Observations from my day at the range

[Okiecruffler]

Managed to spend 5 hours at the range today. Deer season starts tomorrow, so I knew it would be crowded, but I haven't had a chance to go for weeks and won't get another chance for at least another week. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. But over 5 hours I noticed many things.

First, I am a Dangerous Man. I sat there shooting sub MOA groups with my pistols while all around me guys with very expensive rifles were completely happy with their 4 inch groups. Man I hope it was just a bad day for them.

Second, some guys should sell their guns and take up knitting, especially the 3 guys who started walking down the hot range. And REALLY especially the guy who let 2 rounds off downrange while everyone else was down hanging targets. He left right after that. May have had something to do with the lottery we had started to see who would kick his butt first.

Third, alot of guys are shooting guns that are just plain wrong for them. If the recoil from an '06 bothers you, a .300 winchester isn't the right gun for you.

And while we're on the .300 winnie, I was sitting by a fellow who was shooting a 300 Weatherby. A piece of his brass hit my foot, so I bent down to pick it up for him. Sure enough a badly fireformed 300 Winchester brass. I mentioned to him that he was shooting the wrong ammo, but he said it was like the 357/38sp, you could shoot either. I didn't argue, I just moved way down the line. Still have the brass tho' had to show the offspring stupidity.

Wasn't long after that I had a brass scrounger scoop one of my .444 brass off the ground after I had dropped it. Thing hadn't even stopped rolling yet. Now I scrounge alot of brass, but never within 20 feet of anyone. Some people

Wasn't all bad tho'. Met some very nice fellas, let a very polite 8 year old shoot my 22 Striker, shot a 30-378 Wby for the first and probably last, time. My ears are still ringing, my wrist aches like hell, there's nothing like a day at the range.

 

[clown714]

really amusing range trip,for sure

you would'nt have a pic of that .300 winnie brass,would you?


clown

 

[Spot77]

Wow.....Are there no Range Officers at that range?

If that would've happened here, the offender (of ANY of those offenses) would've been bounced before the next casing hit the floor.


Glad you had fun though!

 

[Okiecruffler]

Unfortunately my scanner died during the last move. Turns out they aren't rated for load bearing. But just picture a 300Wby with no neck, looks alot like that.

This is a pretty informal range. The guy who owns it is the sole employee and yesterday he was tied up in the office most of the day with new customers coming in continually. Most of the time it's only 6 or shooters at a time and there's no problem. Yesterday it was 60 shooters, most in a big hurry and probably hadn't touched their rifle since last season. Bound to be a few boneheads in the group.

 

[photo_guy]

Unfortunately my scanner died during the last move. Turns out they aren't rated for load bearing.

LOL Great mental picture.

 

[cerberus]

Only in Oklahoma right?

I guess it's true what people say about Oklahoma.

 

[Pilgrim]

Our club's range is open to the public five days a week. The other two are member's only days. Prior to hunting season, the range is open to the public seven days a week.

My "favorite" shooters are the ones who show up and expect an immediate cease fire so they can put up their target. Note that they only put up one target.

Once their target is up, they fire five rounds and expect another cease fire so they can examine their target. You got it, they don't have a spotting scope.

When they finally get another cease fire, they stand at their one target trying to figure out where their rifle is hitting since it doesn't have hole one in it. There are a lot of holes in the bullet riddled back board, so they study it trying to figure out which holes are theirs.

If they are lucky, someone takes pity on them and suggests they put up a target on the 25 yard range and get their bullets to hit about 1.5 to 2 inches below their point of aim. If they are really lucky, someone will explain it takes sixteen clicks to move their impact point one inch at 25 yards, not four clicks. If they are really, really lucky, they don't run out of their 20 rounds before getting their rifle to print on the paper at 25 yards.

Pilgrim

 

[Standing Wolf]

...some guys should sell their guns and take up knitting, especially the 3 guys who started walking down the hot range.

With sharp knitting needles? Perhaps stamp collecting would be a safer activity for them.

 

[bratch]

Stamp colleting can lead to paper cuts on their tongues. Maybe making balls of yarn...no they could strangle themselves...maybe we should just let Darwin do his thing. That seems like the logical conclusion to me.

 

[spacemanspiff]

seems like every week i see some mo-mo doing really really stupid things.

most recently, there was this guy who couldnt quite grasp how a bore snake works (or maybe he was using one too big for the rifle he had?) and he had that muzzle going every which way as he twisted and turned and tried to pull it through the bore.
i've got it down to a science. i can get the brass weighted tip all the way through without letting the muzzle move. i dont need to turn the rifle sideways, i can keep it pointed right downrange. simple, right?

most memorable was the range officer who had a ND with his home built race gun. destroyed my nice stapler in the process.

another guy was from fort richardson, and he tried violating every rule in the book. picked up a mark 2 and started inserting the magazine before i could yell out 'cold range, idiot!' wasnt a few minutes later he tried running to look at the target while i'm yelling 'hot range, idiot!'

at least murphys law is consistant, you know? if i pick a lane that has a skilled shooter next to it, i will shoot poorly. but if i pick a lane that has an un-skilled shooter next to it, i shoot one ragged hole all day long.

some days, it seems 'minute of aim' is more like 'minute of the broadside of a hippo'.

 

[bytor94]

I work at an indoor range and have seen it all.

If a person on the range does something dumb, we’ll take that person and inform them of what they did wrong. If they are truly ignorant of the fundamental safety rules, I have no problem with taking them to the classroom and giving them some instruction right then. After instruction they are allowed to return to the range but are watched very closely for some time. (Including later visits)

But, if a person cops an attitude, or feels that the rules don’t apply to them, out the door and don’t bother coming back. We have a folder with the names of all of our problem children in it and we refer to it frequently.

One of our rules is no rapid fire. I’m tired of replacing the target trolley cables. Recently a gentleman (mall ninja – BDU’s and everything) was rapid firing and he got his one warning. He did it again so I told him to pack his stuff and come to the counter. He started spouting off about how he fires full auto in the woods all the time, and how good he is with his guns, and that our range sucks, and on, and on, and on. I told him that I’m glad he knows a place in the woods to shoot because, he wouldn’t be doing anymore here.

I would rather educate an inexperienced shooter than deal with a blow hard know it all anyday.

 

[DMK]

One of our rules is no rapid fire. I’m tired of replacing the target trolley cables.

Hmmm. Kinda sucks that the idiots have to ruin it for the rest of us. I like doing double taps and practice them for my once a month USPSA matches. Although I do need more practice, I can always keep both shots on the paper.

 

[YammyMonkey]

I'm going up to OKC visit a couple friends over Thanksgiving, you're not helping.

Things like this are why I always try to be patient, friendly, and above all, show up at the range on days or at times when it's empty.

 

[bytor94]

qoute:

Hmmm. Kinda sucks that the idiots have to ruin it for the rest of us. I like doing double taps and practice them for my once a month USPSA matches. Although I do need more practice, I can always keep both shots on the paper.


We allow double taps, just don't empty the whole mag. The muzzle starts climbing after the first couple of rounds.

 

[victory]

We allow double taps, just don't empty the whole mag. The muzzle starts climbing after the first couple of rounds.

Still kinda rediculous. I know you probably don't make the rules, but a lot of ranges around here will allow rapid fire as long as you don't hit the target carrier. Hit it twice and you're gone. Restricting rapid fire makes no sence when you have people like myself that can dump an entire magazine safely on target.

Personally, i use an outdoor range. They have their share of crazy rules, so i go on weekdays when there's never anyone there and conveniently ignore them. I load more than 5 rounds at a time, fire them as fast as i want, on the move, threat scan a full 360 degrees. Nice not to be bothered by rules written by sportsmen for those of us who are NOT interested in shooting for sporting purposes.

 

[pax]

Victory ~

The guy that pays the liability insurance gets to set the rules.

One range I heard of has a safety class open to members. If you take the class, and pass the qualification shoot at the end, they give you a card that says you can use their IPSC bays for practice, move while shooting, and shoot fast. Otherwise you have to stand at the 25 yard line and slow fire.

That sounds best to me -- no one who doesn't know how to do it is going to be trying any of those things on their range, and the people who do know how have a place to practice safely. Best of both worlds.

pax

 

[victory]

sounds like an excellent idea to me pax.

As for those who pay the liability insurance, that would be the members of the shooting club with their yearly dues. There is barely any cost of maintenence, it's just a field with a target stand and a big mound of dirt. It says in big red letters at the top of the range rules "YOU ARE LIABLE FOR EVERY SHOT" and that's the only one i follow (by not missing my target).

 

[wingman]

seems like every week i see some mo-mo doing really really stupid things.

10.4 its frightening in many ways.

 

[ralphie98]

I love reading these threads... makes me feel better about the range I go to. Neither of the two ranges I frequent have any rules as to how many rounds can be loaded. I've never heard or seen any rules regarding rapid fire. I haven't seen it happen, but I'm sure that if you start hitting the carriers they would make you slow down or leave, but for the most part they just leave you alone. The only rules are your basic 4, along with don't shoot the carrier or the ceiling/lights. One range strictly enforces the no uncased guns behind the firing line but that doesn't inconvenience me at all. I haven't seen a lot of dumb stuff there though, which is probably why they aren't so strict.

 

[Black Dragon]

I've been to ranges were the range officer is just as much of a problem as the
bozo's running around. I had my 1911 with the slide locked back the mag pulled,
while it was pointed down range. I then tipped it up to look down the ejection
port into the mag well to make sure nothing is stuck, I always do that. The
ranger officer starts yelling that I have no muzzle control and that I'm unsafe.
RO: "what would happen if that pistol went off when it was pointing up".
ME: "With the slide locked back and no mag......... it's going to go off?????
Then I was told they had a ballistic expert that said a .357 round will travel
a couple of hundred yards AFTER going through a 2x4. At that point
it was time to leave the pistol range and head over to the rifle range.

The rifle range officer just shook his head when I told them what had been
said. He said there was nothing they could do about it.

Takes all types to make the world go around.

 

[ScorpioVI]

At the IDPA shoot at Chabot this past Saturday, we had two stages set up side-by-side in the same bay. So one stage would shoot, then ceasefire, the other stage would shoot then ceasefire, and both stages walk downrange together to tape targets. As a consequence, about a dozen people end up watching a single shooter.

So I was standing on one of the stages, mentally walking myself through the course when I hear a "BAP-BRAAP-BAP-BRAAP". I thought my Peltor 6Ps were messing up so I lifted it while watching the shooter and again I hear "BRAAP". I had no sooner opened my mouth to say "uhh" when the RO yells out "CEASEFIRE! Unload and show clear".

He goes over to inspect the guy's weapon and the dude (FOB-type of the mainland China sort) clearly had no idea what he had done. Mind you it wasn't as though he was shooting a Glock 18 or a Beretta 93R, though I really couldn't tell what pistol it was from a distance. The RO goes on to explain that, "when you pull the trigger, only one shot should go off" and the shooter replies with an oh-so-fobbish, "ohhhhh". The reactions ranged from derisive laughter to an incredulous, "you had to tell him that?"

A couple of stages later I was again walking myself through another stage when I hear the RO say, "STOP!" I looked up just in time to see the shooter peering down the barrel of his (slide-locked) 1911.

I found both incidents a little worrisome since this was an IDPA match, not the public ranges a couple of bays over where the people are expected to be stupid.

 

[tex_n_cal]

ahhh public ranges...why I spent big bucks to join a private range.

There was the kid (10, I would guess) in Fresno who cheerfully sat down at the bench during a ceasefire and let a .22 go with people(including me) downrange. His dad was standing 10 feet behind bull$#$@!ing instead of supervising him. The range officer reamed them out.

One chap who showed up with a 9" barreled .480 Ruger, advertising it was his CCW He was shooting about 12" groups at 15 feet.

One group of new shooters who all showed up with one rifle, a M70 post 64 in .300 mag. In the booth next to me I heard "KABOOOM....Uuuuuhhhh" about three times and they went home.

My .375 H&H #1 with full tilt loads. I was shooting it one day when I looked up and realized about 15 people were standing up, watching me shoot it. That was in my young and muscular years, and I guess a muscular guy shooting a hard kicking rifle got everyone's attention.

And my all time favorite, shooting my .25-06 Browning high wall at the 200 yard line, next to a group of M1A shooters, who thought my single shot was pretty funny. They stopped laughing and just stared when I brought back a 200 yard target with 3 shots in 3/4"