Hap Baker Firearms Facility Update:

I wonder what kind of wildlife you might encounter out there at night...

Open today?!

I still want to know what was done lol.

Arcamm said:

Sure there is!

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How muddy is it up there today? Anyone stop up?

Anyone going to Hap tomorrow?

Russ D said:

Anyone going to Hap tomorrow?

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PM me next time with a little more notice and I'll go. Maybe get lunch afterwards?

gamer_jim said:

PM me next time with a little more notice and I'll go. Maybe get lunch afterwards?

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Definitely! It's been many moons since we shot together.

Going tomorrow. A friend here might be able to go too. Anyone who else around. I'll be there at opening time.

I won't be there today, but I'll be there Saturday around 3PM with a friend! If anyone wants to meet me, I'll be the guy shooting a few ww2 milsurps (I think I'm going to bring my m1 carbine, m1903a4, and possibly my M1D?).

Just double-checking - is Hap Baker open on 5 July? I don't see anything on the official site concerning 4th of July weekend.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but 1 July starts the new badge year?

Only days I know of they are closed besides Monday and Tuesdays are Christmas and New years day. July 5 you should be good to go and yes, badges expire tomorrow.

I just looked at the fee schedule. Still $50/year (county residents), but what I didn't know - $300 life member. That's pretty sweet I think - especially for the the younglings.

FYI - as of yesterday morning the Hap Baker web site had the wrong fee (they went up). The web site has since been corrected. Look like only the yearly fee went up.

In county = $10 daily, $60 annually, $300 life

Out-of-county = $15 daily, $90 annually, $600 life

Discovered that yesterday afternoon when I went to get my badge.

I suggested to them that I hide it under the old one.

What were the updates?

Lifetime member


Just wish they would get rid of the 2 second rule...... Its really frustrating.

yellowsled said:

Lifetime member


Just wish they would get rid of the 2 second rule...... Its really frustrating.

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I had this very discussion with a member of the range staff when I first became a member about two years ago. I asked about the possibility of drawing from a holster, moving in a straight line while maintaining my lane and firing controlled pairs and was told "no". As it was explained to me, Hap Baker's rules were less restrictive when they first opened but folks went and screwed it up by behaving recklessly and damaging the facilities. The RSO summed the situation up to me by saying that Hap Baker is a range not a training facility. He then proceeded to take me through and show me all the holes in the various range structures from people shooting the ceilings and such. Apparently this was one of the reasons the two second rule was instituted since some shooters were just wildly firing and losing control of their weapons. While I wish that the rules were different, I don't blame the staff. I understand why the restrictions are in place.

The issue that I have with Maryland ranges in general is that there is a level of risk aversion I've never experienced anywhere else and I've shot at ranges all over the country. Every single civilian range I have every fired at outside of Maryland has allowed shooters to draw from a holster on the firing line, to fire controlled pairs, to use the divider between lanes to simulate a barricade as long as the adjacent lane is unoccupied, to kneel, crouch or lay in the prone so long as one maintains one's lane and to walk or side step as long as one does not interfere with other shooters on the line and keeps their weapon pointed up and down range. Almost everything I've just described is banned at every range I've visited here in Maryland unless they're having a special event or a LE agency is conducting sanctioned training. The sole reason that I have a membership with Freestate is the fact that I can holster draw and fire multiple consecutive rounds without pausing when using their facility. They are the only range that I have encountered in this state that allows holster draw and multiple consecutive rounds and believe me, I've looked.

What's frustrating is that it is extremely difficult to find a place to train in this state. While I enjoy shooting, my main reason for visiting the range is not to have fun but to maintain, and where possible, improve my skill set. If you train in a particular fashion your performance in real life will reflect that training. Firing one round, pausing for two seconds, firing another round and so forth while standing in the open, not moving, not seeking cover etc will get you killed in a gunfight. I work in an area where the chances that I will be engaged in a gunfight are very high. Almost every Officer that I work with who has twenty or more years on the job has shot at least one person and most have been in multiple gunfights. For me the question is not if I'm going to be engaged in a gun battle, it's when. For that reason I try to keep my shooting skills as sharp as possible. Here in Maryland that's tough to do.

Name Taken said:

What were the updates?

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Price updates? $10 more for annual.

Structural updates? Not sure - I don't have a rifle, so I just about never check out that side (unless I'm having fun with my father-in-law's which is about once a year).