thirdeye462
Member
- Location
- Toronto, ON.
Hi everyone,
Like so many, I'm a new firearms owner who's spent the past two years building up my knowledge and kit for long-range precision rifle (eventually). There's so much to be done before others who know what they're actually doing call me "proficient": learning the fundamentals, bore-sighting, learning wind, hand loading/load development, tall target test for scope tracking, etc.
I'm now ready to begin looking for range memberships. First time doing this and I am not well-connected to the shooting community. I've read so much online about how club memberships work, the importance of visiting the ranges where you can before applying and meeting people there, which are near the GTA, which are "good", which are "bad", etc.
But I'm really curious about what I should expect in terms of timelines and even my success rate of getting accepted.
Right now, I've put in an application to Orono Fish and Hunt Club, which really appealed to me. I am waiting for the next orientation session at the East Elgin Shooting Association to open (the facilities and people look great there). I am considering Silverdale (really undecided about this one). And, finally, I've had my eye on the ORA at Base Borden for some time now. (I don't know if the ORA is the best choice for new shooters that need to learn the fundamentals, or whether it's better to already be proficient enough to participate in a discipline. I'm still waiting to hear back from them (I did the Intro Day last year and it was so much fun). The caliber restrictions on the ranges might be an issue for me too.)
All this is to ask, for all you newer shooters in a similar position as me - or who have recently joined a club - what's been your experience throughout the process? How long did you wait until you were accepted? How many ranges did you look at, visit, apply to? Is it totally unreasonable for me to expect to hear back from a range within the same year as applying?
Thanks for all your help!
Like so many, I'm a new firearms owner who's spent the past two years building up my knowledge and kit for long-range precision rifle (eventually). There's so much to be done before others who know what they're actually doing call me "proficient": learning the fundamentals, bore-sighting, learning wind, hand loading/load development, tall target test for scope tracking, etc.
I'm now ready to begin looking for range memberships. First time doing this and I am not well-connected to the shooting community. I've read so much online about how club memberships work, the importance of visiting the ranges where you can before applying and meeting people there, which are near the GTA, which are "good", which are "bad", etc.
But I'm really curious about what I should expect in terms of timelines and even my success rate of getting accepted.
Right now, I've put in an application to Orono Fish and Hunt Club, which really appealed to me. I am waiting for the next orientation session at the East Elgin Shooting Association to open (the facilities and people look great there). I am considering Silverdale (really undecided about this one). And, finally, I've had my eye on the ORA at Base Borden for some time now. (I don't know if the ORA is the best choice for new shooters that need to learn the fundamentals, or whether it's better to already be proficient enough to participate in a discipline. I'm still waiting to hear back from them (I did the Intro Day last year and it was so much fun). The caliber restrictions on the ranges might be an issue for me too.)
All this is to ask, for all you newer shooters in a similar position as me - or who have recently joined a club - what's been your experience throughout the process? How long did you wait until you were accepted? How many ranges did you look at, visit, apply to? Is it totally unreasonable for me to expect to hear back from a range within the same year as applying?
Thanks for all your help!
