I had an experience that nearly ended with an exchange of gun fire, all because of someone who had absolutely no concept of gun safety. In Yuma Arizona our shooting range is unsupervised, but it is a really well kept range and offers something for every taste, archery, shotgun, black powder, handgun, rifle 100 yds. to 300 yds., and we also have a 1000 yd. range.
While at the 100 yd. to 300 yd. range my self and the other's collectively decided to go down range and change targets or what ever. There was still one man at the firing line to which we informed of our intentions. We specifically let him know we were going down range and assumed he knew what that indicated, don't shoot until we have returned to the firing line. While the group of us were at about the 200 yd burm walking back, the individual at the firing line opens up with his AR 15. We all hit the dirt instantly, myself and a couple other's unholstered our side arms and took sight on him while yelling at him to cease fire and lay the weapon down now! Fortunately he was not wearing any ear protection and heard us and complied, or things could have become deadly to the point of traggic real quick. When we all had all returned to the firing line things got really hinky, and resulted in the irresponsible shooter being ordered to leave. I didn't engage him and instead packed and left, with no intention of returning to this range or any other, ever!
I've had countless close calls around other's who carelessly handled firearms, with some circumstances nearly costing me my life. Friends that have almost shot me while hunting, and far too many other incidents to post, that would have certainly resulted in my death, if not for the grace of God. But this one was the straw that broke the camels back, so to speak. I now have a couple of real nice spots to shoot where I don't have to contend with near death experiences. I've been to a lot of well supervised ranges and had good experiences at them.
But, all it takes is one idiot a fraction of a second to cost an innocent person their life. Some of the ranges I've shot at will have 20 or so shooting stations, and one really good out spoken supervisor. I've seen a good range master tell someone point blank, to pack and leave. I find this to be the only way to deal with individuals who regard gun safety is rediculous. I've heard remarks from people such as " Come on, I'm not a child " or " Don't worry, I'm not going to acidentally shoot anyone" this is when a well focussed range master sends them packing.
So if you ask me about a bad experience while visiting a shooting range, my answer from now on is, I don't go to them any more. I also don't go shooting with anyone except my own family. My Wife and I have a bunch of Grand Children and Nephews and Nieces to which all are trained in proper gun safety as soon as they can walk. My 3 yr. old Grand Daughter demonstrates excellent gun safety and is fully aware that a gun is not a toy. She has more respect for a firearm than most adults I've encountered in gun shops.
I know I went over board on this response, but it really hit home with me and thus deserved an elaborate reflection of my experiences at shooting facilities.