Interesting day at the range

[doggscube]

When I first got there, there was a cease-fire called so I went out and put up my target. When I was walking back and about 15 feet from the line, a guy was on the line and I watched him load a magazine and close the slide! He was pointing it at the ground otherwise I'd have been diving left and shouting at him. He and his buddy were talked to by the RO for other behaviors. He looked like the type that didn't want to hear any criticism so that's why I didn't say anything. I watched them very closely at other cease-fires, but as for shooting they were on the other end.

The second was the guy there with his girlfriend (good golly, she was... distracting, but that's for another forum). He covered my station twice with the muzzle of his XD. The second time was with a magazine inserted, action open. I asked him to keep it pointed downrange, he gave me an attitude about it, but he didn't do it again.

By far the scariest was the guy two stations down who was firing a revolver single-action. It was either a .357 or a .44. At one point he fired, immediately cocked again, and then, to demonstrate his opinion that the previous cartridge was especially powerful, proceeded to wave the pistol around with his finger on the trigger, sort of in the manner that one may shake an empty hand after hitting one's thumb with a hammer. The RO had a chat with him but unbelievably did not throw him out. He and his party left shortly thereafter anyway.

-Jeff

 

[Falconeer]

This type of stuff is why I joined a private range. I got tired of not being able to concentrate on shooting because I was paranoid the wannabe next lane over was going to blow a hole in my back. :banghead:

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

At my public range, anyone doing anything like that either gets talked to in a very stern voice over the PA system, screamed at by the RO if he isn't next to the mic, or just plain kicked out right away. You must also go through a safety demonstration with a firearm and are given a card to fill out as proof once you pass this. They told me they do all this because they have had too many benches shot up.

My dad has gone to that range for something like 40 years, and has seen the safety stuff get progessively more strict over the decades.

 

[cmidkiff]

I shoot mainly at a public, free, unsupervised range run by the state conservation dept. (Pigeon Hill) I've been shooting there regularly for about a year now. I choose this location because (1) it's free, (2) it's close, and (3) nobody bothers me about rapid fire, draw and fire exercises, etc.

Twice, I've pulled in, looked around, and left, thinking it just wasn't worth the risk of stopping. Group of inner city youth banging away with their hi-point 9, I'm out'a there. I know, I'm 'profiling'...

Twice, I've had shooters next to me that really bothered me. The first group covered my shooting position several times before I left:banghead: . The second group was firing their Mini-14, Mini-30 and .50 BP rifles into a mud puddle not 10 feet from the firing line, spraying mud all over me and my weapons .

Overall, I've met many good people there. Some didn't know much of anything about shooting, but were interested in learning. Some were better shooters than I am. Several competitive shooters use this range to hone their skills. Day before yesterday, I met a very nice gentleman and his adult son, firing a recently aquired CMP Garand, a brand spanking new S&W .460, and a pair of Colt .44 magnums. The polite, good natured people _far_ outnumber the idiots.