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VA, USA
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Posted: 1/20/2016 1:28:02 AM EDT
[#1]
Originally Posted By Pomerol:
Hello Gents: Yes, I am an RSO/INST at SEG and no, I am not advertising for them. I am just genuinely curious why some of you on our hometown forum do not shoot here. If you have been here you can attest to how cool the place is and how cool we RSO's are. We are very accomodating and helpful and the retail area is chock full of goodies. Is it the price? Is it my breath? Really, just for me, I personally want to know. How interesting that you ask. A few years back a handful of instructors, myself included (I was the one who first broached the topic with management) offered a deal to SE. We would teach the NRA First Steps Class at our own facility and bring the students to SE for the range portion. We would also promote SE, give them a tour and discuss the membership options. In return the instructors would shoot free and there was a modest one time discount for the students since they only took up a few minuets each, range time for this class. We agreed to this with a handshake and our word. This went along fine for about three or four months and we signed up a LOT of new members for SE. They even congradulated us on how well we were doing promoting them. Then one day word came down that SE, which had previously not taught the First Steps Pistol Class was going to start and we would only be able to bring our students on the property on Wed. morning for 30 min. and we'd be charged double the normal rate. In other words they wanted to make it impossible for us to continue. I spoke with Dario Marquez and reminded him that we had a handshake and had each given our word. He apologized and said he could have handled it better but it was his decision and, basically, too bad for me. I told him if that was all his word meant then that would be the last time he'd ever see me. I walked out more than seven years ago, never looked back, went to Blue Ridge, struck a handshake deal with them which they upheld till I retired. I have no respect for the Marquez Family or the way they do business and I've made no secret of it when asked. And there you have it. |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 1/20/2016 1:40:41 AM EDT
[Last Edit: vans40]
[#2]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By kcobean:
I have not done the research to back this up, but I have a suspicion that if you "follow the money" that was given by SEG/MVM to anti-gun politicians, you would find that those politicians in some way have influence over how some .gov agencies budgets are allocated and/or spent. Combine that with some lobbyist style schmoozing with the right people in those .gov agencies and you set yourself up nicely to be awarded large and/or long term training support contracts. I firmly believe that SEG doesn't give shit one about you or me. In fact if you press them hard enough, you may even find that they follow the thinking that heavy regulation of civilian gun ownership is a good thing. Make it difficult/expensive to own guns, the only people that will own them are people with money to spend on country club style memberships. Make it difficult/expensive to own guns, you put your smaller, more civilian friendly competitors out of business. Put your competitors out of business, it makes it that much easier for you to win .gov business. While I am loathe to say that this is capitalism gone awry (because I love capitalism), I suspect their ideologies are all about the money at the expense of our rights. Also I would comment that there are more than a few people here who, while they won't shoot at SEG, shoot at BRA regularly. Their logic is that while it's fine to hold anti-gunner campaign donations against a company, you shouldn't hold an owners vote for an anti-freedom candidate against a company. I personally don't understand that logic, but we all have our own limits, I guess. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By kcobean:
Originally Posted By Tanker06:
The part that seriously turns me off about dealing with SEG (besides the distance) is their hypocrisy. They have their range and training facility there, which from what I’ve heard seems to be marketed more towards the shooter w/ $$, and the GOV. (I have no issue with this – I like capitalism, and the Marquez family needs to make a living just like everybody else.) They also run at least one other business out of the offices there – their security contract company, MVM. (I worked for Mr. Marquez for a few months back in the mid-90’s, but I won’t get into that here.) Again, capitalism – knock yourself out. The part that makes me scratch my head and say, “WTF!?”, though, is the hypocrisy of them running their firearms-based business/range (SEG), and MVM, Inc. (armed guards being a part of their offerings), but then turn around and give money to politicians who have demonstrated time and again that they don’t believe that Joe Citizen should own a cap-gun, let alone an EBR, etc. (Yeah, it’s a run-on sentence, but I’m fussing….  )
Where is their mindset? Do they think that by lining Joe Politician’s campaign coffers with their $$, that they’ll get special treatment? (The ‘Some animals are more equal than others’ mindset?) Or that because they have GOV contracts that they’ll be given special waivers? I just don’t get it – just like Holly-weird: Make $$ using firearms in your movies, but then get up in public and rant about how nobody should be able to own them. In this case, make $$ with your range and gunshop, and peddle armed security to your clients, but then turn around and donate some of said $$ to the politicians/crooks who’d love to take them away from ‘us commoners’….. 
I have not done the research to back this up, but I have a suspicion that if you "follow the money" that was given by SEG/MVM to anti-gun politicians, you would find that those politicians in some way have influence over how some .gov agencies budgets are allocated and/or spent. Combine that with some lobbyist style schmoozing with the right people in those .gov agencies and you set yourself up nicely to be awarded large and/or long term training support contracts. I firmly believe that SEG doesn't give shit one about you or me. In fact if you press them hard enough, you may even find that they follow the thinking that heavy regulation of civilian gun ownership is a good thing. Make it difficult/expensive to own guns, the only people that will own them are people with money to spend on country club style memberships. Make it difficult/expensive to own guns, you put your smaller, more civilian friendly competitors out of business. Put your competitors out of business, it makes it that much easier for you to win .gov business. While I am loathe to say that this is capitalism gone awry (because I love capitalism), I suspect their ideologies are all about the money at the expense of our rights. Also I would comment that there are more than a few people here who, while they won't shoot at SEG, shoot at BRA regularly. Their logic is that while it's fine to hold anti-gunner campaign donations against a company, you shouldn't hold an owners vote for an anti-freedom candidate against a company. I personally don't understand that logic, but we all have our own limits, I guess. I summed it up with a personal example in my post but what it come down to is exactly what you stated, they have no standards or morals. They go which ever way they feel will benefit them. If that's their choice it's up to them, but NOT with my money or support. |
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Posted: 1/20/2016 9:06:51 AM EDT
[#3]
Dario Marquez NEVER STOPS. He's not donating to those politicians that will only help his business, he only donates to Democrats.
His most recent donation is to Common Ground PAC which benefits Tim Kaine. $5 grand. http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/?q=dario+marquez&cx=010677907462955562473%3Anlldkv0jvam&cof=FORID%3A11 |
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VAT
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Posted: 1/20/2016 2:23:35 PM EDT
[Last Edit: hardcorps1775]
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Tanker06:
<insert>Zombie Thread pic</insert> Holy back from the dead threads!  LOL This! 
For me, it was straight up the D asshat owners and their attitudes (stories from others). Looks like many years later, it's still true. I go to ESS up in Manassas. You guys know the Regal Cinema at Springfield Mall? You can reserve your seats online for whatever time you want. I proposed that to ESS and they said they were going to look into it. That was several months ago. I think it's a great idea, you rent your lane and time, pay for it, all online! You also get an email/txt verification with a scan code you show when you show up. |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 1/20/2016 2:53:37 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By shooter220:
3. Elite Shooting Sports Haven't shot on their 100 yard range with the camera/target system - will do that soon. Been there once, will be there more. In case it's not common knowledge, the camera is fixed at the 100yd mark so if you shoot less than that you don't get any use of it. But, for seeing the target when you're shooting at 100 it's pretty cool. |
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Posted: 1/20/2016 2:55:17 PM EDT
[Last Edit: jefflebowski]
[#6]
It is astonishing how crazy the Marquez family is what with this range, their rabid support of Democrats, and how a family member utterly destroyed their contracting businesses. They are a very dysfunctional and amoral bunch.
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Posted: 1/20/2016 3:20:18 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By hardcorps1775:
LOL This!
For me, it was straight up the D asshat owners and their attitudes (stories from others). Looks like many years later, it's still true. I go to ESS up in Manassas. You guys know the Regal Cinema at Springfield Mall? You can reserve your seats online for whatever time you want. I proposed that to ESS and they said they were going to look into it. That was several months ago. I think it's a great idea, you rent your lane and time, pay for it, all online! You also get an email/txt verification with a scan code you show when you show up. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By hardcorps1775:
Originally Posted By Tanker06:
<insert>Zombie Thread pic</insert> Holy back from the dead threads! LOL This!
For me, it was straight up the D asshat owners and their attitudes (stories from others). Looks like many years later, it's still true. I go to ESS up in Manassas. You guys know the Regal Cinema at Springfield Mall? You can reserve your seats online for whatever time you want. I proposed that to ESS and they said they were going to look into it. That was several months ago. I think it's a great idea, you rent your lane and time, pay for it, all online! You also get an email/txt verification with a scan code you show when you show up. If you go on a holiday/weekend it will be busy, period. But when I go M-Th after work (they are open until 9), I've never waited for a lane. Granted, some people can't swing going at those times, but a friendly heads-up if you go during those times you'll slide right in with no wait. And none of my waits have been really long when I've gone on the weekend. |
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