Things You Don't Want to See at the Range

Worst thing I've ever seen is the range officer announce the beginning of a shooting period while people were down range, a little slow in checking their targets during the ceasefire. Luckily all the shooters saw what the range officer didn't and stayed behind the safety line until the range officer noticed about thirty seconds later. At least he said "sorry". I don't think the people downrange heard the end of the ceasefire being called, because they didn't run back or wave their hands around or anything.

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reminds me....

about 5 years ago (i specify this b/c the place has greatly improved since), i was at American Shooting Centers in houston. had an RO do this while I was the one still at the target board, then upon my return to the line (made at a rather hasty run, due to hearing line called hot!!) he confronts ME for being ahead of the line when he called the line hot!!

for the record, i made a complaint and received a refund for my day, since considering what else i'd seen this particular RO do (ie spend 90% of his time with his back to the line, BSing with his buddy) i was rather fed up with the whole thing.
I have since been informed that ASC has performed a "cleasing" of their RO staff and that such incidents are a thing of the past. personally i haven't fired a shot there since. mainly b/c soon afterward my membership application for a more "local to me" club was approved.

Some of you may remember what happened on a commercial indoor range in northern VA early last year. IIRC, a guy rented a gun there and shot himself dead on the spot.

I didn't see it happen myself, but this has to be the top on my list of things I don't want to see at the range.

I have one more (for now.....). It was a typical balmy Houston spring day (90 degrees) and I was at my nearest range (Baileys ) sighting in at the 25 yard range, my then new to me .22 boltaction rifle (CBC 122- Remington clone).

I look to the right and down where they allow centerfire rifles was a gentleman in a grey trenchcoat firing an AR-15 of unknown maker from the hip . The pattern he was making covered his two targets an part of a target that was left over from a past shooter.

The guy seemed to be in his own world and even the RO didn't bother him.

-people trying to talk on cell phones while they shoot
-the "Glock Guy" trying to shoot his pistol with the ever trendy one handed sideways "gangsta" hold...:banghead:

people trying to talk on cell phones while they shoot

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What? They do what?
That is crazy.

I can't imagine what that sounded like at the other end.

yes and most of the ones I've seen are using those hands free phones but it is still obvious to me they aren't concentrating on what they should be...

A few come to mind:

1) Trap shooters who reload their own shells... poorly. It seems like a couple times a year I'm squadded with somebody who ends up with shot dribbling out the barrel every few shots. It really screws up the rhythm when one of the shooters needs to poke a stick into the barrel to clear the wad at least once per station.

2) Maybe two years ago I was shooting trap (in a league, and for a "league round"), and some guy lost control of his lab which he had up by the clubhouse. The dog ran out past the traphouse and refused to pay any attention to the meathead who was both yelling and laughing at the dog. He spent the better part of 10 minutes getting control of the dog (did I forget to mention that it was windy and about 5 degrees F out?), walked up towards the clubhouse and then let go of the dog again. The dog came back to our traphouse before we could resume shooting and proceeded to take a large crap... which the owner thought was hilarious. By the time we were able to finally start shooting again, almost everyone in the squad was mad and had frozen fingers.

3) Shooting pistols at an outdoor public range, the guy next to me tried shooting a little .25 auto. The first round chambered, but would not fire and would not extract. The guy then tried to extract the unfired cartridge by... drumroll please...

POINTING IT AT HIS OWN STOMACH with his finger on the trigger and rapidly working the slide back and forth. I yelled for him to stop and then assisted him (i.e. did it for him) in getting the gun completely unloaded. While doing so, I explained the dire consequences he could have experienced. Right afterward, he packed up his stuff and left. I also spoke with the RO and let him know what had transpired.

I remember having a "unloaded" S&W 4506 pointed at me with the action closed, magazine in gun, laying on the bench. Told the group of people to leave the action open, DOWNRANGE, and to pull the magazine out.

The girl that was with them was shooting at DIRT 10 ft away when the target was 50 feet in front of her. I thought she was gonna flich so bad that she would put holes in my target.

Oh yeah, people that look down the bore of their gun when the gun malfunctions scare me!

Stupidest thing I've seen was a guy shooting a Lyman Great Plains Rifle (black powder muzzleloader) while smoking a cigarette. He put it out when my brother and I pointed out that we didn't care if he blew himself up but we didn't want to go along with him.

Some of the poorest shots and most unsafe shooters I've seen have been cops.

Didn't appreciate the time some dingbat covered me with the muzzle of his Marlin 1881 .45-70.

Oh yeah, people that look down the bore of their gun when the gun malfunctions scare me!

That gives me the [Art's Grammaw was here -- pax] chills bad! For what its worth the outdoor range I go to(everyhting is free -bring your own gun and ammo-its a nice place) doesnt allow smoking inside the fence. So basiclly you can only smoke in the parking lot!

what i dont like to see at the ranges are: when people think its hilarious to shoot up other peoples targets; people who always sweep the gun at everyone while talking to their friends because theyre not paying a wit of attention; and that lovely guy with the .50 bmg sitting 3 feet away blasting away and jiggling my liver and other internals, while knocking things off the table and thinking its funny as all hades.

I can work this from the other angle.

I caught an earful from a range officer with nothing better to do for plucking shot up backers out of the box o' used backers at Targetmaster for the express purpose of vaporizing them with my shotgun.

I think his problem was with my cheapskatedness (though I don't see what's wrong with blowing more holes in a piece of cardboard that already has holes in it, especially when it's going to be confetti inside five shots anyway) but I had to tell him a couple of times that I was a paying member and bought my ammo from them anyway.

But I've seen plenty of strange things on both sides of the firing line, inside the RO booth and otherwise, at that place.

One more thing I hate to see at the range is people who have the gun(s) that I wish I had.
Gun envy is a truely terrible thing.

Things You Don't Want to See at the Range

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A sign reading "Welcome Shooters to the 1st Annual Ponderosa Nudist Colony IPSC Competition"

Gun envy is a truly terrible thing.

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LOL! +1 to that!!

ChickenHawk

Dang! I feel sorry for all you guys. I have a great public range. Smack dab in the middle of it is a house that the city provides for one of their police officers. The constant police presence keeps the gangbanger wannabes from going to the range. My only complaint is that the range points north, and the CONSTANT prevailing wind is from the east. BUT, if it is too windy, I just head out to the BLM lands around here and set up a temporary range pointing east! I live in a great place to shoot!

Doc, where are you?

Creeping Incrementalism wrote:
>Doc, where are you?

I live in rural Arizona, I teach at a small college where I can be a conservative without having my professional colleagues say you're WHAT?, and meet many of my students at my church and at the shooting range. Aint it grand? One of our other professors came here from some college in San Francisco. Boy was he HAPPY to come here. He's a shooter too! How do you survive liberalism in the most liberal city of such a liberal state?

[Removed Herself]

I just do not like to see people doing dangerous things that could kill or harm someone.
Case in point, I am at the range shooting a pistol. The guy next to me is shooting a 22 rifle.
I put my pistol down unloaded, and step back to kind of get myself together.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the guy next to me step back and he is trying to get his rifle to eject a casing. He is pointing the fifle right towards my head.
I grabbed the barrel and deflected it down range. The guy got a little upset, but I informed him that he must keep the firearm downrange at all times.
I went and got the guy that runs the range, and he chewed him out.
There is nothing like going to the range and being almost shot in the head.

Watching the S.W.A.T guys shoot at metal swinging targets from the 5 yard mark. They were cautioned and they gave dirty looks. One of them took a ricochet to the top of his foot.

My worst range experience happened at the unregulated outdoor Municipal Rifle Range in my hometown. The backstop is the side of a hill that the City digs out and uses as a source of sand. The backstop on one side of it has parabolic or horseshoe shape which leaves a portion of it obscured for the shooter at the bench 200 yards away. At the time the range was not fenced in making it so a person could drive down range and park in this obscured area. When I arrived at the range I did not see anyone or any vehicles down range. Unbeknownst to me there was a Suburban parked down range in that little pocket which was hidden from view. Being that there was and still is a lot of junk and trash left by other shooters down range I decided to shoot at an old muffler instead of walking down there and setting up my target stand (this was my mistake).

I set my bipod equipped Norinco SKS upon on the bench, loaded the magazine, charged the action and proceeded to squeeze off one round at a muffler 200 yards away. Right after the bullet impacted the berm near the muffler I saw a Suburban pull out from behind the mound of earth which had obscured it.

Realizing that my bullet impacted the berm 25 yards or less to the left of the parked Suburban scared the cr*p out of me. Not wanting to have a confrontation with an angry and potentially armed idiot I promptly unloaded my rifle put it in my vehicle and got out of there.

At first I thought they had been down there shooting pistols close to the berm but in retrospect I am thinking they were not shooting at all as I heard no gunfire. My feeling now is that it was probably kids smoking marijuana and or drinking and trying to stay hidden from the police. Needless to say now I am careful to walk down range and check to make sure nobody is there before shooting at this range. Luckily the City had the good sense to fence in the range and lock the gate making it more difficult for anyone to drive down to the berm.

a local gunclub had made arrangements to use the police department range
in the basement of the station.
we all shot alot and after the evening's PPC competition,
my cousin and i were packed up ang just about ready to leave
when someone came running into the room with the pop machine
just off the range shouting,
"BOB'S BEEN SHOT! BOB'S BEEN SHOT! BOB'S BEEN SHOT!"
so we sauntered back in to find 'Bob' holding him left calf while
another couple was loading and going as fast as they could!
after we fetched an officer from upstairs,
he sequestered the rest of us who hadn't left,
so that we could give statements to the detectives.

turns out the missus, of that couple who left so quickly,
was adjusting something with her finger on the trigger,
and had an AD/ND,
poor Bob was just minding his own business and took
a .22 thru and thru the calf...

worst part is that we lost the use of that range!

we sauntered back in to find 'Bob' holding him left calf while
another couple was loading and going as fast as they could!
after we fetched an officer from upstairs,
he sequestered the rest of us who hadn't left,
so that we could give statements to the detectives.

turns out the missus, of that couple who left so quickly,
was adjusting something with her finger on the trigger,
and had an AD/ND,
poor Bob was just minding his own business and took
a .22 thru and thru the calf...

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Wow! That is sad. Criminal record, perhaps?

maybe;
i went to visit Bob in the emergency room;
he was fine (and lucky that the bullet hit nothing of import
all he said was that the detectives had talked to him
and then they left on their way to speak with that couple who left
so fast

never did hear what happened to them