Before people can come out and shoot auto weapons we require that we go out and make sure you can operate the weapon in a safe manner and not to put any of our members in danger. Your word that your safe doesn't count. We need to make sure. This is so when your out shooting with your family and you see a guy with a auto gun you know he has been explained the basics (safety and technique) of running an auto.
I am not sure we do auto certification on non-members though. Thats a perk of being a member. A guest would be the responsibility of the member so I can see why it worked before. I will look more into this and find out if non-members can be auto certified. The auto certification for members is free btw. I know because I do them. In fact let me know when you come out next and I will be sure to introduce myself if I am there (wed-sun) and we discuss getting your auto certification needs a little better.
I know we cant please all the people, all the time but we have made huge improvements to our membership rates and have added the training group to our lineup. Things are looking great for USSA right now. I think that the people who are coming out and the local shooting matches here are enjoying us being open and the nice bays, facility, and staff we have to offer. Then again we still have people that show up to shoot, find out it cost $20 and leave.
One thing i see wrong with this if you guys are really concerned about safety with others and full autos: The fact a guest can come with a member who may never been around a full auto can come out and shoot it with no class. When he comes by himself then he has to take the class. Does that seem a little odd? I mean either have them ALL take a class or don't. Now the family who is informed about rules questions the two guys shooting a full auto are they really safe due to probably didn't take the class. I don't care either way but looks like a hole for safety for your range.