Post 48 Chesnee Motion to limit the Use of the Pistol Range

American Legion Post 48
Chesnee, SC 29323

Motion to limit the Use of the Pistol Range

The motion was presented to the Post 48 membership at the meeting February 9, 2017; it was amended and passed by the Post members on March 9, 2017:

I move the following actions related to limiting the use of the range to key holders:
(1) Posting “No Trespassing” signs around the Post 48 property and one or more signs near the gate indicating that after July 1 2017, use of the range is limited to persons having a legal key to the gate.
(2) From July 1 2017 forward, keys to the range will only be issued on the 4th Saturday of each month.
(3) On each of these Saturday’s, a Range Rules and Safety Class shall be taught by a Post certified instructor and is required of ALL persons receiving a key.
(4) Individuals currently holding a key to the range are required to attend a Range Rules and Safety Class prior to December 31, 2017
(5) The cost of a key each year is recommended by the Range Committee and is subject to the approval of the Post Executive Committee and Membership. Dues paid members of Post 48 receive a key as part of their membership at no charge.
(6) Post 48 members may bring an unlimited number of guests to the range at one time. Non-member key holders are limited to not more than 6 guests at one time. Exceptions to this may be made at the discretion of the Range Committee.
(7) Anyone found to be in violation of these rules or the Range Rules shall be subject to a decision of the Range Committee after a hearing.
(8) The Liability Agreement is still required of all persons entering the range.

For a printable PDF copy of the motion, click HERE

Discussion
   Those of us who have administered the range over a long period of time have come to the conclusion that the range should be open to range key holders only. At one time, the city of Chesnee provided a small amount of money to assist the Post with the costs of development and maintenance of the range. In return for this, the city police were permitted to shoot at the range when they needed to qualify. This has not been true to our knowledge since the range improvements of 2009 and later for which either the Post or concerned individual Members has paid.

   The most serious problem is that of gun safety. Those of us who “check” the range regularly can cite numerous instances of persons on the range acting in an unsafe manner. Since this is an unsupervised range, no one enforces issue of safety. People have been seen shooting at different distances on the wire at the same time. Another problem occurring is that people bring high powered rifles and shoot them. We have had 300 magnum, 30-06, 308 Win, 8 mm, 5.7 by 28mm , and 30-30 shot on this range. This is dangerous because of the velocity of the bullet and the ricochet possibility off the steel of the backstop.

   Since 2009 (after the gate was installed) an unknown number of people have come to the range. Many instances of leaving trash, brass, broken items, etc. can be listed as problems seen at the range. One of the mail boxes that holds range forms has been shot; the roof to the shed has been shot; signs used on the range for various activities have been shot; brand new burn barrels have been rolled out and shot; Barbie dolls, hard disks, stuffed animals, jugs of various kinds have all been shot. People who have an investment in the activity and area are much less likely to behave in this manner.

   I (personally) was told at one time that this was a public range and that I could not tell him how to behave on this range. I also had one individual that refused to sign a liability agreement. He was informed that he must immediately leave the range which he did.

   Since we are not proposing to fence-off access to the range, we, as a group, must be willing to have the State of S. C. enforce no trespass laws on our property. It will only take prosecuting a few cases for the message to get out that if you get caught in trespass, you will be prosecuted. If we are unwilling to do this, then we will continue to have those who are willing to violate the law come onto our property.

   As long as the Post has individuals willing to spend their time maintaining and supervising the range, it can be a valuable asset to the Post. We also receive small donations for persons using the range, but not frequently. This is our “asset” and it is a valuable one. It belongs to Post 48 members. We should do all we can do to protect it. The closest other public range (rifle & pistol) to our range is the Lake Whelchel Rifle Range in Cherokee County and it is 17 miles.