Slight annoyance at range yesterday

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Many of you guys have missed the point that what was going on here was NOT safe.

They may have been pointing down range, but ranges like this require you to insure your shots impact the berm. Kids firing that rapidly have a pretty slim chance of keeping them all inside the berm.

The range I think was described is a private range with no RO on duty. The members police themselves. Allowing unsafe activity simply isn't an option.

This range is already 20 miles outside of town. Moving further would be insane for regular users. But, that kind of behaviuor will accellerate things if people permit it to happen.

Cheers,
ChickenHawk
 
A few years ago, we had a range close down because of a couple of 9mm that sailed into a living room some distance past the berm.
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Fix the berm it is not safe in the first place.
 
you should have called Child Protective Service

this guy is obviously the type of gun nut that Mike Moore warned us about...probably keeps loaded guns for his kids to take to school and kill teachers.



























:neener: :neener: :neener: :neener: :neener: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
 
The berm has been heightened in the past few years. Apparently, the incident was a "sky shot." What goes up ...
 
Look at it this way, if you were at the range and NOT breaking any rules, what you say to someone who talked at you without you asking for their opinion. I would tell you to **** and MYOFB!!! Nothing worse than some loud mouth bothering me while I'm shooting and not breaking any rules. It's a good way to start a fight, especially if you're talking about one of my kids.

BTW, the range I go to allows only 3 rounds in a rifle at a time so it's never happened to me, but if it did that would be my reaction.

Everyone likes to make noise sometimes, no harm, no foul IMO.
 
thanks guys, Chickenhawk is right though. Thinking back, some of those rounds easily could have been fired at 30 deg. My problem wasn't with the rapid fire itself, it was that the kid couldn't control it and that can't happen at this particular range. I was rapid firing my Buckmark a couple times too, but that was into the center of the target. Problem is we want to shoot in the middle of nowhere and not worry about where the bullets land, but I already have to drive 45 minutes just to get where the range is now.
 
The backstop is 8 feet high?:cuss:

Thats about as unsafe as I've heard, to let anyone shoot at a backstop that small thats open and doesn't have range officers there.

I think they should close it down immediately, before someone gets killed downrange. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when with an 8 foot backstop to begin with.

Brownie
 
If it was putting you or someone else (or property) in danger, IMO you are morally obligated to intervene

It it was not putting you or someone else (or property) in danger, IMO you should MYOB

I've got an idea....why don't you just tell everyone here that has FA Class III that they're total idiots and to knock it off. Better yet, go to Knob Creek and tell them they're fools for blasting off all that ammo.
 
Well, MYOB. Also, the backstop is too low, as already said. If they would want your advice they would ask for it, otherwise if the safety rules are followed, see the first sentence in this post.

One of my outdoor pistol ranges have a safety feature - 5 metres downrange there's a stack of logs above the lanes (there's only a couple of those, between 2 dirtwalls), starting from, say, 2 m above ground and is ~3 m high. Thus you'd have to deliberately shoot over 45 degrees to put one onto ballistic trajectory.
 
I recently shot my CHL test at ARC and I think that berm was about 8' tall for the pistol range. I think that is more than adequate for a pistol range assuming safe handling.

Where I normally shoot the berm is closer to 15' tall.

Maybe you should have said something, but if you were also rapid firing it is hard to say much...perhaps just a passing mention to make sure to keep it under control or keep the shots below the berm would have been okay. On my range day I didn't say anything since the uncle was watching for safety and I would have been doing is critiquing his ability to teach...

I didn't realize that they didn't have an RO. I have gotten "the look" for shooting twice in 1 second at my range.
 
Sheesh,

I really need to stop arguing with people on the internet. It's bad for my blood pressure.

I care about this range though, and I can tell you it is perfectly safe. I don't honestly know the hight of the berms, but they are quite a bit taller than 8 feet. I would put the pistol range at twice that, but I'm just guessing.

Here's an arial shot of the range from a few years ago. You wouldn't be seeing those berms if they were just 8 feet. The pistol range is the small one 2nd from the left. There are five ranges there varying from 25 ft to 300 yards. This is one of the finest ranges I have shot on. A really nice place.

It'll take one careless shooter to put us out of business.

Those who say MYOB just don't get it. This is a club. Club members take care of the range. Club members are responsible for the range.
 

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MYOB

...and enjoy life. Live and let live. Don't be a petty tyrant. Become one with the universe.
 
When I was first taking my son, then 11, out to the club, I was still a newbie at this club. One of the club members observed me interacting with my son. This guy approached me during a break in the shooting and complimented me on my boy and the fine job that I was doing, introducing him to shooting. He then shared with me his stories of training his own kids, now adults, and asked if I would mind him helping me. His experience was/is inspiring, and I gladly welcomed the opportunity for my son to learn from a master. The lessons he taught to my son not only improved his shooting but I was able to glean some valuable lessons as well.

I find that when you act with respect and a genuine concern, people are often very receptive :)

Merry Christmas

David
 
Did you see where his rounds were going? If they weren't clearing the berm, then mind your own business, Just blasting away is fun, would you keep shooting if it sucked?
 
I care about this range though, and I can tell you it is perfectly safe.
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I worked in a gun shop that has an indoor range. There are holes in the ceiling just a few feet forward of the firing line. There are bullet marks on the walls, the floor, and some of the partitions between the shooters....:what:

If anyone has a hard time believing this, I'll give you the address and you can go look for yourself

If you have a range, and it's possible for a bullet to escape, sooner or later it will

You and other members may care about this range and want to keep it open. That's great. Personally, if possible I'd try to go maybe 20 feet or so in front of the firing line and make a row of railroad ties or something equivalent that would shorten the angle and stop overshooting the berm.

Until I saw the level of "marksmanship" by some of the range participants, I never would have believed it

If something like this bothers you, make it part of the club rules if it's not already. Then you have a legetimate reason for voicing your thoughts IMO.

HTH
 
Sigh,

This will be my last post in this thread because it's making me ill, although for some reason I am compelled to reply again. I'm dumbfounded and shocked at some of the replies.

Is it any wonder why outdoor ranges are becoming a thing of the past, and why liability insurance is so outrageous?

Don't get involved! As long as they aren't hurting you let them have their fun!

I wonder, if you saw someone keying cars at the grocery parking lot would you just let them have fun as long as they stay away from your car?

Live and let live. Don't be a petty tyrant.
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Is that what we call people who see unsafe activity and take enough initiative to simply say something? No one is advocating taking any overt action such as telling them to leave or any such thing. Simply getting involved to the level of saying something in a friendly manner.

I also belong to an indoor range in Pflugerville. redneck2 got it right describing the walls and the ceiling! It's laughable. But the indoor range (1) will let anyone shoot there who pays the range fee; (2) has an RO watching shooters and to enforce rules at all times; (3) has walls and ceilings so any gun pointing down range can pretty well be considered "safe".

The outdoor range we have been discussing is (1) a private range for members only; (2) requires an orientation course; (3) has rules against this sort of thing which are discussed in orientation AND are visibly posted at each range; (4) requires new members to demonstrate proper gun handling and ability to shoot at the range as a part of orientation; (5) specifically says in the rules that members are requested and required to monitor each other to insure safe practices are being followed.

Frequently when I go to the range I am the only one there; especially if I go on a weekday. But if I saw the activity described in the original post I would gently and in a friendly manner (non-confrontationally) caution the father that he should ask his kids to slow down a bit and keep their shots safely aimed.

MisterPX asked: Did you see where his rounds were going?
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This is a great question! If you see shots impacting the lower half of the berm then let them have fun. But if you see shots impacting the upper part of the berm then you can be sure there is a problem and you should speak up.

I know most gun owners believe in self-reliance and individualism. I am completely in agreement with that and live my life that way. But, that does not mean that we have no responsibility to each other or that we should close our eyes to what goes on around us as long as we don't feel personally threatened by what we see.

But, maybe that's just me.

Best regards,
ChickenHawk
 
My indoor range has more than enough idiot blemishes. It's been closed before, and I surely do NOT want it closed again.

An outdoor range has other problems. Like, it's visible.

We (us, here, with guns) take enough flak from everyone else as it is. Last thing I need is someone's slug sailing into someone else's family member or dog. We're supposed to be self-policing. Far as I can see, handling/carrying firearms is about as self-policing as you can get. Responsibility has to be demonstrated, not just exercised.

I've had total strangers tell me, "Watch your muzzle" while my pistols are still in the bag. At first, I thought that was annoying --- until I saw some of the other behavior. I've given friends unsolicited advice, and they've thanked me for being observant. The reverse is also true.

Where I live, it's tough enough keeping ranges open. In adjacent areas, it's gotten tough enough having carry "privileges." I don't want anyone to have any good reason to announce a shut-down, turn-in, license modification --- or an obituary.

And, yeah, I see something that seems wrong to me, I'm saying something, and that IS MYOB. Because it's still MY business, too.

I'm off this one, too. It's edging on toward "moderator time," and there are a lot of interesting posts here on THR.

It's been educational, folks.
 
Aw heck

Let the kid alone. I'm over 65 yrs old and shoot at bowling pins at various yardages from fifty to a hundred with my Arsenal AK74 from the hip and there is no greater joy than chasing a pin up a hill at those distances without aiming and emptying the 30 round mag in ten seconds or so. The same as finding yourself in an IPSC scenario where there are a couple of targets at less than three yards in a string of multiple targets, of course you double tap 'em just as fast as you can and accuracy be damned as long as you're on the paper.
 
I was at the range the other day and there's always a sign behind the firing line saying "No loading here, load at Firing line table ONLY"... and guess where this dude was loading up his magazines?

People just don't understand.
 
As long as they're safe

... it shouldnt matter to you. If you wanna do the kid a favor thats a different story. You could ask if he wants some tips on shooting more proficiently, but thats about all.
 
how do you know he wasn't vapable of hitting anything? Maybe he just wasn't concerning himself with it at that point in time? I like to spray a bit and hit what I aim at while doing *cough*pumpkin*cough*.

But then I am me, you are you, and he is...him.

So long as there were no safty issues and he kept control of the gun then there was no reason to say anything.

Now if dad didn't supply the kids with hearing protection, rudely refused when you offered your spare set, and gave the kid his first introduction to scope eye by being a total friggin moron, you should have said something. Why that example? Thats another bedtime story.
 
I have a hard time believing even a small, weak child could not keep 10 rounds of .22LR inside the berm area. I mean really, what recoil? IMO, Let them shoot, and keep your comments to yourself - unless you see them breaking safety rules.
 
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