Rifle ranges in Waterloo region

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TheHolyLancer

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Toronto, Ontario
Well since it seems that the ranges in Toronto all wants membership or invites from a member, I would like to know if there are any ranges in the Waterloo region that allow non-members to drop in and shoot.
 
The ONLY place that I am aware of in Ontario that allows "drop ins" is Silverdale.

That makes sense as it is part of a commercial operation.

The other clubs simply MUST require membership to keep going. We need both the money and the manpower to sustain facilities.

So.............

Why not pick one and join up and get involved.
 
Shooting clubs are no place for cheapskate DEADBEATS.....nor should they be

TheHolyLancer said:
Well since it seems that the ranges in Toronto all wants membership or invites from a member, I would like to know if there are any ranges in the Waterloo region that allow non-members to drop in and shoot.
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In remote areas of Northern Ontario they call such ranges gravel pits.

In urban Ontario .........no such luck.........you're going to have to dig deep for a membership unless you can talk a current member into letting you guest shoot under direct supervision in a club that allows guest shooters.

Most incorporated & licensed shooting clubs either don't allow or severely restrict guest shooting because of the civil liability/insurance aspect.

In order to promote the shooting sports, I have taken neophyte guest shooters out shooting from time to time at the 3 Canadian & 3 American clubs I am a full member of on a "try it & get hooked" basis who are contemplating joining the sport but have little use for PERPETUALLY TRESPASSING "drop ins" who are too cheap to pay to support maintenance of the club infrastructure or continuation of the sport by obtaining memberships in the club and the sponsored shooting organization (usually the NRA in the US or one of the CSSA, NFA, OFAH in Canada).

In fact I'll be the first one to RAT OUT trespassing (actually they are thieves) DEADBEATS at any of the clubs I am a member of who are trying to enjoy the club facilities "on the cheap" on a continuous drop in basis without supporting the club or the sponsored shooting organization (NRA, CSSA, NFA, OFAH).

I have done it several times & will continue to get great joy & satisfaction out of doing it.

In the United States getting caught usually means criminal trespassing charges......I haven't had the pleasure of lassoing a DEADBEAT TRESPASSER in Canada yet but certainly won't turn down an opportunity if it presents itself.

As I've said in many posts before I despise DEADBEATS.

If you're a DEADBEAT looking to get something for nothing I don't want you around any of the shooting clubs I am a member of and financially support out of my pocket.

The DEADBEATS in Canada are killing the shooting sport that I love through cheapness & lack of support & I take that very personal.

I'll repeat........If you're a trespassing DEADBEAT on the premises of any of the shooting clubs I support................................I'm NOT your friend and I'll be reaching for my cell phone quick if I find that you're making a habit out of trespassing to avoid paying club / shooting organization membership fees.

Life Memberships: NRA, GOA, CSSA, NFA, OFAH
CCW Permits: Utah, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maine
 
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The way it should be............ vs............ the way it is

TheHolyLancer said:
but i don't go shooting every weekend... only once every half a year or something, paying 300 or 400 for that is kinda expensive....
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How much for beer &/or cigarettes in a year or your cheapest gun????

Shooting isn't a super expensive sport like yachting ...........but it ain't free either.

Club infrastructure maintenance costs like lights, heating, insurance, licensing, repairs, taxes, CFO mandated "infrastructure improvements", etc., etc., are high and getting higher.

Part of the yearly dues money also goes to supporting a Canadian Shooting Organization as it should.

I've had one close friend suggest...... "Why don't we split on a membership......nobody will know?"

I replied........"If you want to keep shooting, dig deep or GET LOST.....the good things in life aren't free".

Incidentally, as regards club memberships.................. I'm a Life Member of one Canadian shooting club (life member of both the club & sponsored shooting org) so I don't really HAVE to pay any yearly dues.........but I still freely contribute anyway.

The other two Canadian shooting clubs in Southern Ontario cost me over $300 a year EACH.

Unbelievably, in contrast, the most expensive shooting club of the three that I am a member of in the USA costs me $35 per year ($40 to initiate).

The main reason for the fee difference is that the US clubs don't have anti-gun activist state government CFOs "in their faces" trying to break the clubs (and the shooting sport) financially with wantonly unnecessary, ostensibly "safety related infrastructure requirements" like "mile high" (figurative term) berms and all the kinds of obstructionist administrative crappola Canadian clubs & shooters have gotten used to over the decades as various Canadian Liberal governments & their satellite enforcement agencies try to harass the shooting sport & its participants out of existence.

Miller in Toronto is by no means singular, he is just less subtle and more offensive. Actually Miller is more upfront & honest about his motives than the "milder" Canadian politicians & bureaucrats who are much more polite, politically correct & clandestine BUT equally insidious & share the same shooting sports & firearms abolitionist agenda.

I've seen similar things tried 1 or 2 times over the years by a couple of overzealous anti city/town bureaucrats in the New England USA localities where I do most of my hunting & shooting.

In the specific instance I have in mind the NRA through civil court action jumped on that nonsense in short order and didn't allow similar persecution to continue. That particular brand of chewing gum lost its flavor quick for the 2 bureaucrats involved who incidentally weren't re-elected as town selectmen in the next municipal election because NRA supported challengers defeated them.

The above paragraph describes how it should be........unfortunately in Canada that ain't how it is & the quasi-official persecution, prosecution & harassment has gone on for years & continues........with no end in sight.

I tried to get a similar action going in a Canadian shooting club that was being pressured by anti bureaucrats half a dozen years back but was taken aside by the club executive & told to quit being so "offensive, blustery & caustic" (exact quote).......Believe it or not Ripley!

The absolutely unnecessary & quite frankly wasteful "required safety infrastructure requirements" cost the club in question $65K or 200 members yearly dues that could have been spent on a planned facilities expansion.


Life Memberships: NRA, GOA, CSSA, NFA, OFAH
CCW Permits: Utah, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maine
 
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spend on beer = ~100? not a heavy drinker, gun = cz 858 $600, case of ammo = $200, cig = zero, i don't smoke

i'm not a big spender, not on these anyways

and i'm just getting into the sport, is this how every one is milked (from my point of view at least)? I have been offered many times as a guest by many friendly people, but that don't mean the clubs are nice (maybe its like you said, out of necessity, but on this end, i have nothing to say it is)...

I have been hearing that many wants new blood into the sport, but with an attitude and policies like that, it is hard for people to get into it
 
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TheHolyLancer said:
but i don't go shooting every weekend... only once every half a year or something, paying 300 or 400 for that is kinda expensive....
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Ah but if you were to join a club then you would have some incentive to do more shooting.......


TheHolyLancer said:
I have been hearing that many wants new blood into the sport, but with an attitude and policies like that, it is hard for people to get into it
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What the attitude that you should pay your own way?

Just what do you think keeps these club operating? Do you have any idea how much work it takes? The man hours in maintenence is absolutely staggering.

The EESA Policy towards newbies is 3 free visits as a Guest.........then you are expected to pony up and pay for a membership.

As it is we still have the same problem that pricedo mentions............PARASITES!

We are now having to put in keyed gates to keep out the non members who seem to think that our MEMBERS ONLY CLUB is some sort of public access park that they can come to to sight in their deer gun for that once a year foray into the woods.

With the Gate system when it is in place if there is a car parked on the road it will be a dead give away...........

My favorite story was when our 300 m range was jus completed and I found two idiots shooting at rocks placed on the backer board supports (it seems they thought we would leave targets around for them to steal as well). When I found out that they were not members they quickly followed that they were "good friends" with the President of the club who let them sight in their moose guns each fall.

Of course they missed out on the fact that I had never met them before in my life and I WAS THE PRESIDENT!!
 
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TheHolyLancer said:
spend on beer = ~100? not a heavy drinker, gun = cz 858 $600, case of ammo = $200, cig = zero, i don't smoke
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$600 on a rifle you will barely shoot $ 200 worth of ammo for "a lifetime supply" and you are complaining about a few hundred a year on a membership?

You have spent $800 for something you will not shoot very often, or you could buy a used 22 rifle for $150, 10,000 rounds of 22 ammo and a yearl membership which you can use as often as allowed (At our club that is 7 days a week, 9am til dusk (5pm sundays) outdoors, 24/7 indoors).

Now I'll be the first one to admit that I am one CHEAP SOB, (I debate buying 22 ammo for over $0.03 apiece), but I still manage to keep that membership going. year after year. I know of members who can barely afford to put gas in their cars to come out to the range (CPP cheques) yet still keep up their membership.

Stop buying a Timmie's everyday before work and brew your own at home. Save over $5 a week. Thats $250 a year right there.
 
TheHolyLancer said:
but i don't go shooting every weekend... only once every half a year or something, paying 300 or 400 for that is kinda expensive....
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Range Burlington is still only $175 per year (including your $45 CSSA fee, waived if already paid privately)

Safety course wait times can be avoided if you can "walk in" to one of our courses.
 
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