GI: Who would like to go shooting at Bills/Burnsville Pistol one of these days?

Would there be any interest in getting a group of people together to go shooting at one of the above places (I'm also open to other places, those are the first two that come to mind) one of these days? I think it'd be a good way for some of us who own guns to get out and get some paper punching practice in and a good way for some of the members who don't own guns but are curious or want to try shooting in a lower stress environment. There's been some talk in other threads, I'd like to see it become a reality. I think it'd be a good way to spend an afternoon or evening for those of us who enjoy shooting and firearms.

So, who would be interested? I'd like to get something put together in the next month or so, if the turnout/demand is enough we could possibly look at making it a regular/semi-regular event.

UPDATE:

Alright, here is the proposed list for March 15th at Bills in Robbinsdale as of 2/17:
Readymix
Aegis
Dynapar
Boomer
Shibbs (time for you to try some pistols )
Bikerwriter
Stoooo
Carl
Driftin240
Vorgto
Ryan
Subytek
Speeddemon
Bielke55
Me

I will update and edit this as necessary. Handraisers will be forced to hold targets.

 

The private land is always an option, I wonder if we could find something a little more central for everyone. It does lend itself to having a little more flexibility as to targets and such (milk jugs explode so very nicely ) but an indoor range can be nice during the winter months. The only drawback to Burnsville is that we can't bring rifles/shotguns or anything with a muzzle velocity above 2000fps, so .17HMR/Mach II rounds are out.

 

That could be plenty of fun...wonder if we could get a whole car :laugh:

 

I haven't done clays in a long time, but I agree that they are fun. So are the big styrofoam gliders, they go to pieces under a good load of birdshot. Are there any good clays ranges around here that are open in the winter?

 

I'm sure we could all bring out some interesting firepower. I've got my two Kimber 1911s and my Remington 870 (which is a real hoot, btw), and from the looks of earlier in this thread we have some members with some very cool guns that I'd love to shoot.

 

Martin, did you ever get your Walther or Springfield?

 

I've been doing some checking, I think Tuesday nights at Bills would be out unless we want to take part in Tactical Tuesdays. I think a Saturday or Sunday morning would be best in order to avoid the rush times. How would a Saturday morning around 9am work for people? We could meet up beforehand and do breakfast at Fat Nats in Crystal or somewhere else close and then head over to Bills? Or we could do lunch at the Eagles Nest across the street afterwards.

 

I think that people would be willing to share their firearm for a newbie. I know I am. The other nice thing about Bills is that they have a huge selection of guns that you can rent if there is one you've always wanted to try, anything from .22LR up to .500AE as well as long guns from .223 to .50cal. If we really wanted to spend some money we could also do a machine gun shoot, but those are pretty expensive.

 

They typically charge around 30 for two people on a lane, and IIRC a gun rental is 10 bucks per gun. I think that we could probably keep the need for rentals to a minimum unless there is something someone wants to rent. We can buy ammo and bring it there, so you can save money that way. I'd be willing to let people shoot my .45 if they're willing to chip in on some ammo (.45ACP can be pretty expensive!), I've got plenty of .22LR and 12 ga shells so I'm not real worried about that. I've got a good source on practice 12 ga ammunition. Targets are 1-2 bucks each, and you can bring your own hearing/eye protection or rent it there for a pretty minimal charge. I think that we could probably divide up into pairs if need be, put an experienced person with a beginner to show them the ropes and how to shoot safely. Takes the pressure off the new shooter if it's someone they know and it makes it a little more enjoyable. If we're mostly experienced shooters there then we can figure out another arrangement.

 

One other thought that I had:

If anyone has a spouse that hasn't fired a gun before or has been curious about shooting this would be a great day to bring them out. It is a lot easier to start doing something like this if you're with a group of people that you know and trust, and it makes for a great bonding experience. Plus it can instill some healthy fear if you find out your spouse can outshoot you

 

Bill's rents MP5s. I'm there.

 

Here is the page for Bills range, including a list of guns available for rent and pricing.

http://billsgs.com/modules.php?name=NukeWrap&page=new_ranges.html&height=4000

Come on Jason, why stop at the MP5 when you can shoot an M249

http://billsgs.com/modules.php?set_...lery&file=index&include=view_album.php&page=1

I've been at the range when they were shooting the Bren gun and .50 cal Barretts. Those are a bit loud...

 

I've used their rentals before and been able to use ammo i brought. As long as you're using regular practice ammo then you should be alright.

 

The only downside with Burnsville is that we can't use shotguns/rifles and it sounds like we've got a few members who would like to bring those. That and they don't have any guns for rent, so we'd be limited to whatever we bring.

 

Hmmm...Thursday might be worth taking a look at, I just don't know what kind of traffic they have in the evenings, that was why I was thinking a Saturday morning and then we could get in before everyone else.

 

I'm not too worried about experience levels, I think we've got enough people with firearm experience that we could help out those who don't know all that much. The major safety rules are pretty straightforward, and guns aren't that complicated to learn. I'm more than willing to teach how to use different firearms and point out control features and give pointers on how to shoot.

For those of you who want to bring out firearms but aren't sure what kind of condition they're in, it might be a good idea to get together and have a bit of a cleaning/inspection party before we go so we can make sure you're bringing a safe gun. I'd hate to see anyone injured by a faulty gun.

 

Alright, here is what I propose:

I think the weekend is going to work best for most people for our first outing, how does Saturday, March 1st work for everyone? I propose meeting at Bills at or shortly before 9am, so we can get right into the range when they open up at 9am. We'll shoot until we're out of ammo, targets, etc and then do lunch in the area. The Eagles Nest across the street is a good spot to chill out. I'll bring my .45 and .22 1911's, and my Remington 870. If you're going to come along, let me know and I'll edit the OP to show who is coming. If you could let me know what you're bringing for firearms/ammo that'd be great. If you're not bringing a gun and would like to shoot something that one of us is bringing, please PM the owner and arrange to buy ammo together. Wal-Mart has decent cheap ammo as well as Mills Fleet Farm.

 

Doh, that's right...

Alright, how does March 8th work for everyone? Same time, same place.

 

Damn again. It's the 8th.

Alright. We'll try this one more time. The 15th is what we'll aim for then, there isn't anything going on that I can think of.

 

Because I've shot an M249 before.

 

I've been wanting to get into reloading but just haven't done the research yet on how to start. I also don't really have a good place to do it right now, hopefully that'll be changing in the coming months. I will also keep you in mind next time I'm looking for a shooting partner, and I'm willing to pay for ammo/brass/powder