Membership fees

Luckysasha

Just had a quick look on courtloughs website as I was thinking of joining there instead of renewing at my current range. At the moment I'm paying €320 for rifle / pistol / clays. Courtlough is looking €495 for the first year and €350 each consecutive year. Surely to god they are pricing themselves out of the market. I know it's a good modern setup but is it really worth an extra €175.

Witcher

Every club will have a higher first year fee, no different than joining a golf club.

ezra_

Luckysasha wrote: »

Just had a quick look on courtloughs website as I was thinking of joining there instead of renewing at my current range. At the moment I'm paying €320 for rifle / pistol / clays. Courtlough is looking €495 for the first year and €350 each consecutive year. Surely to god they are pricing themselves out of the market. I know it's a good modern setup but is it really worth an extra €175.

I'm a member of courtlough (not the pistol club). Found them the cheapest of all the clubes in the Dublin/Wicklow area and found them the best.

Can't think of any other club that has a first year membership (including hello money) of less than €500

Luckysasha

The price of €320 I paid was my first years fee. Don't know if it reduces after that for consecutive years.

Brasros

ezra_ wrote:

Can't think of any other club that has a first year membership (including hello money) of less than €500

Harbour house membership fee is 300 per year. 100 is a start up fee. The is discounts on family members.

gunny123

The problem is a lot of clubs aren't really clubs, they are businesses, there to make as much money as possible. Some of the smaller country clay clubs charge less than a 100 euro-dollars a year for membership.

ezra_

gunny123 wrote: »

The problem is a lot of clubs aren't really clubs, they are businesses, there to make as much money as possible. Some of the smaller country clay clubs charge less than a 100 euro-dollars a year for membership.

Do they give you a good range of traps though? Apart from competition days, I've never had a problem getting out on a range of traps in Courtlough as they have plenty of them. Some of the other clubs I looked at had a lot of people waiting around on a club day.

Courtlough for Rifle/Shotgun only is €225 first year, €195 after (but their clays aren't the cheapest).

If you want pistol, you pay the extra. Harbour House seems to be cheaper with pistol, so the OP has options there. He also has the option of staying at his current club.

I have very little sympathy for people moaning about membership fees; you have some great clubs around the country with excellent facilities, but people seem to be moaning about having to pay to use them.

MNSCI have a high entrance fee, but when you see their set up, you can see how they charge and why it would be worth it. None of the clubs mentioned in this thread are looking for high money to go shoot in a mucky field with either a couple of traps behind some bales or an old container converted into a rifle range.

Luckysasha

The reason I quoted courtlough was more to do with the price difference I was quoted last year. I spent a few hours last October up there looking around and got a very good tour with a guy called Donal. Very nice man and happy to take the time to show me around. At that time I got talking to liam about a shotgun I was interested in as I have a pistol and rifle. So at that time I was told the membership was €345 for everything. So my point is how come it's jumped €150 for this year. As I said I'm getting the same thing for €320. In my local club which doesn't have the same restrictions about only using ammo I buy there etc etc

RKMG

Does anyone know how much the MNSCI is per year?

ezra_

Luckysasha wrote: »

The reason I quoted courtlough was more to do with the price difference I was quoted last year. I spent a few hours last October up there looking around and got a very good tour with a guy called Donal. Very nice man and happy to take the time to show me around. At that time I got talking to liam about a shotgun I was interested in as I have a pistol and rifle. So at that time I was told the membership was €345 for everything. So my point is how come it's jumped €150 for this year. As I said I'm getting the same thing for €320. In my local club which doesn't have the same restrictions about only using ammo I buy there etc etc

Did you try calling them and asking them to honour the quote for last time?

Usually clubs put in the hello money to make sure that people are serious about joining and using the facilities (this is the same for golf clubs and other such clubs).

Shooting clubs have an added complication in that a lot of people will sign up just to get the licence, which can cause them hassle with the guards. If Courtlough are upping the price, they probably think that a) people will pay and b) it will push back on people who they never see after the membership has passed.

Cass

gunny123 wrote: »

The problem is a lot of clubs aren't really clubs, they are businesses, there to make as much money as possible. Some of the smaller country clay clubs charge less than a 100 euro-dollars a year for membership.

Don't confuse Clay pigeon "ranges" with rifle ranges. Clay pigeon ranges are not, under the law, a range as clay pigeon shooting is not classed as target shooting and so don't have the same standards, or range fees (from the DoJ) to adhere to/pay. It's why they can be so much cheaper than a rifle range.

RKMG wrote: »

Does anyone know how much the MNSCI is per year?

€300 per year.

tac foley

Even that 300eu a year seems to be an awful lot of money, but then, it IS a shooting venue of international renown, with more shooting facilities in the one location than most in the UK, let alone the island of Ireland.

I often wish that is was MY local range.

tac

Cass

AFAIK the Midlands is the second largest range in Europe behind Bisley. Civilian range that is. Of course as always i stand to be corrected as i don't know every range or their facilities.

I've brought the topic of range fees up before. Some are pure madness. Mostly Dublin based ranges where land is at a premium and the annual membership can and does exceed €700 per year. All of which are rimfire rated only, IOW no centrefire. Plus due to their location development is almost impossible so the range has two options. Continue as is or move to try and expand.

From my own point of view i believe €300 per year is a decent price to pay for ANY range that suits your needs. If it gives you what you want and need and considering the thousands we spend on firearms, ammo, gear, etc. it really is a small price to pay.

Luckysasha

ezra_ wrote: »

Did you try calling them and asking them to honour the quote for last time?

Usually clubs put in the hello money to make sure that people are serious about joining and using the facilities (this is the same for golf clubs and other such clubs).

Shooting clubs have an added complication in that a lot of people will sign up just to get the licence, which can cause them hassle with the guards. If Courtlough are upping the price, they probably think that a) people will pay and b) it will push back on people who they never see after the membership has passed.

I understand the logic if they think people are joining just to tick the box on the FCA1 form, but if like myself you already have a rifle and pistol licensed surely this shows your serious about using the range and some leeway could be afforded.
I know it might sound like I'm specifically targeting courtlough but I'm not I'm just highlighting the fact that €495 is a bit steep for lads to fork out. There relaunched website even goes so far to say if you don't renew promptly every January you will be penalised for late payment. It just seems to be very discouraging for anyone interested in taking up a new sport

Brasros

Luckysasha wrote:

I understand the logic if they think people are joining just to tick the box on the FCA1 form, but if like myself you already have a rifle and pistol licensed surely this shows your serious about using the range and some leeway could be afforded. I know it might sound like I'm specifically targeting courtlough but I'm not I'm just highlighting the fact that €495 is a bit steep for lads to fork out. There relaunched website even goes so far to say if you don't renew promptly every January you will be penalised for late payment. It just seems to be very discouraging for anyone interested in taking up a new sport

There plenty of choice of good ranges around the Dublin area, I would vote with my feet. Join another club. I presume most clubs would welcome shooters. The fees will help develop the range and facilities.

BattleCorp

Cass wrote: »

AFAIK the Midlands is the second largest range in Europe behind Bisley. Civilian range that is. Of course as always i stand to be corrected as i don't know every range or their facilities.

I can't swear on it but I think this range is being built in France. Looks savage.

[img][/img]https://i.img.ie/0Qn.jpg

Brasros

BattleCorp wrote:

I can't swear on it but I think this range is being built in France. Looks savage.

Certainly doses and will make the family holiday more interesting!!

Cass

Luckysasha wrote: »

I understand the logic if they think people are joining just to tick the box on the FCA1 form, but if like myself you already have a rifle and pistol licensed surely this shows your serious about using the range and some leeway could be afforded.

The thing with what you say is people are joining ranges just to tick the box. New members are always welcome, but the range has to protect itself. It's why there are laws and rules regarding ranges, how they are built and how they are run.

Ranges are responsible for their members and the actions of those that join. Its why they must submit yearly (or is it bi-annually) reports to their local district office regarding members, who joined and who did not renew.

Also some ranges, most i would presume, have a probation period. In the first "X" number of months you must sign in at least three times and be signed off on by the RCO to show attendance. Again to combat the "join to get a rifle you wouldn't normally get" brigade.

I know it might sound like I'm specifically targeting courtlough but I'm not I'm just highlighting the fact that €495 is a bit steep for lads to fork out.

I won't comment on other ranges as i simply don't know enough, but i'd assume they are similar to what i'm about to say about the MNSCI.

The range is large, very large. It caters to as many disciplines as it can. These ranges within the range cost money to build and maintain. Membership fees are the staple of every range. It's the one "guaranteed" factor they can depend on. Any monies raised from shoots, comps, etc. are a bonus, but the membership fees are what allows a range to develop and grow each year and throughout the year. The more they provide the more money they need. Couple that with the rising cost of range fees, building materials, and general expenses and you find that the range cannot survive on what it did 5 or 10 years previously.

It's also location dependent as outlined above. A small range in Dublin will cost three times that of a range in the country.

There relaunched website even goes so far to say if you don't renew promptly every January you will be penalised for late payment. It just seems to be very discouraging for anyone interested in taking up a new sport

This bit i can understand. If you have 200, 300, 400 members and they pay bit by bit over the course of say 3 months from the date they should. Well the range operator doesn't know if all those people are actually going to join back up and so any plans for expansion, development, or just general maintenance are on hold until they have a definitive number of members, hence income, to work from.


I'm not trying to explain away everything you're saying. Some places do charge a, what i consider, unacceptable amount for facilities, membership, etc. As was said above though if i feel it's too much, and i can get the same or better elsewhere then i move to another range.

BattleCorp wrote: »

I can't swear on it but I think this range is being built in France. Looks savage.

[img][/img]https://i.img.ie/0Qn.jpg

I seen pictures of this in its varying stages of being built. It's something else. I know from experience that building even one range is not cheap so i'd love to know how they can build such a complex in one "sitting".

Is it state run, privately runned, sponsored, or financed by some group?

BattleCorp

Cass wrote: »

I seen pictures of this in its varying stages of being built. It's something else. I know from experience that building even one range is not cheap so i'd love to know how they can build such a complex in one "sitting".

Is it state run, privately runned, sponsored, or financed by some group?

I think it's being built in France for some sort of World Championship but maybe I just imagined that. I am playing around on Google and still haven't found out where it is.

Wohooooo. Found it. It's in France. National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_IPSC_Handgun_World_Shoot

http://www.ipscmatches.org/worldshootfrance/the-range/