My age group...

[LRS_Ranger]

Haha, I carry an SP 101 every day. Load up some hot loads in an indoor range and that thing gets the respect of everyone around...

 

[TNboy]

I am 27 and constantly embarrassed by my generation. And those a few years younger than me seem worse. It makes it eaiser for me to get ahead in life though, it's amazing what pulling your pants up and using some manners will get you.

 

[jonmerritt]

I am 45, and stay far away from the outwardly ignorant. If they show up at the the range after I am allready there, and ask why I am leaving. I tell them straight up " You are dangerous with firearms, and I am not going to become an innocent victim, goodbye".

 

[c919]

I am 27 and constantly embarrassed by my generation. And those a few years younger than me seem worse. It makes it eaiser for me to get ahead in life though, it's amazing what pulling your pants up and using some manners will get you.

Isn't that the truth. It's funny how much praise you get these days for being a hard working twenty-something. Everybody just expects hangovers and excuses, and when you deliver otherwise they are taken aback. Off topic, but I agree.

 

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

I stopped shooting at our local public range some years ago just because of this issue and related problems arising from it.

I own a little farm 2 counties over (67 acres). I've got a perfect place to shoot, and
I STILL go to local "public" ranges more than I shoot on the farm.

The downside to shooting in private is you miss out on meeting some really nice folks.

Two friends that I shoot with on occasion (and go to gun shows with and trade with and hunt with) are guys I met at shooting ranges. Even the obnoxious "amateurs" might be a good friend, especially with just a nudge in guidance.

However inexperienced or ignorant they may be, they'll invariably have something valuable you can learn from them. For example, they may have a gun you've been dying to shoot, or they may be a little ignorant on rifles, but know everything worth knowing about waterfowl hunting. You never know.

As far as stereotypes, I gave up on those long ago where shooters are concerned.

My 16 year-old nephew is a hard-core "Fudd." If it doesn't have pretty wood and blued steel, he's just not interested.

The last time my cousin and I hit the local range there was a 50-something guy working on an FAL. He was trying different handloads, making notes, adjusting his sights, and dialing in the gas system. He was tuning the open sights up for 100 yards, and his shooting was tight (2-3 inch groups). He clearly knew his way around that FAL, and was as focused on tweaking it as I've ever seen anyone focus on a target rifle.

I expect most shooters wouldn't judge you on anything but your own behavior and attitude.

KR

 

[paintballdude902]

theres alot of guys my age i wont shoot with. (let say 16-25) i have a close groups of friends in the age group , some younger than me(20) and some older. but alot of them are crazy they want to do mag dumps when we are doing slow fire for groups or them with just start to walk down range.

now we have our ways of safely having fun while goofing around. when we shoot cans ill sneak one in thats full that way someone gets a surprise when they shoot it. or when we are shooting out .22's someone will grab an m44 and make us all poop ourselves from the unexpected boom. my favorite was the time i filled a can with tannerite and waited for a friend to shoot it.

but everything we do is in a safe way with people we all trust. all guns stay unloaded till pointed at a target and down range.

 

[LeontheProfessional]

At my range it is usually a group of guys, in their early, that come in with Hi-Points, Taurus's, and of course the Tec-9 that all of them are ewing and awing over. They put the target, A full size terrorist silhouette, at half range about 6 yards and proceeded to spray bullets over the entire 2'x4' target. They rant and rave about how bad-A their guns are and don't see the fact that they jam once a magazine as any bit of a problem.

 

[Oyeboten]

That's when it is nice to pull out the Colt 'WALKER'...

And...say..."stand back boys.."


And then let 'er rip...


Lol...



Seriously though, the Range I shoot at, there is never anyone near by at all...

So, I never run into any of that stuff.

 

[walksbyhimself]

It's not limited to us young guys (I'm 22), although it does seem to be more prevalent among our peers than the more... shall we say "seasoned" populace? (appropriate smiley)

For example, there's an older guy at my local range who spends enormous sums on custom 1911's, talks them up constantly, and just as constantly and vocally puts down Glocks and other non-1911's. The kicker? He sucks. His groups are terrible and he has quite a few malfunctions because he doesn't know how to run the gun.

 

[dmancornell]

Older folks can also be obnoxious. Recently I witnessed a couple of mid-life crisis guys talking about how shooting at a range won't teach anything and real operators take the Magpul training classes (which they took multiple times). Toss in some obligatory Chris Costa worshipping.

Then they proceeded to videotape themselves choke on gas while shooting their silenced KAC SR-15 (SBR of course) and talk about showing the footage to their operator friends.

 

[russ69]

I see this all the time but I don't consider it much of an issue, as long as they are safe. I often find it entertaining. I will step back from the bench and make sure a shooter new to the line is being safe but usually I'll just go back to shooting. I can easily tune out the distraction, it's actually good practice, learning how to ignore distractions while shooting. If I had a nickel for every bonehead comment I heard at the range.......well I'd have a lot of nickels.

Thanx, Russ

 

[Hatterasguy]

I call my friend a girl all the time when he complains about the bolt on my mosin or the recoil of one of my bolt guns. I was like if you didn't have such little girl hands you could work the bolt.

He likes 5.56's and I constantly bust his balls about stepping up to a "manly caliber" Whenever we are shooting I always offer to let him shoot a more manly caliber.

But yes those types annoy me, and I suspect other club members as well since they don't seem to be voted in.

 

[FLAvalanche]

You want to know why younger people act like idiots at the range?

Because the older generation doesn't want to teach anything anymore. If half the amount of people who complain about how the younger generation act would shut up and actually get off their butts and teach the younger generation marksmanship, weapons maintenance, range safety, etc. there wouldn't be a problem.

Who taught the older generation to shoot? Their older generation. Seems like that got lost in translation.

 

[Hanzo581]

As long as they are being safe I really don't care what others are saying/doing at the range. Remember some people go to the range just to have fun.

 

[jcwit]

You want to know why younger people act like idiots at the range?

Because the older generation doesn't want to teach anything anymore. If half the amount of people who complain about how the younger generation act would shut up and actually get off their butts and teach the younger generation marksmanship, weapons maintenance, range safety, etc. there wouldn't be a problem.

Who taught the older generation to shoot? Their older generation. Seems like that got lost in translation.

Now tell us how to get the younger guys to listen to us older guys, instead of acting like they know it all allready.

 

[seldomseensmith]

Try hanging out with some old timers!

"Oh man, those home defense rounds have gone bad. See how the bullet isn't as shiny as mine. I'd throw those out." - HILARIOUS

 

[LeontheProfessional]

Now tell us how to get the younger guys to listen to us older guys, instead of acting like they know it all allready.

I was waiting for that. I am 24 and have to agree with you. It seems like the younger generation already knows everything and you can't teach them anything anymore. There is no respect for elders these days. I have a guy that I work with that is the same age as me and he calls everybody man regardless of age. I am always getting on him for it "If he has a few years on you call him sir not man." My father is a Marine Colonel and he would kill me if I called an older gentlemen man.

It probably would not hurt to try to give the younger generation some advice because there still are some respectful youth out there. I don't blame you for not wanting to though.

 

[Maia007]

Why do you suppose that is?

 

[c919]

"Oh man, those home defense rounds have gone bad. See how the bullet isn't as shiny as mine. I'd throw those out." - HILARIOUS

Yeah, I had to let out a serious chuckle when the guy dropped that little bit of knowledge. If I tossed my Gold Dots every time they oxidized, I'd go broke.

 

[FLAvalanche]

Now tell us how to get the younger guys to listen to us older guys, instead of acting like they know it all allready.

Thank you for proving my point...

 

[JTHunter]

If, as one poster said, they were "unloading their mags as fast as they could", I would have to wonder about their attitudes towards safety. That much carrying-on can lead to carelessness.

 

[killchain]

So your on a shooting range, with you know, guns going off, and that bothered you?

Okay, let me lay this completely out because I must have written my post poorly.

In a postal match, this particular range I use uses a CD player boom box to play the commands for the shooters.

The scene is this: I am alone at the range, zeroing a rifle. In enters another patron with his entire competition case, along with race gun. He sets up this boom box, cranks it up loud enough for his double ear protection, and begins doing a mock one-man postal match.

There is two things wrong here.

One, it's completely throwing me off.

Two, there is a specified night and time for this kind of practice, and guess what? It's not this night.

So, we have an underground pistol range with two men in it, and one has an obscenely loud boom box screaming "IS THE LINE READY? THE LINE IS READY... etc."

So to recap, no... hearing gunshots doesn't "bother me." Rude patrons who don't observe the rules and blare the training boom box when other shooters are trying to concentrate "bothers me."

 

[russ69]

I'd jump in and practice with him.......but I can see how that would be irritating. Think of it as stress fire practice?

Thanx, Russ

 

[killchain]

I'd jump in and practice with him.......but I can see how that would be irritating. Think of it as stress fire practice?

Thanx, Russ

I suppose I could have.

Whatever, it's over now. Just wish people would be more polite about stuff like that, is all.

Moving on. Kind of off topic, but has anyone else noticed that the tacticool crowd (yes, I'm one of them) has started using the term "tier 1" for weapons of choice?

You know, because of the tier 1 weapons in Call of Duty 4/2 Modern Warfare Reloaded: The Ambigiously Middle Eastern Conflict Simulator?

 

[Hatterasguy]

No I'm not a member of the tacticool crowd, I'm so un tacticool I remove rail's from my guns. My idea of "tacticool" is putting the original cleaning kit back in the butt stock of my FN49.

I'll have to ask my friends who shoot AR's with tacticool stuff stuck on them if that term is cool.