What should I have done?

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RancidSumo

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I went to the range about ten minutes ago to try to adjust the scope on my brothers 10/22 (it didn't work but that is besides the point) when a car drove up and the people in it just sat there. Now this isn't unusual and when I asked them if they wanted to go down range they said they were waiting for friends. Again, no big deal but then the asked me if I would call the cops if he had a beer or two. Well I know from a recent thread on here that people have a lot of opinions on this but I just told him I didn't care as long as he wasn't drunk and putting me in danger. A few minutes later his friends show up and get out their rifle (with no sights what so ever) and start shooting. I looked over after I finished my group and could tell that the guy that had just showed up was obviously drunk. I packed up my gear and left. Since I was the only other person on the range besides this group I didn't do anything else or say anything. Should I have said something?
 
I would have found someone to report them to. At a private range I'd tell the owner. I go to a private range, and we don't want anyone like that hanging out there. If it was a public range, I would have called the police.

Here's the situation that I would be afraid of. Five minutes after you leave, another guy shows up to shoot. He calls for the range to go cold, and then heads down range to put up some targets. The drunk then picks his rifle back up and starts shooting while the other guy is still down range. I've seen people do this even when not drunk, and since being drunk impairs judgment I wouldn't take any chances.

Report him next time. You could end up saving a life.
 
I wouldn't have said something to them directly - at least one was drunk, and they had a firearm accessible to them. They've already shown themselves to be poor decision makers, which tells me that it's not worth confronting them. At the best, they'd ignore you because that's what idiots like them do - ignore the voice of common sense, in favor of their own inner monologue of stupidity. At worst, you might have had a gun pointed at you. Not worth it.

Best bet would be to pack up, head on out, and notify the range staff or the cops, or both on your way out. Let them deal with the riffraf.
 
I don't even like seeing beer cans used as targets. I bring soda cans, leave the beer cans in the recycling bin...at home...the night before. I'm all for having a good time with a few beers. I do it pretty regularly, but as an aviator, gun lover, and military member, I understand a clear distinction between times and places where drinking is ok, and where it is not. The range, the driver's seat, and the airplane are the three most obvious that come to mind.

I don't like ratting people out, especially to cops. if it was a matter of getting in a fist fight to subdue a drunk friend, I'd let him break my nose before calling the cops. But when its drunk strangers with a loaded gun, I'll calmly pack up and leave, and get out of range in a hurry, then let the police deal with the idiots. I don't get paid to do it. they do.
 
Should I have said something?
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No. Pack up and leave. If you began to lecture them on drinking and shooting, if could have created a situation... and instead of them thanking for the advice you could be a in physical attack (which would have been easily avoidable).

At best maybe you could have made a call to the range people and let them sort it out.
 
Wow, what a crappy situation...I can't really say if it was right or wrong, but it definitely wasn't a bad decision.

I, on the other hand, am a bit to headstrong at times, and I would have told the drunk one to leave...Probably not the smartest idea in the world, but when I'm minding my own business and having a good time I don't let others interfere.
 
Weird thing is one of them even offered me a beer and I am only 16.
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HA!
Bunch of winners you found there! Driving under the influence, drinking in public, contributing to the delinquency of a minor (you're obviously not a delinquent) and I'm sure theres a law somewhere about shooting while drunk.

I think its time to grab a beer.
 
my only segestion is that in the future, should you see something like that call someone in a postition of authority (LEO, range owner, whatever) to kick those guys off the range.

guys drinking on a range with guns are not to be trifled with. leaving and not getting involved was a very good thing.
 
I think you made the prudent choice: depart the area without a confrontation. If possible, report them to the Man in Charge, whoever that may be.

'Guns', 'booze' and 'stupid' can be even more dangerous than usual when you add 'well-meaning victim' to the mix.
 
I think you did the right thing in avoiding a possible confrontation.

I think the decision of whether or not to report them to someone in authority is a personal one. There are good reasons to go either way on that one.
 
Should I have said something?
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Nope.... You should have immediately left and that's just what you did. If you have any idea who they were you could report them, but otherwise it is always better to avoid conflict when armed. It just leads to too much paperwork.
 
I would have found someone to report them to. At a private range I'd tell the owner. I go to a private range, and we don't want anyone like that hanging out there. If it was a public range, I would have called the police.

Here's the situation that I would be afraid of. Five minutes after you leave, another guy shows up to shoot. He calls for the range to go cold, and then heads down range to put up some targets. The drunk then picks his rifle back up and starts shooting while the other guy is still down range. I've seen people do this even when not drunk, and since being drunk impairs judgment I wouldn't take any chances.

Report him next time. You could end up saving a life.
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Year before last we had a dentist join our club. One night he shows up so drunk, he drops his pistol while on the line. The range officer disarms him and sends him home. The BoD meets and terminates his membership and refunds his dues.

Days later, the local news reports a dentist found passed out drunk in his car by the side of the road. It's later disclosed that he's been practicing dentistry while drunk. Guess who the dentist was?

Report it, lest somebody get killed.
 
Leaving right away was a good decision. I would have noted vehicle plates and description and called whatever law enforcement authority had jurisdiction. Many people want someone else to be the bad guy
but as a responsible shooter you learn you have an obligation to your sport to do whatever you can to keep it free of crap like this. This obviously was not the first time these idiots acted this way and they need to know that every responsible person will turn them in and give them no safe refuge.
 
My question for the board is what would be the reason for reporting?

Would it be a safety issue?

or would it be a drunk in public and armed issue?

or maybe a combination of the two. rules are rules and in most states it is a crime to have a firearm while intoxicated.
 
I base this on the state I am familiar with but for starters,
Intoxicated while in possession of a firearm is he most obvious.
As an LEO I can tell you that many times while checking on shooters in similar situations I have found, probation violations, felon in possession, possession of drugs, outstanding warrants, stolen property, including the guns, sawed off shotguns or rifles. Wouldn't you feel great as a gun owner if the LEO found a stolen gun and returned it to the rightful owner. Having been an LEO for 24 years I may be biased in my aproach but without calls from citizens in cases like this we would not be near as effective. I can also say that when I responded to calls about shooters and nothing was out of order I always took the time to talk to them with the idea of getting them join our local gun club.
 
HA!
Bunch of winners you found there! Driving under the influence, drinking in public, contributing to the delinquency of a minor (you're obviously not a delinquent) and I'm sure theres a law somewhere about shooting while drunk.
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Couldn't say it better myself!



....And thank you for not doing your part in the drinking and shooting. I hate ratting on people; remember "No one like a tattle tale"- that dosent apply to this situation. your not LEO and shouldnt have addressed the problem. Pack up and haul your butt away from there asap.
 
Last time I was at the range with my girlfriend, we spotted four other people (two separate groups, mind you) drinking. We left hastily.

I'd say you did just fine leaving without saying anything.
 
i mostly shoot on either a private range or at the national forest... on the private range, i would have notified the RSO... in the NF, i would have contacted the ranger... im not sure what the penalty is in the NF for drinking on the range, but i know its a felony
 
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