Gun club information - request

H

homimehta

New member
Hi All,

As a quick introduction, I am new to the site and to the sport of shooting. I live in the Markham, ON area and would like some advice about joining a gun club to learn/practice shooting guns. My interest is in shotguns, rifles, muzzleloaders and hand guns.

I would like to join the Sharon Gun club, however was told that I need to buy a share to become a member. Would any of you have a share that I could buy or know of any one that is interested to sell one? Alternately would you know of any other clubs that are open to membership that I can join?

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Homi
 
First of all, let me say hello and welcome you to this site. I live in Nova Scotia and have no idea about clubs in Ontario. I would suggest a couple of things to find out. First, if you place a thread in the "General Firearms Discussion" section, you might get responses from members in Ontario who know. And second, if you get in touch with your Ontario Chief Firearms Officer (Canada Firearms Centre can put you in contact: 1-800-731-4000), that office might be able to provide you with the names of clubs in your area. They may refer you to a Regional Firearms Officer who would know your area details better. That's often what's done here. But place a thread in the General Discussion section and ask for help from Ontario members. There are a lot of helpful people here. Good luck.
 
Welcome.

I am in Toronto and have become a gun owner in the last year.

I believe you will find it hard to find a club that accommodates both shotguns (i.e. trap, skeet) and handguns. For trap, I recommend Hamilton Gun Club, though they may be too far for you. For handguns, I recommend Target Sports (Grange Gun Club). For a newbie they are relatively comfortable places to start.

Unless you have a friend who knows their way around the gun community and a club or two, it's a bit awkward and uncomfortable starting up this hobby. It has been my experience that just showing up by yourself at a club and hoping that some friendly person will take interest and show you around and explain things to you is not likely to work out.

Sharon Gun Club seems to be a one-stop gun club with all of the various activities going on, but based on what I have read here and there and a single personal experience, it does not strike me as a place where a complete newbie is going to be accepted very readily. Maybe I am wrong.

If you are truly a complete newb to the sport, lessons are highly recommended - gets you going in the right direction, and a good way to make some acquaintances that you can shoot with and become familiar with a club or three.
 
Since you are in Markham, one club comes to mind that will offer you all the disciplines that you are interested in. The Oshawa club. I am a member & plan to go tomorrow.

Having said that, there a number of other good clubs around . Depends on how far you want to drive & how much you are willing to pay.
 
colinjw said:
Having said that, there a number of other good clubs around . Depends on how far you want to drive & how much you are willing to pay.
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And what you are willing to put with in terms of club rules. IE some clubs have a no shooting alone policy, some have no Sunday shooting, some are pretty expensive. I would say your key clubs to look at would be;

Oshawa
Sharon (ask about their recent board shakeups)
Target Sports (but you would need another club for rifle/shotgun)
Barrie (no shooting alone policy/RSO needs to be present)
Guelph Rod and Gun (no Sunday Shooting)
Range Burlington (indoor range)
Silverdale (long drive)
 
Depends on your lifestyle - if you work odd hours and want to be able to squeeze off some rounds at 2am, Burlington Rifle and Revolver is your best bet.

If you can afford a high end club, and don't mind shooting between 10AM and 10PM, Target Sports / Grange is aces. Great place.

Oshawa may be a good choice too - I don't know too much about them, though.

If you're like me, and shoot infrequently, but make a FULL day adventure out of it, Orillia Gun Club or East Elgin would be a good choice.

EESA has 100/300m, indoor and outdoor handgun as well as archery and trap. Huge IPSC crew there if thats your thing.

Orillia has 200M and 100M outdoor, indoor and outdoor handgun, rimfire range, archery, cowboy action as well as Trap, Skeet, 5 Stand and sporting clays (Wed/Sun Only)
 
sunray said:
Hi. Last I heard a share at Sharon runs $1,000. There's a long list of clubs on the Newbies FAQ forum.
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Up until recently, the club held unissued shares priced at $1000. Issued shares sold for whatever the market would bear, up to $1000. As the initial shares of the club had sold for $250, and many people held multiple shares, it was common to find shares being sold from $500-750 dollars.

The last issue of shares was to purchase a rental property north of the club to add extra insurance against noise complaints, and to get rid of a miserable #######.

Now that there are no unissued shares for sale, prices have been creeping up, greed being only slightly tempered by the numbers of older members willing to sell un-needed shares at a more traditional price.

Another option that some may be able to take advantage of are inactive share holders. To join the club, one only needs to have the use of a share. Share holders who don't wish to sell, can still sign over the use of the share year to year. When I was interested in joining, a friend loaned me a share until I was off probation. Once I knew the club was a good fit for me, I purchased my own share.
 
Welcome ... Homi

I'm from Toronto as well... and i work in Markham...

Oshawa sounds like your best bet.. Sharon is to complicated and expensive.. save the money for more GUNS... :):):)
 
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