Range Membership Cap

[260 Rem]

SPFGA has decided to cap membership commencing 2012. The cap will kick in when numbers approach 3500. The club has been showing steady growth during the past eight years with the 2010 count approaching 3000.
Any other Ranges considering caps?

[aakoksal]

SPFGA has decided to cap membership commencing 2012. The cap will kick in when numbers approach 3500. The club has been showing steady growth during the past eight years with the 2010 count approaching 3000.
Any other Ranges considering caps?

IMHO, a cap would make sense based on the average number of members actually entering through the gate...

I wonder if they have looked into that...

[SHORTMAG]

The club I belong to here in NS has grown by 500% in 6 or 7 years. Started out with 95 members (??) after the first year.....now were pushing 750 + for this year!!
They've been looking at the sign in sheets for the last years crowd
(2010)...only 30 % actually using it regularly!!

...but that's Ok with me...their memberships are what's putting in our new carpark....building 3 extra ranges ( a new 400 meter one:sHa_shakeshout:) and paying for some of the other repairs to the berms!!....nice to see the shooting fraternity helping out:sHa_shakeshout:

[rugatika]

Makes me wonder what happens when you can no longer join a range? I don't think it is too easy to get a new range opened up. Kind of seems like another hindrance to limiting the numbers of shooters amongst the general public. You know...now that I think of it...are there any government paid for gun ranges? They pay for soccer fields, ball diamonds, curling rinks, skating rinks, art galleries, etc etc...seems kinda unfair that my tax dollars go to all that crap and no access to a top rate shooting range. Hmmmm.

[Grizzly Adams]

Makes me wonder what happens when you can no longer join a range? I don't think it is too easy to get a new range opened up. Kind of seems like another hindrance to limiting the numbers of shooters amongst the general public. You know...now that I think of it...are there any government paid for gun ranges? They pay for soccer fields, ball diamonds, curling rinks, skating rinks, art galleries, etc etc...seems kinda unfair that my tax dollars go to all that crap and no access to a top rate shooting range. Hmmmm.

Good question, but what's the alternative ? What's the sense of being a member, if there is no opportunity to shoot anymore. I'm sure there is a lesson being drawn from the MVCM fiasco. Lot's of Forestry land out there. available for every one else. Maybe the time has come to lobby for some access. West of Sundre would be a hell of a place for a Homestead style range. :D

Grizz

[260 Rem]

Griz is right regarding taking a lesson from the MV situation. There is more to long term survivability than can be accounted for through a gate count. SPFGA is simply being proactive and is sensitive to the potential for neighborhood issues...and not just "sound", but traffic, dust etc. SPFGA Range is near capacity on busy weekends between mid-Aug through late Sept and wants to avoid problems that frustrated shooters can bring. (That being said, weekdays are never near capacity.) Now that Spruce Grove and Genesee are back in the link, some members will likely find their way back to those facilities...maybe...maybe not?
If you follow the chatter out of the Homestead Public Range, it seems there is potential for Public Ranges to become scray places that become garbage dumps.

[roger]

The cap will kick in when numbers approach 3500.

-not sure how Id feel about being 3501...i guess i should be first on the list for 2013. and 3499 other previous members would be behind me
-maybe they should have a draw system setup if they are that popular..
-pretty sad when alot of do-good clubs are struggling to keep afloat and these ones are screening/keeping members out.
-next thing you know it will be by application only.
yay for whoever had that brainchild.. who would want to affiliate with that logic..
:angry3:

[duffy4]

Does the club have a regular Fish & Game Club membership and a separate Range Membership? Or do all club members automatically have access to the shooting range?

It would be a shame to deny club membership to people who do not make use of the range.

Maybe they should make range access an additional fee to the regular membership and could then cap that aspect.

[depopulator]

The cap idea has merit, but it's not the solution IMO. I have been a member of SPFGA gun range for many years. On weekends, it can be an absolute zoo. With every new vehicle, comes shooters that want to lower the curtain and go downrange to hang targets, not to mention people already on the line wanting to do the same. Sometimes you cannot even get in 5 rounds before someone is asking - can I go downrange? And it never fails, someone is handling their rifle when people are downrange - even though the rules clearly state not allowed or obvious reasons.

Instead of a cap, they should implement a timing scenario when the bench capacity is full - like curtains go down every 30 minutes, you have 10 minutes to hang targets and return (not 1/2 hour aarghh), and you can only hold a bench for 1 or 2 hours if there are others waiting, and rotate the use of the bench from there. Not the best solution, but a compromise.

Of course, I go during the week days whenever possible, and the place is usually all mine or in the company of a few others. And I avoid the Sept/Oct months - see 1st paragraph.

[260 Rem]

The best answer to those who are concerned about access to a membership is to buy during the first few months of the year...I suspect at some point in the future, those who wait until late summer to buy a membership may find themselves out of luck. One of the suggestions regarding establishing a "priority" system is to insure that all members in the previous year are guaranteed first option to purchase if they pay before March 1st.
There are several categories of membership, (I am just guessing-but probably more than 90% are Range Members----which gives access to all the Club facilities. Out of every membership, about $17.00 is remitted to Alberta Fish & Game which provides membership and insurance though that organization.
The idea of firing line management for peak use times (weekends between about mid Aug though late Sept) has been considered....and in IMO will come in the not too distant future...Primarily, that is simply a matter of finding someone who is prepared to do the RSO course and who will work weekends during peak periods...you can imagine...finding that special person is not easy! But if you know somebody..PM me and I will pass on to Exec.
As mentioned in the OP, it is just not range capacity that is a factor in capping numbers...but also the effect that high use has on neighbors.