Open Carry at Gun Club

[Richbirdhunter]

It should be easy to track, if you maintain or increase your membership you have your finger on the pulse of your customers. If your membership declines you're doing it wrong.

[Seabear]

It should be easy to track, if you maintain or increase your membership you have your finger on the pulse of your customers. If your membership declines you're doing it wrong.

We averaged 61 new members a month this year and we do not advertise. We must be doing something right.

[rockinar]

OK, at the risk of getting blasted I am going to bring up this discussion.

First some details. In addition to being a CHL instructor, I am the President of a large Gun Club with over 2,000 members. We have skeet, trap, 5 stand,which are open to the public, as well as a rifle range and 16 bays open to members only. We have never restricted concealed carry as concealed means concealed. We operate under cold range rules otherwise, meaning no loaded firearms behind the firing line.

So, with that in mind let's say we are having a pistol or carbine match where participants are asked to show clear before leaving the firing line or shooter's box. Now with open carry it is possible that a spectator could be present with an open carry firearm. Not a problem until someone asks to see his fancy BBQ gun. Spectators may not be aware of our cold range during the match.

It's a sticky situation. In the past some in our club did not want to allow concealed carry but I fought for that and most that carry concealed just keep it that way and it has not been a problem. I personally have some concerns about the blurring of safety rules with open carry being mixed with a cold range.

Now after you get done getting upset and thinking I am against open carry, calm down and offer some honest thoughts on how to handle this properly. I am NOT against open carry, I am trying to maintain the safest club possible. Ideas? At this point the current mindset is "no handling of loaded firearms behind the firing line." Will this be enough?

Just do the same as some of the local indoor ranges. You can open carry in the store, etc, but if you show it some anyone you get the boot.

Basically a "no handling" rule. Spectators are just that and should not doing anything other than watching. Maybe have the spectators wear an orange decal on them to show they are a spectator and not a shooter.

Shooters obviously should have to follow the cold range rules because they will be handling firearms.