Question about Guthsville

**tshupp2** · October 28th, 2006, 07:29 PM

I only recently joined Guthsville after being a member with Easton Fish & Game for 18 years (it is just too far to drive since I live north of Allentown) and had a bit of a problem. I went to the range to sight in my new CZ 40 S&W but I could not get into the indoor range. I looked for the caretaker but he did not answer the door (even tho his truck was there & I could hear either tv or radio from in the house). I checked the website & posted w/club but did not receive a responce. Does anyone here know why the indoor range would be locked up during regular range hours? To be honest, I'll drop the membership if I can't use the indoor range when I want (exception being if there is a shoot going on, of course).
Thanks,
tshupp2

**JDshoots** · November 14th, 2006, 07:37 PM

tshupp, have you received a reply to this question yet outside of this forum? If so I would love to hear the response.

I too am greatly interested in the answer to your request since I am considering membership here also. However if it’s very difficult to get into the indoor range then I may look into a club that’s closer.

How about others on this forum that are Guthsville members? Anyone with an idea on what occurred? Do you find it difficult to get into the indoor range? I see they have a scheduled activities on Mon, Wed, and Fri evenings.

Maybe I should just buy a membership to the Firing Line and leave it at that.

Thanks for any input,
JD

**tshupp2** · November 18th, 2006, 11:26 AM

No, I never did receive any kind of reply. There were no activities going on at the time and I have not been able to get into the indoor range yet. At this rate, I would rather make the drive to Easton Fish & Game so that at least I can use a 7 & 15 yard range.
The indoor range is the only one that is less than 25 yrs at Guthsville. Since one of the reasons that I have a handgun is self defense, I would prefer to practice at the 15 yrd range rather than 25 and not being able to access the indoor range makes Guthsville useless to me. Add to that the fact that 3 ranges have been 'under maintenance' for the past year so are un-usable, I may just not renew.

**JDshoots** · November 18th, 2006, 03:45 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with you and think I will hold off on my membership.

I just talked with the president regarding the indoor range. It appears they are unwilling to leave it open without a range officer present. They tried to get volunteers to man it for open shooting but while they had the volunteers for range officers, they had very little participation of shooters. Therefore it is mostly closed unless there is an organized event underway. So if you just want to go to shoot at an indoor range Gunthsville is not for you. On the other hand, if you are into all the action pistol deals and competitive 25 yard bulls eye shots, then this is the place. Memberships or not there is additional charges of like 5 bucks to participate in these organized USPSA, IDPA and ICORE shoots as well as the Bulls eye matches and practices.

Monday and Friday evenings they have Bulls eye shooting
Tuesday evenings is advanced IDPA practice
Wednesday evenings are Basic pistol competitive shooting.

I like setup at The Firing Line, it is neat, simple and makes it easy to do what I want while the guy next to me does his thing. I am looking for something set up that way, and I think I am out of luck. Obviously in fair daytime weather there are a number of outdoor clubs where this is possible, but nothing indoors.

Thanks again,
JD

**Archiver** · November 19th, 2006, 10:50 AM

This is a great thread! Thanks for alerting us to the problem since we were considering a membership. The indoor range would have been a deciding factor to us as well for the reasons you mentioned. That 3 ranges are also "under maintenance" for 3 years is unacceptable!

I wonder if the "range officers" who volunteered have unlimited access? Might it be "privledge" sort of thing they try to keep among a small inner circle?

**JDshoots** · November 19th, 2006, 02:06 PM

Archiver, you’re welcome. I am a little frustrated in my efforts to pick a club. I Really wanted indoor access and well there is very little to choose from. I heard Lappawinzo had one, but calling them reveled they didn't. Guthsville is a little south of me but I would have went there if the range was open for general use. Now I am back thinking about buying a membership to The Firing Line. I had hoped to get away with spending less then $200 but I think I am running out of options.

I am half tempted just to rent a front end loader and burm up something in the yard.

JD