Local Range has taken the fun out of shooting

[bumm]

Reading this thread makes me feel VERY fortunate. I live in a small town in rural Iowa, and have a free outdoor public range 3 or 4 minutes from my house. No membership fees, no hourly rates, no cost at all. The vast majority of folks shooting there are good, safe, people. Upon occasion there's a dumb yahoo... they're everywhere, and involved in every hobby, but I watch 'em for a while, and leave if I don't feel safe. I could never enjoy shooting with a range officer scrutinizing my every move.
As far as cops go, they're people. There are good ones and bad ones. At the range, most of 'em are fine, although I've seen some of the dumbest behavior come out of at least one... He shot his hand gun at a clay pigeon tossed into the air, right over our nearby town, and also enjoyed firing as fast as he could with absolutely no control. I should've said something, since behavior like that could get our range shut down, but somehow I didn't. Maybe because he was a cop?
Marty

 

[Notch]

I am not saying I do or I dont, but the insinuation by one of the posters that a general dislike of police officers has anything to do with maturity is one of the dumbest statements I have heard in a long time. I dont like lawyers or germans, can one make a judgement on my maturity level by that?

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

yes one can

 

[Sevengunner]

Ranges and Cops

1) Chris in Va: Where's that freestyle range? I'm confined to shooting indoors in NoVa or using pretty regimented ranges. It's not the worst situation, but I'd like to shoot at something besides paper, and I don't like Japanese cars.

2) Cops are like most other occupational groups (except mimes): good apples and bad. My personal experience would make me reluctant to generalize about an individual's on range behavior based on the fact that he/she's a sworn officer, rent-a-cop, or whatever. I've certainly been on the range with easy going, friendly LEO's, and I've seen some with real personal issues. I wonder if the LEOs talk about all the wanna-bes they run into when they visit the range?

 

[Vector]

I am seriously wondering if some of the problems recounted in this thread are not the fault of the posters themselves. I know that will not be a popular thing to say, but their experiences are very different than my own. In all the years I've been shooting, LEO's have never "hassled" me or "acted like bullies". In fact my experiences have been just the opposite.
That combined with never having encountered a "nazi range master" makes me wonder if the posters went in with preconceived notions and made self fulfilling prophecies. Maybe some of issues with authority in general and view simple interactions as confrontations?

 

[AK103K]

In both cases, I think a lot depends on where you are.

In areas that are built up, and have a lot of police, your going to run into more problems, from both sides, than you will out in the hinterlands.

The area we moved from was at one time rural with a fairly light population and little police presence. The whole atmosphere changed as "civilization" began to encroach. Along with that encroachment came more and more rules and people just to enforce them.

I've shot with police on various ranges for years. For the most part, never had an issue. Most are decent people, just like everyone else. But, like anything else, sooner or later, you get the pleasure of one of the tough guys that is on a power trip and has to be a dick.

Same goes for the range officers.

I'm generally pretty easy to get along with and tend to give people their space. But I always have had a problem with authority figures, especially those on power trips who like to rub your nose in it, and I tend not to back down and will challenge their "do as I tell you" attitudes, just because they "tell me". If they had simply just "asked". Its one thing if your doing something wrong, its a whole other thing if they are impressed with themselves and your supposed to be too.

Nothing gets those veins to stand out and faces to turn red like a "Why?" or "No, go away".

I got tired of the BS of it all and did what it took to get out of that rat race. Best move I ever made. Now I'm usually the only one at the range (thats two minutes from my house too) anytime I go, can do anything I want, with in reason, and in a year and a half or so now, might have seen two Troopers on any of the roads around where I live.

I dont expect to see any yuppies moving in anytime soon, so I think I'm safe for now.

 

[jcwit]

Man have I got it good. Small yearly menbership, pistol range, 100 yd. rifle range, cement benchrest tables. Very active club, great bunch of guys & gals, carry in dinners once a month, spec. dinners & dances through the year, wife even enjoys it. Guess I'll never complain about the 45 min. drive again.

 

[pbrktrt]

+1 moooose. i have a spot in the woods overlooking a creek with a nice sand berm that i can shoot up to 200 yds. no rangemaster, no rules, i just clean up the emptys & the targets when i am done. others use it & don't do the same. i pick up what i can see & take it home & toss it in the dumpster. it only costs me the fuel to get there & the price of ammo. i'd hate to lose it because of the slobs leaving litter. already had one spot shut down for this.

 

[RPCVYemen]

In all the years I've been shooting, LEO's have never "hassled" me or "acted like bullies". In fact my experiences have been just the opposite.
That combined with never having encountered a "nazi range master" makes me wonder if the posters went in with preconceived notions and made self fulfilling prophecies. Maybe some of issues with authority in general and view simple interactions as confrontations?

I was thinking the same thing Vector. I am well into my 50s, and have had a number of interactions with policeman. While not all were pleasant, the ones that were unpleasant had nothing to do with what they were doing, and everything to do with what I was doing - "You mean there was a 35 mph sign at the top of the hill?" I have been treated professionally each time.

I got stopped while hitchhiking several times, and again, they were professional. Once the had established (with ID, etc) that I was not a threat, they were pretty relaxed.

I think that there are a number of folks on THR with ego issues who are determined to prove that by golly, no officer is better than them (while feeling like the office really is better). The solution for all this is to act like a "tough guy" in an action movie aimed at the under-15 crowd. "By G-d, I ain't nothing he says to do." So they see provocation everywhere, and try to provoke when they don't see it.

I mean, 35 years ago, I had long hair, was stoned most of the time, and pretty active in the anti-war movement, etc. And I still never ran into the alleged behavior I hear whined about on THR by all the wanna be Rambo's - "Adrienne, They drew first blood!"

But I also have to tell you that the one time in my life that I had a Range Officer speak to me about an infraction, I stopped what I was doing, and thanked the man. That wasn't very "tough guy" of me. But the actual fact is he was right and I was wrong. That makes a difference to me.

Mike