Range Rules
I. General Rules
A. The Executive Board shall have the authority to amend any of these rules as it becomes
necessary.
B. Appropriate eye and hearing protection is required at all times while on all club ranges, no
exceptions.
C. On occasions when the club is open to the public the gates leading to areas not involved in
public activity will be closed.
D. No shooting on Sundays until 9 AM. No shooting Monday through Saturday until 8 AM.
All shooting must stop at sunset, every day, as listed by the chart posted on the ranges.
E. The ranges will be closed to all shooting on days or nights when work is being done on that
specific range and date.
F. No shooter shall cause, either by error or on purpose, any round to strike higher than one-
half the distance to the top of the backstop on all ranges so designed.
G. All paper targets will be pinned between the target frames as close to the center as possible.
No one shall pin targets on the frames and nothing but paper type targets shall be used.
H. Paper targets in the shape of a man must be removed from the property when done
shooting.
I. No glass of ceramic targets may be used on any range.
J. Clay pigeons are to be used on the Trap Range only. Any exceptions must be approved by
the Executive Board.
K. Cans and plastic jugs may be used on the rifle and pistol ranges. They must be clean and
the labels removed. No environmentally unsafe container shall ever be used on any range.
L. Cans and jugs shall be placed at the base of the backstop, metal table on the Upper Pistol
Range, or in the sand bunkers on the Rifle Range.
M. At no time shall a target be placed on the flat ground to be shot at.
N. Any privately owned metal targets must be placed in such a manner so as to ensure the
containment of any ricochets to the club property.
O. Cans and jugs will be put in the trash or back in the target barrel depending upon their
condition.
P. Everyone shall clean up the range when done; removing any targets and placing them in the
roper container. The Executive Board encourages everyone to take their trash with him or
her when they leave.
Q. Any outside group that has permission to use club ranges or property must follow all Rules
of the Ranges and Standing Operating Procedures.
R. All shooters must fire from the same firing line. At no time shall anyone be in front of
another shooter. All shooters shall shoot only at the target holder directly in front of them.
S. No one is permitted to drive vehicles onto the firing line or to the target holders unless
authorized by the Range Committee for that range. Anyone making ruts on any range is
required to repair same.
T. No one is allowed to shoot at any wild animal or bird on any of the ranges.
U. All pets will be controlled by their owners. Pets are not allowed down range while shooting.
Owners must clean up after their pets when necessary.
V. While on club property all members are required to have their membership card with them
and must show it on demand. Anyone not producing his or her card will be prohibited from
shooting and may be asked to leave the property.
W. Members are responsible for their guests. While on any range the guest must be with a
member. Guests are limited to two (2) per member. Members are allowed to bring more
than two (2) guests as long as said guests are immediate family members, i.e. husband, wife,
sons, daughters, etc.
X. When a certain range event is open to the public, non-members shall not shoot on another
range that is not open to the public unless accompanied by a member.
Y. Tracer, armor-piercing (AP), and explosive rounds are not allowed on any of the ranges.
Z. Alcohol, illegal drugs, or any substance that might cause mental or physical impairment
cannot be taken or consumed by anyone involved in shooting on any range. Anyone found
under the influence of any of the above will not be allowed on the firing line of any range.
AA. Anyone seeing any unsafe act occurring is expected to call a cease-fire or bring it to the
attention of the Range Officer or the person committing that act. Continuance of an unsafe
act by anyone that was told to stop will justify the violator being asked to leave the range.
BB. Anyone that violates any of these rules may be suspended or expelled from the club with
no reimbursement of dues or fees. Guests in violation may be barred from the club.
Prospective members may have their application denied and lose their initial fee.
II. Specific Rules
A. Casual Rapid Fire (CRF)
1. Definition. Casual Rapid Fire (CRF) shall mean the unsupervised shooting of a firearm,
as fast as it will shoot, not necessarily at a given target.
2. CRF may only be done on the Rifle Range and the Lower Pistol Range.
3. Any firearm that is capable of holding six (6) or more rounds may be used excluding
machine guns. See separate rules governing machine guns.
4. All of the following rules must be met before shooting CRF:
a. No more than six (6) rounds fired successively. Magazine capacity not restricted.
b. No shooting CRF further than 15 yards from the backstop.
c. No rounds to strike higher than one-half the distance to the top of the backstop.
d. Club target holders are not to be shot at.
5. Semi-auto shall mean any firearm that is capable of firing a round of ammunition with
each squeeze of the trigger, successively.
Note – Timed Rapid Fire shall mean the shooting of a firearm with the purpose of hitting a
specific target or targets within an allotted time frame.
B. Machine Guns
1. Definition. Any reference to machine guns or submachine guns shall mean any firearm
that is capable of firing multiple successive rounds of ammunition with one (1) squeeze of
the trigger.
a. Submachine gun. A machine gun that fires pistol size ammunition only.
b. Heavy machine gun. Any machine gun that fires standard rifle ammunition.
2. Any member owning a legally registered machine gun under the National Firearms Act
(NFA) wanting to shoot it on the club ranges must do the following:
a. Meet with the Range Coordinator (RC) with the original registration form and the
machine gun(s).
b. Be issued a permit by the RC, free of charge, which is good for one (1) year and is not
transferable to another person. The permit will expire on December 31 of each year
and the color of the permit will change each year. More than one (1) machine gun
may be on the permit.
c. Have a current membership card as well as a current machine gun permit with him or
her when firing machine guns on the ranges.
d. Any guest of the member who has a permit may fire the member’s machine gun.
Members are responsible for their guest’s actions.
3. The RC will keep a record of all permit holders.
4. The RC may issue a Day Permit to a guest accompanied by a member in good standing.
The Day Permit will be of the RC’s design and the guest must adhere to all club rules.
The member is allowed to shoot the guest’s machine gun as well on the same Day Permit.
5. Range usage
a. Heavy machine guns
(1) All rifle caliber machine guns will be fired on the Rifle Range only.
(2) All machine guns fired from the 100 and 200-yard firing lines must be fired from a
bench supported or prone supported position utilizing a bipod, tripod, sandbags,
etc.
(3) Standing or offhand shooting at the 100 and 200-yard firing lines is not allowed
while in the “full auto” mode. Machine guns with a selector switch may be fired in
the offhand position in the “semi-auto” mode.
(4) Firing “full auto” in the offhand or hip position must be done no further than 15
yards from the backstop.
b. Submachine guns.
(1) All pistol caliber machine guns must be fired on the Lower Pistol Range.
(2) Firing from the offhand or hip position must be done no further than 15 yards
from the backstop.
c. Shooters must use their own targets and target holders.
d. No shooter will cause, either by error or on purpose, any round to strike higher than
one-half the distance to the top of the backstop.
e. At no time will the firer allow any heavy machine gun or submachine gun to be fired
more than a six (6) shot burst. In case of a machine gun malfunction, causing said
machine gun to fire more than six (6) shots in one (1) trigger squeeze (run-a-way gun)
the firer will take immediate action (remove magazine, kink belt, etc.) to stop the
offending machine gun and remove it from the firing line until repaired.
f. Unless during a club sponsored shoot, only one (1) machine gun will be allowed to fire
at a time.
g. Only hunting or military ball ammunition may be fired. All tracer, armor-piercing
(AP), and explosive ammunition is prohibited.
C. Outside groups and rental of the ranges
1. The Upper Pistol Range is never to be rented or scheduled for use by any outside group.
Its use is for members and their guests only.
2. The Lower Pistol Range may be used by members and their guests, but law enforcement
agencies have priority when it has been reserved for them.
a. The fee will be $50.00 for the use of the complete range per day or $10.00 per hour.
b. Use of the complete range shall mean that it is closed to members and their guests, and
it is to be only used by the group that rented it.
3. The Rifle Range can never be completely rented out during the months of October or
November, or Saturday or Sunday of any other month.
a. The fee for use of the complete Rifle Range shall be $150.00 per day or $40.00 per
hour.
b. Partial rental of the Rifle Range is $50.00 per day or $20.00 per hour. Members may
use at least one-half of the range.
4. Rental of the Trap Range shall be determined by the Trap Committee.
5. Rental of any new ranges or any other club property will be determined by the Executive
Board.
Note: All members are reminded to check the newsletter and the bulletin board near the
road for upcoming scheduled events.
6. The Falmouth Police Department will never be charged a fee for the use of the ranges,
but the club may accept any gratuitous gift offered by them should they desire to do so.
7. Anyone that is making a profit for himself, herself, or an employer by the use of any
range or property must pay rental fees for said use. Any exceptions must be determined
by the Executive Board at an open Business Meeting. Any non-profit organization may
use any of the club’s property at the Board’s discretion.
D. Individual ranges
1. Trap Range
a. Shotguns only. No pistols, rifles, or any other type firearms are allowed. Archery
events and practicing may take place with the Trap Committee’s consent through the
Range Coordinator.
b. All actions will remain open until on the firing line.
c. All shooters will shoot downrange within the right and left boundaries of the range.
d. No shot larger than No. 7 ˝ is allowed to be shot on the range except as provided for
in Section h. below.
e. Nothing is to be placed on the roof of the trap house.
f. Hand and ground traps may be used as long as it is done in a safe manner.
g. Only clay pigeons may be used. No cans or jugs are allowed.
h. A shooter may pattern a shotgun when the range isn’t being used and their target
must be placed at a safe location, beyond the trap house, in such a manner so that the
shot will go into the ground. A shooter may use shot larger than No. 7 ˝ as long as he
is patterning his gun and the shot is going into the ground and not into the air.
i. Safety must be practiced at all times.
2. Upper Pistol Range
a. No outside groups allowed – members and guests only.
b. Pistols, no rifles larger than .22 rimfire, and no pistols that are capable of firing rifle
cartridges larger than .22 rimfire (e.g. Thompson Center Contender or Encore or any
derivatives) are allowed.
c. Nothing is to be placed on the falling plate racks and fired at. Cans and jugs are to be
placed on the metal table or at the base of the backstop on either side of the plate
racks.
d. No one is to shoot further than 30 yards from the backstop.
e. When not in use firearms will have their actions open, holstered, or cased.
f. All shots must not strike higher than one-half the distance to the top of the backstop
and shooters must shoot within the range boundaries.
g. Safety must be practiced at all times.
3. Rifle Range
a. No submachine guns are to be fired on this range. Pistols, rifles, heavy machine guns,
and shotguns are allowed.
b. Cans and jugs must be placed in the sand bunkers or against the backstop when
shooting at them; never on a flat surface, target frame, or railroad tie.
c. Only pistols firing pistol cartridges and rifles firing .22 rimfire may be fired at the
sand bunkers. No large rifle cartridges are to shot into at the bunkers in any way,
shape, or form.
d. Shooters shooting from the 200-yard line must close the gate across the Rifle Range
access road.
e. No shots will strike higher than one-half the distance to the top of the backstop and
shooters will shoot within the boundaries of the range.
f. When not in use the actions of all firearms will be open, the firearms cased, or
holstered.
g. Safety must be practiced at all times.
4. Lower Pistol Range
a. Members and guests may use this range when not in use by law enforcement agencies.
These agencies have priority on this range.
b. Pistols, carbines firing pistol cartridges, shotguns, submachine guns, and .22 rimfire
rifles are allowed. No centerfire rifles or any pistols designed to fire centerfire rifle
ammunition are allowed.
c. Cans and jugs may be shot at as long as they are placed at the base of the backstop and
not on the flat portion of the range.
d. Shotgun and submachine gun shooters must use their own targets and frames.
e. No shots will strike higher than one-half the distance to the top of the backstop and
shooters will shoot within the boundaries of the range.
f. When not in use the actions of all firearms will be open, the firearms cased, or
holstered.
g. Safety must be practiced at all times.
5. Archery Range
a. The designation of any archery range and the placement of any club or private targets
shall be at the discretion of the Archery Committee or the Range Coordinator through
the Executive Board’s approval.
b. Broadheads will never be used on any ranges or targets.
c. Crossbow shooters must shoot at their own targets.
d. Safety must be practiced at all times.
6. Picnic and River Area
a. Anyone or group using the Picnic/River Area is required to clean up after their use.
b. Anyone fishing on club property must have the proper licenses and must abide by all
state and local ordinances plus practice good sportsmanship.
c. Open fires on club property are subject to state and local ordinances.