Aurora Gun Club - Should I Join - top of the wait list.

Looking for opinions of members at the club. I was just recently contacted and told I had made it to the top of the wait list. I am currently a member at another nearby outdoor range/club and was looking at Aurora specifically for access to the 50yrd berm areas for taking my 8 and 5 year old to the range with me and being able to have an area controlled by me to teach them and work with them.

How busy are the pistol berm areas on weekends? Do people usually go out in the morning and camp out in a berm area for the day? I'm wondering if my plan has any merit or if I should just keep the membership I have had for the last 5 years at the other club and shoot on the open line?

Any input you can share would be greatly appreciated - I have to make a decision by 2/7 to keep my spot.

I've been on the wait list for a couple years but I go every once in a while with my friend and his step-dad (the member). I really like it. They seem very cool about allowing the sort of practice we want to do which involves moving and shooting, having different types of targets up, the fun stuff. The guest policies are very generous compared to other places I've seen, too. When I eventually get to the top I won't hesitate to join.

We also hang out at the 50 yard berms most of the time we go. If there's a match going on it can get a little busy and all but 3 are often taken. The problem for us is that leaves only one berm where steel is allowed since it's against the rules on the ends. That may or may not be an issue for you. On the plus side we've never left without getting some range time in. Maybe we're just lucky.

We've also done some shooting on the 100 and 200 yard areas. I have no experience with the shotgun areas so no comment there.

I am not a member of AGC, but have several friends that are members and have gone out there many times with them. From what I have observed myself, most of the shooters come and go within an hour. I rarely seen people show up and "Camp" on a berm hogging it up for several hours or all day. The vast majority of shooters don't have enough ammo or patience to camp on a berm all day. That being said, the weekends seem to be the busy time there and if you don't get there early you may have to wait for people to wrap up and leave before you can use a particular berm. This is to be expected at a range that is essentially "In town" compared to most others that are 40 - 50 miles outside of town. Surprisingly that place seems to be a ghost town during the week. There have been many times where I needed to sight in a gun or do some test firing and went out to AGC during the week after work and there be literally no other shooters there.

There will be use/access conflicts during the weekends, but that is to be expected given its location. The place is clean and seems to be well maintained. There are always RO's wondering around checking on things so that seems to be one thing that most other outdoor ranges don't have. They do have slightly more restrictive range rules verses other ranges but those limitations need to be put into perspective to the type of shooting you want to do. A good example would be pistol shooting. They allow you to draw from the holster, rapid fire, and move around while shooting. But they also don't allow you to engage targets where the rounds are hitting the side berms or down into the ground. If you are a plinker that sets up a few targets straight down range and shoots from a stationary position, these limitations don't matter. If you are a practical pistol shooter who wants to practice dynamic shooting challenges like normal stages would have in a match, these restrictions significantly restrict what you can do or practice. My gun game of choice is USPSA pistol matches. So the shooting restrictions they impose make getting a membership there worthless for viable practical shooting practice. I would rather drive 50 mile out to the Ben Lomond Gun Club where I can practice the full spectrum of practical shooting skills whenever I want to.

I've been a member for almost a year and I've been able to get a berm on busy weekends.

How long have you been on the wait list?

I was on the wait list for about 3 years. I did join and have been very happy with the decision.