View Full Version : Markham Park First Time. What To Expect?
I will be going to Markham in a few weeks with my son and a few friends and was looking for some current feedback on the park, policies and what to expect. Are there dont's that aren't obvious? Are they AR Friendly? Is Saturday or Sunday a better day to go? Any feedback appreciated.
Chris
01-19-2010, 07:37 PM
yes, AR friendly.
Have you safety gear and a positive attitude.
Good place in my opinion to take family, range masters are stirct and borderline annoying but is a safe place to shoot.
If you go on a weekend be prepared to wait
IraG2362
01-19-2010, 09:36 PM
Make sure all guns that are to be used are shwon when asked, dont pull something out afterwards. Listen to the RM's , ask questions they will answer them and even help with things like sighting in your guns. Clean up your brass. They are very AR friendly , not so friendly to thugs with AK's (thank god) weekends you will wait unless you get there very early. I like wed.best ..
As everyone said, if you act responsibly and listen to the RO's instructions, you will have a great time. It is one of my favorite places to shoot. It does get a bad rap as being very strict, but usually it's coming from folks who broke a safety rule or possibly from the dealings of the one RO with a piss poor attitude. Otherwise, all the other RO's are really cool guys.
IraG2362
01-20-2010, 10:29 AM
As everyone said, if you act responsibly and listen to the RO's instructions, you will have a great time. It is one of my favorite places to shoot. It does get a bad rap as being very strict, but usually it's coming from folks who broke a safety rule or possibly from the dealings of the one RO with a piss poor attitude. Otherwise, all the other RO's are really cool guys.
I agree 100% with what Phil says on this..
As everyone said, if you act responsibly and listen to the RO's instructions, you will have a great time. It is one of my favorite places to shoot. It does get a bad rap as being very strict, but usually it's coming from folks who broke a safety rule or possibly from the dealings of the one RO with a piss poor attitude. Otherwise, all the other RO's are really cool guys.
No problem with rules. I know they are in place to protect everyone and I've been around dim bulbs doing stupid things. Especially with familiy present I prefer a no-nonsense environment. Attitude is everything. Friendly is good. Is there a restriction as to what or how many items you can bring to the line? I would go during the week first but the plan is set for the weekend so there's that. How early should we get there to not have to wait or wait long? If we get there later how long to wait? Thanks for the feedback :)
PS: As for stupid things. I actually had a gun shop employee sweep me with a gun he was showing me. Yes, it was cleared but would you want it pointed at you?
There is a 3 gun limit per person/bench. If you have more than 3, you need to keep one in the car and when you have an opportunity to make safe and case up one under RO supervision and swap out with the other. IMHO, I would make all efforts to not doing that as you have now shown everyone who is watching that you have a gun in the car and you have now gone back into the range to shoot. If I have more than 3 guns, and have a friend with that I'm shooting with have only 2, I can then have that 4th gun with him as long as he is shooting at another bench. On weekends, if you go first thing in the morning @ 8:00am, expect there to be a waiting list already started. If there is a club event going on such as black powder, etc, expect the wait times to be up to 2 hours. If you go after noon, the crowds lighten up considerably; however, during the spring and summer, you have afternoon showers that many times will sound off the lightning dectectors and they will shut the range down if that happens. If you go right before hunting season, you will see crowds, but most are there to sight their rifles in and pack up and leave, so it goes quickly.
There is a 3 gun limit per person/bench. If you have more than 3, you need to keep one in the car and when you have an opportunity to make safe and case up one under RO supervision and swap out with the other. IMHO, I would make all efforts to not doing that as you have now shown everyone who is watching that you have a gun in the car and you have now gone back into the range to shoot. If I have more than 3 guns, and have a friend with that I'm shooting with have only 2, I can then have that 4th gun with him as long as he is shooting at another bench. On weekends, if you go first thing in the morning @ 8:00am, expect there to be a waiting list already started. If there is a club event going on such as black powder, etc, expect the wait times to be up to 2 hours. If you go after noon, the crowds lighten up considerably; however, during the spring and summer, you have afternoon showers that many times will sound off the lightning dectectors and they will shut the range down if that happens. If you go right before hunting season, you will see crowds, but most are there to sight their rifles in and pack up and leave, so it goes quickly.
Great Info..Thanks a bunch :)
Trail Galdes Outdoor Range is now open again after renovation.. if you live down south, it might be better...
Billy
01-21-2010, 10:48 AM
Pretty decent place. I always go very early in the AM. They are very AR friendly and strict. Some of the guys have chips on their shoulders.
What do they provide and what do I need to bring? Guns, Ammo and Targets are on my side. Do I need cardboard or tape? Stapler? What are the minimum distances? I ask that question for two reasons. One, on the rifle i'm only working with Iron sights till somebody cares enough to bestow a Eotech or equivalent on me and want to be realistic with the irons. Two, I was thinking of bringing pistols. I thought I read somewhere that it was 15 yards and not worth it for pistols but I would have no issue practicing at 15 - 20 yards with a pistol. First time there so bear with me on all the questions :)
anthony20031
02-04-2010, 09:08 AM
I believe the minimum is 15 yds
they sell targets if you need.. they provide the card board and tape.. min is 15 yrds.. you can only bring 3 guns out.. you must clean up all of your brass after each round of shooting... eye and ear protection mandatory.. take a towel with you unless you dont mind puting your guns on the concrete directly..
anthony20031
02-04-2010, 10:13 AM
they sell targets if you need.. they provide the card board and tape.. min is 15 yrds.. you can only bring 3 guns out.. you must clean up all of your brass after each round of shooting... eye and ear protection mandatory.. take a towel with you unless you dont mind puting your guns on the concrete directly..
You mean on the wood? Thought it was wooden tables
You mean on the wood? Thought it was wooden tables
on the pistol platforms it is wood on the rifle it is concrete.. ( I think.. let me take a look at the pics )
You mean on the wood? Thought it was wooden tables
All the benches left of the "control booth" are permanant concrete benches. The right side remained with the old wood and steel tube benches so they can be removed for special event use.
concrete rifle, wood gun platform..
concrete rifle, wood gun platform..
What kind of optics do you have on that rifle? It looks like it's on a carry handle.
That's a reflex optic probably an ATN. It's on a GSG rifle, so it doesn't have a carry handle like an AR does. You can use them on AR's; however, they aren't as rugged as your milspec type options.
Plus that's an old picture. The wood ramp and dirt are gone and it is now a concrete pad to help in cleaning up brass and keeping the mud off your feet when it rains.
Good tip on the concrete coverage. I wouldn't dig putting my stuff down on that at all. Thanks.
That's a reflex optic probably an ATN. It's on a GSG rifle, so it doesn't have a carry handle like an AR does. You can use them on AR's; however, they aren't as rugged as your milspec type options.
the ATN is not bad I have it on my shotgun..
Plus that's an old picture.
yep... that is Chris's gun.. just used the pic to show the slab.. I dont have money to buy something like that... :bolt:
anthony20031
02-04-2010, 11:12 AM
hmmm guess I was wrong then lol....apparently it's been too long
Tactical DAD
02-04-2010, 03:37 PM
What about Pop's Gun Range in Southwest Ranches. I heard you are a little more liberal on rules.
spikes40
02-04-2010, 04:39 PM
the range owner is a bit to crazy as in (whacko) for me...no thanks!
anthony20031
02-04-2010, 09:10 PM
does Arizona allow rapid fire? May have to hit that one up....never have fired anyone of my guns rapid fire
We went to the range on Saturday and I thought I’d write a report on it. There were four of us. Myself, my son, my buddy and his son. I had all intentions of getting there at 8am but a few morning setbacks put us there at about 9:30am.
We got on the list and waited about 1.5hrs to get a spot. We didn’t know at the time that half the line was closed for a club shoot until 12pm. We used the wait time productively by watching from outside for a while. That way we would have a good idea of the flow of things when we got in. Unfortunately, a guy on the line swept the line and my buddy outside the fence with his rifle. He was holding the rifle in his hands as if to put it away and turned around with it. I was inside when it happened but was present when he received the reprimand.
The fellow inside at the counter was friendly. When the inside crowd died down we had a little Q&A and he was helpful. We chatted with a few regulars who were also waiting as well. The wait was long but eventually we got in.
We started out with a man RO and he left shortly after and was relieved by a woman who stayed with us just about until we left, when the other fellow returned. Both RO’s were friendly and helpful. We just told them we were experienced with shooting but not at this range and we wanted to make sure we followed all of the protocols. A couple of times they handed me my mags when I couldn’t cross the line to reload them. The RO checked in on us a few times and asked how we were doing. They watched us as it’s their job but no one smothered us. Another RO helped one of the kids setup for left-handed shooting.
I took a few phone pics so advanced apologies if they aren’t that great. 1) Outside looking in. 2) My buddies son shooting the Neos. 3) The main reason we went. 4) Another view. The RO used a .410 casing to keep the action open on my .22 bolt :) 5) Part of the line. 6) Targets. We had Shoot-n-C's at 15,25-50 yrds.
All in all a great time. Maybe the RO's get a bad rap. Maybe we just got a couple good ones. A good attitude and politeness seem to help. We look forward to visiting again as time allows.
Thats the end of it. I hope folks that haven't been there find this post helpful :)
doug5336
02-07-2010, 07:03 PM
Those are the coolest red X's I have ever seen!
Those are the coolest red X's I have ever seen!
First time posting pics in here. They should be there now.
ProjectMayhem
02-08-2010, 12:13 AM
Nice write up and pics!
Nice write up. Yeah most of the RO's there aren't bad, but there is one in particular that is a total tool.
nice.. my son is a lefty as well...
spikes40
02-08-2010, 10:37 AM
nice.. my son is a lefty as well...
Southpaws :raspberry:
Nice write up. Yeah most of the RO's there aren't bad, but there is one in particular that is a total tool.
I guess there's always one in a bunch. As a side note, the Black Dog mags worked flawlessly with the ciener bolt.