Anyone attending?

Two years ago I swore never to return to that shithole. Ain't been back and never will again.

Have you guys attended any of the long range matches there?

They still advertise the 1000 yard match. I've never been there and I'm new to the area, well state. Just trying to gather the skinny on the ranges.

Mark

No, sorry to say I no longer care what they do.

Manatee gun club was the most awesome gun range in the area, 1000 yard range, allowed full auto, tannerite, and then, some idiots decided to oust the long time manager and turn the place into a mecca for pissed off old assholes.

I shoot the Manatee Precision (PRS) matches and F-Class.  Both are well run.

I'll be there Saturday and plan to shoot the gong match after the meeting.

Where is it advertised?

Where?

Did you compete in the BPO match?

I just checked and that page is down. Not sure how long though. I will look into different spots to try out to see where paying a membership is worth it or just do a match here and there.

Yea, that's a good group of guys down there.  At least the SFPRA/BPO/Alamo crowd.

We shot out to a mile after the last match down there.  "Missed it by that much."    And I'm only 5'9" and have to duck going up and down.  Heck, my rifle only has an 18" barrel and it gets in the way sometimes.  It's the worst when your eyes are adjusted to "surface of the sun" bright and then you step back inside and hope you don't fall down four flights.

FYI, your decrepit old body may not be holding you back.  At one of the western matches, a veteran with no legs competed.  

The 1000yd range at Manatee has been shutdown for awhile now. I used to shoot 3 gun there once a month but the new management there raised the fees the guys running the match have to pay which in turn raised the price of the matches. The match was decent when it was $25, there were better options at cheaper prices but it was close enough that the extra money was acceptable, but now the price has gone up for $30 and there are several matches for $10+ less that are a better quality match. Last match I will shoot there will be at the end of this month and that is only because i had shoulder surgery 7 weeks ago and i need all of the shooting practice I can get before I shoot USPSA Nationals in April.

the 1000 yard range was eliminated about a year or so ago.  there is a big berm there now.  600 only

Meeting had a lot in common with GD here on Arfcom. Should have brought popcorn.

Place is dead to me

Any details from the meeting that would be of interest to us?

The turd is circling the drain
Flush twice
Have plunger handy

New board but membership is declining, nothing of use from the meeting. Just shouting over fees.

Once I get settled in some more, I plan to go out there for a day and see the place and shoot for a day.

Well, I'm going to out myself and say I'm one of those new board members.  The membership meeting was a bit of a shit show, but since I joined, that's par for the course.  Meetings like that don't deter the overall direction, but definitely detract from the process.  We have nearly an entirely new group of people in place now, so changes are coming but we're trying to ensure changes happen the right way and with proper forethought.

I've been shooting there since roughly 2004 and have seen some of the ups and downs.  Believe it or not, the club is on the upswing.  Not necessarily with regards to the membership numbers, but rather the long term direction/vision.  The previous leadership did a lot of things that weren't necessarily in the best interest of the club members or with enough proper planning and ended up with the obvious negative effect.  Some of the changes were required for the club to stay open.  Full stop.  The club was so close to shutting down, most will never know.

Those that say "No 1000-No care", sorry to say that is on our minds, but won't happen any time soon.  We have a long term plan we are working, but in the short term, throwing several hundred thousand dollars at moving dirt isn't in the cards just to get back four lanes that go to 1000.  The sad reality is the income generated from those four lanes wouldn't hit the break even point in our lifetime.  The income generated from the previous 1000 lanes was minuscule.  Even with all that said, we want it back.

If you have any suggestions, besides "bring back the 1000", we're honestly all ears.  We have a plan, but we're trying to make the club more useful to members and guests in the mean time.  Anyone want to bring action pistol, high power, or a 22 league brought to Manatee?  Well, we want it and are working on it, but need a MD or someone with the experience to step up and get it moving.

There are actually a lot of good things happening behind the scenes and we have a lot of people volunteering their time and expertise.  If you'd like to see some improvements and have something to contribute, by all means let me know.

And for the record, I shoot F-Class (MR HM), PRS, Action Pistol (At WAC because we don't have it-YET).

Several of the other board members shoot F-Class, BR, MultiGun and PRS.

We are everywhere and listening.

Not sure what you mean by wanting our own little fiefdom at this point.  Maybe (ok, it really was true) that was true with there previous BoD, but not anymore.

Sounds like there is some positive outlook in the future. As for you guys wanting a 22 league, I have a friend who is looking at starting a 22 league in central Florida and is working out which range or area he wants to have it at. I'll let him know Manatee is looking for someone to pit on a 22 match there.

Arfcom area 51 shoot with tannerite, washing machines, stoves, maybe a car or two.

Did enjoy the one time I went.

I was a member there for 15 years.

I quit going out when that new management took over about three years ago.

I really got pissed when they up the cost of membership without allowing the members to vote on it.  I can afford the increase but it was just the principle of the matter.  Lawyers should never be allowed to run anything.

The facilities are OK and there are a lot of nice people that shoot there.  However, there are other facilities to shoot at.

I went out there on the 28th and it was essentially a wasteland, probably six people shooting across all lanes.  I was very surprised how empty it was, especially for how nice it was outside and that we are still in season, which in my mind is a bad sign for the future of the place.  The range itself is still decent, and the only place within an hour from me to shoot even 300 yards to my knowledge.  The $27 fee to shoot is pretty high though IMO.  In the end, I hope they can get back to where they were and become one of the go to ranges in the area again.

I shot the 3 gun match today. The guys who run the match say the new board is a lot better than the previous board, I hope they reduce the fee that that action shooting groups have to pay to the rsnge so they can lower to cost to the shooter down to where it was a year ago. Their new rule about us having to police all of the brass on the stages is a bit of a pita but I understand why they have the rule, before there was brass EVERYWHERE. I will have to start bringing buckets with me because I'll gladly keep the brass because I'm always in need of good brass.

Twitchy, any updates?  How are things going at the club?

Not bad actually.  The road project has been going great.  We have more tailings coming to finish more of the road.  Possibly the entire road and parking lot.  Once all that is down, we're going to roll it smooth.

We have an event (Bergara Experience) starting tomorrow going through Sunday.  It's closed for the public, but it's good exposure regardless.  BTW-if anyone knows who runs Suppress Fest, let me know.  We've been trying to find a POC.

Our main priority is drainage.  AKA, not turning into a lake when it rains.  We've been working a ton on this for some time now.  We hope to have it complete before it really starts pouring for the season.  This doesn't seem like much, but holy crap is this an undertaking to get right rather than right now.

Improvements to 51/51A were going to happen roughly at the same time, but that has been delayed.  It will possibly be better in the long run, and I'll leave it at that.  Also the pistol bays may be modified to add one or two more bays in the existing space.

Use of the pistol bays for "action pistol" or actual drills (with RO present) may be coming, or rather is coming.  It's a matter of time, but we have to get the SOPs written and figure out a way to vet members.

I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting, but I just ate and am slowly slipping into a coma.