Ever offered your gun at the range?

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gator1gear

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I was at the range with my wife on Monday 26 Dec 11. After shooting for a while and talking briefly to the guy in the next lane, he asked if I had ever shot a 10 mm handgun. I told him I hadn't, and he grabbed a couple of rounds and handed me his Kimber 10 mm 1911. I shot the gun and was definitely impressed (I told him so). I thought it was extremely cool that he would make that offer. I let a guy shoot a .45 caliber handgun of mine after he asked about the recoil, and he was grateful. I just kinda wondering if this sort of thing happens quite a bit, or if I'm the exception to the rule.:D
 
It depends on the group you find. At my regular range we always let folks try our stuff. It works out nice too, as I found out by doing this, that a pistol I had been eyeing wasnt for me. So it saved me a wad of cash & trouble.
 
At the range I frequent I have shot others handguns and theirs as well. Honestly, it's nice to know what a handgun is like to shoot before buying one and gun people tend to be friendly.
 
I've been known to offer up a magazine-full to people on the range

I've provided:
A chance to shoot a target pistol instead of some idiot's magnum loudenboomer handenbreaker for the ladies who have been dragged to the range to "lern how tew shoot" by their dad/husband/boyfriend ... who invariably ONLY bring along a challenging gun for a beginner, instead of the logical .22lr gun any reasonable person would bring. (this I offer with all the cheap bulk Fed550 they want)
A magazine or two for the old guy with a bunch of stories to tell about back when he had an M1 Carbine issued to him. (I have to bring the real one when I go shooting with the 10/22 I mocked up as a trainer, in fact ... I offer either/both)
A chance to try out a concealment gun for people interested in defensive carry.
A bucket-o-guns for the friend/co-worker who needs some range time to stop spouting nonsense about guns they learned from the Brady campaign
A cylinder-full through the NAA mini-revolver, someone always asks "is that a real gun?" or "what's making that LOUD noise?"
 
Just the other day a friend of mine brought his Barrett .50 cal for me to try. A few guys gathered around and one was really interested in what we were doing. We had a really convince him to try it. He didn't want to at first but we convinced him to. He was really glad to be able to try one. Any gun that I bring with me to the range is available for others to shoot and I know most everyone I compete with would do the same.
It's a club after all.
 
saw a couple younger fellers at the range one day and caught them whispering about my .44 mag ("what is that?" "that thing is huge!"). i looked over and they asked what it was. when i told them it was a .44 mag, they both seemed impressed so i offered to let them shoot it. only one of them wanted to, but he had a blast... pun intended :).
 
I was at the range once, and a guy let me and my 8yr old son, shoot his Barrett 50cal! Doubt I'll ever forget that range visit!:D
 
I was at my old range near Atlanta years ago and the guy at the next station was shooting a gun that made my 30-06 sound like a Red Rider. He has just finished building a Win 458 mag custom gun for a customer who was leaving the next day for an elephant hunt and needed it zeroed before he left. It was a model 98 mauser action with a very light barrel and only weighed about 6 1/2 lbs. I shot it once, and was finished. It was probably my only chance to ever shoot a gun like that.
I have offerred others the opportunity to shoot my guns if they looked trustworthy.
 
If someone nearby is friendly, I'll offer. I've done it several times, and usually they'll reciprocate. Got to shoot at Stg44 that way once.
 
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I was at the range with my wife on Monday 26 Dec 11. After shooting for a while and talking briefly to the guy in the next lane, he asked if I had ever shot a 10 mm handgun. I told him I hadn't, and he grabbed a couple of rounds and handed me his Kimber 10 mm 1911. I shot the gun and was definitely impressed (I told him so). I thought it was extremely cool that he would make that offer. I let a guy shoot a .45 caliber handgun of mine after he asked about the recoil, and he was grateful. I just kinda wondering if this sort of thing happens quite a bit, or if I'm the exception to the rule.:D
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Definitely. I find it happens mostly with the "shooters", and not with the 3 X YR folks.

Last weak, a guy I had let shoot my CZ the week before because he asked about the pistol, came up and handed me a pistol and suggested I try it out.
I'm a small lightweight old guy. He handed me a 44 Mag Desert Eagle. Huge grips, weighed a ton and actually shot VERY well-behaved accurate rds. I enjoyed the experience. I've been range shooting since the late 1960's and have fired (to me) an absolutely amazing assortment of pistols and revolvers.

This happens more at ranges that aren't "rigidly controlled" by the owners. I enjoy this aspect of shooting a lot. Generally, SHOOTERS are proud of their guns. GOOD!
 
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I tend to offer folks the chance to shoot whatever I have at the range if they are polite and show interest. A lot of folks I run into while shooting seem willing to do the same.
 
It happens more often than not when I go to public outdoor ranges. Even if it's not me borrowing/lending I see it down the line.

I'll never forget one day meeting a fella over talking about our respective AKs for a bit. He proceeded to shoot (at my encouragement) several hundred (of his own) suppresed rounds through my Buckmark pistol while I shot other stuff. He left swearing he was on his way to buy his own.

That same day I'd taken a friend and his five year old son with me. "All of a sudden" there was a 10 round rapid fire string of .223. Everyone on the line kinda turns to see "what a@@hat just did that?" All faces turned to smiles when they saw they five year old with a monstrous grin behind the trigger (said 5 y.o. being effectively bear hugged and controlled by his dad during the shooting- but HE got to pull the trigger. And he did that with gusto!)


My last trip to a public range... Went with a buddy and his kids. They loved the suppressed Buckmark. His LCR loaded with .357 proved to me a very un-fun range toy (I know, I know). I was surprised how much I liked his Glock. I really enjoyed shooting the "crap" ammo his MK wouldn't with my BM. The trump of that trip, though, was the fella a few lanes down that let me shoot his S&W500. The video shows I handled the recoil admirably and he says I only missed the huge target by three feet or so :eek:.

Sharing is good. I'll never buy a 50 cal handgun, but was happy as a pig in poo to get to shoot one. Letting folks shoot my Les Baer may give them a taste of something they'd never buy. As long as safety is at the forefront, "sharing" guns at the range makes as much sense to me as basic math.
 
Seems to happen to me more often at indoor ranges. I have been offered to try quite a few guns, typically by someone shooting in the lane next to me. I always like to reciprocate with having them take a turn with one of my guns. Just the friendly thing to do.
 
It is customary to trade loaded guns at my range. It's a great way to gain experience shooting as many pistols as you can. I shoot a mag of your ammo, you get to shoot a mag of mine.

Never be afraid to complement someone on their gun and ask them if you can try it while they try your weapon. Worst they can say is no. I have to put a certain number of rounds though my pistol every three months anyways. Deosn't matter if it's me shooting, or someone else. 90% of the types of pistols I've shot, weren't mine at all.

Holding guns in a showroom, and how guns feel in your hand means nothing. Nothing. The only way for newbs to catch up is by actually shooting them. (Ex: Glocks feel terrible to nearly everyone, but nearly everyone seems to shoot them well.)

Also don't be afraid to seek out local people to shoot with via the multiple forums out there. Not to mention the many weekend shoot get togethers.

I've also noted that indoor ranges are more friendly to this. Outdoor, pay to shoot, ranges are fine as well. Free outdoor park ranges are a waste of time, don't bother with those grouches.
 
When you collect some of the odder autos, you can get some stares when you pull out a 100 year old auto to do some plinking.

If you ask nicely, I'll share
let a group of guys shoot a mosin, they said they were looking for something to drag moose hunting, I first asked if they were planning on going on foot. They weren't sure if 'such a little' round would work on a moose, I think they changed their mind after they put their shoulders back in socket.
 
I love to try other folks firearms and will gladly share whatever I have. I always have my Ruger P95 and many shooters comment on how nice of a gun it is, though they had thought differently. Great conversations then start up, advice is exchanged, if appropriate, and it's just a great to be social with a new friend.
 
I'm shocked, and for some reason, really happy that this is going on. I really didn't think it was happening everywhere! Gives me the warm fuzzies:D
 
I have offered to let people shoot a 1911 or G19 just about every time I'm out. If the person next to me is courteous and starts a friendly conversation, and seems interested, they get offered a mag.

The flip side of that is I always try to get some friendly banter going with whoever I'm shooting with. It might incline them to offer me a mag on an unfamiliar gun. That's how I ended up buying an MP9c
 
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