Bad Experience with St. Joseph County Restoration Club

[mdemetz]

Here is a quick tour [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZVUVLfQpm4"]Video[/ame]

 

[jdhaines]

The only thing I can say for JD was that he was not listening when he joined.

Interesting as I was clear that I specifically did listen and ask when I joined about what I was paying for. You weren't there, you don't know what was said.

I think JD is off on his high horse and if attended any of the meetings would know of the increase for the new (2011) year.
I was not at the meeting But I highly dbout anyone mentioned anything about the gate hitting him in the ass. Sounds also that he did not bring his concern to a meeting but let someone else deliver the message.

My message was delivered by the membership coordinator. He, of all people, should be able to bring this up. Up to the point of the meeting, he appeared to be on my side.

We have 8 to 10 fun shoots a year that you don't even have to be a member to participate in and it's some of the most fun I've had.

Where else can you shoot under cover ( pistil range & rifle range) for 75 bucks a year?
I have joined clubs in the past where I had to pay 200 & 500 just to join the club ( this is the way the charter reads)
and then also have to pay yearly or quarterly dues.

Bend of the River for one

What do they get at Midwest an hour?

Who cares? It's a totally different type of facility with different overhead costs and business model.

The other thing he did not mention you come out on a cleanup day and you get $10.00 off for every clean up day you attend.

Again, it's not the amount of money. Most big clubs do this, Bend of the River does.

I find it funny people complain about joining a club they can come shoot anytime during the open hours with a key to enter & leave at will and all the freedom this brings, shoot $50 to $150 dollars worth of ammo in a single visit and complain about $75.00 dollars a year to have a place to shoot

I didn't complain about paying $75 a year. I complained about being misled about what I was paying for.


I went with Bend of the River. Much larger range, same time to get there (further away but you can go 70MPH on the bypass), same fee if you include the cleaning duties, and they prorate memberships so everyone is on Jan/Jan even if you join in the middle of the year. They prorate by the month. There are way more activities going on including IDPA many weekends throughout the year, indoor shooting, multiple pistol bays (instead of 1), 200 yard rifle range (instead of 100). I still say look around at other options before going to Osceola. I'm not really interested if bridges got burned there because they'll never see another dime from me.

 

[PMY]

Can't please all the people, etc., I suppose.

I also have the personality type where I doesn't expect rules to apply to me, so I'm all for seeking out special treatment. But don't often complain to the internet when I get turned down. That's just me.

For the guys who mentioned they would wait until after the first of the year to join, if it makes a difference, after October 1 memberships are half price. (To be clear, that's October 1 through December 31. You gotta pay again in 2012.)

 

[birdslayer]

Its a great place to shoot for the money. The informal matches/competitions they have every month are a blast to shoot. For the money its a good deal for a local private club. Just got to educate yourself (as always) what your paying for. IMO

 

[r6vr6]

Stopped out at the SJCRC today to shoot my 2 suppressors. There was a bit of a crowd, I was actually a little disappointed because I wanted to shoot without muffs on since I just recently my cans. As it turns out 3 other guys there had cans too. We had a great time comparing the cans and talking guns etc. Had a great time and met some good dudes today.

 

[Big House]

this was my second year at the club and ive had a blast both years. i have been able to fire many different firearms because of the friendly people at the range. i stay away just before hunting season because it is always crowded.

 

[El Guero]

I see some clubs that run that way, some after 6 months pay half fees but it is the way it goes, just pay at the first 3 moths and enjoy the whole year, if is to late is cheeper to go to the public range, until is new year for the membership.

 

[Bluedragon]

sounds like a bunch of self important pricks, better off without em.

This ^^^^ and to guy you mentioned making the unnecessary comment not to let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, it's guy's like that who need a few good hits to the ass if you ask me.

 

[swissrifles1]

I was a member there a few years ago,I really enjoyed my time there. I had fridays and saturdays off of work. Lots of fridays i was there all by myself. I always did disagree with the dues timeframe, i always thought ,if you paid on a yearly fee, it should give you 365 days of access.

 

[darthfader]

you could always come to our club, north porter county conservation club. we would be happy to have you. not sure how far nappanee conservation club is but the people there that run it are good peeps as well and they run many classes that are open to everyone and are a heck of a lot of fun! sorry for the trouble you have encountered. seems like they dont care about the new guy which is a shame cause thats how membership grows.

 

[crispy]

I was a member there a few years ago,I really enjoyed my time there. I had fridays and saturdays off of work. Lots of fridays i was there all by myself. I always did disagree with the dues timeframe, i always thought ,if you paid on a yearly fee, it should give you 365 days of access.

Volunteer to be the Treasurer once. Renewal letters, invoices, payments, sending out the keys, etc... Spread that out over the year. No thanks. Way too much work. People don't think about the work involved when they're not doing it.

I've done it for the HOA. Managed the pool. What a pain. Better to do it once a year.

But the pay is good! Oh wait, no it isn't...

In this case, I would probably offer 1/2 price after July. So 5/12ths of the year for half. There has to be some incentive to joining at the start of the year.

 

[mlang2000]

Things must have changed in the last few years. I just joined and only had to pay about 2/3 of the annual dues to get me to January.

 

[VERT]

Wow necropost but it caught my attention. I belong to two local conservation clubs and both of them work the same way as explained in the OP. Dues are annual not yearly. Both clubs begin collecting the annual dues in the fall of the year and the locks are changed in March. One of the clubs has a waiting list for membership. The other club we are still accepting new members and always seeking people to assume leadership roles.

There are options for yearly memberships to ranges locally. Those would be in the form of yearly passes to the for profit indoor ranges.

 

[NKBJ]

The website link provided above...
Doesn't that club website say $90 annual fee?

 

[straight-shooter]

Yes, it went from $50 then $60. This year it is $90. One of the excuses was because people were putting targets to low to the ground in the pistol pit. When they shot the targets it was spraying small pebbles all over the railroad tie built wall and damaging it. I understand it to a point because they had to tear out the wall and rebuild it which isn't cheap.

I guess even at $90 it's still somewhat of a bargain seeing how you can go out and shoot all you want all year long and it provides a great place to shoot. Running a conservation club for all to enjoy isn't easy.

 

[VERT]

Yes, it went from $50 then $60. This year it is $90. One of the excuses was because people were putting targets to low to the ground in the pistol pit. When they shot the targets it was spraying small pebbles all over the railroad tie built wall and damaging it. I understand it to a point because they had to tear out the wall and rebuild it which isn't cheap.

I guess even at $90 it's still somewhat of a bargain seeing how you can go out and shoot all you want all year long and it provides a great place to shoot. Running a conservation club for all to enjoy isn't easy.

One of the big expenses for us is Liability Insurance. The more members we have the higher the insurance. The more coverage we have the higher the insurance and in today's dollars and political climate more coverage is essential. Plus there is insurance for the range and for the physical property. Insurance alone accounts for about $20 of the members $50 ($75 in 2017) dues. Then you have mowing, spraying, general upkeep, electricity, water, gravel all of which is fixed overhead. What I am trying to convey is that $50 - $100 a year to belong to a conservation club with any type of decent range facility is a bargain. I belong to two conservation clubs and my combined dues in 2017 will be $125. I think I can swing that.

 

[Hardscrable]

Our club memberships are annual...Jan. - Dec. If you join Jan 1 - Aug. 31 you pay a full year's dues. Join Sept 1 - Dec. 31 and dues are reduced 50%. We have tried pro-rating, etc...too much record keeping and headaches ( I am mebership director so I speak from experience ). Our locks change April 1. If you join August 1 and your membership is good to the following June 31, I have to furnish you the new combination April 1. If you fail to pay your dues August 1, you still have our code which is valid until the following April 1. So in essence you could still access and use the facilities for 7 months after your membership expired. To counter act that, I would need to change the code again & notify all valid members of the new code. If 20 members did this, I would need to change the code and notify valid members 20 times. Way to much work, time, headaches involved. Our dues are still a bargain if you use the club. The "extra expense" if you join mid-year is a one time occurrence. Factored into multiple year memberships, still a bargain.

Club is is run by and all work done by a very few individuals. 98 % of members never have time to help out. Most do not understand how many hours we put in. They also do not understand expense side of ledger. We have an indoor range that is used extensively in cold weather. The backstop required about $10,000 every few years in repairs...not including work involved. Heat, lights, etc. also raise the cost of this indoor part of our range. Maintenance of outdoor facilities, insurance ( as previously stated is a BIG deal ) port-a-pots, trash pick up, etc. is an ongoing expense that increases yearly. A member has unlimited usage. Annual dues are equivalent to 3, 4, or 5 hours of range time at a nearby indoor commercial range. Again, a bargain if you use the facilities. The extra cost of you join mid-year is a small price to pay.