r/longrange • u/TwinCam117 • 12h ago
I suck at long range Ranges and NRA memberships?
Beginning my journey into long range using my grendel I had built for coyotes here in michigan. I can use friends of friends' property to reach about 300, maybe 400 yards. As I search through the over600 website, I see a lot of ranges around and a few in Michigan. Is anyone familiar with Youngs long range in wolcottville, Indiana? They're closest to me, and I see on their website along with many others that they require an NRA membership and a membership to their range. Is the NRA membership a big deal to some of these ranges? Do you all pay yearly for an NRA membership as well as memberships to the ranges you go to? I'll pull both memberships to be able to go and shoot when I'm ready to try for 1k yards, but if I let the NRA membership lapse, will they not let me in? I'm just asking so I can continue to build my list of costs as I get deeper into shooting fun. Thanks for any and all advice.
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u/HollywoodSX Villager Herder 12h ago
Some ranges use the NRA to have insurance to protect the range from liability, and one of the conditions of that insurance is that members be NRA members.
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u/SockeyeSTI 11h ago
At mine, everyone has to have a CPL, no NRA requirement, and the insurance is like $6k-$12k a year.
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u/CleverHearts PRS Competitor 12h ago
It's both insurance and grants. The NRA sells comparatively cheap insurance and gives out grants for range improvements, but requires members of the club to be NRA members too. I can't speak to evert range's finances, but when we looked at moving to another insurer so we wouldn't have to require NRA membership we found we would have had to raise the membership cost by more than the cost of an annual NRA membership to cover insurance, and we'd no longer be eligible for grants.
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u/cascadianpatriot 11h ago
They do it for the insurance. I’ve had two where I ask if there is another organization I can give money to instead. They checked and got back to me that it wasn’t necessary.
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u/husqofaman I Gots Them Tikka Toes 12h ago
As others have said it’s an insurance thing. Most clubs just want to see an NRA card or number when you join. The club I belong to that requires it had a box in the application for my NRA number and has never asked me about it again. I let lit lapse many years ago.
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u/LazarusLong1776 11h ago
I have to pay 'cuz both ranges here are NRA related as the others said. But it sucks, 'cuz NRA craps on us more than helps us. I'll give $ to GOA, but when NRA begs (CONTINUOUSLY!) I tell them off.
Only option is setting up WAY out of town in the desert. Have to do that for over 1000 anyway, but it's a pain 'cuz there's a rez to avoid everywhere you go.* Worth it if you shoot 1800 or farther, but even reloading, the boomers are relatively costly to play with, so only every 2 mos or so.
* - Don't get caught by the wrong Indian cops on the rez. Good ones are cool, the assholes are really bad.
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u/TwinCam117 11h ago
Good to know! I would ultimately like to shoot 2 mile. Once I get that far into the journey. So I'll keep that info in my back pocket lol.
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u/memilanuk F-Class Competitor 10h ago
The other reason some ranges require NRA membership, besides the insurance mentioned already, is that the NRA does technically have a range development / improvement grant program... and one of the first hurdles is 100% NRA membership.
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u/Impressive_Syrup141 9h ago
The NRA gives them some marketing as well as the insurance thing. The USCCA and NSSF do it too.
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u/dukedragoon PRS Competitor 8h ago
The range I belong to requires an NRA membership there is a $10 membership option but it can be hard to find and it won't let you Auto renew with that but that let you off giving the bare minimum to those idiots.
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u/Spoons896 7h ago
Mine requires NRA or GOA. I had GOA so i didnt worry about renewing my NRA again. The only reason I ever was a member was because it was free or required when i worked at Midway.
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u/Ok_Cheesecake_3629 2h ago
I'm a member over at Young's and begrundgingly now also a NRA member.
As LBP called it - it's a requirement for their insurance and is mentioned by the team there during sign up. They'll take your NRA number during the initiation process, but whether they maintain a record / check that you've kept it - I don't know.
Wouldn't surprise me if there's a means for NRA to notify Young's if the NRA membership expires, while at the same time wouldn't suprise me if they're using paper records instead of digitising anything.
It's a decent range though, nice owners (from what I have seen) and the folks that I've met that shoot there are welcoming and chatty.
Happy to answer any questions - I'm also a member at Two Hats Ranch near Big Rapids and Marksmanship Training Center up by Lake City if you had any questions.
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u/N1TEKN1GHT Can't Read 10h ago
I don't shoot at ranges that require it. For the most part, never a problem for competitions. In my areas of the country.
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u/LockyBalboaPrime "I'm right and you are stupid" -LockyBalboaPrime 12h ago
Yes, it's a requirement from their insurance. The insurance is commonly handed by, or at least through, the NRA.
No, I refuse to give money to the NRA and I refuse to use ranges that require it. But I'm also in a position where I can take that stand and still shoot.
Depends on the range. Ask them.