Range encounters that bug you

[Ranger Roberts]

I was in the Army for about 10 years. The only thing that made me a "gun guy" is that I had an interest in guns before enlisting. I am a LEO now, most of my dept are "gun guys" but there are a few that only know their duty weapon and have no interest in guns beyond that.

Back to the question though. My biggest pet peeve is people that don't adhere to the 4 rules of gun safety. My second biggest pet peeve is people who don't clean up their mess after shooting. Don't get me wrong, I'll take your brass, but you couldn't be bothered to at least throw your targets out?

 

[Crashbox]

I am also really irritated when things go the opposite way.

There's always some nut who thinks he can make up safety rules off the top of his head and yell at people for violating them.

That's just an eye-roller until he gets himself on the board for the range and his ridiculous safety rules actually become official.

I had an incident just a few weeks ago, I proceeded to go to one particular bay to shoot and put up my target as usual. The guy in an adjacent, TOTALLY SEPARATE bay comes down and gets after me for failure to notify HIM that I was going downrange in MY OWN SEPARATE BAY. Not a stall within a bay which would certainly be warranted, but completely separated by a tall ecology block wall.

What does one have to do, notify EVERY BLASTED PERSON AT THE RANGE???

Anyway, I asked the CRO and he said "It doesn't work that way here". Of course it doesn't, that is why there are separate and distinct bays.

 

[Schwing]

I have to add my +1 on Oceanbob's statement. The range that I usually frequent doesn't tolerate any of the safety issues that have been mentioned here so I rarely have the need to correct anyone on them. Usually, patrons get one warning and then get shown the door. I don't usually find the need to look at other people's targets or make any kinds of judgement calls about their proficiency or military service based on their clothing... Why even make that assessment?

At one point, all of us picked up a gun for the first time and started that learning curve. If someone asks for assistance etc, I am ready to serve... Unsolicited advice or comments really just serve to drive would be shooters away from the range. It is one thing to open your mouth to help and encourage. It is another thing to open your mouth to show someone else how much you know. I hear far too much of the latter at the range.

On that note, my biggest pet peeve is when you are testing loads or sighting in a firearm and hear the haughty fellow behind you say something like "looks like yer shootin a little low and to the left." I usually respond by saying, "You noticed that too huh?"

 

[mljdeckard]

I won't say I'm anti-social at the range, but I do tend to keep my head down and my mouth shut. If someone ASKS for help I will, but as long as they aren't being unsafe, I leave people alone. I find the only time I go to public ranges is when I need to shoot at a known distance.

The last time I went to Lee Kay (our local state-run range,) my rookie wife out-shot a uniformed LEO who walked in. The RSO asked him what kind of fire hose he was using on that target.

 

[frankenstein406]

So far mainly after picking up trash we moved to a different lane. Middle aged guy came and we waived. We came back and he had left his water bottles he was shooting at. There's plenty of garbage cans.

 

[Comrade Mike]

I've got a couple, but first a little on my range behavior. I set up, try and get my targets up quickly on cease fires so i dont delay anyone and generally don't bother anyone. Range time is me time, not social time, but if someone asks me a question about my rifles (I shoot a lot of odd ball stuff)I'm usually more than happy to answer.

In my 10 years of shooting

-Are those SKS's? (Asking about my K31 and Swedish Mauser on my bench).

-I had two boxes of .38 special brass I had shot sitting on my bench. I was to the left of my position talking to someone when I see a man grab both boxes. I run over and ask him what he thinks he's doing. "Oh I was just going to dump your brass out for you" innocent gesture maybe, until I saw the plastic ammo boxes of hand loads on his bench.

-Shooting my first IDPA match ever. I'm soon to enter the professional world so I show up in my normal every day attire and my outdoor shoes. So (don't laugh) designer jeans and a nice button up shirt. I got squaded with the other unclassified shooters. This is a range way out in the country populated by blue collar types, so I heard a lot of "pretty boy" comments and jokes. Well by the end of the match when I lead the unclassified pack by 9 seconds and finished 4th or 5th over all the laughing suddenly stopped. Made a lot of friends later that day. careful who you laugh at, not all of us city slickers play the part we dress

-got accidentally shot at once. The trap field at my old range shot across the rifle range. Well I'm out there changing 100 yard targets and the trap shooters didn't get the memo. So I get on my belly and crawl over behind the target pole support until the range officer got over there and screamed them off the property.

 

[RBid]

I've been lucky to have had nothing but positive experiences at the range. I do most of my shooting at a local, indoor, pistol & .22 only gun club. It's a rickety old facility, buried in a residential area. Low traffic. Everybody there either keeps to themselves or is neighborly with each other, despite the fact that most shooters commute to it.

As far as snipers at the range go... When I shoot long guns, I always have a sniper problem. Specifically, my buddy (who was actually a Ranger sniper) embarrassing me by casually being surgical on the rifle range. He's even strong off hand, shooting fast. Thankfully, I edge him out with a handgun.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

Oh yeah, the brass thieves are another pet peeve.

It's one thing to pick up somebody's brass that they left on the ground or dumped in the garbage, but you should A. wait until they leave the range, B. ask them if they want their brass, and C. For God's sake at least wait until the brass hits the ground before trying to take it!

 

[9mmfan]

...at least wait until the brass hits the ground before trying to take it!

This gave me a visual of someone with a box or butterfly net dancing around trying to catch brass out of the air. Sorry to veer off topic, but it made me grin.

Once, as I was checking in, some kids had the counter guys cut the zip ties off their new guns. As my buddy and I were shooting, a few lanes down I heard some über rapid firing. I shoot fairly fast, but I knew what was going on. One of those young men was blasting off a gun in each hand. One of the counter guys came in after hearing it, but he had stopped by then. My buddy told me later that was the case, they were also bringing the target back right up to the bench, and shooting with the barrel touching the target. That one still stumps me.

I was leaving once, and there were two guys drinking Coronas in their car in the lot. I did call to let them know about it.

I once got hit in the shin with what I assume was a pellet of birdshot that ricocheted back at the line. Nothing serious, minor sting and didn't even leave a mark.

Other than that, it seemed like a pretty safe place. I was usually there during off peak hours, so maybe I was just lucky.

Didn't bug me, but once while I was reloading mags, the fellow in the next lane complimented my target and asked what I was shooting. Told him it was my Beretta 92, he asked if it was a .45. I told him no sir, it's a 9mm. He almost looked crestfallen. He paused and said "well, it's still some nice shooting." Thanked him and kept my giggle to myself. He really seemed upset that it wasn't a .45.

 

[Comrade Mike]

Oh yeah, the brass thieves are another pet peeve.

It's one thing to pick up somebody's brass that they left on the ground or dumped in the garbage, but you should A. wait until they leave the range, B. ask them if they want their brass, and C. For God's sake at least wait until the brass hits the ground before trying to take it!

I was told a story about a gentleman who went to a range which had a grumpy old range attendant with a vacuum cleaner who would literally camp behind shooters and suck up their brass as soon as it hit the ground. The gentleman who told me this story happened to be a reloader, so the extension tube on that vacuum happened to end up shattered. The brass their had to pick through the vacuum to give the brass back.

I was once hit in the chest with a large piece of .45 slug off a steel target. Small bruise, didn't even break skin.

 

[Justin]

Having dealt with more than one idiot at public ranges, I long ago decided it was worth the cost of belonging to a private club.

 

[30 dirty 30's]

Muzzle sweepers are number one. Young guys and girls get a lot of the blame here but more often than not I see some crabby old guy absentmindedly sweep the firing line as he's bitching about everyone else's bad habits, especially if he's holding a handgun.
Zombie shooters, sometimes a safety issue but usually just annoying. When they get frustrated trying to sight in their freshly mounted red dots and scopes at 100 yards and start emptying mags in vain, that does get pretty funny.
People shooting my targets. One day, i fired to check zero with my rifle, one round, and one round only. Landed right in the x ring. I unload, pack up, and wait to retrieve my target. When I get down there, there's one in the 10 ring, high, also .30 cal. I look to my left and see .243 holes. I look to my right and see a target covered in 5rd groups, .30 cal, with load notes scribbled by each group, except on a 4rd group just above the 10 ring. so I say, with a smile, "hey I think you shot my target." He says, "no I couldn't have." I say, "it's ok, if I were going to shoot someone else's target, I'd want to do it like this too." He says, "I didn't shoot your damned target!"
Also, recently my father had his high power shooting day ruined by 5, yes five rounds on his paper that weren't his.

 

[SunnySlopes]

When I first joined my gun club, the custodian, who was showing me around, said he hated handguns and thought they should be outlawed. He said this as he was showing me the pistol range.

Weird.

 

[pockets]

Having dealt with more than one idiot at public ranges, I long ago decided it was worth the cost of belonging to a private club.

Actually, my worst range experience was at a private club I used to belong to. There was a group of 3 guys at the table next to me and a few more further down. A cease-fire was called for target changing. We all came back the tables and the range went hot again. I stepped up the the firing line and was priming my flintlock's pan when hear a BOOM-THUMP and feel dirt hitting my leg.
The moron next to me had popped a percussion cap (while still at the loading table behind and to the left of me) to 'clear his vent hole'....but had forgotten that he had loaded his gun before he went downrange! The ball buried itself in the ground an inch from my left foot.
I packed up my toys and went home before he had a chance to reload and try for a head shot.

.

 

[3212]

Group moved in on my left with their new semi-auto and started hitting me with ejected brass.I moved back and talked to the oldest guy.He moved them away.They left shortly after.It's a rural range and usually empty week days.Thats why I joined it.

 

[aarondhgraham]

I severely dislike self-appointed range safety monitors,,,

I severely dislike self-appointed range safety monitors,,,
Some folk call them Range Nazi's.

I try to be diligent about obeying all safety rules,,,
I hold myself to a high standard and am diligent about it.

I belong to a private Rifle & Pistol Club,,,
It's an outdoor range that all members have access to,,,
We all go through a 4-hour Range Safety Orientation when we join.

Every now and then though,,,
Someone else decides I'm not up to their standards.

One day I was on the section of our range with a very high (12-15 feet) grass covered berm,,,
I chose this section because of that as I wanted to shoot my "Do-All Ground Target."

Our range rules say nothing about ground targets,,,
But I understand the dangers of skipping bullets off of the dirt,,,
So I purposefully chose the grassed range section with the highest berm available.

In addition I had asked the president of our club if this was okay,,,
He said that there was no problem he could see.

On this evening I was the only one at the range,,,
I'm happily plinking away at the bouncing target when I heard a auto behind me,,,
Out jumps this old dude (about my age of early 60's) who starts screaming and cursing at me.

In essence, I told him I had cleared this and he said, "I don't give a flying @#$%.",,,
If I didn't stop he was going to make me stop.

The man was open carrying a semi-auto and he placed his hand on his gun.

I believe I did the smart thing,,,
My Ruger was laying on the table and I stepped away from it,,,
And used my cell to call the park rangers to report a threatened assault.

The man was honest (or stupid) enough to verify my story to the ranger,,,
He said he put his hand on his gun to show he was serious,,,
The ranger asked if I wanted to press charges,,,
I said, "No, just make him go away."

Now this was the most extreme case of this kind of behavior,,,
But I have experienced other cases of over-reach of assumed authority.

The point I am trying to make here is,,,
If you see something that you don't think is safe,,,
Don't over-react and turn yourself into a self-appointed enforcer.

<RANT>

Or if you feel you must take action,,,
Don't charge up screaming and yelling like Conan the Barbarian.

Get someone who actually does have some authority to handle the situation.

</RANT>

Aarond

.

 

[Al Thompson]

Other than (thankfully) a few safety issues, the thing that frustrates me to no end is folks trying to teach or coach others when they are not even remotely proficient.

 

[Comrade Mike]

Other than (thankfully) a few safety issues, the thing that frustrates me to no end is folks trying to teach or coach others when they are not even remotely proficient.

Every damn time I go to the range...

Always some young hot shot there who just bought his first gun who drags his girlfriend along. Never an ounce of knowledge between them but the guy never asks someone for help.

Last time I was out there was a young couple (younger than me at 20 at least), the boyfriend just bought his first rifle and was naturally shooting it at the furthest distance he could on the pistol range. It was a S&W MP22 and it kept jamming. Well both of then were chick leaning pretty bad, so once I told them to give the gun a more firm platform to recoil against and get their shoulder into it more, their problem stopped. Nice kids.

 

[nosmr2]

Private clubs have their fare share.

 

[leadaddict]

I am an in-the-city dweller and went to my local indoor range on a Friday off. They put a youngish woman in the lane next to me. She pulled out a Glock .40. Puts a man silhouette target about 3 feet in front of her, and proceeds to burn through six or 7 mags as fast as she can pull the trigger. In about 1 minute.

When I look over, she is packing up her range bag - I said "wow", she said, "yes, I come and practice shooting once per month to keep proficient".

I don't know, that may not be a bad system for her. Sure makes me NOT want to mess with her!

 

[herrwalther]

Having dealt with more than one idiot at public ranges, I long ago decided it was worth the cost of belonging to a private club.

Idiocy and annoyance knows no bounds. I had a trial membership through a friend of mine to try the private range he visits. Saw people leaving target trash, brass thieves that didn't even bother to ask the shooter (A practice I employ), and one instance where someone walked down the lane while the range was still hot. The semi-private range I used to go to (purchase a hunting license and being able to find it) never had any issues. Everyone I shot on that range with was friendly, universally accepted signals (thumbs up) for ready for range to go hot or cold. Folks who will let you borrow their spotting scope if you don't have one of your own and will help you pick up stray brass for your reloading bench. Too bad I have to find a new range now.

 

[Hanzo581]

Not a lot of problems out my way. Mostly just new people that have never touched a gun going into the range renting a pistol and buying a box of rounds and having at it. If I get swept I just go tell the range guy he needs to help the new person.

 

[PJSprog]

Not sure I've ever had a positive experience at a public range, and more than a few at a private club. We have a few acres in a rural area, so The Missus and I just shoot at home now. No more bad experiences for us, thank you.

 

[Cryogaijin]

I was at a range just outside Anchorage, having recently bought my membership.

I had just finished the conversion on my Saiga 12, and gotten my drums in (2 20 rounders and 1 12 rounder) I made up a shotgun target of the largest cardboard box I had, covered every inch in the reactive black targets that go neon green when hit. I was curious how many rounds of #7 birdshot it would take to turn the entire box yellow.

I picked an empty short-range area for my test, (50 yard range, which allowed targets at 25 yards) and had just finished the factory 5 rounder when one of the range officers comes over and states that my "slugs" were hitting the ground and going over the berm into the next range. I pointed out that I was using birdshot, and that all the "ground scatter" on the target was birdshot, and that it shouldn't have any effect at all on the next range over.

He then pointed to the 3 holes in the target made by the wads as "proof" that I'd been using slugs.:banghead:

So I put one of my boxes on top of the other, and continued my test. He even hovered by my lane for a while, but couldn't find me actually breaking any rules.

 

[Dean1818]

I HATE when people rack a round pointing to their left

I see this all the time from people that shoot all the time.......

Its extremely dangerous


I have see this with the finger in the guard many many times


All the time