Being a Range Counter Jockey isn't all Bad....

[Skywarp]

There are a few downsides to workin in an indoor range.

1. Idiots with guns need constant monitoring.
2. Enforcing range rules.
3. Constant cleaning of range guns.
4. More idiots with guns.
5. Arguing with people that have no idea what they are talking about aside from TV shows, annecdotal evidence and physics defying tales handed down from friends, family , and people who must have been on LSD or PCP


But there are a few upsides.

1. Helping people find the right gun for them.
2, Teaching people safety rules
3. Helping new shooters when time allows
4. And this...........






One of the local SO's switched to 357SIG and I reaped the rewards.....factory once fired brass fired by 6 cops in a small space....then the space had to be "cleaned to keep it safe". Then a guy bought 4 boxes of 10mm auto. I took my 10 min break after he left and gobbled up all the yummy brass. I'm so over loaded on 40 and 45 it unbelievable.


This was one day's haul!

 

[Standing Wolf]

I'm behind the counter at a range a lot of the time, too.

On the whole, I get to work with a pretty high class bunch of shooters on both sides of the counter. I get to encourage newbies and give them a good grounding in firearms safety. Now and then, I teach the safety course that meets the CCW "training" requirement. I get to watch people's eyes light up as they discover they can do the theretofore unthinkable: handle and actually shoot firearms! Some shooters are just lonely middle-aged guys with nothing else to do, nowhere else to go. Just the other day, I chatted with a young fellow, and today, he and his girl friend came in for the course. They left with a new-found aura of seriousness about themselves.

I do, indeed, get tired of having to remind people who ought to know better of fundamental safety rules. Just this week end, I heard an individual assure me the Navy Seals switched to the Smith & Wesson five-shooter J frame .357 magnum with five-inch barrel because it can shoot underwater. It's occasionally a trifle difficult to keep a straight face when a guy shows off a twelve-inch group he shot at ten yards all by himself with both hands. I've never been one to scrounge brass, but it amazes me to see how few people pick up the stuff, take it home, and reload it.

It's an apparently endless education, plus I even get paid a modest amount. Hard to bea that.

 

[10-Ring]

I spend some time behind a range counter (more to help a buddy out than as a job ). I hate telling someone they can come back to shoot when they've sobered up...always goes over big! I enjoy watching the know it all's teach their g-friend how to shoot & she out shoots him.

 

[.38 Special]

They left with a new-found aura of seriousness about themselves.

Just what we need. More people taking themselves seriously.

 

[Hanzo581]

there is a flip side to that coin, some guys think because they work at a gun store that they know absolutely everything there is to know about everything firearm related.

 

[plexreticle]

That's a nice score on the brass

 

[Eightball]

I enjoy watching the know it all's teach their g-friend how to shoot & she out shoots him.

Hey, now, that sucks when that happens . Not that I would know or anything.......

Working in a gun shop is as close as I can get to you fellas, but I can at least ID explaining people that the anecdote they swear by is physically impossible, that bullets won't tear off your face with a near-miss, and have to deal with morons who insist that what "bubba-joe" told them must be true. However, every now and then, when that intelligent customer comes along, and you help them pick out the ideal firearm....it's a sweet feeling to introduce someone to shooting the "right" way....or at least to the guns of shooting.

some guys think because they work at a gun store that they know absolutely everything there is to know about everything firearm related.

I'll be the first to admit I don't know everything--there's always more guns to "discover".

 

[Skywarp]

I've learned alot about guns while down there and shot alot of cool stuff customers bring ion. I have it two ways. I work in the range and in the retail store too.


I'm the first one to admit when I 'm wrong and hate doing it so I make sure I know what I'm talking about.

 

[bigun15]

I'll be the first to admit I don't know everything--there's always more guns to "discover".

I think that's one of the most entertaining things about firearms. There's always more to learn.

 

[heypete]

I enjoy watching the know it all's teach their g-friend how to shoot & she out shoots him.

That just means I taught them well.

(Not a know-it-all, but does his best with teaching new shooters. They frequently out-shoot me. I don't feel the least bit embarassed by it.)

 

[Skywarp]

Typically ive noticed with equal experience girls will outshoot guys.

 

[Remander]

and have to deal with morons who insist that what "bubba-joe" told them must be true.

'

Bubba-Joe don't lie!!!

 

[pete f]

not a thread stealer, but a comment on brass. I was sitting in the school auditorium the other night waiting for a info meeting on HS band trip. Lady I knew to be a band mom walks over and sits one chair away from me. We start talking a bit, she asked what I did, and I told her I was a contractor and I returned the question. She was as compliance specialist at the next towns PD. I asked what that meant and she described that lots of grants and programs have conditions to be met and conditions under which the money can be spent. She makes sure that the correct requests and fulfillments are filed with the grantmakers. I talked a bit more and after the meeting when we were getting ready to leave I asked her if she knew an Officer X with whom I had had an exciting few minutes. She laughed and said I thought your name was familar and she said that the delightful Officer X had left the force and was working with homeland security as an analyst as street work had proven not to be her forte. She asked me what I carried and I said a .45, she said too bad its not a 9 or a 40. I asked why, and she said they had two dumpsters of brass that they were going to recycle at the range. I said "I shoot that too" and she said I will get you some, how much do you want. "All that they want to give."


Next day she calls and says she has some for me, to stop by the PD and pick it up. I get there and she has 10 five gallon buckets of brass waiting me, must be 150 pounds of it. SMILES I have been running it thru the tumbler all weekend and I have 7 more buckets to go.

 

[Skywarp]

Hahahaha. Nice score.

One of the guys I work with has filled up several 20 gallon tubs with 45 ACP brass and he only works tues - fri.

We have been open about1yr and 2 months and have logged over 1.1 million rounds fired in the range . We keep approximate tabs by asking each shooter how many rounds they put down range.

I have so much 40 and 9 now I rarely pick it up. To get so much 357 SIG is just amazing. We have a connected network of Range staffers who look out for each others pet projects.I scour the range for 500S&W magnum for one of the guys because we rent one outand he'sgot hundreds ofpieces ofbrass. Same with 460, 454, 44 mag , 45 long colt, 223,3006... Its great having an indoor range where rifles are allowed.

 

[grimjaw]

I marvel at the threads that it gets to get Standing Wolf to say more than two sentences.

jm