Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to be a member to participate in FCS events? No! The primary reason that we have membership dues is to share expenses. These include web hosting, our domain name, photocopying, postage, DVD/VHS tape purchases, brochures, annual NRA donation, miscellaneous office supplies, filling up the FCS propane tank, etc. Membership also instills a sense of belonging and commitment. We appreciate it when men join the Club and when members renew their memberships.
What do I need to do to join the Club? Complete an Adult Membership Application, and mail it and your $20.00 membership due to Ron Denison, Club Treasurer, at 1009 Ambrose Cove, Pflugerville, TX, 78660.
What is the difference between an active member and an inactive member? Active members are active in their dues. Active members receive the following membership benefits:
Active members also have the following rights:
Inactive members do not receive FCS Gear (unless they purchase it), quarterly newsletter, annual calendar, and annual membership directory. They also do not have the rights that active members have.
Active and inactive members have the password to access the business, e-mail, guests, and membership directories on our website.
Can I bring my wife and children on events? Absolutely! We are very family friendly. Most of our events are designed to maximize fellowship. Sporting clays and skeet shoots, shooting range shoots, dove retreats and hunts, meetings, dinners, and hunting and gathering trips are super events to take families to. Our sporting clays and skeet Shoots and shooting range shoots are great events for men, women, and children to learn how to shoot or to improve their skills. We try to pair new shooters up with veterans so that the veterans can assist the newbie’s. Deer/hog/sheep hunts, goose/duck hunts, upland game bird hunts, and fishing trips are less family friendly due to space limitations. Also many outfitters and guides charge a “spectator fee.” If you bring your children please closely supervise them for theirs and others safety.
Do you have to be an experienced hunter/shooter/angler in order to participate in FCS events? No! We have all types of sportsmen at FCS events, from novices to veterans. We delight in teaching others what we know. However, some events require a certain amount of familiarity with techniques in order to be successful. For example it would be better for a novice hunter to try his hand at dove hunting before diving into duck hunting.
Do you have to possess a lot of equipment in order to participate? No! Many Club members have extra equipment and would be happy to loan it to a guest with adequate notice. All events on the Upcoming Events page and the “Our Next Events” section of the Main Page have a contact person listed. Contact him if you need to borrow equipment. Of course equipment should be returned clean and in good working order. If you break something that you borrow you are expected to repair or replace it. Only one shooter shoots at a time at our sporting clays and skeet shoots. So it is not necessary for everyone to have a shotgun.
Why do some events cost so much? Through years of experience we have learned that cheap events usually generate cheap results (you get what you pay for). We try to find a balance between cheap and expensive. Many of our events are very affordable. The cost for meetings is a small fee for food (usually around $5.00). A round of skeet goes for $10.00 and a round of sporting clays goes for $25.00 (Capitol City Trap & Skeet members fees are cheaper still). A day at the shooting range goes for $10 (not including a $10.00 lifetime range card). Dove hunts are $50.00 a weekend and up. Up until 2006 we paid $25.00/day for our dove retreats. Our hog hunts are presently free. Our non-chartered deep sea, bay fishing trips, and bass fishing trips usually involve only shared gas and bait. Our deer/sheep, guided duck/goose, upland bird hunts, 24 hour sporting clays shoots, chartered deep sea, chartered bay, and chartered bass fishing trips, and pistol classes are held with reputable and experienced outfitters and guides. These events are more expensive but we do a lot of research to find the best deal for our bucks. We are aware that expensive events usually are not well attended, but we are also aware that cheap events may be well attended one year but no one will attend them again because the results were poor. Hunting and fishing have become big business in Texas and across the country. For example: years ago farmers would pay to have hunters remove hogs from their property. Now the farmers typically charge around $200/weekend for hunters to shoot their pigs. Some even charge by the pound!
What is the difference between a Dove Retreat and a Dove Hunt? When we started to have dove events we called them "Retreats" because they featured/feature at least one devotional/Bible study and are designed to help men to grow spiritually. At the early retreats Mark Weaver preached to us and Todd Riddle led us in singing. The retreats are usually 3- 4 days (at least when we had them in Dilley, Lampasas, Pearsall, and Victoria). We then started to have regular "hunts." They tended/tend to be shorter (most are two days) and there is not usually time for a devotional/Bible study. For example, the guys who hunt our Buda lease often only hunt a Saturday morning and then go back home. Of course there is nothing to prevent men from having a Bible study at a "hunt."
I would like to submit a classified ad, article, story, recipe, etc., for publication on the Club Website. What do I need to do to facilitate that? E-mail your request to me (Randy Rowley), Club President. For classified ads, include a lot of details and submit pictures (a picture is worth a thousand words). Please research your item on www.e-bay.com, http://austin.craigslist.org/, www.gunbroker.com, or www.gunsamerican.com and find out what the going rate is. I will be happy to advise you but I appreciate it when members do some preliminary research.