A range is a business, so they can do or make whatever rules they wish as long as they are not in violation of any laws or regulations.
Yes, it does look like they are making it so you have to take courses from them which is a means of revenue for them. I have no problem with this as it’s the American way of Capitalism.
But with Capitalism comes the Free Market which introduces competition which gives the consumer choices. It basically raises the bar.
What would be of poor practice would be if you ONLY HAD THE ABILITY to find out about all their requirements AFTER you paid your membership fee.
$200/year - that is a good deal and nearly every range in my area charges a good deal more than that.
Pass qualification - I think this hinders new shooters going to practice but I fully support a shooting requirement to be allowed to use specific parts of the range ( action area, moving target shooting ect)
Shooting from the bench - That is a range standard for the majority of places
Mag can only have 6 rounds - This is a bit absurd and how do they enforce this dumb rule? you are there to shoot not to reload magazines all day
You cannot draw from the holster is a standard for most ranges, especially indoor ranges. That being said, one of the ranges I go to does not get mad at me when I do draw and shoot drills for time practice… They also know I am experienced and the owner is a cool guy.
Requirement of classes taken at that range is a ploy to force you to pay them more money. I could see them asking you to go out with their instructor to prove you are capable after presenting those class certs. I say this because I have taken some classes that I would not recommend do to instructor being questionable.
Action shooting has a lot of dynamics in it that most people fail to realize. Overall, this is a ploy to increase their business and they have a right to do so. I disagree with it as a whole, however, I do agree with a qual to show you are safe while in an action environment.
If you enjoy this range and don’t mind the 6 round rule then by all means keep going. The class requirement isn’t a negative, I see it as a chance to get trained more. If them only accepting their own instruction bothers you then go to a different range.
They are fairly restrictive but sadly not that uncommon. Keep in mind if it’s a private club they can set whatever restrictions they want.
I agree with the sentiment you guys have but in fairness I’ll play devils advocate. I’m VP of a private club/range (that’s a lot more lenient than this one lol) and we have some members that would be fine with this stuff and worse.
-They’re probably old NRA-is-the-only-way folks (usually derogatorily referred to as Fudds). Anything newer than 1911s and revolvers is “those darn tupperware guns” or assault weapons. “If you can’t get it done in 6 rounds…” I’m guessing bullseye is the only game they play there?
-They may have had someone injured or at least seen NDs while drawing.
-They may have seen someone doing stupid stuff forward of the firing line prone or doing weird gymnastics to shoot offhand.
-How far away and how big is the paper? lord knows we have people that have trouble with a 8.5x11 piece of paper at 5 yards (often as not the old guys that have been shooting 50 years).
-As much as we’d all like to say everyone with a certificate is equal, there’s a lot of variability in classes/instructors. If they wanted the money from the classes, they’d hold more classes. They just don’t want people doing defensive/action stuff and don’t want to deal with vetting anyone else’s class.
/devils advocate
Join, get on the board, oust or just outlive the crotchety old bastards, fix the rules.
They probably don’t want to teach new shooters, they want to have a nice peaceful jawing session with their other retired buddies and go through 10 rounds in 2 hours. No kids doing tactical practice or the like.