Posted: 1/12/2008 7:57:38 AM EDT
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seems like all of the MN shooting ranges are either nearly impossible to get a membership for, or on the other hand impossible to contact anyone to get an application for them. i spent almost 2 hours this morning google searching and calling places. talking to some of the VIPs at some of the ranges gives me a vibe that they dont want your membership. one guy i spoke to kept referring me to other ranges! i gave up trying to talk to him. another guy from the same range was friendly though and invited me as a guest next weekend. i cant believe the lack of upkeep in most gun clubs websites. 1/2 of the listings dont have phone numbers, and a 1/4 of them the numbers are disconnected. if you are trying to run a business, try to act like it. my biggest goal though is to get into Oakdale gun club. but the waiting list always scared me off in the past from even trying to apply. then i went to send it in this year, noticed it was already the deadline. i left a message with the president of the club this morning, maybe he can help. rant over... |
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I can speak for several clubs #1 Dakota County Gun Club has had a waiting list that was capped at 200....for now #2 Minnetonka Sportsman has smaller wait list #3 Oakdale had some memberships open up with a short open period for application submission..... #4 Harris has a rather involved process to join No sure about a few other ranges..... The range out at Cocakto is open membership fo $40 a year and no work |
if you want to take a long drive the Crookston Gun Club is $30yr with $3 range fees (per day...not firearm).....targets supplied. if you do range upkeep, you pretty much get the run of the place. shooters around here constantly complain about it being too expensive good luck on your search! advntrjnky |
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I was thinking of joining Oakdale for awhile, it is the closest to my house(about 10 min.). I have a few turn offs about the place; first is it is open to the public at the times I would want to go there the most. As far as I know, during public hours you have to use regular bullseye targets. I was told by one of the board members they didn't allow fuzzy little creature and bad guy paper target during public hours because they didn't want to upset anyone. By far it is the nicest range I have ever been too. But I don't want to be made to join the NRA(which I am a member of anyway), pay a $25 application fee, $85 a year, have to work 18 hours a year, not be able to shoot at cool targets and be told to stand behind a yellow line(which I understand why they do it). Not one thing bugs me, but you put a bunch of things together... I know there is a gun range up around Forest Lake area, does anyone know about that one? I am thinking about joining Willow River Rod and Gun Club in New Richmond, Wis. That is where I have been regularly shooting at with a member. They have a pistol/rimfire, 2 traps, archery, 25/50/100/200 pistol and rifle range. |
You might be talking about the range in Harris, Gopher. That is a nice range, from what I hear, and really caters to the long distance shooter. They have a 1000 yard range. Another range in the area is Beaverbrook, off of 65. I'm a member there since our IDPA club shoots there, and they have 4-5 trap fields with active clubs, 100 yard rifle range with 9 or so stations with berms at 25 and 50, and 3 handgun horseshoes with decent backstops. They don't allow shooting garbage or teddy bears, but AFAIK any paper target goes. Cost is 135/yr no work, $50 off for 10 hours, $40 initiation, and you have to be sponsored but it's open. It is a VERY well maintained club, has a nice clubhouse with food and such, actually keeps their website up to date, and the biggest for me is it's near my house. Beaverbrook The two other outdoor clubs I would like to join are Elk River sportsmans club with has a REALLY nice KD rifle range out to 600 yards, and the Minnetonka Game & Fish club which probably is the nicest range in the NW metro area. They have everything there, including an electronic 300 meter olympic rifle range system with an AC/heated shooting house that can be used year round. If you're an active rifle shooter you can get in there via the Minneapolis Rifle Club with no waiting list, otherwise the list is about 3 years to get in on the general MGFC list. |
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I don't know about the GOPHER range, but there ***IS*** a gunrange in Forest Lake, called the Forest Lake Sportsman's (or Shooters) Club (I recall it was FLSC). IIRC, they have a smaller 25yd pistol/22 range, 50yd & 100yd ranges, and a few lanes out to 200yds/meters or 300yds/meters (I forgot if the 200+ were in metric or not)... I know that I've only been there once... Back in 2001 or 2002. At the time they had some range nazis that weren't too EBR friendly, but I don't know about lately. Seemed like a decent place, and had public open hours at the time. Edited to add: Here's their Website - Forest Lake Sportsmans Club Here's a quick Aerial photo of the place I whipped up in MS Paint:  Turns out it has 25yd, 50yd, 100yd parts with several lanes... And they have a 200yd, 300yd, and 400yd part with maybe a couple lanes per distance. The must've added since I was last there, at the time they only had 2 lanes @ 200yds IIRC, and 1 lane at 300yds... Here's a diagram from their website: 
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Oakdale is the best club in the TC for those who can take advantage of it. They frequently reserve one range rfor members only during public hours (8-4 weekends from June-October / 8-4 7 days per week during deer season). I train with several other ARFCOM / Defensive Edge members there during private hours (draw/ movment / steel etc.) during private hours. A member can bring up to three guests. To get in, you will need to have a member obtain an application form for you when they become available next September or so. They go quickly. Good luck Mark |
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This is aa list from another web site with a fairly comprehensive list Ahlman's Rifle Range Morristown http://www.ahlmans.com/riflerange.html Bald Eagle Sportmen's Association http://www.besamn.com Beaverbrook Sportsman's Club Cedar http://www.beaverbrook.us Bill's Gun Shop Robbinsdale/Circle Pines http://www.billsgs.com Burnsville Pistol Range Burnsville http://www.bvpistol.com Dakota County Gun Club Rosemount http://www.dakotacountygunclub.org Dakotah Firing Range Prior Lake http://www.ccsmdc.org/Dakotah/range.html Del-Tone/Luth Gun Club St. Cloud http://www.del-tone-luth.com Elk River Sportsmans Club Elk River http://www.ersportsman.com/ Forest Lake Sportsmans Club Forest Lake http://www.forestlakesportsmensclub.com/ Gopher Campfire Conservation Club Hutchinson http://www.gophercampfire.com Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club, Harris MN http://www.grrc.org/index.php?section=1 Legion Post 435 Gun Club Elko http://www.post435gunclub.org Metro Gun Club Blaine http://www.metrogunclub.com Minnesota Horse and Hunt Prior Lake http://www.horseandhunt.com/ Minnetonka Game and Fish Nowthen http://www.mgfc.org/ Northstar Rifle Club Red Wing http://www.mrra.org/northstar/index.htm Oakdale Gun Club Oakdale http://www.oakdalegunclub.org The 20 Rifle and Pistol Club Owatonna. http://www.20riflepistolclub.org |
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According to the OGA website (and other local gun clubs), between about APRIL and OCTOBER, I'm only able to shoot for MAAAAYBE 1 HOUR on any given weekday because of my work schedule, and I can shoot just about ANY weekend day in the summer... IF I don't have to work that weekend. During October 5 to the following spring, I can't shoot AT ALL during weekdays, and can only shoot on weekends until about 4 PM. During the summer my job is in the busy/construction season, so I'm usually unable to get many weekends off -- and those are often spent with family. That means if I did have a membership, I'd be severely limited in the number of days of ACTUAL SHOOTING TIME that I could get. Weekdays? Fuggetaboutit. If I'm going to pay for a membership I'd like to AT LEAST be able to shoot there weekday evenings - year round. Thus I'm pretty much limited to indoor ranges or the occasional outing to Princeton or some extended family owned land in southern MN. But for the most part, a membership is just not worth it to me. 
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. Does anyone have any membership info for them?
3-5 year wait list, or get in through Minneapolis Rifle Club. They're only interested in members that are regular longe range shooters and competitors. |
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I was a member of OGC in 2006. I never received a single mailing despite being told that I'd get monthly newsletters which would include the information that I needed for my work hours. When I signed up I scheduled my work hours so that I'd finish them all off in a matter of a week or two. Due to some unfortunate medical situations, I was hospitalized for a total of 3 weeks in 2006. My emergency hospitalizations overlapped with my OGC work hours. During my stay at the hospital my wife, who had my cell phone at the time, received voice mails from OGC directed towards me. These voice mails were very insulting, direct, and somewhat vulgar in nature. For each work day I missed, I received at least 3 of these voice mails throughout the day. My medical situation was quite serious and there was a realistic chance that I wasn't going to pull though. My wife received these messages while I was in the hospital and they affected her a pretty profound way. As if she wasn't going through enough stress already with my health and the kids and the rest of day to day life. After leaving the hospital I attempted to contact OGC to explain my situation. I was never able to contact them and messages that I left at various numbers were never returned. Needless to say, I've still got a lot of resentment for OGC and the way that they handled that situation. I'm sure a lot of people bail on their work hours for no good reason at all and they cater to the lowest common denominator but in my case, I almost died. The way that I was treated via voice mail is totally unacceptable as was their failure to contact me after the fact for an explanation (especially since I had attempted to contact them a number of times). I've contemplated contacting them a number of times over the last year but I seriously doubt that any good would come from it. I still have a lot of resentment toward that club and I don't see that changing w/out some form of a full apology from the board of directors. I honestly don't see that happening in any way shape or form. My suggestion... Find another range. Any other range. I'll leave it at that. If I type anything more, my true resentment will become very clear. 
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Rebby, No offense, but I'm sure that whoever was the head range officer on the days that you missed just figured you were another no-show blowing off his work day. I would have thought the same thing. In their defense, they had no way of knowing that you were in the hospital and according to you, they tried to contact you 3 or more times each day and got no answer on your phone or return call. If you called someone back at a later date you would not be getting the same person who left you messages. Someone should have returned your calls, but like I said, when you don't show up and no one knows why, you just look like another member who doesn't want to put in his hours. I was a member out there for a couple of years but dropped it after 06' because I wasn't using it. I belong to a few other ranges and did not go to OGC much, mainly because there always seemed to be some reason I couldn't use the line I wanted to shoot on every time I drove out there. Oakdale is nice, but I definitely prefer ranges that are not open to the public and have a little more distance to work with. Erik |
I addressed the fact that they thought I was just blowing off my hours...
All that I'm saying is that things happen. In the majority of cases people are probably just blowing them off but they need to account for the possibility that something else is going on in that person's life and use discretion when contacting them. There are a number of legitimate reasons that somebody might not make their scheduled date. Mine was just one of the many possibilities. I feel that I was treated very unprofessionally by OGC both during and after the fact. I was at a time in my life when I could have used some support, instead the actions of OCG simply added more bad to an already bad situation for myself and my family. If you are a Head Range Officer, please use some discretion when contacting people. You have no idea what they may be going through in their personal lives. |
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Rebby- I am a member at Oakdale and like it, but I will be the first one to admit that plenty of the RO's act like jacka$$'s during the course of their day. I haven't decided if it's the fact that they are forced to be there unpaid and are angry, or if it is the only time in their life that they are in charge and they want to take advantage of it. I am not saying all of them, but plenty. Last fall I was shooting trap and another shooter (nonmember/customer) walked off the line and left because the RO was being such a jacka$$. I have seen blog accounts of other incidents at OGC and read about them here. It's hard to explain to someone that they shouldn't judge the club by the actions of a few of the members, but that's the way I think about it I guess. I don't typically shoot there during open hours and I get my hours through USPSA. If I do end up working a normal day (like my 1st year) I have a pretty good time watching everybody shoot. I thought my work days were fun and I think the people that shot while I was working had a decent time. The other RO I worked with brought in his own binoculars, shoot and see targets, and one of those recoil pads and let anybody use them that wanted to. F250- This is my third year at OGC and when I joined there was no waiting list. I was told that last year 100+ members didn't come in to do their work so I am surprised if there is one now. Email or PM me if you don't get any response from the pres and I will give you an email or two of some reasonable people you can try (if I can find a newsletter). They may be sticklers, though or jsut be full again (until next year when 100 more people don't do their work). |
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bofe- i got a call today from someone, a woman, at OGC and she told me that there will probably only be 75 applications next september, everyone who applies gets in. but there is NO way to apply til september. she actually called while i was at the hudson rifle club. i would just join there, but they arent open on saturdays so... yeah. |
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I was on the board for the Winthrop Game Protective League. There was alot of work involved that had nothing to do with the range itself, but just keeping it running financially. As of now I will be redesigning the ever-so-simple website (www.wgpl.net) but have no vote on the board. Its a decent range with the 100 yard rifle range pretty easy to spot, and if you feel adventurous you can shoot out to almost 200 yards before you're sitting on the road. It also has a decent skeet/trap setup, not quite as nice as caribou, but for $15/year I don't think you can complain. I'm more than willing to show the range to people on my days off and let them shoot as a guest (a bonus would be letting me shoot a rifle i haven't had a chance to shoot  ) EDIT: No formal range officers, only on rare occasion will a board member be there to "police" things. I find this a plus. The only rule I know they enforce is no full auto (exception if pre-arranged). |
I don't know about the little brother. But I like Caribou in LeSueur. It's got a great trap and skeet range. The rifle range last time I was there wasn't anything too fancy but it was clean and they are friendly there. When I worked the PD down there we did our qualifing there.
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Sorry, I thought I heard my name for a second 
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LoL!  Actually, no, I've not been to the Caribou Gun Club in FOREVER, so I don't know too much about their range & hunting grounds... My brother (life1978) has been there several times for his Police Qualification shoots when he worked down in the area, and he thought the place was pretty nice! I know the owner's family (but down in that town everyone knows everyone, and their dog's name too), and they're pretty decent people, but I don't know much about their range, the rules, etc. Lots of places to shoot down there if you have family in the area. As for Arabou... He's a pretty nice guy. 
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Thanks, that was the one I was thinking about |
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A lot of if not all problems with club ranges are the faults of members/users Yeah there are individual bumps in the road with respect some events.....but again most are brought on by testosterone induced thought processes.....a lot of false bravdo! If you do not like the rules .....leave the club or do not use the range....run for office and spend the time as club officer.....work to change the rules..... #1 Ranges rules exist for the the safety of all #2 I know some of you probably think you are God's gift to the shooting world, think again you are not that good! Some think they should be allowed to drawn from your holster etc.....bump fire.....and whole host of other activities. And, all I have to say to that is...look at the ceiling, walls, and firing points of any of the indoor range, or look at the support structures of the out door ranges......Geez you would think club members would take better care of things...NOPE so that explains things..... #3 We live in a litagation driven world, and most ranges exist with conditional use permits.....even though MN has passed range protection legislation...just look at the Minute Man Range in SE MN that got their arse in a ringer recently... #4 Now, I personally think that some clubs and their work hours deals are pretty darn imposing to some....but, I have been involved with clubs and held offices / positions to know that they are some of most thankless jobs ever created....all people do is complain.....just look at the rants we have posted here. I know darn few of you work in jobs where you get verbally and physically abused every day. Most of you are good natured people. But, rules exist so everyone can use the ranges. I know some RO's are likened to Hitler Wanna Be's at times.....and hey everyone has a bad day once in a while on either side of the fence.... #5 People have differing view points and that is great! That makes the world go round......but we all make choices for our lives with respect to family, job, and recreational choices. But, for some of you I get sick and tired of hearing the same old excuses.....sorry some of you are just plain whining about things that are baseless..... Oh like A. I do not want to drive to Princeton for training.....too bad you miss great opportunities......but those same people will spend money to go fishing up at Mille Lacs or Rainy River...... B. I do not want to drive to the other side of the metro to go shoot....grow up ranges are not Super America/Holiday Stations with one every corner C. Oh I don't have time....BS...there are 168 hrs in a week learn to manage your time! Sure some people work long hours, some people have manditory OT....again quit whining and be glad you have a job so that you have $ to pay for your recreation....let alone put a roof over your family's head! This list goes on...... |
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In talking with the RO at the Dakotah Firing Range over the weekend, I noticed some pretty significant construction going on at the club, so I asked. The tribe is building (or maybe expanding) their ice arena. Included in the construction package, under the arena is going to be a 10 lane, 50 yard rifle range. Not the greatest of course, but any range expansion is better than nothing. The info seemed reliable, but it was not George or John working the counter, it was one of their part timers. Something to look forward to anyway. |
I just finished my year long stint as VP of Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club in harris (the one with trap, archery, 1000 yard range, black powder range, 50, 100, 200, 300 yard MP range and large pistol range that only costs $150 a year to be member of OR $60 if you do two 8 hour work days)--and the above rant is pretty correct. Remember, gun owners are made up of members of the society we live in, and it is a rare person who can rise above the selfish and negative influences (of this humanist society) we all fall under. We still have a couple of open slots to fill. It's easy to join: (1) get an app and a sponsor. EVERYONE THAT HAS NOT HAD A SPONSOR AND SHOWED UP AT THEIR FIRST MEETING AND FILLED OUT AN APPLICATION HAS HAD A SPONSOR BEFORE THEY LEFT. That's for the last four years. that's how I got in--and I became the VP in my third year. (2) Be a memeber of the NRA. (3) Have a MN permit to purchase OR carry. WHY? FREE BACKGROUND CHECK FOR THE CLUB. Yes--on you. (4) attend two meetings in a row--the first meeting where you fill out an app and find a sponsor counts! (5) Pay your ONE-TIME $75 app fee and your $150 annual dues. During your application period, you can do work days to reduce your fee, if available. Lots of disciplines at gopher do make it ahrd for the plinker to get there on the weekends in the summertime. As a member, you have the right to hunt on the club's 230 or so acres. Mapquest it from your house. It's probably less than an hour for anyone anywhere in the N. metro. We get some people forom OGC there. Several have seemed a bit Jaded for some reason. |