Angry shooter at the range today.

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Some folks you just can't help. I typically would just mind my own business at the range. I would offer suggestions if asked but most the time, due to situations just like yours, I butt out. Which is one reason why I'm so grateful that I no longer have to endure public shooting ranges.
 
What I hate at the state range--the guy that is pumping 22 or 22 mag under his bench & mine.
Then he gets up & leaves his miss for me to clean up.
The rangers used to jump on a guy for doing that.
In this country today they are afraid they will say the wrong thing to the wrong person.
Times have changed////////////////////////
 
Whether shooting at a range or not, it upsets me when people who rarely if ever pick up a rifle decide to set out to hunt while not really knowing how to handle their rifle (maybe its too big for them, maybe they dont bother practicing, maybe they dont bother checking their zero at the beginning of a season.) Then they wonder why the gut shot deer ran off and was never found. Then the excuses begin.....
 
wow....some of you guys are brutal.....

the guy simply made a suggestion, and it sounds like the guy told him to buzz-off because he was shooting a .22 and not a "real gun"....

i really dont think he flew in with his cape claiming to be captain Rifleman, the authority on all things shooting.....


goodness, i cant tell you how much i would have loved some advice when i was learning to shoot....and i cant tell you how much i appreciate it when someone takes the time to give me some advice
 
Yah, that may be all well and good but I can't stand range commandos. Trying to teach my son to shoot and some idiot range master comes over and chirps in his advice although my son is shooting 1" groups at 100 yrds, then goes on to shoot 3" groups of his own 2 lanes over. Didn't need his advice, didn't ask for it, and he sucked at shooting himself. Game. Set. Match.
 
And most of us would be happy to relate what we know.

Unfortunately, on the internet, you don't get both sides of the story. And a lot of time things aren't what they first seem to be after the OP relates a few more details.

And some of us have had nosey busy bodies attempt to let us know how to do something we've been doing for years, both civilian and military. Not all our experiences at ranges were that pleasant. Having a safety officer grab your gun for a "violation" because he had a personal agenda to embarrass you so his buddy could shoot a higher score comes to mind. I'm not perfect, I don't shoot perfect scores, I also don't need a hassle from someone totally unfamiliar to me directing my efforts and pointing out how much better a shooter he is.

I still would like to know what happened before the first comment was made. The average guy doesn't start a conversation with "mind your own business." There are two sides to this story, only one ran home to get sympathy on the internet.

Again, we've read these one sided complaints before, something always comes out that changes the situation.
 
eastbank said:
thats why i go eary to the range to sight my rifles in. what pisses me off is the people who don,t have a spotting scope. i put up all the targets i want to shoot and shoot at them one at a time,writting down the info i want in my range book. but it is a slow prosess with the nitwits wanting to run up to the targets to see how they are shooting. i just pack up and go home. if some one ask me to help,i would. but i would not butt in. eastbank.
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to be honest, I do range duty at my gun club twice a year and to expect everyone to have a spotting scope is stupid. We provide one at the 100 and 200 yard range, but people still want to look at their targets and there is nothing wrong with that...
 
Maybe it's just me, but, unless asked, I would mind my own business. Exception would be the guy was doing something unsafe with his gun. Then, I would stick my nose right in his (unsafe) business.
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FlyinBryan "likes" this
 
I've had offers of advice and guidance on the range more than once.

One fellow (NRA instructor) waited till I paused to change targets, approached me with a few compliments about my rifle and stance, and then asked if I might be open to a suggestion or two. What can I say... he smoothed the road very nicely to an interactive discussion, and I actually learned a few things.

Another fellow I encountered had a different approach - he just went in for the corrective advice unsolicited. In this case, I was shooting a revolver and was trying out an old fashioned stance. So his advice was not so welcome, since I was intentionally trying out a few different or "wrong" ways to do things.

Just a thought handling folks (or at what works "handling" me).
 
You shoulda seen the grin on his face.

Days at the range can be fun.
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See jsimmons, you took the time to talk to the guy, to find out what was going on and then you shared insights with him in a manner where you didn't come across as a know-it-all dressing down an idiot....and you both had a pleasant experience. That is the way exchanges should go and they should be exchanges.

One thing I do miss about public ranges is seeing other people's guns and getting the occasional chance to try them.
 
Good post. It's called verbal judo, or tactical communication. In your latter scenario wojo, most people, even if they knew they were wrong, would likely argue to the end because their pride and intelligence had been questioned.
 
One advantage of getting older, is that I've finally learned that the only advice that is ever listened to, is the advice that is asked for. ;)

I especially like the men who are going to teach the wife or girlfriend (never at the same time) how to shoot.
The majority of them don't know much themselves, let alone teaching.
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If I had a wife and a girlfriend, I wouldn't want either of them to know how to shoot. :D
 
ms6852, perhaps they guy was a jerk, or perhaps your delivery left something to be desired. There's no telling through an after-the-fact account and via text.

But the Fudds at my club are jerks, too. Most of them show up and hog the outdoor range for an hour using up three rounds, hemming and hawing over scope adjustments as if their ammo was made of solid gold. Most of them are only safe because of their ammo stinginess, once the rifle/shotgun is in their hands safety goes out the window rapidly.

But then, the hobbyist handloaders are jerks, too. Spend an hour expending four rounds and making notes in your little book on your portable bench, or complaining about the range tables not being precision shooting benches ... when I want to do some prone shooting at 100 yards or even *gasp* shoot a handgun at less than 25 yards! Possibly at a non-paper target!

Basically, everyone at the range is a jerk (including me!) ... go when you can have it to yourself.
 
As good here as anywhere:

I really like the signature that includes, "... die like a viking!" Thanks for the smiles.
 
And he was using "store bought ammo", the nerve!

Kidding, but if the guy said to mind your own business, I would do it, and not attempt to rub his nose in your rifle's groups. No reason to antagonize a stranger that has a gun.
 
The bottom line is that we are all grown men....or are supposed to be. There is no reason why we can't have a courteous exchange with each other, without getting our feathers ruffled. Unfortunately, when speaking of grown men, there is a grand presence of ego when it comes to shooting. Most folks would be much better off to just throttle back on the posturing for "a more harmonious outcome". Making a friendly, or even an unfriendly suggestion should never be taken as spitting on your dog.
 
In a public range i keep my business to my own and stay away from offending someone. Remember so many yahoos out there, not worth your time and good advise. But always be mindful of poor handling technique by you and others which can can be disastrous.
 
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It's a fair point when sighting a scope in. And his reaction was not called for.

That said, I've had guys tell me not to use my sling with military rifles and not to rest the barrel when I'm shooting a black powder double rifle--both because of it's alleged effect on the barrel. Of course, in neither case is the effect on the barrel of any significance. It's not enough to matter shooting offhand or kneeling with a combat rifle. And with a black powder beast sighted in at 75 yards with massive barrels it's not going to matter enough to worry about. Not every rifle is a scoped hunting rifle. But I just smile and nod.
 
The bottom line is that we are all grown men....or are supposed to be. There is no reason why we can't have a courteous exchange with each other, without getting our feathers ruffled. Unfortunately, when speaking of grown men, there is a grand presence of ego when it comes to shooting. Most folks would be much better off to just throttle back on the posturing for "a more harmonious outcome". Making a friendly, or even an unfriendly suggestion should never be taken as spitting on your dog.
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Some issues revolve around those less skilled and knowledgable giving advice to those more skilled. When you consistently see the same idiot shoot poorly, very poorly, wobbly, on the verge of unsafe, yet come around and instruct you and others on how to shoot, it's just too much, and this clown's a "range master". If he was more knowledgable and I simply didn't want his advice, that's ego. I mean if this were Jerry Miculek giving advice....
 
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I keep to myself at the range.

I've had people tell me i was shooting my rifle wrong because i was shooting left handed, and people try to instruct people i was instructing while i was instructing them.

A simple "go back to your bench" suffices in the latter situation.
 
Most fellas at the range are decent. Some aren't.

I get a kick out of the fellas who smirk at the .22LR. Heck, I have no problem admitting that this "lowly" cartridge is my favorite. Besides, when I felt like "rubbing-it-in", I just wait until a fly landed on my target, then say, "See that fly?!" <<Crack>> Nothing but a hole surrounded by fly blood. Loved my Contender pistol in .22LR Match.

Some people take life too seriously, and I am not qualified to give them the help that their certifiable conditions would require. :D Bet that was the fastest flight that fly ever took.

Geno
 
A while back I was at a public range and next to me there was a guy "teaching" a lanky woman to shoot a 92FS. I guessed they were a couple, or something like that. Her shoulders were behind her hips she was so far back, trying to compensate for the weight of the pistol at arms' length; consequently, she was all over the paper, and missing it at 5 yards. My target was back at 50 in the next lane and caught one of her rounds.

Politely i offered some free advice: If you lean into it, and take an active stance, you'll have more control over it.

Well, talk about a gruff reply. Turns out the guy was a (paid) instructor, and they were "working on using the sights." He was not at all interested in her listening to my advice, and told her to keep doing just what she was doing. I would have loved to call the guy out and ask how much he was charging for his dis-service, but i just moved away at the next ceasefire.

This thread reminds me to look into private ranges in my area again....
 
I'm a big believer in minding my own business, especially at a public shooting range, and subscribe to the "Don't ask; don't tell" policy. Safety issues aside, if they don't ask; I don't tell.
 
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