Spring Update, Guest Policies
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We hope everyone is having a fine Spring so far. Here’s what’s been going on with us recently
Guest Policies
The majority of guests that come through here are awesome people who do everything right and have a good time. These are people we want here, and they contribute to the success of this enterprise. However, we’ve had a few incidents recently with members and walk-in guests having a misunderstanding about our guest policy, and what is expected of members and guests when they come here. So let’s spell it all out clearly.
Please keep in mind that we want people to bring guests, and we want new people coming in to see what we have to offer - growing the sport in a safe and responsible way is good for everyone, and the best way to do that is to take new people shooting in a safe and controlled way.
Members’ Guests
A guest is anyone who is not a member’s spouse, or their child under the age of 18. Adult children and other relatives all count as guests.
All guests must fill out the Daily Membership Agreement AND the Terms and Conditions waiver, and pay the $25 guest fee, each time they use the facility.
A member may bring one or two guests at a time. All guests must be strictly supervised at all times while at the facility, and it is not possible for one person to properly supervise more than one or two people at a time with the proper level of diligence and discipline required for using firearms safely.
Whether or not a guest has a license or some special qualification does not affect the number of guests a member is allowed to bring. If your guest is uniquely qualified, they still count towards your limit, and the upper limit is up to two guests total, per member.
If you have a group of buddies that you want to bring out shooting, that’s great. But big groups of buddies do not behave in the same way as groups of students, strangers or competitors in the presence of an authorized supervisor. Bring them one or two at a time. Big groups of friends on the range, even when they are taking up only 1 or 2 lanes, can and will:
prevent or discourage other paying members from using the range at the same time.
fail to observe fundamental safety procedures.
not recognize your authority and responsibility as their supervisor.
create an unsafe environment for themselves and others, due to distraction or competitiveness.
DO NOT bring big groups of people to this range, regardless of whether or not they have licenses.
Members are permitted to bring in unlicensed guests, but special care must be taken.
An unlicensed person must never be left unsupervised with unsecured firearms. If the member needs to use the washroom, for example, the guest is not permitted to remain on the range by themselves, and ideally the guns should all be locked up securely. By that same principle, an unlicensed shooter is not permitted to operate a firearm at the same time as their licensed supervisor. They must take turns, and the unlicensed person may only do so while under the direct supervision of their licensed sponsor member. One shooter per valid license.
According to the Canadian Criminal Code, an unlicensed person may operate a firearm while under the direct supervision of a person who has a valid license for that classification of firearm. Our interpretation of this is that the licensed person must be able to take immediate control of the firearm and/or the shooter if they determine that the unlicensed shooter is using it unsafely or incorrectly - the licensed supervisor must stay within arm’s reach for the entire time the unlicensed person is handling the firearm, whether it is loaded or unloaded.
This is not a matter of range policy, this is the law. Refer to the Canadian Criminal Code here. 86 (1), 91 (1), 91 (2) and 91 (4) all apply to this situation.
The member is 100% responsible for everything their guest does while here. If the guest damages range equipment or injures another person, the consequences fall entirely on the member who brought them. It doesn’t matter if the guest is completely new to firearms or an old pro - everything they do on our range is the responsibility of the member who brought them here. If your unlicensed guest blasts holes in the light shields or shoots out the track sensor because it was their first time shooting a gun and you thought it would be a good idea to start them out with a centerfire rifle, it is as if your finger were on the trigger. You will be held responsible for the damages.
Members found to be abusing guest privileges, ignoring policy or in violation of the Criminal Code will face consequences. Depending on the degree and severity of the infraction, these consequences may take the form of:
suspension of guest privileges, either temporary or permanent
fines for damages
immediate termination of membership
criminal charges
Walk-In Guests
We do allow walk-in guests. We are a privately-owned commercial range open to the public, and walk-in guests are welcome. Each guest must pay the $25 day pass fee, and fill out the guest form and the liability waiver.
Walk-in guests must be licensed, and must bring their own guns. We do not rent or loan guns. Our sales demo guns are not range rentals.
Walk-in guests may not bring unlicensed guests of their own (with the exception of their children under age 18). All walk-in guests need to have the proper license for the firearm they wish to shoot, whether they arrive together in a group or separately. If a walk-in guest does not have a restricted license, he may not shoot restricted firearms here, even if he came with another walk-in guest who has a restricted license and brought his own restricted firearms. We have seen too much negligence and destruction from walk-in guests bringing a bunch of their buddies out to “show off.”
When we get a group of licensed walk-in guests, all members of that group are responsible for one another. If one member of the group acts in a careless manner or with disregard for the range rules, all members of that group are subject to the consequences.
Walk-in guests who cause serious damage to range equipment, and/or who walk away from causing damage without taking responsibility for their actions, are not welcome to return. We can work with people who are willing to take ownership of their mistakes, but irresponsibility and flagrant disregard for safety are never acceptable nor tolerated here.
Walk-in guests are subject to the same rules and regulations as our members, and will be subject to the same level of discipline should they choose to disregard those rules. Non-members found to be ignoring policy, engaging in reckless and unsafe behaviour or in violation of the Criminal Code will face consequences, including:
an immediate lifetime ban from the facility
fines for damages
criminal charges
Door Fobs
By law, we need to keep a record of everyone coming in to use the range. The reason we are allowed to offer 24-hour access to our members is because of the electronic RFID fob system we use as our sign-in. Everyone with a fob coming in to use the range has to fob in every time.
The fob is not just a security key to gain you entry into the building. It’s your electronic sign-in sheet and your liability waiver. That is how you prove that you are here legally, with our permission.
If you don’t fob in, and we have no record of your being here legally with our permission, you are trespassing. If you cause property damage or personal injury with a firearm while trespassing, that is not going to end well for you.
You must fob in:
to use the range after hours.
to use the range during staffed hours.
when you arrive with or at the same time as another member who fobs in before you.
every time you come in to use the range.
You do not need to use your fob:
to shop in the store ONLY. If your store visit also includes use of the range, you must fob in.
to attend a course.
to come in during staffed hours to speak to the staff (unless you will also be using the range).
to fob out when you leave. This is optional.
Use your fob every time you come in to shoot.
Supply Chain
Without getting too tinfoil-hat-political about it, the firearms supply chain is in a bit of a jumble right now, and has been for the past two years - basically the entire time we have had our pro-shop.
Reloading supplies are next to impossible for us to get right now. We have no primers and very little in the way of powder. Everyone we deal with is out of stock for everything. If you are looking to get into reloading, now is a terrible time for it. Wait about 6 months, see what the world looks like then and re-evaluate your needs.
Seasonal hunting ammo has also been a difficulty for us because of the lockdowns, and it’s never available for us to bring in right before the season begins. The current hot-ticket item is 12ga turkey loads - we don’t have any and can’t get it at the moment. We’ll try again for fall.
While we are fairly well-stocked on common range ammo (9mm, 22LR, 38sp, .223), it is very difficult for us to bring in anything less common. Lever-action calibres have been largely unavailable to us for several months, 6.5 Creedmoor and old military calibres are “hen’s teeth” right now, and we get a lot of calls from people looking for very specific hunting rounds that we don’t have and can’t get.
We bring in what we can, when we can, and we get it out on social media when new stuff comes in. Generally, when it’s something like powders or cool new guns, those sell through very quickly. Keep an eye on our Facebook feed.
Upcoming Courses and Events
PAL Courses:
May 14 & 15 (FULL)
May 28 & 29 (FULL)
June 11 & 12 (FULL)
July 9 & 10
RPAL Courses
April 30 (FULL)
June 25 (FULL)
July 23
CSSA PPC Holster Course
June 4
PPC Service Matches
May 1
June 5