New rule at my local range

[rayra]

Better work on replacing the RO, instead. Just WTH is "dangerous" about those targets. Or to put it more succinctly, wth is MORE dangerous than flying bullets, about those choices of targets.

Sounds like you've got an RO that's more interested in forcing his opinion under the cover of his petty authority.

 

[ruger270man]

too dangerous to shoot clay targets?

what are clay targets made for exactly? :banghead:

 

[Amadeus]

Aluminum pie trays. They work great.

 

[BamBam-31]

Ah, pie plates! Perfect for Mini-14's.

 

[jlh26oo]

Wigs.

 

[stealthmode]

i like that charcoal idea

 

[Matthew748]

It seems like more and more ranges across the country are frowning upon non-paper targets. I know the places I go to in Indiana and Illinois throw an absolute tantrum if you even think about shooting something other than a paper target.

Its not much, but if there is no one else around sometimes I will bring a tree branch down to the end of the range. It is a fun diversion with a scoped rifle. I will work left to right until there is nothing left but inconspicuous wood chips.

 

[goosegunner]

Depending on the location of the range I can see two obvious and perfectly good reasons to say no to those targets.

1 Ricochets, shooting at a golf ball with a .22lr is guarranteed to send the bullet in a new direction. Filling the backstop with broken clay targets will probably increase the risk aswell.

2 Littering, it is one of the most annoying things in the world to find "your" range covered with all sorts of exploded targets that some stupid did not bother to clean up.

Shooting at anything other than paper targets with a sand backstop will need some thinking of where stray bullets may end up before you start shooting, even with a extremly small risk per bullet the risk might become relevant when tousands of bullets are fired every week for several years.

Talk with the RO, he probably has good reasons, and IF he is a reasonable person wood targets would be a good idea, as they are easy to clean up (as long as you do not enter 'crazy redneck mode' everytime you go to the range) and produce little or no ricochets.

 

[Cacique500]

Filling the backstop with broken clay targets will probably increase the risk as well.

I'll grant you the golf ball may riccochet a .22 but a piece of clay target on the berm is NOT going to riccochet a bullet.

If the berm is not high enough that's a problem in itself...you shouldn't be shooting there anyway.

We have 30 foot high berms at my range and we place the clay targets about 1/3 of the way up. When we shoot at a clay it doesn't cause any litter...we keep shooting at the smaller pieces until it's gone. You can't see any orange at 50 or 100 yards when we're done.

I think the range officer is on a power trip and needs to have someone "in authority" give him a little talking to.

 

[willeo6709]

plastic bottles of tannerite.......

 

[MikeIsaj]

Let's see, clay targets on the ground at 100yds are dangerous but, not in the air at 200ft?

Anything full of water will usually give a spectacular display.

I once shot up a Pitney-Bowes postage meter, that was fun. It was lost and my boss had to pay them for the meter. It was later found in the basement and they would not refund his money so we had some fun.

 

[goosegunner]

, clay targets on the ground at 100yds are dangerous but, not in the air at 200ft?

You shoot clay targets in the air with a rifle??
(I know it is possible, but it is not many ranges where you can do so safely)

I agree that clay targets give a low risk for ricochets, but they do have some risk at sharp angles (as do wood and even paper) but that is more of theoretical value than someting to worry about. What I was thinking was a possible risk was when the backstop becomes more clay debris than sand, but it is a untested theory.

 

[R.H. Lee]

The range is halfway between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo on Highway 1.
http://www.geocities.com/slosportsmen/

And, yeah, I think the new RO is on a petty power trip. He tried to tell me it was state 'regulation' that we couldn't shoot at golfballs, or anything on the berms.

There are hanging steel plates at 20yds on the pistol side that pose a greater danger of 'returns' than golfballs. I'll be writing a letter to the board of directors FWIW.

 

[MikeIsaj]

You shoot clay targets in the air with a rifle??

Where did I say that?
Have you ever shot a clay target? They shatter into sharp pieces no matter what you shoot them with. The point is if it's not unsafe at 200 ft., it shouldn't be unsafe at 300ft. You mentioned sharp angles. What range do you shoot at that allows anyone to be in proximity of and at a sharp angle to a target, that they would be in range of anything?

 

[Fat_46]

Take a 4' piece of 2x4. Every 8" drill a hole just large enough for a golf tee to fit 1/2 way in. Put paintballs on the golf tees...voila! Instant targets, cheap as all get out, and a blast to shoot! For some fun, hit them with a .17 HMR oir .17 HM2 KABLOOOEEE

 

[280PLUS]

He tried to tell me it was state 'regulation' that we couldn't shoot at golfballs, or anything on the berms.

WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!! BS ALERT,,,BS ALERT!!! WHOOP...

It may be a litter thing. I had an RO tell me not to shoot clays on the berm because the round might hit a stone and ricochet. I didn't bother to ask him how the rounds managed to miss the stones when shooting through paper set up in front of the berm. He was the littlest guy at the range and had the biggest gun (Grisley .50), does that tell you anything?

 

[wingnutx]

fuzzy baby bunnies

 

[gezzer]

You know all those tracers you see ricocheting all over creation? Clue bat #1: The tracers are the only ones that are lit up... There's a whole buncha stuff bouncing around that people don't see...If the berms are not steep enough, you could get arounds going over 'em. Not a good thing.

I agree with the RO.

Gee I guess the rounds that go through the paper targets don't hit on the berm? It does not make sense if the berms are not steep enough and they are dangerous and shold not be used at all.

I use common sense and don't agree with the RO.

 

[Berek]

2 Littering, it is one of the most annoying things in the world to find "your" range covered with all sorts of exploded targets that some stupid did not bother to clean up.

I guess I lucked out. Our trap sets are along a service road that runs next to the rifle range. The range is open all monday, tuesday and wednesday and from 4pm to dusk on sat and sun. The rest of the time is clays. The rifle range is always loaded with clays...

Berek

 

[c3006]

I have been lurking for awhile and kinda hate this being my first post but I own a small private range that only has 60 members that I thought were all responsable citizens,but you would not belive the mess that is left for me to clean up every week. I can see the problem with golf balls but not clays. I bet he will change his tune on clays if you go to the powers that be with your issues. good luck c3006

 

[280PLUS]

Yes, a few years back there was a kindly farmer that allowed certain individuals (his "friends") shoot on an area of his property. They ALWAYS left it a huge mess. A few of us would clean up after the others because we appreciated his doing this but to no avail. I'd clean it all up, haul the trash out and the very next week it would be just as bad. He no longer allows people to shoot there.

 

[carp killer]

Yes, a few years back there was a kindly farmer that allowed certain individuals (his "friends") shoot on an area of his property. They ALWAYS left it a huge mess. A few of us would clean up after the others because we appreciated his doing this but to no avail. I'd clean it all up, haul the trash out and the very next week it would be just as bad. He no longer allows people to shoot there.

I know what you mean. I have permission to shoot ground squirrels on a ranch. One time the owners SON and some friends were getting crazy with a 12 ga. making all kinds of rackett. Enough to cause the neighbors to call the Sheriff. We almost lost our privliges to shoot there because of the ruckus cause by the rancher's own kid. The rancher said he didn't want to cause trouble with his neighbors. We convinced him that our squirrel safaris weren't the problem, it was his kid. :banghead:

 

[Oldtimer]

Do some exploring! I've been an avid shooter for 50+ years, and I have NEVER liked shooting at either indoor OR outdoor ranges that are frequented by shooters that are TOTAL strangers to me. I was "forced" to shoot at police ranges when I was a LEO (31 years), but that was out of necessity. Through those years, my "recreational" shooting was done in remote spots away from the "civilized" world. Most of the time, it was in the desert lands that the Bureau of Land Management has control of.

No matter what kind of ventilation, the indoor ranges will ALWAYS smell and have airborne lead particulates that you will inhale! The outdoor ranges are a LITTLE bit better, but they're usually confined within the bounds of the range, and the wind is relatively nil....so, you're STILL going to be inhaling airborne lead from your own rounds and other shooters! In the "great outdoors", however, there are no walls, and even a slight breeze will dissipate the toxics in the air.

Heck, even if you have to drive out to a remote spot, you can combine it with a camp-out trip.
No hassles about the targets you want to shoot at, no idiot blowing out your eardrums with some sort of "nuclear-powered" handgun in the shooting position next to yours, nothing but fresh air to inhale, and.....camp food always tastes GREAT!

 

[R.H. Lee]

The berms on the rifle side at 25, 50, 75 & 100 yds are 2'-3' high. Target stands are placed behind each berm, numbered corresponding to your shooting position. A +-350' hill begins at the 100 yard line, the toe of the hill has been cut off creating a 10' - 12' wall of dirt immediately behind the 100 yd target. Going uphill, targets and metal silhouette plates have been placed at 125 yds on up to about 400yds three quarters the way up the hill, where there is a large metal plate (about 36" I think). Next time I'm there I'll take a photo and post it.

We have been placing golfballs and clays on the berms @ 75 & 100yds. Bullet deflection notwithstanding, there is no place for the bullet to go but into the hill. If you hit the golfball COM with a .22lr, it will penetrate through to the other side but not exit, leaving a pimple. The RO claims two people were hit 'in the nose' by 'returns' while shooting at golfballs.

He impresses me as kind of a nervous nelly control freak type (don't get me wrong; I understand the need for vigilance at a public range). But the vast majority of us are experienced safety conscious shooters who pay attention and don't need to be mother henned. I suspect that part of the reason for his nervousness is that he's new; the job includes housing on the range; and he's anxious to do a good job. The old RO was well liked by everyone, but was fired after some new board members were elected-some kind of personal disagreement.

Anyway, the new guy seems amenable to some sort of compromise, he's getting copies of rules from other ranges and is willing to consider some alternate targets, as long as they're not on the berms. I don't know what that might be.