Fish & Game Club

Is Worth Joining

As the last of the snow melts from our hills and sportspersons all over the state take to the woods and waters, the Randolph Fish & Game Club would like to take a moment to remind people of who we are and what we do.

We are the oldest continuously operating fish and game club in the state. Most of you know us as the folks that teach hunter education locally. We have run two to three classes per year for many years and have enabled hundreds of area youngsters and adults to obtain their first hunting license. We do this without charge and for no pay.

We operate a trap range every Tuesday evening beginning around 6 p.m. from the time the trap house dries out in mid-May until mid-September. The charge is still very reasonable, so bring your own shells and shotgun. Non-members are welcome to these events. Youngsters under 16 get their first night free. Shotgun, shells and instruction are provided.

We will again sponsor a free kids fishing derby on May 24. We will also be having archery on the club range every Thursday night from May 1 until bow season. We hope to have at least one archery tournament this year too.

We maintain a rabbit running grounds and also provide a home for the Northfield Junior Rifle Club and Adult Small Bore Pistol League. We will be having the annual Bailey Hazen muzzle loader shoot again at Rolling Rock in Braintree on Sept. 27 as well.

We appreciate the support of the community for our raffles and our July 4 duck race. These are our principal means of support besides membership dues. It takes about $10,000 per year to pay for taxes, heat and electricity and to support our various programs like kids’ conservation camp.

Persons interested in being involved with the club or in using our facilities, such as the archery range and indoor and outdoor shooting ranges, are encouraged to join the club. Meetings are at the club house on Lefebvre Road on the fourth Wednesday of every month, beginning around 7 p.m. We do not meet in November due to deer season.

There is a lot of work involved in keeping a club like this going. Most of us have regular jobs to attend to and do this in our spare time. Please respect our efforts and our property. We request that non-members be accompanied by a card-carrying member. Please take out anything you bring in, especially on the outdoor shooting range, where spent shells and used targets tend to build up.

You'll note some new signage at the club this year. We have had some issues with non-members disrespecting members on the outdoor range, and we have noticed evidence of unsafe practices and shooting at bottles, cans and other things that end up as trash for us to remove.

There is a one-guest-per-member limit on the range and a one-hour time limit per group with others waiting. Also, only paper targets on the orange backstop are allowed. We do patrol the area periodically to assure all is well.

We hope to see you at a meeting sometime soon.

Peter Magoon, secretary

Randolph Fish and Game Club