Range etiquette... or lack thereof

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stratman26

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ok, so i was at the rod and gun club this afternoon trying out my new mini 14 and the rest of my collection. everything went good, and had a nice relaxing time, was on a single shooter range, 2 targets set up and was almost done. then these 2 yahoos show up. they put their gear right next to mine, unload ammo, so now we have my ammo, my guns, and equipment mixed in with theirs. I guess they decided i was done shooting and they could take over my range, then just started shooting as im picking up my brass. Not once did they ask if i minded if they shoot along side me or anything, and there was also about 4 empty ranges to the left. I decided to report them after they asked me if they could use the wooden wall separating the ranges as a backstop for their fauchette rounds if they shoot at an angle. that would mean they would be shooting across other ranges. Its probably best that i left rather than having them next door. Had I not been there to tell them that it was not a good idea, they could have shot into my lane while i was downrange.
 
If it's a members-only club, I'd definitely report them to the membership committee. Sounds like some serious reeducation is in order, or possibly a ban. I doubt you're the only one to have problems with them.
 
The club belongs to Ft bliss, but is open to the public. these guys had visitor's passes. They didnt fire into the wall while i was there after i told them not to, but im sure once i drove off it was game on. they called in the RSO on them and asked that they re enforce the range rules when they turn in the badges.
 
Impolite

All of the ranges that I use are unsupervised-open-to-the-public ranges. There are rules posted for proper behavior at all of them.
I am continually surprised (though I should not be at this point) at how many shooters do not read the guidelines.
All of the ranges have a five round maximum load in a semi-auto (6 in a revolver). It is commonplace for shooters to load'em up and dump 13-14-15 rounds. No reason for that.
All shooting points are at 25 yards. It'd be nice if there were some shorter, but there are not. Every trip to shoot there is some one or two or three people who will walk up during a target change and not return to the point, staying out to shoot at 5 - 10 yards. They hold up the whole line. Yesterday, one of these people was giving instruction to two new shooters while the rest of the line waited.
Yes, I could....some one of the other shooters could say something....but y'know.....we shouldn't have to. You'd think that people would realize the lack of regard for others.
Done. Off the soap box.
Pete
 
Sad it only takes a few to ruin it for the group. My father in laws public (unattended) range was closed due to lack of respect for the rules. I guess people were leaving all their garbage scattered and were skipping bullets (on purpose) over the berm. Now its only open once a month if that at totally random times. Really, very sad people cant respect the privelages they are afforded.
 
they put their gear right next to mine, unload ammo, so now we have my ammo, my guns, and equipment mixed in with theirs. I guess they decided i was done shooting and they could take over my range, then just started shooting as im picking up my brass. Not once did they ask if i minded if they shoot along side me or anything, and there was also about 4 empty ranges to the left.
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Perhaps you should have just told them to stop when you saw that they were setting up next to you.

Perhaps you could have told them "Stop. You're mixing up your ammo and equipment with mine"
"There are some lanes a little farther down, please use one of those".

Some times all it takes is a word of intervention.
 
I count myself fortunate to have a a well run, affordable private range just 4 miles down the rode.

I'll gladly pay my $60 annual dues to avoid using an "open to the public" range.
 
I agree with SSN Vet. The $55/yr I pay is some of the best I spend each year. Pistols are fired in individual lanes separated by berms. The only times it gets congested are in the weeks prior to hunting season and when there is an event such as IPDA or the hunter's safety field day. Even then, those are just on the rifle side. I've never gone to the range and not had an open individual pistol bay.
 
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they put their gear right next to mine, unload ammo, so now we have my ammo, my guns, and equipment mixed in with theirs.
Click to expand...
Just start picking up their stuff along with yours!
Seriously, you might have mentioned that you weren't finished shooting and would appreciate them moving over. Or you could pull out the HK91, set up to the left and rain hot brass all over them (even if they're at the far right of the range).
 
All of the ranges that I use are unsupervised-open-to-the-public ranges
Click to expand...

My father in laws public (unattended) range
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Damn, i live in the Wash DC suburbs, these ranges would only last a day before they were shut down. Luckily the local public range here is very well supervised and strictly enforces its rules
 
Pete D. said:
All of the ranges that I use are unsupervised-open-to-the-public ranges. There are rules posted for proper behavior at all of them.
I am continually surprised (though I should not be at this point) at how many shooters do not read the guidelines.
All of the ranges have a five round maximum load in a semi-auto (6 in a revolver). It is commonplace for shooters to load'em up and dump 13-14-15 rounds. No reason for
Click to expand...

Yeah, because no one would ever need to practice things like Bill Drills, controlled pairs on multiple targets, or learn how to control the recoil of a handgun during rapid fire.
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Between the cretins that go to public ranges and the idiotic rules drafted to keep them under control, I'll gladly pay the annual fees and dues to belong to a private club.
 
All of the ranges have a five round maximum load in a semi-auto (6 in a revolver).
Click to expand...

First I have heard of that one. I would not go there if I could not have fun.
Slow shooters usually spend a couple hours on the range. Blasters usually burn up all their ammo in a short time and leave. They also leave plenty of brass for me to pick up.

Last time on the range, I had my son , his wife , and her sister that had never had a gun in her hand in her life. After about an hour and a couple hundred rounds of 22s she was getting pretty good at shooting and comfortable with the pistol.

So to top off the day and make it fun and memorable , we set up a bunch of clays on the bern and when it wa go time , we tried to get as many as possible before someone else got them. Now that was fun. That also makes a better shooter to be shooting under pressure. Not serious pressure but , it makes you think about just getting the target hit instead of sqeeeeeezing the trigger and trying to hit the little dot.

And NO we did not limit the magazines to 5 rounds. That would have ruined the fun.
We were alone on that range and if others had been present we would not have acted that way unless everyone else agreed.

I have my days when I just want to chrono some loads and target the sights and what not but I also like to turn it on and have a blast from time to time.
 
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The rules about loading only a few rounds in a mag and not rapid firing come from people shooting up the target holders and at indoor ranges putting rounds through the ceiling, it's those people that ruin the fun for everyone.
 
Thank the Lord that I moved back to the farm when I retired. I'm on 350 acres with 3000 acres of hardwoods behind me. I have my own 300 yd range with rules that I make up as I go along. Life is good!
 
A Mini-14 is the perfect gun to shoot with obnoxious people next to you. Proper positioning will spit hot brass down their shirts from up to 50 feet away!:D
 
I always wonder if people do what they do out of ignorance or if its a lack of concern about others. Do they know how stupidly they're behaving? One of the clubs around here has started a new policy of not accepting new members until they are given an introductory "welcome" by staff. They show them the rifle and hangun ranges and tell them about meetings and clean ups etc. But they also mix in a dose of range rules. People want to be considerate but they just don't know what they are doing.
 
I was driving on a narrow mountain road the other day, with some lady driving about 10 MPH in front of me. 25-30 is safe. I wanted to pass, but she had no idea I was there. She apparently didn't see fit to check her rearview mirror, for miles. This was after she just stopped in the middle of the road, in front of my Jeep and another truck, to get out of her car and chat with someone else.

I think people are ignorant, and they have a lack of concern for others. When I was a kid, this was called "thinking you're the only person on the planet" and was the cause of a stern reprimand. It seems some other people in my generation never heard such a reprimand, because some of the worst offenders are my age.
 
Don't take this the wrong way since I do agree with the idea but....about Bill drills (a new term for me. ??), controlled pairs and learning to handle recoil in rapid fire.
Is there some reason that those things cannot be done with five rounds in a magazine or at 25 yards?
Pete
 
Encounters with bad guys are not on square ranges at 25 yards....you should train like you intend to fight and sometimes that's up close.
 
There will always be selfish ,rude , arrogant , me first and totally narcistic people somewhere. Every now and again we get a last laugh.
A few years back , I was traveling north on I-45 out of Houston while a blue norther was coming in and it was raining a little. The temperature had dropped quickly to the low 20s and I knew that bridges would ice over first.

There was a guy tailgating me as I approached a bridge that I guessed to be already coated in black ice. I just clicked my truck into nuetral to coast across when the guy behind got so infuriated at my slowing down that he just had to show mw how its done.
He pulled around with foot in the throttle as he passed and hit the ice. He spun out and bouncd off the guardrails and spun all the way to the other end of the bridge where he stopped facing the wrong way.
I just tooted my horn and waved as I passed by.

BTW: I knew that he was not hurt because he was out of his car kicking it when I passed.
 
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