Just wanted to let everyone know about this. Pretty good compensation. Would be in charge of the retail space as well as handling the day-to-day operations (repairs, hiring/firing, etc) Our current manager is leaving for family reasons. If you want to earn money, help change the club for the better, and let ARFCOM shooters blow up tannerite now is your chance

I'm posting as a private individual with the club to avoid any legal issues with my comments.

No.

I am not entirely sure regarding the deed restrictions the county placed when the land was deeded to the club, but the club doesn't own the land free and clear in order to sell it even if it wanted to. IIRC, you were there during the Lena Road days, and due to the encroaching city the county gave the new site (an old phosphate mining backfill) to the club for (almost) nothing. If the club fails, the land goes back to the county by default or so I believe.

Either way, ain't nobody shutting anything down The club is doing better now financially than it has in a very long time. The county is off the club's backs for safety issues, and is set to do even more work in a month or two to create more shooting bays.

This is good news.  With respect to more bays, can you elaborate?  I think the club hired a range planner/designer that did some work at Gateway in Jacksonville.

I lived in Jacksonville for a few years and enjoyed the fact that members had access to the action bays outside of competitions.  Members could used the action bays on a first come, first served basis and do things like shoot multiple targets and draw from a holster.  A few years ago, this was also the case at MGAC, but the new leadership put some additional restrictions on that.  Any chance members will have access to action bays now or in the future?

If the board is watching, this could be lucrative.  I know a bunch of folks who would gladly pay extra for the chance to have a bay to themselves for a few hours.  Its tough to train for competitions or even plain old defensive shooting on the main line.  I'm not aware of a range closer than Frostproof that allows for this type of activity.

We are planning to move in about a year from Va to Fl. Venice area. If I was there, it would be an interest. So many good ideas that would improve facilities, bring in members, improve skill sets of members and offer training for members. Range improvement is hard work as is training. Bad things happen mostly from ignorance and lack of skill.

How does one apply?

I have been a member of the “Desoto Gun Club “, and would like to join “Manatee Gun Club “. I hope that the “MGC” becomes a viable shooting venue.
Hearing about the problems with members dissatisfaction with management made me hesitant to become a member. I am very hopeful that the MGC will
develop a healthy membership.

I have been a member there for 15 years.

Be aware that the club is running a deficit of over $5K a month due to poor budgeting and management decisions by the previous BOD.  This is what happens when lawyers try to be managers.

Many members have left.  There have been price increases and silly rules like they shut down the range if lightening is detected 15 miles away.  They recently changed it to 10 miles but here in Florida there is hardly a summer day that lightening is not at least ten miles away from any location.  The last time I was out there a few weeks ago they shut down the range and there was hardly a cloud in the sky.  Pissed off a lot of people that had driven over 20 miles one way to get there and had paid their money.

We do need new management and a new BOD if the range is going to be viable.  It is a nice facility.

Hopefully things will get back on track.

I heard membership has been capped and business is about a third of what is was 5 years ago. The website has a single news item entry dated last November.

Member for 12 years
And no longer

If I were in the AO, I volunteer for the board or even as a manager.

Where'd you hear about the deficit?  I've been a member for a couple years and shot as a non-member for 10+ years.  I know a few guys on the board and competition committee and I keep hearing conflicting information.

"Range is doing great, we're capping membership."  
"We need volunteers to attend gun shows to drum up membership."
"We have a ton of reserve."
"We're running a deficit from lackluster attendance and waning membership."  
"1000 yard range may come back."
"It ain't gonna happen."

Honestly I still like the range, but it's not what it used to be and I find myself only gettitng down for competitions now.  My memberhip is up in a few months and I'm going to have to really consider if a membership is still worth it over just paying a daily fee.

They sent out an email last week with a little financial info including the fact that they are chewing up their reserves because of the $5100 a month deficit.

The last time I was out (three weeks ago) there was very sparse attendance.

I must have accidentally deleted that one.

It would interesting to see the attendance/membership/budget from a few years ago and compare it to how things are today.  Not knowing their math, that seems like 15-20 people a day they are missing out on.

It’s a shame. Anybody have any real insight on the root of the problem? Is it the board? Is it the president? Is it something else?

An old timer warned that the club experienced an Obama surge and warned it wouldn’t last into a conservative presidency. Said he saw the same thing with Clinton and the awb and then GWB. Maybe we are seeing a normalization.

The big question is how do we fix it? I think there are only two options, increase revenue or decrease expenses. Unfortunately, the latter is probably the only thing the club can control, but is there enough fat to trim to get down 5k per month?

It is a shame with what happen.

The old manager was very corrupt and there was movement to get rid of him.  Unfortunately a lawyer was elected as President.  He is a good guy but thought he had to fix everything in the world and that led to the imposition of rules that discouraged members.  He also increased fees.  In addition he spent the club's money like a drunken sailor.   The range was closed down for an extended time.

Now memberships down.  Long time members are not renewing their membership.  Because of the higher fees non membership shooting is down.

Like I said earlier, I have been a member for 15 years.  I did a lot of volunteer work including being a range officer for three years.  My membership is due in February.  I am seriously thinking about not renewing.

I am actually pissed about the increased in fees.  It is not that I can't afford the increase but it is the fact I am paying more money for things I don't need or want.  The Board made the decision about the price increase without polling the membership.

Also, one of the reasons I liked going out there was my friend Jack Scott.  I will miss him with his passing.

I wish the range well.  However, I am not sure I want to mess around with it any more.  There are other places to shoot.

It is a very political environment.  You don't volunteer for the Board, you get elected.  The manager is a hired position reporting to the Board.

One of the problems we had with the present Board is most of them rarely came out to shoot. Out of touch with the real membership.

I wonder why revenue is down?

Maybe since the new management did away with full auto?

Could it be the banning of tannerite ?

How about the removal of the 1000 line?  Maybe the new management needs to look at these things.

Seems like everything went wrong after Pitts left.

I didn't realize they banned full auto.  I can't honestly see any of the above mentioned items causing the low numbers.  It's been a while, but when they went over the numbers, even the 1000 fees didn't bring in enough money for them to consider bringing it back.

The range had and still has containment issues
The County has had about all it will take on rounds leaving area
Steel is the enemy of any range
You can not have 1000 yard range without pits or electronic targets, same for 600

The elimination of full auto, is big disappointment along with the other mentioned limitations. Sarasota county’s Knights Trail facility looks pretty good
with the restrictions at MGC. I don’t know what Desoto Gun Club, is like presently as its been years since I’ve been a member. I hope it gets settled as to
the challenges MGC has.

amen .......

Full auto is still good to go there

Does anybody have the scoop on the latest dust up?  The club sent out an email update and it appears that a number of directors and employees have resigned, including the president.  What's going on out there?

I wanted to post that, but didn't want to spread the dirty laundry.  The staff turnover seems unexpected.  Is it a case of everyone that changed the club to what it is now-jumping ship after seeing the decline?

"Hey, I have a great idea.  Let's spend a ton of money to make the club less functional for what every member has come to love about the club."

Great idea.

Unfortunately, I think you nailed it. I think the last president had visions of turning it into a "gun-try club" but this isn't Scottsdale, we don't have that kind of membership.

great job

Well i think everone seen this happing. I didnt rewnew, as well my brother  
, father and good friend. Its crazy what they did to the club ben memeber for over 10 yrs.
When you make everone qualify for every weapon its get to be rediculous.

Who was the lawyer? I don’t remember a lawyer being president.

I am no longer affiliated with MGAC in any capacity.

There is so much infighting and selfishness.

One of the board members called a member (who volunteers at the club 40 hours a week!) a “fucking asshole” at a membership meeting because he asked how often the director visited the club. When he kept pushing it was discovered that director hasn’t been to the club in months.

Good luck to MGAC.

In the last 2 months the President, the Vice President, the Treasurer, three directors, the Manager, and two CRSOs have resigned. Because I don’t like calling specific people out on the internet I will avoid too being specific but essentially someone extremely qualified showed up to run the club at the Board’s request - spent TWO HOURS with the leadership and ran for the hills. He said his son’s sailing club in high school is better managed. And this is someone who came in with zero bias or preconceived ideas about what the club was like.

The way the club is being run is an embarrassment. It is quite literally a bunch of old guys bickering and chest thumping their egos.

There are only two good guys on the BoD right now. One is doing his best, and the other is so focused on getting his shooting discipline taken care of that he’s lost focus on what the club really needs to be ran effectively.

It’s a shame. The last president did indeed have really big dreams for the club and seemed to be all over the place but he at least knew how to keep the doors open and the bills paid. The huge deficit is a little misleading however as that includes things that aren’t real cash costs such as depreciation.

I’ll paint a “hypothetical” picture for everyone to understand:

Imagine being an intelligent, calm, capable man volunteering with a few of your buddies at a gun club 40-50 hours a week. The BoD asks you how best to save money.

You put together a proposal to buy a mower and save the club from a $28k a year mowing contract. You need XYZ capabilities because you’re at the club every day and you know how wet it gets out there and the requirements needed. The volunteers say if you buy Mower 1 for $10,000 with a warranty and free service for a year, we will mow it for free weekly.

One of the directors says “No, i know better than them and we need ABC capabilities and Mower 2 which we can buy from my friend’s business for $15,000.”

So they buy Mower 2 and the mower is such a PITA to use in the muddy soft areas of the range no one wants to voluntarily mow with it. So they have to hire someone at $500/mo to mow and then he quits because it gets stuck all the time.

So they go back to the $28k/yr contract and have a $15,000 mower sitting around rusting.

How is that for efficiency? It’s borderline illegal WRT fiduciary duties of directors, and that’s why you’ve seen so many resignations. They are not running from the mess they created. They’re running from the mess that can’t be stopped because of dumb, stubborn old men.

Pretty sure I know who you're referring to about taking care of his discipline.  And if I'm right, he went so far as to sign a petition with the NRA to eliminate a good portion of another discipline, because he thinks it's a waste of ammo.    If it is the same person that I'm referring to, I lost a lot of respect for the man when he did that.

So as far as the "extremely qualified" person.  Is that person considering the position now that the crowd has left?

I edited my post with more details.

No. The crowd that left wasn’t the only problem(and they all didn’t leave together. Some were a provlem. Some were a true loss) The problem is still there, but now it’s worse because the old guys are all that’s left. The details in my post are from just a few weeks ago - after everyone I mentioned had already left.

Specifically, there are a few Directors who have absolutely zero business on that board. They hold up everything and delay and bitch and moan and literally curse out members and officers and threaten to fight other directors who disagree with them. I’m not exaggerating and anyone who was at the member meeting in April or May should remember the “I’ll kick your ass motherfucker!” stuff.  They try to change the interpretation of the bylaws more than the liberals try to undermine the 2nd amendment.

It is a complete and total shit show. There is a member meeting the 28th. I encourage you all to go and laugh and enjoy the show. Imagine a tv show combining grumpy old men and jerry springer.

Wow, I had no idea it had gotten that bad.  I'm not sure what we (the membership or those served by the club) could gain from a closure.  @osprey21, can you elaborate?

Is it too late to bring some of the old timers back?  I've been a member and regular attendee since 2010.  Admittedly, I haven't been out as much since the changing of the guard.  I never had any issues with the way things went when Gene, Mickey, and Vince seemed to be running things.

I hate using one of ARFCOM's overused sayings, but.....this is why we cannot have nice things.

I have been asked to be (run because it is elected) on the Board.

Being a member out there for over 15 years, shooting almost every week and working as a range officer for three years I kinda know the club.

However, I don't want to have anything to do with the Board.  Being part of that clusterfuck will lead to heartbreak and sorrow.

I didn't like the corruption that went on years ago with the manager but at least back then things ran smoothly and after he took his little cut the club made a profit and built up membership.  He may have been corrupt but he "made the trains run on time".

I wish them well but I don't want to have anything to do with them.

I didn't like the corruption that went on years ago with the manager but at least back then things ran smoothly and after he took his little cut the club made a profit and built up membership. He may have been corrupt but he "made the trains run on time".

Kind of glad we never knew what that number was...............................................

I actually heard a good estimate.  It is a lot more than anybody could imagine.

So, if the club could go back to those day, would you be good with it?

FUCK NO

So what was the number? Who was on the take?

I thought there was a member that funded the back range and wanted his cut back before any other projects were funded.  The story I got was that he got most of it back after some in fighting.

Not sure if that's what is referred to as far as the "take".

At this point I wonder how hard it would be to get voted onto the board?  It's a pretty monolithic board, or at least was.  Might be a nice change to get some young blood in there for a different perspective.

The old guys won’t vote you on. You’ll have to run in march. Make sure you submit your nomination prior to the close of the nominating period (which isn’t made public)

That is bull
It was involved in the negotiation to repay
I involved the former manager and his bias and lack of fair treatment
This person was owed money for years and did not miss it
He only interest was to allow the bench-rest group a place to shoot  
He did not use the range as he owned property and shot on it

Another director resigned after the last club meeting.

Apparently the chairman was dropping a lot of f-bombs and when a member protested the use of profanity he was then shouted down with profanity as well.

I think there are only 4 people running the club right now - out of a total of 8 or 9 director and 5 officer positions.

who is this profane chairman?

Gotta say, I've been to the club several times and every time I've been pretty disappointed with the range staff. I hope there is a turn around because I hate nosey range police especially the one's who insist on getting all touchy feeling with my firearms private parts...

Besides that very clean place and lot of open space. Looking forward to visiting next time I'm in town and seeing the improvements.