PrinnySquad t1_j7d9ed1 wrote on February 5, 2023 at 11:02 PM

Reply to comment by pbNANDjelly in What’s the logic behind stun guns & tasers being illegal? by TheGreyVicinity

Bit off topic from the thread, but do you have any range recommendations for people with these multiple opinions? I've been looking at potentially joining a club / membership range as opposed to just going to public ones, but am a bit worried about figuring out the culture at different places. If it doesn't require an NRA membership even better, but that seems pretty standard so I'm not holding out for it.

Syncope7 t1_j7dil6p wrote on February 6, 2023 at 12:10 AM

I have never heard of a range *requiring* that you are an NRA member. I went to Elite Indoor Gun Range in SK for a while and never was asked to become a member of the NRA.

Where do they do that?

PrinnySquad t1_j7dovyn wrote on February 6, 2023 at 12:58 AM

I’ll have to double check some of the ones I was looking at in RI. When I was living in MA every single private range and club in my radius included a mandatory NRA membership in order to join, at least in greater Boston. It was starting to crack due to everyone being dissatisfied with them at least. I don’t remember the names but I remember seeing a few places mentioned in the MAGuns Reddit that weren’t requiring, though none near enough to me.

Syncope7 t1_j7duzz0 wrote on February 6, 2023 at 1:46 AM

Huh. Yeah, doublecheck. I have never heard of that.

Coincel_pro t1_j7fvazs wrote on February 6, 2023 at 2:34 PM

The gun "clubs" require an NRA membership and usually a panel of whatever 65+ yr old boomers are members to decide if you are a "good fit" for the club after some probationary service period. This seemed pretty standard across the 5-6 diff clubs I looked into initially.

Having shot at several of the clubs during some pistol league competitions, I was not optimistic that someone openly gay/trans/ not white would have an easy time getting membership (totally an assumption, possibly an unfair one). Combine that with having to be an NRA member to enroll and I didn't bother.

Indoor ranges (not gun clubs) around the state don't force you to have an NRA membership. There is also the Great Swamp Range in S. Kingston area that is free, but its only open from April to late October. You have to submit some paperwork that is a bit slow so definitely get in there. It's a very nice outdoor range and often not crowded at all.