Any members out there who can tell me about Sunset Mountain Fish & Game Club in Canterbury?  Looks like they have a 2 year wait and require a member to sponsor as well.  Had a friend who did some matches up there and says its the best rifle range in the state.

Edit for update.

Sorry, never heard of it.  I belong to several clubs in Southern N.H., and each has its good features as well as drawbacks.  I am always interested in new or different facilities.

What makes Sunset better than other gun clubs in the state?  Rifle range > 100 yds? Action pistol range?  Fishing pond/lake?  Indoor and outdoor ranges?  Archery range? Dedicated trap/ skeet ranges (not combo rifle/trap/skeet)?

I belong to SMF&G, since about 2005-ish. Great range, wouldn't say the *best* in the state but better than most. All shooting lanes are covered, concrete benches, indoor & outdoor pistol/revolver & the indoor pistol/revolver is 24/7 access. Got insomnia? go shoot. The clubhouse is nice, my only bitch is there is no running water & therefore no bathrooms, just an outhouse. There is no "fishing" or "game" part of the club per se, so I don't know what to tell you as far as that being part of the club's name, and since I don't give two shits about that in a gun range I guess I never cared to really investigate. There are some fudds (like any range) but I gotta tell you they are few & usually you will only have to deal with them in the mornings before noon, they're usually gone by lunchtime. Range nazi's (RSO's) are also present at times, but are also hardly ever there. I've had the range to myself more times than I can count, but mostly it's me shooting by myself at the 100 yard rifle & one other guy down at the pistol range. That's how it usually is during the weekdays. Weekends are much busier as can be expected.

Outdoor rifle ranges include a 100 yard rifle/shotgun, and a 500 yard flat rifle range with steel at 200, 300 & 500. Again, all covered. There's an intercom system to communicate between the ranges.

The waiting list is supposedly long, but let me tell you a little "inside baseball" regarding the "waiting list". Every year, there is a cadre of members who for whatever reason don't renew, renew too late (there is a deadline), or go to the "great shooting range in the sky". My advice to you is to put in your membership request ASAP, and in the spring when the membership opens up the likelihood is you will have a damn good chance of becoming one for all the aforementioned reasons. I know several who were like you, and got in on the first go-around.

Regarding the *best* range in NH, as far as I know & from my experience that moniker would go straight to Nashua Fish & Game. They have a true 600 yard National Match setup with a really well manicured grassy area to shoot from. Targets are like those at Camp Perry, and for $5 anyone can shoot on Thursday mornings during the warm months. I used to go to Nashua when I was shooting CMP to get "slinged up" and blow off the cobwebs in the Spring. Simply a fantastic range.

I used to belong to the Pemi range in Plymouth to shoot my Barrett out to 750-800 yards IIRC, trouble is when shooting at those ranges you were shooting up a hill, it wasn't a flat range. The flatness stopped at 200, wasn't worth the hour+ trip so I never renewed my membership.

Let me know if you need any more info.

I looked into joining Sunset years ago, but IIRC they like many clubs prohibited fullauto at the time.

Still do. You should have seen the look of the one  fudd at the range the day I broke out a Bushmaster carbine I have equipped with a binary. He 'bout stroked right there.

Does Sunset lean anti-AR?  That's mainly what I want to shoot and the 500 yard at Sunset is what mostly I'm looking for although I do shoot pistol and revolver.  (I was looking at Pioneer out in Dunbarton as well but they only have a hundred yard range IIRC.)  I live in Concord so the location is very convenient for both places.  Another issue is I don't know any members and the website states you need a sponsor   so I was wondering if you have to go to meetings just to get meet the membership?

No not anti AR, lots of the fudd-type actually own them. They don't like mag dumps at the cyclic rate, mostly because of the muzzle control issue. There is a golf club north of the range in Canterbury, and they've had problems in the past with errant rounds finding their way to the back 9 apparently. That's always bad ju-ju for a shooting range.

Not sure if you must have a sponsor, not certain of the laws now but when I got in it was "recommended" but not a deal killer. I'd fill out the membership form anyway if I were you.

Thanks for the input! I'm going to apply.

How are the members? Are they welcoming? Do they do any kind of events? I'm putting in my application soon, hope to be able to get in on the first try but who knows...
Thanks

Not certain what you mean by "welcoming". They're mostly the typical gun type of people, they say "hello", are polite, and mind their business unless something egregious is happening. Yes, there are a couple who think they are "Marge in Charge" but in my experience they are extremely few & far between. There are plenty of events, but the shooting there is not "tactical" in any way, shape, manner or form. There's no IPSC, IDPA or 3-gun going on there. It's a plain-Jane shooting range, and the membership are pretty conservative & like it that way. If you're thinking of joining & looking to do some "run 'n gun" stuff in your plate carrier & Oakleys, you'll be sorely disappointed.

Now, having said all that, it's a great range if you like sporting clays, long-range (up to 500 yards) accuracy shooting and pistol shooting both indoor & outdoor, the indoor is 24/7/365 access. The "shotgun league" shooters are EXTREMELY welcoming, they're a mature but very fun-loving bunch. I haven't done it often 'cause it isn't my type of thing, but it is a hoot to shoot with those guys. I laugh my ass off just watching them, they are a talented and funny group. If you think you're pretty good at sporting clays, go shoot with them some morning. Bring a good sense of humor and a dose of humility.

Sunset Mountain fits the bill for my type of shooting perfectly. I'm the guy who shows up to shoot, keep to myself, do my thing then pack up & leave. There isn't a zillion guys waiting in line to shoot, no range officer breathing down your neck and "going cold" every 5 minutes. In fact, you'll most likely be the only one there especially during the week & after lunchtime. Be polite, communicate (as needed) through the intercom with the other ranges and police your brass & trash. That's all there is to it to being a "member in good standing".

Hope this helps.

Sounds like a great fit. I’ll have to check out the shotgun league.

I've been a member there for 20 + years, ex-board member, sometimes Range Nazi, etc. etc.
There is a weekly bulls eye postal match, statewide. Open to everybody, not just members.
Winters it is indoors, 50ft. .22 cal.
Summer, outdoors, 25 yds, small-bore, and big-bore.

Website is sunsetmountain.org.

Everything stated above is spot -on.
Most important thing is bullets MUST impact the range backstops. No moon shots, no ground shots.

Get your application in NOW. Next meeting is the membership renewal / new members etc.
Meeting is 2nd monday of the month, so 3/12/18

contact me if you need more info.

I mailed my application earlier this month, any idea of knowing how many folks are getting in this year? I plan on attending the meeting in March with my fingers crossed!

No idea. I am not involved in membership, or BoD, or anything, any more.
Best bet is just go to the meeting, early, and see what happens.

Ok, so a little update.  I went to the March 12th meeting for new members.  They had a record 19 members drop, and I thought I was going to sneak in!  However there was about 30 applicants I think.  The turnout was huge!  I met a couple people who joined after a two year wait and one had three years.  I'm on the list for next year.  Nice people, and I think I'd really fit in up there.

Well it took a year but I got the call! Very excited to join...

Congratulations. See you around...

I got my call this week too.  Looks like I'm in.  Very excited now!

Okay went through orientation.  Like the folks and the range is pretty nice.   I don't like the rules against "military shooting".  Unfortunately it seems there is a lot of fear around people doing practical shooting.  
@us-kiwi you got the back story on the reason they don't want any drawing from holster shooting?  Seems to me like they could get some trainers and allow it under controlled circumstances.

glad you made it.
I was one of the RSO's on Saturday.

What do you mean by 'military shooting'?

My understanding on the 'no drawing from holster' rule -
It goes back to since forever, IIRC since before I joined over 30 years ago.
There were instances of 'premature firing' with rounds not hitting the backstops.

Additionally, there is the possibility of 'glock leg' occurring, and we just plain
don't need anybody shooting themselves, or others.
We dont have the same number of Fudds that we use to, so maybe its time to revisit this.

Come to the monthly meetings, get involved, meet some people, maybe get elected
to the Board of Directors, get some changes made.

It is a club, run by the membership, and changes do happen. Slowly.

IM me, for more info.

And Welcome - its a good crowd, mostly.

PS - Dont miss the Spaghetti Dinner coming up.

It was specifically the drawing from the holster, that's what I was wondering about.  I was dying to ask if the incident involved a glock!  I'll look for you at the dinner to get all the stories!
I'm planning to get involved and hopefully and be a good addition for the club.  I'd be interested in getting a reflexive firing or defensive firing group together if a qualified instructor is available.  I was the guy shooting the 1911 and wearing a Lockheed Martin Himars hat.