A visitor at the range

[Gottahaveone]

I finally rec'd the front sight tool for my FR-8 and decided today was a good time to go put it on paper. I have a private pistol range cut into the edge of the woods that I use. I learned two things...It will shoot one hole groups, (admittedly at 30 yards) and I HATE that elliptical front sight post. As you screw it up or down for elevation, it also moves right or left for windage. Problem is, it's hard to see the offset and harder to know how much you actually moved the post from side to side. Finally got it about where I wanted it.

Went to put the FR-8 back in the case and caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and there about 15 feet to my rear sat a visitor. No hearing protection, and didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest by the noise of the 16" .308 that I had just been shooting. I pulled the AR out and ran about 100 rounds thru it, and still he sat there, quietly munching grass. When I was finished, I picked up all my brass and wandered over to where Bug's was sitting. I got to within spitting distance when he turned and ambled off into the woods. I guess it's nice to be trusted

 

[jmr40]

The range where I shoot often has turkey and occasionally deer wander onto it. Turkey are not uncommon at all. They are so used to the gunfire it doesn't phase them. You'll have to stop shooting and walk out on the range to run them off.

Last fall I was firing at the 100 yard targets. Between shots I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, it was a doe feeding behind one of the 200 yard targets. I had just fired a 3 shot string and if she had been 15 yards more to the right would have been in my line of fire. I gave her a minute and she walked back into the woods.

 

[bikemutt]

We get deer on the range almost daily. Range officer announces "stick to fixed targets".

 

[The_Next_Generation]

We get deer on my local rifle and shotgun range quite regularly, and everytime it amazes me how much the animals don't mind the gunfire!

Just last weekend I was shooting my AR (complete with muzzle-brake)off a bench when I noticed a doe not more than 5 yards to my 2-o'clock.... she just sauntered by without a care in the world

I think she was teasing me since I hadn't seen a single animal during all of my days out "hunting" last season (I say "hunting" because all I really did was walk through/sit in the woods with a big rifle ).

 

[Hardtarget]

I've seen deer, ground hogs, a turkey, and last year I found a box turtle on the range. I don't he could have run off... I've noticed the small birds don't seem to like the shooting very much.

Mark

 

[RainDodger]

One morning, a doe walked down into the pit behind the 100 yard target on my range. Her head was level with my target, and when she passed it, she turned and looked right at me. It was the funniest thing... I had a target to the left and a doe's head to the right, staring right at me.

The rangemaster was freaking.... "Don't shoot the deer! Too much paperwork!"... of course no one at the range would shoot the deer anyway. I don't think.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

We have a lot of deer on ours. I've seen them in there, but never on the actual range.

When I was doing my orientation, the president of the club was telling me that he was shooting his rifle at 200 yds and drove down to check his targets. As he passed the 100 yd berm there are 4 doe behind it just calmly eating grass. His bullets had passed within 10-20 yds or so of them and didn't bother them a bit.

 

[Collector0311]

We used to get buffalo on the ranges at Pendleton that would cause cease fires for hours!
When I was in New Zealand working with their Army, there would be massive herds of wild horses running right through our training Ops. My platoon commander told me they routinely clear UXO ranges with them. Yikes.

 

[alfon99]

Normally I shoot quaker parrots to feed the cats, and now I think they are convinced food comes out of the barrel. Whenever I grab a long gun (rifle or shotgun) they start meowing...

 

[HOOfan_1]

Squirrels at my range regularly run out while people are shooting

Hickok45 has the Ruger 10/22 video where deer run on the range seconds after he was shooting.

 

[Art Eatman]

I had a horse that would come up and stand next to me when I was shooting handguns on my range. Sort of a, "Hey, whatcha doin', guy? Looks like fun!" So I worked with him until I could ride and stay on board when deer hunting. He'd flinch from the noise, a little, but not buck or anything like that.

 

[dodge]

At my local range we've had bear, coyotes, bobcat, deer, rabbits, turkeys and groundhogs. All animals a safe except those pesty groundhogs we need to keep this pest under control.

 

[HoosierQ]

We have a very large black snake and a groundhog. Both are most seriously strictly off limits. In fact, shooting any critter is strictly fobidden. We are a conservation club. We got our start raising baby quail to release into the wild for managed game populations purposes...and we still do that. But they are released elsewhere to shore up game population.

You'd think the noise would scare off the critters but it doesn't.

 

[coloradokevin]

Animals that live near ranges definitely seem to grow numb to the sound of gunfire. We were shooting a long range match at a range I used to belong to when someone spotted a horse standing in between our 550 and 600 yard targets. Rabbits are regularly seen on the ranges I shoot on, as are prairie dogs (moving targets).

 

[Elkins45]

I took this on Thursday at the shooting range I frequent. I was shooting suppressed and this three pointer in velvet walked behind the 25 yard berm. He entered the picture from L to R, so he walked between the 25 and 50 yard targets. I was aiming at the 100 yard targets when I noticed movement in the foreground of my scope. The wall on the L of the picture separates the rifle/pistol range from the skeet/trap area, so he had been strolling across the open field for quite a way. I didn't get my phone out and the camera app launched until he had traversed the firing area.

A dangerous place for a stroll! Fortunately for him I was the only person shooting at the time.

 

[Krogen]

Deer can be a pest at our range. On occasion they hang out on top of the 100 m berm, match in progress or not. One night on my way out, I encountered one in the headlights. I wasn't going but a few mph and he just stopped in the road. I stopped. We both blinked. I blinked my brights at him. He blinked - didn't move. I contemplated getting out to shoo him off, but thought better of it as he was close. So I just waited until he decided to move along.