Make the people feel welcome and they will come back. Some come out a few times then join the club, some come out the next Wednesday (trap night) and join the club. Some had fun but have other priorities in life. We do not have a waiting list except to the time they submit their application and pay their membership fees to join, and the next monthly meeting when new members are accepted.
In the following weeks they get a safety walk through and the range rules are explained. If they wish to pay an extra $20 they are given a key card with access to the club and indoor range 24/7. This also gives them access to the 100m outdoor range.
Why club make stupid rules, cap membership, don't allow guests etc is beyond me. They must be doing so well that they can turn down money and still keep up their country club style.
Obviously you don't know how clubs work, and the responsibility they carry to make sure each member is vetted, and is a safe shooter. One incident and the CFO can shut a club down. So personally I'm glad not every Tom, #### or Harry is allowed to shoot at my clubs and muck things up for the rest of the members....just say'n.
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Trust me, I know how clubs work. I also know our club gets a lot of new members from people that are walk-on shooters. When I say "walk-on", I mean people that show up on a trap or skeet day. Our outdoor rifle and indoor ranges are not open for walk-on's.
Our club has many members that will drive over an hour and pass 3 other clubs to get to our club. I'll drive over an hour to shoot at 3 different Sporting Clay courses. Why? Because they make you feel welcome when you show up.
So a friend of mine wanted to join a club that is close to where he lives. He asked about bringing some guest to shoot skeet once in a while. He was told no guest allowed, period. Well guess what, he is taking his money to a club an hour away that is more welcoming and will allow guest.
Now I understand that these are not public own gun clubs and the club directors can make their own rules. But let's face facts, if we close the memberships, cap memberships, limit or not allow walk-on's, our sport will die a slow death. If clubs want to keep up their Country Club attitude, your membership will decline as the old members die off.
If I was looking to join a club and they told me that there is a 2 year waiting list (or any waiting list for that matter), I'm taking my money elsewhere.
Our club has many members that will drive over an hour and pass 3 other clubs to get to our club. I'll drive over an hour to shoot at 3 different Sporting Clay courses. Why? Because they make you feel welcome when you show up.
So a friend of mine wanted to join a club that is close to where he lives. He asked about bringing some guest to shoot skeet once in a while. He was told no guest allowed, period. Well guess what, he is taking his money to a club an hour away that is more welcoming and will allow guest.
Now I understand that these are not public own gun clubs and the club directors can make their own rules. But let's face facts, if we close the memberships, cap memberships, limit or not allow walk-on's, our sport will die a slow death. If clubs want to keep up their Country Club attitude, your membership will decline as the old members die off.
If I was looking to join a club and they told me that there is a 2 year waiting list (or any waiting list for that matter), I'm taking my money elsewhere.
A number of us are members at more than one club, and probably wouldn't be if clubs were all the same. You can shoot rifle at this one but not that one, or this one has skeet, or that one has more guest-friendly policies when I want to bring a friend, so there's always a new feature that attracts someone with references from somewhere else. And face it, maybe a wee bit of it is silent fear that some idiot will get one of the clubs shut down and you'd be frozen out if you didn't have another club membership in your back pocket.
I used to think like you, then I showed up to events, went to a bunch of clubs and sat in to help on a few PAL courses and it clicked why. I've joined a few clubs, only one did I need a sponsor and it was the least "prestigious" of them. Just showing up to volunteer, talking with folks and networking is all that's needed and I mean just the bare minimum of effort is all it takes. If they took every single person that showed up, it would be a nightmare, case in point Target sports. It's a gong show of people that don't know anything about guns and those that THINK they know everything about them. It's packed and has a rather #### atmosphere. I'll take the gate keeping every time now. If someone shows up for a couple times and seems decent, it's a good barometer if you want to give them access to shared facilities, because all it takes is one idiot to ruin it for everyone, especially in Ontario where most clubs are surrounded by subdivisions and developments now.
I don't know how old you are but I'm going to assume if you haven't figured it out yet, you haven't been involved in this hobby very much.
milkbone96
Member
- Location
- Southern shores of Georgian Bay
I'd rather shoot at a club where new associate members have been sponsored, vetted, and have to prove themselves as safe and competent shooters to more than one regular members as opposed to getting on the line with some 1st time walk-on newbie or some loudmouth stooge cowboy who can't even spell 'safety', never mind practice it.
Uncapped, unvetted membership is an open invitation to drama, risk, degradation of club facilities, and reduced access to ranges/activities, and I have no problem paying for the piece of mind that comes with the way my club does its business and brings in new members.
I'm curious, and not a troll or insult, but if you applied your logic and reasoning to immigration policy, would you still agree with yourself, or would you then be able to see the flaws in relatively wide-open club membership?
milkbone96
Member
- Location
- Southern shores of Georgian Bay
Yep, and a great clubhouse plus the 200 & 300yd ranges - somewhat rare in clubs that close to the GTA.
Really, I'm 64, so maybe in the FUDD age range. (I hate that term) Been involved in the sport for a few years now. Shot on a few international rifle teams from Bisley to Barbaos. Captianed a few teams to the West Indies over the last decade too. Yup, been there, done that and have a closet full of team shirts to prove it. Shot Service Rifle, Sevice Pistol. Still active Target Rifle, Smallbore, Trap, Skeet and sporting clays.
Now, I have never been to Target Sports but I think there is a huge difference between a business/range facility and a gun club. Maybe I am just getting grumpy in my old age but the elitist attitude needs to stop before your club dies and turns into a government housing development.
