Pest at the range

[Okiecruffler]

Was spending a nice relaxing morning at the range today. Just finished trying out my new 44mag barrel on my Contender and was feeling pretty good about myself. Had my Savage Striker out and was just winding down with some rimfire shooting. Had my crosshairs lined up, was just starting to squeeze the trigger,...and someone taps me on the shoulder . Now what kind of ijit does that kind of thing? Well now I know exactly what kind. The guy informs me that I had better put my pistol away because there was a deputy down on another lane, and if he saw me with a sawed off rifle he would arrest me. I explained to him that I didn't have a sawed off rifle, that it came this way. He told me I would be arrested anyway because pistols with a mag in front of the trigger were illegal anyway. I thanked him for this information, put my Striker aside and ran a few rounds of 44mag thru the Contender. He wasn't wearing any ear protection and I figured this would send him on his way. Of course I was wrong. Now he decides that my Contender is illegal, because pistols can only have barrels shorter than 10 inches. Now I've lost my patience and I told him to go away and mind his own business. He walks right down the range and starts talking to the deputy and pointing in my direction. After a few minutes of discussion, he gets mad and stomps off. I had to go down to the pistol range next to the deputy to shoot my snubby. He asked me why I didn't punch the guy in the nose. A few years ago, maybe, but I like to think of myself as abit more zen now. But sometimes I'm tempted.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Okiecruffler, you have more patience than 99.9% of the people on this forum.

That guy was a complete maroon. The deputy sounds cool, though.

 

[bogie]

Hey, I could see where someone who doesn't know a lot could make a mistake.

You should have taken the opportunity to explain to him that the Savage was created by the factory as a pistol, as was the contender. Some folks don't know about that sorta thing.

 

[OEF_VET]

I'd give good money to hear the extent of the conversation between the deputy and the dumba$$.

Frank

 

[BerettaNut92]

LOL for some reason that whole story strikes me as funny...

Maybe after talking guns to Counter-Strike players in the dorms, 'experts' just entertain me

 

[Futo Inu]

Damn, what a supreme idjit - LMAO. Get this story of my range idiot just last evening.

On the pistol range. Public. But I'm shooting .177 pellet rifle - trying to sight in pellet rifle scope, and I needed more than the 10 yards that you have on the air rifle range. Point is, I'm trying to concentrate with steady, quiet shots at 25 yards.

OK, I'm in lane #2. The next occupied lane is like number 12 or higher - waay down. There's only 1.25 hours till close, so that anyone else who might come in has at least 10 lanes to choose from between me and the other guys, so plenty of room to put a few lanes in between. Idjit comes in. What does he do - he goes to lane #1 of course, right next to me. Then, he almost immediately proceeds to shoot rapidfire - approx. 2 - 2.5 rounds per second, until emptying all 8 rounds from his 1911. Less than 5 seconds later (he musta had buku mags already loaded up) - same thing, boom, boom, boom, etc. - 8 shots. He proceeds to do this rapid-fire, rapid-reload "drill" for at *least* 7-10 mags. I cannot get enough peace from all the reverberation to squeeze off a single shot during all this - not to mention some of his brass came over the top and hit me in the head. Only good things were that at that rate, he was done in less than 5 minutes (outta ammo, I guess), and left a lot of pretty decent brass lying around (PMC .45). Oh, and get this - his target was one of those huge body silhouettes, at 5 yards I think, and all of his rapid-fire shots were head shots (not a single COM shot). Must be an LEO drill.

 

[jsalcedo]

Okiecruffler:

First he warns you about the deputy about your supposedly "illegal arms"
so you don't get into trouble.

Then when you correct him and tell him to buzz off, the guy tries to get you busted based on the moronic schizoid gun laws he created in his head.


I probably would have done the same thing you did... and maybe taken my guns over to the deputy to see if he wanted to try them out.


Where do these folks come from?

 

[chevrofreak]

jsalcedo, what was his group like?

 

[jsalcedo]

Chevro:

I think that question is for Futo

 

[Standing Wolf]

Where do these folks come from?

I've heard stupidity is a sexually transmitted disease.

Seriously: I've encountered wannabe cops once or twice, a few know it alls, and one or two plain old-fashioned bully types. I'd be happier if they'd stay home, drink beer, and watch the idiot box, but a few of them seem determined to infest shooting ranges.

 

[campergeek]

Since when does the HCI crowd hang out at gun ranges??

Seriously, I agree that the guy sounds like an idjit, a busybody, and a jerk for continuing to hassle you (not to mention a nut job for tapping you on the shoulder as you're lining up your shot), but it sounds like his original intent was to help you out with a friendly warning.

Even though he was at the range, the guy sounds like a borderline anti, like many "hunting only" shooters who buy into the idea that THEIR guns are okay, but some are eeeevil. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the best response to antis of any caliber is to offer to let them try what it is that they are so irrationally afraid of.

Perhaps what ended as an annoyance could have turned into a really positive experience, had your initial response been "No, it's really not illegal at all. Would you like to try shooting it?". This assumes, of course, that you would feel comfortable keeping a close watch on the guy as he handled your arms. Then, if he still acts like a jerk and remains unconvinced of the legality, you could wait until the line is cold and call down to the Deputy "Hey, come look at what THIS GUY'S been shooting!" and watch your annoyance wet himself.

 

[Jim March]

GOD I hate that mentality.

It sometimes shows up online. Not around here, thank God, but there was a nasty case on packing.org...let's put it this way: when a guy posts to get the scoop on CCW practices in his (California) county, he doesn't expect a witch-hunt to start up with morons talking about how they "didn't believe his story". He sure as hell did NOT think he'd be "reported" to his sheriff .

Poor dude. I had the admins yank the threads but I think he still got burned.

Go easy with the personal details in such matters, folks. At some point, take that stuff to EMail - I'm approachable, or the leadership of any local NRA Member's Council chapter (see the database of same at www.nramemberscouncils.com), or there's a number of other trustworthy sources.

 

[Redlg155]

Wow..I'm surprised that a few shots out of your .44 Contender didn't run him off! I knew when I had one it definitely got me some nasty looks!

Alas..I never should have sold that thing. Hey...you didn't happen to buy yours from a little shop in Duncan Oklahoma with a Leupold scope mounted on it did ya? If you did I want it back!


Too bad you didn't have an AR15. I bet he would have really freaked!

Good Shooting
Red

 

[DorGunR]

He would have loved my black stocked MAK-90 with a 30 round mag.

 

[chevrofreak]

yeah, jsalcedo, my bad. i didnt scroll up enough posts.

 

[Josey]

Hey I have seen that myself. You should see the looks my CAS shotgun gets. Carbines such as 1873 Winchesters and clones freak people out too. I enjoy when they tell me I can't have more than ten rounds in a rifle. I really freaked a guy one time. I pulled a 30 round 45 ACP out. It was funny watching his face as I stuck it in my 1911. I am sure he probably had to change his underwear before he called the BATF.

 

[Okiecruffler]

Most of the time when I'm at the range, I'm the friendliest guy out there. There have been days when other people have shot my pistols more than I have. Heck, I'll even let you shoot my ammo, in fact I pretty much insist. But some days, I go right after a hard night at work, my tolerance for stupidity is at an all time low, and I just want to be left to myself. Even on those days I try to be civil and often offer to let a curious onlooker take a closer look at my firearms, or even shoot them. But not some dillweed who's dumb enough to tap someone on the shoulder when they are obviously about to fire a weapon. This is an outdoor range. It's very well designed to keep shots from going astray, but only if you're firing down range and not up in the air.

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

That was you Cruffler !! Gee, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act like such a bonehead. Those sawed off rifles SCARE me !!! J/K not me but I know the type.................