Interesting Club considerations from Cowtown's circumstances.......

[T-Square]

I didnt want to hijack the Cowtown thread, but I wanted to ask a few broad questions and see what our esteemed body of leaders have to offer:

 

My condolences to the Cowboys. The closing of Cowtown Cowboys marks the end of something very special in our SASS community.

 

I would offer an observation for consideration—not just about Cowtown, but for all cowboy clubs. From the comments in the prevous thread, it appears the club determined that continued operation under the gun club’s new lease terms was simply unsustainable. That raises an important question for all of us: what are the pros and cons of a cowboy club that operates on a range it does not own?

 

When a club relies entirely on a landlord—often a gun range—it introduces a significant long-term risk. Lease terms can change, costs can rise, and even a long and successful partnership can eventually reach a point where it no longer works financially. In my limited experience, we've seen many cowboy bays canablized for IPSC clubs.

 

A second risk for any club is when only a very small number of members are doing most of the work. I’m not suggesting that was the situation at Cowtown, but it is something worth thinking about across the sport. A club cannot thrive if it effectively becomes the responsibility of just one or two people. For longevity, there has to be depth in membership and leadership. Not everyone can give forty years of service—but Cowtown clearly had something special to last that long.

 

Of course, not every cowboy club can own its own range, and not every gun range wants to host a cowboy club. However, in my limited national experience, many of the most successful venues seem to have some level of ownership or structural partnership with the host range that goes beyond simply holding a lease.

 

Perhaps this is an area where Single Action Shooting Society could help by offering a “business class” or workshop for cowboy clubs—bringing in experienced leaders such as Flat Top Okie and Whiskey Hayes to share what they’ve learned about building, sustaining, and passing along a world-class club and venue.

 

Cowtown set a remarkable example, and there is much the rest of us can learn from it. @Misty Moonshine @ruby ruthless

Edited March 5 by T-Square

[Vail Vigilante]

My condolences to Cowtown. Business classes are a good idea. 

[La Sombra]

Ask any one in the Tejas Caballaros. They moved more than a few times due to landlord/tenet issues. Check out the article in the Chronicle about their adventures. Today they are on a non-revocable 99 year lease for their range.

 

La Sombra 

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

I shoot at three ranges in my metro area and am an officer at two of them.  I defer to Garrison Joe regarding the situation at Legacy Ranch (formerly Founders Ranch).  CAS shares berms with USPSA clubs and concealed carry classes.  Ranges need income from all these sources to maintain berms.  Intense thunderstorms in late summer erode berms and they require maintenance.  Income from CAS matches alone could not maintain the berms.  Not all users of berms housing CAS props are respectful of the props and have damaged them.  Multiple users of berms help pay for range insurance.

 

The Rio Grande Renegades shoot at the ABQ City Range.  There is a good relationship between the club and range management.  Encroachment is not an issue at the range and is unlikely to be so for decades.  Rounds over side berms are a match DQ as others are frequently shooting in adjacent ranges during CAS matches.  The City Range wants the club to host an annual match as it brings in visitors and their tourist dollars - a goal of City Government.  The City Range provides some free services and facilities to the annual match.  There is a group of about twelve reliable workers who run the club, perform maintenance and plan and run matches.  I have seen a club run with as few as three workers, but they burned themselves out trying and eventually quit.

 

The Zia Rifle and Pistol Club just south of ABQ operates on leased state land.  The land was a WWII bombing range located on a flood plain.  It is unsuitable for development though there is land slated for development south of the range.  Development there will eventually force closure of the range.  CAS was once shot at Zia though that ended after permanent props were built at other ranges.  Berms at the range are actively used for practice shooting.  The range recently modified its long-distance range to eliminate concerns from a nearby military facility.  The club is committed to maintaining good relationships with its neighbors.  It takes much energy to run the club.  Even with paid maintenance and trash collection, the leadership and administration duties of the club make the club president's position a part-time job (sometimes full-time when flash floods damage the range).

Edited March 6 by Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971

[Yul Lose]

Anyone attending EOT or other matches at the Ben Avery facility are aware of the chip (integrated circuit) factory being built just south of the range off of the 303 freeway. I can’t help but wonder when the chip people will start coming down on the shooting facility as a bad neighbor and push for it to be shut down. I hope that doesn’t happen but in today’s anti gun climate it’s a real possibility. The chip factory grows in leaps and bounds and the related development around it is spreading also. I’d heard that the Ben Avery facility is pretty well protected by the way it was set up when it was given to the state but politicians and others probably wouldn’t let that stop them if they wanted it gone bad enough.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

I also worry about Ben Avery.  The range has protective legislation.  BUT in addition to the world's largest chip factory (two more are scheduled to be built) an entire city is going to be built on the land across the highway from Ben Avery.  NOTHING is permanent when the government is involved.

[Cypress Sun]

31 minutes ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

 NOTHING is permanent when the government is involved.

 

Just ask any of the Native American Tribes....

[Joe LaFives #5481]

O

10 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

Just ask any of the Native American Tribes....

Or the Tucson Gun Club that operated for more than 40 years and was shut down in 97.