Thread: Anyone been to the Tacoma Rifle and Revolver club?

Before I head over for the Saturday pre-member "tour", I wondered if any NWF members here have been to the Tacoma Rifle and Revolver club? Or if you've heard anything one way or un-udder?

Apparently the only way to use the facility is to become a member so I'm not expecting a huge flood of responses, but any observations anyone can add would be appreciated.

Funny you should mention it... I too am interested and contemplating heading over for the tour. Unfortunately it won't be THIS saturday though, so I'll be interested to hear what your thoughts and first impression is of the the place.

from what I have nice place good people but very restrictive hours, if it not to far for you maybe come and check out Paul Bunyan we are a members only club but you can bring guests and family .......

Originally Posted by Hotwheelz

from what I have nice place good people but very restrictive hours, if it not to far for you maybe come and check out Paul Bunyan we are a members only club but you can bring guests and family .......

It's a bit of a drive for me now but I actually grew up in Spanaway and went there several times during HS back in the early 80's.

I'll have to check out their web site and see what all they have there now.

Are they in any way associated with Kitsap Rifle & Revolver?

Well, wow.

This 50-acre range has been in operation since 1900, and the first thing you notice after entering through the card-controlled gate is the wildlife roaming around.

We saw a Bald eagle within a few minutes, and heard about deer that have spent their whole lives on the facility who are so used to guns that they sometimes wander onto the rifle range while shooting is underway.

The guide that met us was a nice fellow who appeared to be a retired air force sergeant.

Before we looked at the ranges there was the safety orientation and rules of the road. One thing that impressed me was the club rule that all firearms are brought onto the range unloaded has the exception that if you are a CPL holder you may bring your weapon in loaded and in it's carry holster.

(contrasting with a range in Renton which makes you unload all weapons before entering the property regardless of your ability to carry legally). OK safety briefing done, off we went.

We visited the air gun range first. There were a bunch of targets at various distances and covered benches for the shooters.

Next was the .22 rifle-only range which looked like a pistol range, wood-framed target holders ready off to the side and a sign-in sheet for people using the range. I'd say there were probably lanes for 25 shooters but didn't count.

The rifle range has a "cold range" audible alarm with red strobes for target changes. Benches with shooter-position cutouts are fixed, with adjustable stools provided. It looked like 25 yard, 50, 75, 100 and 200 yard stages. There is a 600-yard stage but it's for competition only.
Calibers are permitted up to but not including 50BMG. They do allow 50 Cal. black powder and pistol (!).

The Bow/Arrow range is set up with hay bales at various distances set amid trees. this gives a very realistic environment for the bow shooters.

The pistol range has provisions for about 25 shooters with stages at 15, 25, and 50 yards. There are a bunch of closed-circuit cameras watching over the pistol range and those are monitored at the clubhouse and by the on-site range master who lives on the property.

A new feature of the pistol range is a series of overhead baffles which are armored with steel plate on the backsides. This will keep stray rounds from falling into nearby U-Place neighborhoods. Between the rifle range and the clubhouse is a Bar-B-Q area with covered outdoor kitchen facilities.

As it turned out, all of us who took the tour wound up becoming members.

We got our membership cards/gate reader cards while we were there this morning along with the quarterly newsletter and a discount card we can use for $40 credit for each member we bring in, and to keep records of the time we may spend doing duties around the facility.

Each hour donated building target holders or other tasks is worth $10 off next years' dues. A member can theoretically work a few hours and get his or her dues down to $60 upon their next renewal.

We met Norm Dion who is a member and FFL broker who does transfers for internet purchases for cheap; I talked with him about his becoming a sponsor on the site here.
There were a few other members helping out in the clubhouse doing bookkeeping and signing us up, everybody seemed to have a friendly, fun, and squared-away attitude but no "Range Nazi" presence like you might find elsewhere.

Another thing I liked is all ranges are run by the members themselves. Everybody decides when it's time for target change, no tin god sitting there with a stopwatch and megaphone.

All together this was a really impressive experience. Having lived in University place for 8 years, it's about time I "discovered' this range which was here before Washington became a state.

More about TR&RC here.

VERY good report, thanks for letting us know. Now I'll have to go check the place out myself.

Excellent reporting, very well done.

Only one "oops" in there: Washington became a state in 1889.

I missed that!!

You're right- however the range itself was there before statehood, it became a club in 1900. I think our guide said it was in use as a range long before, 1868 comes to mind for some reason. Take the tour and post here!


Apparently there was a streetcar that went from downtown Tacoma to Steilacoom and the trolly would go right by the gate to the facility on Chambers Creek Road. Imagine a streetcar full of people with rifles and revolvers heading down for a day of shooting. How times have changed in that regard.

Just add an update here, after shooting out at the TR&RC these past few days, I'm like a hog in ...stuff out there. With the place being 10 minutes away from my office, I can pop in for 45 minutes of drill and be back within an hour.

Haven't met a single jerk, either. Everybody is at least civil and some are really helpful and friendly.

This is the best thing since sliced bagels.

Well, I finally made it out there and I too was impressed with the facilities and the friendly nature of the staff there. There was 10 of us that took the tour this morning and all the adults present became members save one who is keeping their app on hold until they get paid.

After the tour took the daughter to the .22 range and ran 300 rounds through the GSG-5. Got the red dot all sighted in and man... me likey!!!

BTW... I put your name down as my "sponsor" Dave so make sure you get yo fotay bucks!