Philadelphia Archery & Gun Club

[runningfast]

So!

I know dan (the site's founder) reviewed this place a few years back but in case anything's changed, I thought I'd post some of my findings.

I called and scheduled a beginner's lesson for 11am. When I arrived fifteen minutes early they offered to start my lesson early- I'd mentioned on the phone that I'd prefer as early a lesson as possible (work later in the day), and I'm not sure if the counter guy remembered my voice, but either way it was appreciated.

I got a few basic questions- "your first time?", "what caliber would you like to learn with?", etc- and signed a waiver. I was walked through the basic gun rules, and then explained some fundamentals of shooting well. After confirming that I was comfortable holding the weapon and maintaining trigger finger safety, I was sent upstairs.

I will stop here and say one thing: the gentleman helping me here exhibited some poor muzzle control. I saw him take the Glock 17 from its display hooks, and the action was worked open, and it was irrefutably unloaded... but still. The muzzle of the weapon did sweep me a few times while he spoke with me, and that bothered me. I decided not to say anything in case the conversation might suddenly turn sour (the guy was incredibly nice and helpful otherwise), but I do think it merits mention.

Upon entering the range anteroom, I met my instructor, Anthony. He was friendly and got me some ammunition and ear protection. We entered the range where there was some sort of real world training class going on. I had to wait a few minutes to shoot but everyone was courteous despite the intensity of thee exercise.

Anthony got me started and made sure my grip worked well enough- and asked me about my comfort and everything. I finally put some rounds down range, and eventually Anthony was satisfied that I knew what I was doing. I like to think I did.

My only complaint about Anthony is that he was a little slow to respond to questions or requests. It took me a few minutes to get more ammunition, even though I was the only one at the upstairs counter. He did seem to be pretty locked up in whatever was on the computer, though, so I'm not claiming it was negligence or anything. I just think maybe they could work on delegating some of the instructor's every day responsibilities during the lesson so that I could get more for my money in terms of instruction. When he did proffer help, though, it was very informative and appreciated.

I really liked the target system. It was very, very intuitive and clearcut, and I had no problem getting the hang of it. No complaints there. The climate was also very comfortable, and I had a decent amount of privacy in my stall.

My rave review here, though, goes to the blonde haired man at the downstairs counter (I regret that I didn't catch his name). If anyone here knows him: he is muscular, and about my height (6'1").

He was very helpful, very friendly, and went above and beyond to answer my questions and do me favors.

I satisfied my curiosity about the Glock 17 provided to me for my lesson, and asked about the cost of renting a second weapon. He thought about it for a moment and said "you're just trying to feel out some different guns, don't worry about the cost, you're paying for a lesson". He asked if I knew what I wanted to try (I did- an XD9 subcompact) and he was glad to let me try it. I noticed it had the extended magazine and asked if he had the flush magazine. He looked unsure for a second, and then actually sought out a used XD9 not on the rental wall and let me use one of those magazines. I thought that was incredibly cool.

Then upon trying that and asking for another weapon (this time a Ruger P series), he made sure that I understood what a hammer was (I'm not a totally novice shooter so I did) and cautioned me about the lessened trigger pull.

Finally upon expending all my ammunition I checked out. The downstairs was crowded but the line moved quickly. They checked to make sure that I was totally satisfied and asked if I had any lingering questions. Even after I paid they were willing to help me.

All in all I had a really positive experience and I would definitely recommend Philadelphia Archery & Gun. When it's crowded the range can run a little slowly, but if you're patient it seems like a really excellent place to shoot. I don't drive so I don't have a huge selection of ranges in the first place- but come Glock day when memberships are discounted, I'll give serious thought to joining this club. I received service ranging from good to great in what seemed like a really nice facility.