Dumbest thing you've seen at the range?

[tango2echo]

Just a few that stick in my mind:

1) Guy at the skeet range who managed to load a 20ga round in a 12ga O/U, then load a 12ga round behind it, fire the gun, and walk away from it unscathed. The gun, however, did not survive.

2) Guy at the range with an SKS that would slam fire and empty a 30rd mag. He thought it was "Cool" and was going to leave it that way.

3) Female LEO practicing for qualifier. Would close her eyes and flinch before firing her Glock .40s&w.

4) Guy at the range with a $2000 scope on an AK.

5) Indoor range, I'm the only one shooting, 25 lanes. I'm shooting a .22lr. Guy comes in and picks the lane next to me. Starts shooting a .50 Desert Eagle rapid fire. I move to the other ended of the range. Same guy comes up to me with the now jammed DE and asks me if I can "fix it". Ummm...No.

6) Friend of mine along with a few other friends at my house. (I have my own range now.) Friend starts telling everyone how it is "impossible" to make a shot over 100 yards on game with ANY revolver, in any caliber, scoped or not. And that ALL revolver rounds drop too much to make the shot possible. I walk inside, grab the GP-100 and some ammo, walk back out, load, fire, and ring the steel 12x12 plate at 150 yards 5 out of 6 shots. Then reload, fire and hit the 12x12 plate at 200 yards 3 out of 6 shots. Mind you, this is with and open sighted .357, two hand grip, unsupported. (Sighted at 50y, with that load I had 12" hold at 150y and 30" at 200y)

7) And the best for last...........

Three young guys, all teens or early twenties, at a public range. One brings his Daddy's .450/400 3 1/2 double gun that looked like it cost more than my house. I'm talking gold inlays, fully engraved, rich walnut,....They proceeded to shoot it, having never even put a target up. They dropped the gun several times in the sand from recoil. One even fired it from the hip. After that, the RO asked them to leave.

t2e

 

[gordy]

A payed member

Last summer I was shooting my cap and ball 1851 along with a 50cal percution. A outdoor range, This good old boy walks up and starts to tell me all the things I am doing wrong, as he is standing there smoking a cigar and is coming closer to me. I ask him if he understands that I am using blackpowder and I would like him to stay back at least 15 feet from me. OH you don't have to worry that stuff aint that powerfull. I then tell him to get the hell back as he is a few feet from me now. He becomes very angery and tells me that he is going to call the officer in charge of the range, pulls out his cell phone and calls.
As he is standing there calling(funny part) my phone rings I answer, guess who? I tell him that I will be right there as I am at the range. I walk up to him and hang my phone up and ask him if there is anything I can do for him.
He left shortly after this. I think he should come to a few more meetings.

 

[rattletrap1970]

I see eyes and ears. I cannot tell if anything is chambered. If this was taken by a camera in a tripod, I see no problem.

 

[Locnar]

Two guys with a 9mm Glock taking turns unloading the full magazine into a target four feet away, one-handed.

My girlfriend informed me afterwards that they marvelled at my ability to hit the target with two hands at 15 yards.

 

[sonick808]

I've been extremely lucky I guess. Apart from a couple people touching their table or weapon when the line was cold, i've seen nothing really overtly dangerous. The RO's at the ranges I've frequented are very good though, and keep nonsense in check.

From Darnall's in Bloomington, IL, to Rio Salado Sportsman's Club in Phoenix, to Scottsdale Gun Club in Scottsdale, AZ; I'm batting pretty much 100% on safe visits and no major incidents. Knock wood

 

[Kalashnikovkid]

Gordy,
Your story was by FAR my favorite!

 

[joop]

couple of things I've seen:

- friend's SKS jams, he looks into muzzle end without unloading or putting safety on (He's been in AFROTC since but I'm not sure what they're teaching--last time I went hunting for rabbits with him he wanted to take a shot uphill.)

- Friendly hick let's us check out his AR... and then decides to show off his .45 ACP upper. Friend is first one to try it out and as soon as he pulls the trigger it empties out the mag FA and everyone at the range stops to look at what's going on. (FA is illegal in WA.) Friendly hick quickly leaves.

 

[Buck Snort]

That ones gotta be a winner. An even bigger maroon.

Now what ya mean. I just CANNOT STAND "maroons".

 

[mcdonl]

I walk inside, grab the GP-100 and some ammo, walk back out, load, fire, and ring the steel 12x12 plate at 150 yards 5 out of 6 shots. Then reload, fire and hit the 12x12 plate at 200 yards 3 out of 6 shots. Mind you, this is with and open sighted .357, two hand grip, unsupported.

Wow, do you shoot competitively? You should... I was watching shooting gallery this week and they were showing a match where guys were earning up wards of $3K and the killer was the 20 yard targets. These pro's were not getting near the result of you at 100 and 200 yards.

USPSA Open Production... check out the video.

http://www.outdoorchannel.com/shows/ShootingUSA.aspx

Could be some good income for you!

 

[NMGonzo]

Well, I'll admit I'm scrawny, I don't have tattoos, and I don't normally wear a bandana, but I can see someone using a shoulder rig. In fact, I'm looking for something that will be the most practical as I normally ride a bike if it isn't snowing/icy out, and a shoulder rig is the foremost in that search right now.

Maybe he uses it concealed carry? I just say this because a lot of people do things that seem very odd at first glance.

Some motorcycle jackets have pockets big enough for a Glock 35.

 

[UpTheIrons]

Just a few that stick in my mind:

3) Female LEO practicing for qualifier. Would close her eyes and flinch before firing her Glock .40s&w.

Nothing personal towards tango2echo, but here begins the RANT...

Is it necessary to point out that the LEO was female? I've seen plenty of males do this too - more of them than females, actually.

We have a hard enough time getting women to join the ranks of us gun owners and enthusiasts without pointing out over and over what 'they' do wrong.

Then there's the LGS that had a picture up of a Glock with a round backwards in the chamber. The guy behind the counter gladly recounted how the "little woman" came in wanting him to fix her gun. She'd loaded the magazine with the rounds backwards (H&K does it on the catalog cover - so it's gotta be right, right?), and jammed the gun when she tried to chamber it. He went on and on about how stupid she was. I don't patronize that shop anymore.

Don't even get me started on all those asinine YouTube videos of guys giving their girlfriends/wives a gun they are obviously unfamiliar with, just to "see what happens."

Here endeth the RANT...

Have a fun firearm-filled weekend everyone, and take a lady shooting!

 

[gym]

I want my own 1 lane range. Can't do it in FL, "no basements". Uncle had it in LI, he's passed on now so it dosen't matter. But you sure can't beat going downstairs after dinner and shooting off a box. We all used to look forward to holidays at uncle Mikes house.

 

[SOUTHPAW]

I want my own 1 lane range. Can't do it in FL, "no basements". Uncle had it in LI, he's passed on now so it dosen't matter. But you sure can't beat going downstairs after dinner and shooting off a box. We all used to look forward to holidays at uncle Mikes house.

What are the laws in FL as far as shooting outdoors? How many acres are needed on private property? We are thinking about moving in the next 5 years and that's actually a determining factor!

 

[SOUTHPAW]

Nothing personal towards tango2echo, but here begins the RANT...

Is it necessary to point out that the LEO was female? I've seen plenty of males do this too - more of them than females, actually.

We have a hard enough time getting women to join the ranks of us gun owners and enthusiasts without pointing out over and over what 'they' do wrong.

Then there's the LGS that had a picture up of a Glock with a round backwards in the chamber. The guy behind the counter gladly recounted how the "little woman" came in wanting him to fix her gun. She'd loaded the magazine with the rounds backwards (H&K does it on the catalog cover - so it's gotta be right, right?), and jammed the gun when she tried to chamber it. He went on and on about how stupid she was. I don't patronize that shop anymore.

Don't even get me started on all those asinine YouTube videos of guys giving their girlfriends/wives a gun they are obviously unfamiliar with, just to "see what happens."

Here endeth the RANT...

Have a fun firearm-filled weekend everyone, and take a lady shooting!

Ok, I'll bite.

First off let me say that I take my girlfriend shooting every chance I get. She is a natural, and grew up with a father who is a big time shooter. I am very respectful of women in general, especially regarding women shooters.

You ask if it's necessary to point out that the shooter in question was female? You are already assuming this is intended to be negative towards toward the fact that the shooter was female, rather than simply a description of what happened, just like everyone elses stories.

If I'm recalling an event, I refer to women as women, men as men, children as children, etc. I don't see what the problem with that is...?

 

[mannac]

Exactly southpaw. How dare he call her a female!

 

[RS14]

Suppose the shooter was a man.

LEO practicing for qualifier. Would close his eyes and flinch before firing his Glock .40s&w.

Male LEO practicing for qualifier. Would close his eyes and flinch before firing his Glock .40s&w.

I don't know about you all, but the former strikes me as more natural. We don't generally feel the need to explicitly state the gender of an individual unless the story or the language require it, thus it's a bit odd to do so.

 

[SOUTHPAW]

I'm not trying to start anything, but if it were a LEO shooting 1" groups at 50 yards, 99.999999% of people would probably include if the shooter were female. Should that be left out because it's not new-age PC?

 

[UpTheIrons]

Maybe I'm being a bit over-sensitive because I've had a hard time getting a few ladies to commit to going to the range (even after they expressed some interest) because they had seen or heard of to many instances of "Lookit the poor girlie - she dunno whut she done did!" or those stupid YouTube vids.

I'll take the hit for being too quick on the draw to criticize though. I'll go to my corner for self-prescribed time out.

 

[JHansenAK47]

I was at the range in Liberty, Utah and some old guy comes up and parks. He got out of his car pulled out a little snubnose 38 and starts shooting at a cluster of rocks ten feet from his car, which is in the parking area 30 or so feet from the actual firing line. Not only that but he is shooting north and the downrange firing direction is east. What really made me mad is that north of the range parallel to the range then wrapping up north on the side of a mountain is a national forest access road directly behind where he is shooting. I walked over there and told him first of all shooting at a pile of rocks causes ricochets and bullet spawling which he told me he knew all about spawling and ricochets. Then I pointed out the road directly behind him and invited him up to the firing line to shoot. I then went back to my stuff to shoot some more of my targets as I could tell he was getting quite defensive and I knew I had made my point and arguing was only going to get me in a pissing match. The guy stood around for a minute without shooting at anything and left.

 

[RS14]

I'm not trying to start anything, but if it were a LEO shooting 1" groups at 50 yards, 99.999999% of people would probably include if the shooter were female. Should that be left out because it's not new-age PC?

That's a really good point.

I suppose I think it's a bit silly in that case, too, but it goes to show that the behavior here probably stems from women being under-represented in shooting-sports generally, rather than any tendency to associate women with poor shooting.

Thanks.

 

[Ergoman]

dumb

While in college I had to take a phys ed credit so I took trap shooting. First few days the instructor (also trap team coach) went through the basics. Of course we had a few ghetto hoods that acted uninterested in the details. While we were all standing for instruction the one fool rested the barrel on her foot while he was talking. He asked her to hold safe and to verify that the gun was unloaded. She got mouthy and while being obnoxious blew a big hole in the ground right next to her foot. I thought his head would explode. She didnt come back.

 

[Locnar]

Maybe I'm being a bit over-sensitive because I've had a hard time getting a few ladies to commit to going to the range (even after they expressed some interest) because they had seen or heard of to many instances of "Lookit the poor girlie - she dunno whut she done did!" or those stupid YouTube vids.

True Facts.

A firearm, in my humble opinion, is the best physical tool a woman can carry to help her defend herself against a human predator twice her size, and it is your DUTY to keep your woman safe. Belittling a woman shooter is counterproductive to this end.

For the record, my girlfriend had never shot a handgun before we started dating, and can now make center body mass doubletaps at 15 yards with my .45acp. I firmly believe any woman (or man, for that matter), barring physical disability, is capable of achieving this level of skill, provided they receive proper instruction.

That said, are you going to deride the next woman at the gun range who screws up, or are you going to instruct her?

 

[WardenWolf]

I'm at the range with my converted Saiga .223. Directly to my right are 3 guys, each wit with low-end AR-15's that they're trying to get working right. Only one of the guns is actually working and it's having trigger problems. Well, the break is finally called and we go out to check our targets. One of them was saying to the other, "You can't shoot that good with your AK." Looking at their targets, my Saiga out-shot their trashy AR-15s. Considering I probably paid less than HALF what they did for their hunks of junk, I had to laugh. Why do some people even bother? I'd gladly own an AR-15, but if I do, I'm at least going to pay to get a good one.

 

[SOUTHPAW]

Maybe I'm being a bit over-sensitive because I've had a hard time getting a few ladies to commit to going to the range (even after they expressed some interest) because they had seen or heard of to many instances of "Lookit the poor girlie - she dunno whut she done did!" or those stupid YouTube vids.

I'll take the hit for being too quick on the draw to criticize though. I'll go to my corner for self-prescribed time out.

No harm, no foul.

I personally LOVE to see women shooting when I'm out. Young, old, all shapes and colors. As mentioned I also believe it's extremely important for women to be able to defend themselves, educated in using firearms for self defense being the related means. I don't know, it just makes me smile when I see a female blasting.

I'm also convinced that ladies have better hand-eye coordination than men, as evidenced by every first-time/newbie female shooter I've seen out-doing every guy with the same level of experience...

 

[UpTheIrons]

No harm, no foul.

I personally LOVE to see women shooting when I'm out. Young, old, all shapes and colors. As mentioned I also believe it's extremely important for women to be able to defend themselves, educated in using firearms for self defense being the related means. I don't know, it just makes me smile when I see a female blasting.

I'm also convinced that ladies have better hand-eye coordination than men, as evidenced by every first-time/newbie female shooter I've seen out-doing every guy with the same level of experience...

You mean I can come out now?

I know women are better shooters - once I finally got my wife to the range, I couldn't get her to leave. After all my years of comeptitive shooting, here I was being shown up by a newbie - she still does better than me with a handgun, while I have the (slightest) edge in long guns.

She also takes self-defense seriously now, where it wasn't on her radar a year and a half ago. she's ready to send in her app, and if DPS does it's job, she'll be a card-carryin' gun-totin' mama in another month and a half!