Dakota co. Gun club

View · by **xd ED** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 6:44 pm

Membership limits are dictated in bylaws at OGC; and at Dakota, I believe it's more complex, and involves the U of M, which owns the property.
The wait list at OGC for the recent induction was pretty short. My brother put his name on the list either last spring or late summer, and joined in March, which was the first possible opportunity.

Many clubs have no waiting list. I'm guessing part of the draw with Dakota and OGC is their prime locations. (10 min drive for me to get to OGC)

View · by **870TC** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 6:52 pm

Some clubs have membership limits that are set by or governed by a conditional use permit from the county, township etc..
BESA was that way for years.

View · by **goaliemn** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:08 pm

LePetomane wrote:What is the deal with the long waiting lists at some of these clubs?

I know Dakota County Gun Club is limited to how many members they can have because of conditions in their lease with the U of M. It only allows so many members.

View · by **LePetomane** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:14 pm

Erud wrote:It's just supply and demand. Part of the beauty of private clubs is that membership is limited and you don't have to deal with every yokel that decides they want to shoot that day. I am very happy that the clubs I have memberships at have limited membership numbers.

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If that is the prevailing attitude of these clubs then they can all go pound salt. What is so bad about shooting with a bunch of "yokels" as long as they are respecting the rules of the club.

That being said, I have always been treated very well by the staff anytime I have shot at OGC or Hudson.

View · by **IDPA Shooter** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:34 pm

Because by definition yokels do no not follow rules, supervise their guests or clean up after themselves.
I waited 2 years to join nice club, so I could shoot steel there. The day I joined the club announced all club steel was now locked and only available for leagues. Yep, idiots had " fun " and shot hundreds of dollars of handgun steel with a rifle.

They are private and the goal is not to fill every range, but to have members be able to shoot when they want with safe shooters who also care about and for the range.

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View · by **LePetomane** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:39 pm

Why should there be any issues with non members enjoying themselves and following the rules?

View · by **xd ED** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:46 pm

LePetomane wrote:
Erud wrote:It's just supply and demand. Part of the beauty of private clubs is that membership is limited and you don't have to deal with every yokel that decides they want to shoot that day. I am very happy that the clubs I have memberships at have limited membership numbers.

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If that is the prevailing attitude of these clubs then they can all go pound salt. What is so bad about shooting with a bunch of "yokels" as long as they are respecting the rules of the club?

And therein lies the rub.

It takes more than a casual interest to commit to the investment- be that waiting out a list, appearing before the board/ members, putting in service hours, and paying dues, all which would be put at risk if the rules aren't respected. Most clubs can only operate with a minimum of immediate supervision, which is made possible due to a general high level of trust in (and typically among) the membership.
It's a system that works as it is cognizant of human nature.

View · by **crbutler** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:55 pm

Way back when I lived in Hastings, I took hunter safety for the second time as I lost the little card and while MN may grandfather people of my elderliness, not everywhere is so generous. I had to do the range safety part out at Dakota with the instructor who was a coworker's husband and a member out there.

Beautiful range, and we were the only folks out there on a friday afternoon in June.

I asked about joining.

He laughed and said I would be at retirement age before I got in (I was in my early 30's at the time) and told me that back then they had a hold on membership applications. He said (as others have said here) that it was due to the U of MN, and due to the fact that the neighbors complained if they had too much traffic raising dust on the gravel roads, so all the members were told to hold their speeds well down.

I since have moved well away from the metro area, and while the local ranges don't have membership restrictions, I have never seen a range as nice and available as that one.

I do use several ranges.

To be honest, I like restrictiveness. I have reported bad behavior to the powers at be several times on the ranges that I am a member of, and part of the problem is a he said she said attitude (which I can understand), and (IMO) a pandering attitude towards kids (which I cannot). As far as I am concerned, just because a person with a gun is a child, doesn't give them any laxity on safe behavior at the range, and just because daddy has to watch the kids while he shoots, doesn't mean that I should have to watch out for rug rats roaming on the backstops - and then have dad get mad when I yell at him about it. To a lesser extent, having a bunch of folks trying to do different things at the line is frustrating. If I am working up loads, I put up a bunch of pasters on a target and shoot. I have a spotting scope. I don't want to stop every shot so Billy Bob can check his target to see if he is "getting there" with sighting in. I also don't like when someone says "can I borrow your target, I just want to check how my load works and I forgot to bring any..." I also don't like trying to shoot for accuracy when some guy wants to show his buddy his new AK and both do mag dumps at a 200 yard line, and don't even ask about the guys who demand to use my chronograph when I have it set up. Not exactly "violations" but not proper etiquette either. If I can't get a member disciplined for waving a loaded pistol around, I really doubt getting someone's membership pulled for being a slob will happen. ergo, I like not dealing with people at the range.

View · by **Erud** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:01 pm

LePetomane wrote:
Erud wrote:It's just supply and demand. Part of the beauty of private clubs is that membership is limited and you don't have to deal with every yokel that decides they want to shoot that day. I am very happy that the clubs I have memberships at have limited membership numbers.

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If that is the prevailing attitude of these clubs then they can all go pound salt. What is so bad about shooting with a bunch of "yokels" as long as they are respecting the rules of the club.

That being said, I have always been treated very well by the staff anytime I have shot at OGC or Hudson.

That's my prevailing attitude, and I'm happy to pound salt. If you don't want to join a private club, it's certainly no skin off my back. There are public ranges you can go shoot at.

Have you ever been to OGC during public deer rifle sight in? Not quite as awesome of an experience as you might be imagining. I'd much rather shoot with a few club members who know what they are doing than hundreds of "yokels" wandering in off the street and pointing their rifles at everybody. 2 years of that duty was enough for me to seek out smaller clubs. I'm perfectly fine with the ranges not being 100% full all of the time, in fact I prefer it that way.

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View · by **Erud** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:43 pm

Also, it's important to note that *most* of the area gun clubs are operated as clubs, not businesses. They exist to serve their membership, not everyone. Your views of customer service or whatever don't really apply. If you want a say in things, join the club and get involved. If not, just keep going to the public ranges.

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View · by **Rip Van Winkle** on Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:47 pm

LePetomane wrote:Why should there be any issues with non members enjoying themselves and following the rules?

Because it only takes one incident by one idiot to spoil it for everyone.

View · by **LePetomane** on Thu Apr 10, 2014 4:02 am

Rip Van Winkle wrote:
LePetomane wrote:Why should there be any issues with non members enjoying themselves and following the rules?

Because it only takes one incident by one idiot to spoil it for everyone.

Chances are if they are abiding by the rules then there will not be any incident. I'm only here for two more years so it would not make any sense to put my name on a wait list for one of these clubs. In the meantime, Bill's is fine for my needs.

View · by **Rip Van Winkle** on Thu Apr 10, 2014 6:17 am

LePetomane wrote:
Rip Van Winkle wrote:
LePetomane wrote:Why should there be any issues with non members enjoying themselves and following the rules?

Because it only takes one incident by one idiot to spoil it for everyone.

Chances are if they are abiding by the rules then there will not be any incident. I'm only here for two more years so it would not make any sense to put my name on a wait list for one of these clubs. In the meantime, Bill's is fine for my needs.

And thats the problem. Idiots don't think the rules apply to them. Those of us who put a lot of time and effort making our clubs into nice places to belong to don't want or need to deal with the idiots. As I said, it only takes one.

View · by **LePetomane** on Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:21 am

I am curious as to what memberships would cost at one particular club if they did away with the limited amount of public shooting that they did have. So before some of you look down your noses at non member shooting hours, remember that they are adding to the bottom line of your club.

View · by **Rip Van Winkle** on Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:43 am

Neither club I belong to has public shooting hours, which is just fine with me.