Went this am to the NRA range in Fairfax, to spend a little more time with my newest addition to the family, my XDm. It's almost just too much fun to shoot.
This is about 25 rounds, WWB, 115g, 21'
This is my 617-3 10 shot .22. I have a BSA red dot on it that I bought at Wally World a couple of years ago. Maybe I got lucky with the red dot, but it has been, and has stayed, dead on. This is 25', about 70-80 rounds, bulk .22 ammo.
I happen to have a -4 and -6 and I was curious as to the differences with all the other dash-numbers, so I went poking around...I'm sure the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 3rd Edition could've told us all of this, but I don't happen to have that book (I will, some day--I just got a coffee table for my living room, and I need something to put on it =)
I don't know too much about the other S&W revolvers, though; maybe a few bits and pieces here and there...
I went to the NRA range today for the first time. I found it to be an overall pleasant experience. The RSO's were very helpful if not a little intrusive. I appreciated all the advice given to me by them. They seem to keep a constant watch over the range and are sticklers for the rules, which to me is okay.
edit: I forgot to tell what I shot. I shot my AR 15 & my Walther P22. As I stated above the RSO's were great to me. Both of these guns were new/never fired and the RSO's had helpful tips such as what distance to shoot the AR so that I could sight it in. Another one gave me a tip on clearing a stuck casing from the Walther, which did not happen by the way.
And for those who haven't been or haven't heard, there is a test you must complete/pass before you can shhot there. relax, it's open book.
My current strategy for dealing with the weekends is this: since you must be there to put your name on the list (can't phone ahead and say "this is so-and-so, please put me on the list") and since you don't actually have to wait there all that time, what I do is go to the range, see how long the wait is, put my name down, and then leave. I come back about 2/3s of the way through the stated wait-time--if they say 1.5 hours, I come back in an hour. Two hours, I'll be back in about an hour-twenty. Usually enough people drop off or don't respond when they're called that my name comes up within about 15 minutes of when I come back.
It helps that I live only 10 minutes away, and I always have something better I could be doing than sitting around waiting on a lane. For other people...well, Fairfax is a decent-sized town; there's always something to do--my other vice is the Guitar Center by the Rt. 50/Rt. 29 intersection: what better way to wait to make some noise (gunfire) than to make some noise ("music").
I used to go to the NRA range when I first started shooting, but ran into a couple of problems.
1.) It got too expensive at $14/hour to actually get any good at shooting.
2.) The wait times are just insane, and the hours of operation during the weekdays don't work as well for my schedule.
3.) They kinda became jerks over the last year. Sort of a "we don't need you, buzz off" attitude.
So, I followed their apparent preference and now go to another range.
Just went to the NRA range for the first time since I moved here a year ago. Oh, I've been to the museum a few times, just not the range.
My experience was very pleasant except for one minor hiccup. I didn't understand that the nice lady behind the counter was asking for my RANGE membership # (again, first time there). She diligently and patiently looked in her computer to find me for about 10 mins before I realized she was not looking for my NRA membership #. After we cleared up the confusion we got right down to business. I took the test and got on a lane almost imediately. From there it was a good day. I had just enough time to zero and find the most accurate .22LR for my new Savage bolt gun and my new to me Mossburg 340KC bolt gun. Good times.
I'm a member at Blue Ridge. I thought they had a pretty good price for LE/Family so I signed up without looking around too much. Plus BR is only about 10 mins away (an hour if you take 50 at rush hour!). Don't get me wrong, I like BR just fine but I'm considering spending my range membership $$s at NRA when it is time to renew. Here are a few reasons why:
BR staff has always been nice to me, but The NRA Range Safety officers were outstandingly professional and friendly.
Facility is Spotless. BR is a bit on the dingy side.
50yds vs less than 25yds at BR.
BR is pretty picky about having FMJ or at least from what I understand, minimally exposed lead projectiles.
I can shoot my .300 win mag at NRA even though it is only 50yds.
I can shoot fast and a lot if I want from a holster (BR allows shooting from holster too, just not fast)
Being a member at BR only entitles you to lane priority during the week which isn't too crowded anyway.
Even though I'm a member at BR, I still have to pay full price to shoot IDPA/2 Gun matches there. BR gets all profit from matches and I heard it was like pulling teeth to get target pasters. That is not necessarily BRs fault, just what was agreed upon. If I were King, I'd mandate $2-$3 per entree fee go to a fund for targets/props/etc to make the matches more fun. Heck I'd even be willing to pay $22 for a match instead of $20 if the money went back into the matches but I digress...
At a rate of $30 or so a month for LE/Family at BR it works out to about $360 or so a year. Not far off from what NRA range charges.
The other reason I like my BR membership is that it supports local business. Sure I get a discount on store merch, but that doesn't really help since the retail prices are a bit steep anyway. Again, I like supporting local gun businesses, but not if it is exorbitantly priced. I'll pay 5-10% for local privilege, but not much more.
Another negative for BR is their transfer process. First off, $50 ($40 for members) for a transfer fee is a bit steep but that seems to be the going rate around here. The only problem is that BR requires you to go to the shop twice (at least). First time is to fill out the transfer request and prepay for the transfer. The second time to pick it up. You may have to come back a third time if the background check is delayed. NOVA Armament on the other hand does transfers for $40 for the gen public and you can fill out the transfer request online ahead of time. Big plus, don't know why BR doesn't adopt that process.
Long story short, NRA Range is a great range. A little steep in hourly fee, but along with paying for the name, you get a really nice facility and I'm sure some of the money goes to NRA which is good too.
SDLRODEO
Don't forget the NRA Range is $400.00 for 13 months for the family 30.77 a month or $350.00 for a single That's only 26.92 a month. I think that's a steel.. There annual agreement is for 13 months not 12.
