WA: Midland and Belmont range 'temporarily closed'?

[moopere]

Hello Folks, I normally shoot in Midland at the Midland Sporting Firearms Association (MSFA) range, they also sponsor my guns.

Last week I was buying some ammo from a local gunshop and in having a casual chat with the guy there he mentioned that 'something' (unknown) has happened and that the MSFA range is closed.

** boggle **

I went along to physically see if this is the case and yes, there is a sign on the security door telling everyone 'closed until further notice'. I've still got to do at least one more shoot this year in order to qualify for firearm license retention and scooting around the web sites of other local clubs and ranges it appears on face value that you have to be a member to shoot at their ranges and membership is a long and drawn out affair - need to undergo the individual clubs training regime and wait 6 months before you can become a full member. So this isn't going to work.

Interestingly and only because they are close, I looked at what I'd have to do to become a member at the 'Lone Ranges Shooting Complex' in Belmont only to find Google reporting this range is also 'Temporarily closed'

Now I'm thinking WTF?

No-one answering the phone at either location I should add.

Anyone got a clue what might be going on? Any inside information?

Should I panic at this stage and go looking for a new club immediately? Whats likely to happen if whatever is going on isn't resolved by JAN 2024 and ... presuming closure of MSFA I'd then lose club sponsorship of my guns?

Yikes!

[Faedy]

Yeah it's all very strange.
In the last few weeks they have gone on a power trip.
Myself and many friends have Been rung/ emailed checking up on us and wanting pics of firearms etc...

[moopere]

Right .. thanks for the feedback. I wasn't aware of this. So, something is 'up' over here that has caused a problem.

I guess there is nothing to be done if the powers-that-be are on the rampage. I'll have to sit tight and keep my head down

[Bazz]

Hi Moopere,

I believe there's over 600+ financial members at Midland (could have been quoted 800). I wouldn't worry just yet as there's a lot of us which would be in the same boat as yourself. I know a few weeks ago they were upgrading / renovating the rifle range which was slated to take a couple weeks. The pistol range was open at this time.

Maybe there's nothing more to it than upgrades on the pistol side now. Time will tell but I'm fairly certain they wouldn't just shut the doors without sending out some communication to members.

In response to your question about panicking and looking for a new club, you'll not meet the requirements for endorsing your club sponsored firearms, especially if you're talking about completing a mandatory shoot by the end of the year. I'd try not to stress too hard just yet.

As Faedy has mentioned, there's a new email address from WAPOL - "FirearmsProject@...." which is cleaning up all the details on the system so the new legislation can target us efficiently (my assumption). They somehow managed to lose a lot of info I'd previously had on my licence for the 10 years prior and had 3 registered addresses for me on their system. Couldn't make this up....

[Insanitywombat]

The Midland range is/was closed due to lead contamination. The entire car park is fenced off and covered.

The Belmont range has been closed ‘temporarily’ for ‘upgrades’ since the end of September. Questions as to when they may be open are met with the answer ‘we will let you know when it opens’. They advise their members that they ‘don’t know’ if there will be any reduction in the number of required match shoots or whether an SSAA non compliance probation will be applied to members who do not complete them. No information is forthcoming other than ‘we will let you know when we open again’.

SSAAWA aren’t answering their phones either and SSAA national are simply saying ‘you need to call SSAAWA’.

I think I’m going to just surrender my firearms and be done with it.

[Bazz]

https://echonewspaper.com.au/news/shoot ... amination/

The timing seems strange with both indoor clubs being shut at the same time. I wonder if they were both audited and found to have lead issues.

[Oldbloke]

https://echonewspaper.com.au/news/shooting-range-blamed-for-lead-contamination/

The timing seems strange with both indoor clubs being shut at the same time. I wonder if they were both audited and found to have lead issues.

I wonder what the atmospheric monitoring results were, and how/where they were taken. In any?
History tells me it will all be BS.

"officer “suspects on reasonable grounds that there is, or is likely to be, an emission from the premises, which has caused or is likely to cause pollution’’.

So this says there is no proof.

[Noisydad]

“I think I’m going to just surrender my firearms and be done with it.

”

Rather than surrendering something good how about surrendering something bad….like Western Australia and claim political asylum over here!

[moopere]

I believe there's over 600+ financial members at Midland (could have been quoted 800). I wouldn't worry just yet as there's a lot of us which would be in the same boat as yourself. I know a few weeks ago they were upgrading / renovating the rifle range which was slated to take a couple weeks. The pistol range was open at this time.

Mmm. When I went by mid OCT there was nothing open insofar as I could see. Just a sign saying closed until further notice.

Its now late NOV and I've not been back to have a physical look, but no-one is answering the phone ... so thats not good.

Good to know that the membership is substantial though, this actually helps my temptation to panic If more than just a few people would be affected by a bad outcome then theres possibly some chance that a bit of leeway might be granted?

Maybe there's nothing more to it than upgrades on the pistol side now. Time will tell but I'm fairly certain they wouldn't just shut the doors without sending out some communication to members.

Yeah, you'd think, but depends on the nature of a closure. Everyone hopes for a managed close of a business ... if its even that, not trying to fear monger, but sometimes its not the case. Employees are gone and the doors simply close.

In response to your question about panicking and looking for a new club, you'll not meet the requirements for endorsing your club sponsored firearms, especially if you're talking about completing a mandatory shoot by the end of the year. I'd try not to stress too hard just yet.

Well, yes. This is my fear such as it is. Looks like a pretty much standard 6 month probation to get full membership to most of the clubs I've reviewed and I further imagine that there wouldn't be any clubs willing to sponsor firearms for people who are not full members.

At this stage I'm not that frightened of the sponsorship ramifications. If something has happened here then its out of my control. Rectification measures, including delays, can be performed surely. I'm more worried about the mandatory shoots problem which on face value is something I could (??) do something about.

I think pretty soon I'm going to have to ring up some other clubs to see if they'll allow me to have a supervised shoot at their range with my own guns even though I'm not a member. Perhaps explaining the situation would help?

[moopere]

https://echonewspaper.com.au/news/shooting-range-blamed-for-lead-contamination/

The timing seems strange with both indoor clubs being shut at the same time. I wonder if they were both audited and found to have lead issues.

Thanks for the link.

This can't be good and I can't imagine anything being resolved quickly.

[moopere]

“I think I’m going to just surrender my firearms and be done with it.

”

Rather than surrendering something good how about surrendering something bad….like Western Australia and claim political asylum over here!

Heh. Moving to Danistan is likely to be jumping out of the pan into the fire I suspect

I realise Dan Andrews is gone now ... are things measurably better though?

[on_one_wheel]

I realise Dan Andrews is gone now ... are things measurably better though?

Has anyone been forced into lockdown lately ?

[Larry]

It sounds like stage two or three of the plan to remove all guns from the republic of WA

[moopere]

...The Belmont range has been closed ‘temporarily’ for ‘upgrades’ since the end of September. Questions as to when they may be open are met with the answer ‘we will let you know when it opens’. They advise their members that they ‘don’t know’ if there will be any reduction in the number of required match shoots or whether an SSAA non compliance probation will be applied to members who do not complete them. No information is forthcoming other than ‘we will let you know when we open again’.

Mmm. I got the club renewal invoice from the MSFA (Midland) just before I nipped off to the east for a family Christmas thing. There was a letter inside that reads spookily similar to the above. Also, though I didn't drive past the midland range until October (I think?), they may well have been closed since late SEP. This is also rather spooky given Belmont appears to have gone down at nearly the same time.

As per the above with Belmont, there is a recognition of the position that the closure puts members in, but nothing useable has been arranged with other clubs on members behalf, a suggestion is made to perhaps approach other clubs, but essentially, we're being cut loose. The range problems are apparently being remediated but works takes time and there is no advice on when this will be complete.

Its quite the leap of faith then to be paying ones fees for 2024 up front with no idea whatsoever when you may get to enjoy the facilities, what will happen to sponsored guns, or even _if_ the range will ever open again.

[Lazarus]

The range in Goulburn NSW, opened in 1918, was closed to centrefire because the council wanted to develop some land that is well beyond the range template.
The development was started several years ago, then abruptly cancelled.

The range is still closed with, as far as I know, no projected date for reopening.
I wish you luck over there in fascist Westralia.

[Grumpy]

Mmm. I got the club renewal invoice from the MSFA (Midland) just before I nipped off to the east for a family Christmas thing. There was a letter inside that reads spookily similar to the above. Also, though I didn't drive past the midland range until October (I think?), they may well have been closed since late SEP. This is also rather spooky given Belmont appears to have gone down at nearly the same time.

As per the above with Belmont, there is a recognition of the position that the closure puts members in, but nothing useable has been arranged with other clubs on members behalf, a suggestion is made to perhaps approach other clubs, but essentially, we're being cut loose. The range problems are apparently being remediated but works takes time and there is no advice on when this will be complete.

Its quite the leap of faith then to be paying ones fees for 2024 up front with no idea whatsoever when you may get to enjoy the facilities, what will happen to sponsored guns, or even _if_ the range will ever open again.[/quote]

Mundaring Marksmen & Canning Club have offered sessions for members to make catch up shoots to MSFA members.
Club membership is a part of the Genuine need component of a licence.While it’s uncertain where things are going, not only with the club but with WA gun laws in general, I don’t want to risk this being the reason to loose my handguns so I’ve renewed mine.

[moopere]

Its quite the leap of faith then to be paying ones fees for 2024 up front with no idea whatsoever when you may get to enjoy the facilities, what will happen to sponsored guns, or even _if_ the range will ever open again.

[... snip...]

Club membership is a part of the Genuine need component of a licence.While it’s uncertain where things are going, not only with the club but with WA gun laws in general, I don’t want to risk this being the reason to loose my handguns so I’ve renewed mine.

Mmm. I'm going to do the same, and for the same reason. My spidey senses are telling me I'm wrong, but I'll have to push through that - no time now to realistically take any other route.

[Bazz]

Its quite the leap of faith then to be paying ones fees for 2024 up front with no idea whatsoever when you may get to enjoy the facilities, what will happen to sponsored guns, or even _if_ the range will ever open again.

[... snip...]

Club membership is a part of the Genuine need component of a licence.While it’s uncertain where things are going, not only with the club but with WA gun laws in general, I don’t want to risk this being the reason to loose my handguns so I’ve renewed mine.

Mmm. I'm going to do the same, and for the same reason. My spidey senses are telling me I'm wrong, but I'll have to push through that - no time now to realistically take any other route.

I'm sure you're aware (and as it was also written in your letter), you need to be a financial member of a club as a condition of your licence. There's no actual choice to be made on that front. Whether you look into new clubs this year is probably the choice to be made.

Also as mentioned above, Mundaring Marksmen stepped in and hosted us club refugee's for a day to get some shoots in. I didn't need any but booked a spot as it was a good activity. I was talking to someone out there and couldn't agree more with what they said. It was along the lines of the longer we're left in the dark about any actual plans for our club or the remedial work it requires, the faster everyone will start looking for another club.

A sad state of affairs but again I'm hopeful given how many financial members Midlands got. I've no idea about Belmont but would hazard a guess they'll have a stack too. See how we go mate.

[MemberWA24]

Any news from the Midland range? Contacted them many times, wrote them, no return. In December the owner stated they will open after Christmas. Some work done there, but still 'temporarily closed. Happy to pay membership for whole the family, many hundreds $$$ but without knowing when they will open or if they will open again, what is best to do? They do not provide any information. How many members paid the membership and wait and see what will happen? Shouldn't they provide members with more and correct information?

[Bazz]

Any news from the Midland range? Contacted them many times, wrote them, no return. In December the owner stated they will open after Christmas. Some work done there, but still 'temporarily closed. Happy to pay membership for whole the family, many hundreds $$$ but without knowing when they will open or if they will open again, what is best to do? They do not provide any information. How many members paid the membership and wait and see what will happen? Shouldn't they provide members with more and correct information?

Yeah I get it's frustrating and there's a whole heap of us this affects. Keeping everyone in the dark is not the best strategy but it's similar to Lone Ranges. They still can't release a date when they will reopen and I believe they were shut down on the same day as Midland.

Are you and your family currently members or are you talking about taking out a new membership? As I and others have already pointed out, if you've got any firearms licensed through the club, there's no choice in the matter. You NEED to be a financial member of your club which is now well past due.

If you don't have any firearms licensed through the club then probably the smart money would be to wait and see when the repairs will be completed by and jump on then.

Cheers

[geoff]

Poorly ventilated indoor ranges have been lead baths for a long time. Why do you think they are under such heavy scrutiny across the whole world? A cursory google search will find you plenty of indoor ranges who won't let you shoot conventional lead ammo

Lead is a bad hombre. You don't want to breathe it in under any circumstances.

Must be that big ole conspiracy from Big Government to.......stop letting everyone get lead poisoning?

[Oldbloke]

Poorly ventilated indoor ranges have been lead baths for a long time. Why do you think they are under such heavy scrutiny across the whole world? A cursory google search will find you plenty of indoor ranges who won't let you shoot conventional lead ammo

Lead is a bad hombre. You don't want to breathe it in under any circumstances.

Must be that big ole conspiracy from Big Government to.......stop letting everyone get lead poisoning?

I thought that was sorted many years ago with extraction systems? It isn't rocket science I can assure you. Also understood it was "mostly" the older priming compounds used. (Lead styphinate)

[Well Prepped Farm]

Lead testing should not come as a surprise to any indoor gun range and should be part of their license requirements to ensure that their ventilation system is working adequately.
I am a club member at Belmont and noticed a vast improvement in housekeeping just prior to this shutdown.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of information provided by Lone Ranges, I too am looking to change clubs, and possibly associations, due to the silence on this matter from SSAAWA!

[Insanitywombat]

The Midland Gun Mart and associated range have been closed permanently by Police Licensing and police have been there most of the week seizing the firearms and other equipment.

I daresay that this also includes firearms waiting collection after the licensing process.

[Oldbloke]

Lead testing should not come as a surprise to any indoor gun range and should be part of their license requirements to ensure that their ventilation system is working adequately.
I am a club member at Belmont and noticed a vast improvement in housekeeping just prior to this shutdown.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of information provided by Lone Ranges, I too am looking to change clubs, and possibly associations, due to the silence on this matter from SSAAWA!

Ummm, what test?
And what were the results results?
Did the results prove the atmosphere was dangerous?

All we know is an "officer suspect".

That to me means he is guessing.

Where is the evidence?

Last I heard, "your innocent untill proven guilty"

[Lady38Sup]

Hi All,
Have been following this thread and am disappointed that there has been such a lack of communication to MFSA and LRSC members.

The Committee of my association is looking for feedback from MFSA and LRSC members who may have an appetite to transfer across to our association, but it will have some restrictions and expectations, the biggest of which is understanding that we are a volunteer organisation and attendances and participation evolve around club activities - its not a commercial entity where you come and go as you please.

If people who:
1) currently have a Category H supported firearm with MFSA and LRSC
2) are prepared to be trained and transition into practical shooting disciplines (IPSC, ICORE, Steel Challenge)
3) are prepared to adhere to a Constitution, by-laws and policies as accepted by current members

then head to https://pvpc.com.au/contact-us/ and provide your details. A return email will be provided with further information. If enough interest is raised, the association will hold a meet-and-greet to discuss next steps and a possible way forward.

Due to the resourcing of our volunteers, places will be limited, but we are trying to do our best to lend a hand to as many as we can.

thanks