More Range Stupidity: Cell Phones

[tyme]

Cell phones have created a whole new level of bad behaviour and discourtesy. I just don't understand why people act like slaves to the damn things. I use mine when it's convenient for me, otherwise that's why God invented voicemail

Not only that, but if you keep your phone off (not just on vibrate) most of the time, it keeps other people (and possibly the government) from tracking you.

 

[nvshooter]

I shoot in the NV desert. I don't have a cellphone. And there ain't a cell tower for miles...

 

[akodo]

here's what i don't get, even to those people who much more safely answered the phone and then left.

Why answer at all? Once the phone rings, you should let it ring or turn it off after glancing at the incoming call screen. Then secure your gear and exit the range. Now, MY cellphone has this radical bit of technology, where it tells me who I just missed a call from. Then simply return the phonecall. Even in extreme instances of 'June just went into labor, come to the hospitol' that 90 seconds isn't going to make any difference.

 

[chickenfried]

I'm pretty good at ignoring my cell phone, don't even have it on at the range. But I don't understand all the complaints, if safety's not an issue. You're at a gun range where loud things are going boom, you're not meditating at a buddhist monastery, you're not teeing off at the pga championships. I don't even notice when people are talking on their cell phone. Now the guy in the lane next to me with the .500 might be a little distracting, you know who you are .

 

[jashobeam]

Nextell walkie-talkie phones are the worst!

I absolutely hate hearing anyone have a conversation on one of those walkie-talkie phones that beep loudly after every 'broadcast'. Can't that be turned off or at least turned down? Why can't people be considerate and turn the volume down and hold it close to their ear so that only they can hear the incoming chatter? But no, I see idiots holding the phone about six inches from their faces, talking as loudly as if whomever they are talking with is standing across the room. It is a major pet-peeve of mine...obviously.

 

[Smurfslayer]

Now the guy in the lane next to me with the .500 might be a little distracting, you know who you are

On my old phone voice dialing was a distinct feature that had to be "programmed". I programmed my wife's work phone in "Mrs Smurfslayer work". As usual it stayed in my pants pocket at the range, and must have somehow hit the voice dial button, and somehow matched the noise to "Mrs Smurfslayer Work". Alas, I was oblivious to it all.

Unbeknownst to me was that the directory of voice dials had to be individually programmed; so when I updated the phone book directory for Mrs. Smurfslayer Work, the voice dial still pointed to the old number

Mrs Smurfslayer calls me the following week. "Did you call my old work number from the range"
Me: "No."
Her: "Because <name forgotten> came down and said there was 20 minutes of voice mail with gun shots and what sounded like explosions (probably the 500).
Me: Not me.
Her: What's my work number?
Me: nnn-nnn-nnnn
let me check the voice dial.

err... uhh... well I might have ACCIDENTALLY left your old number in the voice dial directory...

My bad.

 

[f4t9r]

that makes no sense what so ever. cell phones are way over rated.
good for work or a trip and thats about it. I agree they would make good targets.

 

[orangeninja]

I remember being out on a double date with my girlfriend (now wife) and her best friend and her boyfriend. Well, while we were out she kept getting calls and answering them. We were all getting annoyed, even the waitress who politely waited while she finished her conversation to order.

Finally I just reached across and took the phone, said "she'll call you back." hung it up and removed the battery from it, handing it back to her. Everyone started to laugh and seemed surprised, except for my wife (girlfriend at the time), because I did the exact same thing to her once while we were on a date.

*Note* I don't recommend this tactic, but it has worked for me. I am not responsible for mad girlfriends/ex-girlfriends or blocking "play" for the evening.

 

[ambush]

Live the ambush way...no cell phone at all. You only need one if you think you need one. What better way to think you need one than to listen to the phone company marketing guru's. They almost make you feel that if you don't have one, you're not hip or cool, or something bad is going to happen to you. Just don't fall for the marketing.

 

[MikeH]

Guess we have a tough crowd to sell this to:

 

[Rick O'Shea]

Now that's funny!
It even has the Nokia logo up top...

chickenfried, my issue was not just at the cell-culture talking-all-the-time-wherever thing with the guy at the range, but with the fact that he removed his hearing protection two feet away from an active firing line to take the call.
I consider eyes and ears almost as mandatory as the 4 rules, and to compromise that for a conversation (that he couldn't carry on anyway), just amazed me.
If you're not firing and can have an effective conversation safely with the electronic muffs, then fine.

As much as I despise the things, I have two; I insist that my wife have one with her for emergencies, and I am a health care worker who takes after-hours call. I wear my beeper on the range. The phone is in the truck. My shooting buddy is a trauma surgeon (a comforting thought sometimes), and he wears his phone constantly, but is obviously smart enough to leave the range to talk.

I guess my point is, if you like talking on the phone that much, you might want to make sure you can still hear in the future.

Rick