Why dress this way at the range?

[litauer]

My tactical, ballistic fleece always generates admiring comments and a few complaints from dolts who trip on the extension cord.

 

[Walther P99]

"I will spend so much time improving myself that I will not have time to criticize others."

I'm usually too into my own shooting to notice what others are wearing. I may notice what others are shooting, though..

As for me, I just wear jeans and a simple T-shirt.

 

[Vonderek]

litauer, awesome tactical light! Thanks for a good laugh!

 

[litauer]

My pleasure. It's important to be prepared.

 

[SharkHat]

more importantly what sort of Fudd range do you belong to that you can't Open carry on a rifle range?

The DNR ranges in my area (Busch Wildlife specifically) all prohibit it. They also don't allow you to carry weapons to or from the line when the range is cold and shooters are downrange. So, even if you're done shooting and your weapons are cased, you have to wait until the line goes hot to leave.

I've heard that some shooters find it a bit overbearing or stifling. I don't. I think it's very well run.

 

[1894]

Lottsa laughs here. Thanks!

I have to say: Don't know my membership date, but I've been lurking this forum for a lot longer than that. I bought my first gun based on what the interwebs said - and tried to teach myself to shoot with the same sources for info. Not gonna lie, in the beginning, I thought I had to look cool in order to, "belong." Yeah, some of it was where I was shooting. But, much of it was because a lot of what many of us take to be common knowledge seems like black magic to those uninitiated. In the beginning, I could use the same target for 3-4 mag dumps. Strangely, it always looked untouched after a mag change... Magic and all that...

My style: cargo shorts, golf shirt and flops. This is Florida - that's my tactical gear.

Your style: whatever you want to sweat in. As of now, it's gonna be 88F w/ 90% humidity this weekend.

Still waiting on that mentor. Would love for some old fart to watch me miss and tell me why - and how to fix it.

 

[Crazy Carl]

I just laugh at the posers. I retired from a Special Operations MOS & didn't like wearin' that crap for work. The only military gear you'll see me in at the range is my cut-off BDU shorts 'n maybe a boony hat during a match, so I don't fry my dome.

I dunno. I just don't get the mall ninja/wannabe type. If ya wanna be so badly, go sign up & do it for real; otherwise, knock off the tacticool BS.

 

[stealth]

Well isn't this thread popular! I'll never understand ranges.

My last "range experience":

Time: Last Sunday, after church.

Locale: Private woods, next to jeep parked in the 8" mud ruts on the trail I drove down on, throwing muddy water all over the once white cherokee.

Dress: White Sunday clothes, prone in the mud. Rifle propped up by a long downed tree trunk.

Result: Probably the best groups I've had with my .22 rifle. Some steel target thrown in for fun. Country boy? No doubt.

 

[allaroundhunter]

If ya wanna be so badly, go sign up & do it for real; otherwise, knock off the tacticool BS.

They want to go on the real missions, but don't want to go through the strenuous training that precede it....

 

[Sky]

I guess I am lucky, not observant, or something.

Most of the guys I shoot with are boarder patrol, ICE, or some other alphabet agency. The out door range has just upgraded the lanes an put flashing lights on the different courses when the range goes COLD. We never needed anything like that but there are so many newbies now the range is getting a little more formal.

Everyone I have had contact with has been very respectful and either willing to help someone or ask someone a tech question.

We do have several new people where English is their second language but all seem to be pleasant to be around. Last time I was out I was working with the wife with a GSG 1911. One of the guys on my lane was teaching 3 other new shooters to our right. He inquired about the GSG 1911 and I gave him my 2 cents worth on the weapon and let him shoot a few mags through it. All 7 of us on that lane ended up shooting each others weapons and just having a good day plinking. My wife shot one of his pistols and she popped 4 targets at 30 yards in rapid succession. Little did he know it was pure luck on her part but gosh he was impressed; I was too needless to say! When we got in the car I told her 'great shooting' and she just said "Impossible" with a big grin!

The owner is usually in camo and packing at least 2 weapons. We do have a few members that you might say are wound a little tighter than most but all in all everyone works together and seems to get along safely. Clothes are everything you can think of but all seem to have fun except for the young girls who think it is cool to go their in high heeels.....ground is to soft most of the time but until they get stuck, in their mind, they are styling for their guy.

 

[Whacked]

bicycle world champion fairy

OK I take offense over that comment.
you've never ridden a bicycle further than a block have you?
Quite a few of those "fairys" are indeed racers.
Many do it for the enjoyment or for fitness.
have you ever ridden a bicycle 100+ miles in a day?
I have. I'm a slow rider and it took me just over 7hrs with a 30min lunch.
I couldn't do it today (old and fat and ride a mountain bike nowdays so no lycra for me) but I often ride 20-30 miles for fun.
Sometimes I even ride for some charity drive.

those tight clothes serve a purpose.
Less wind resistance and when some IDIOT who cant understand that a person on a bicycle is TRAFFIC passes much too close and clips them, or the blast of air from their speed throws them into a ditch, or worse yet sends them skidding on the pavement, the tight fitting lycra aids the rider in preventing road rashes (much like leather on a motorcycle rider)

get a freaking clue

 

[MAJ Mike]

Many, many years ago when I was on my state's Composite National Guard M14 team, I would practice wearing the same uniform I'd wear during competition shoots. I practiced off-hand/standing, kneeling, and prone positions complete with magazine changes.

I hope I didn't come off as a mall ninja. Really did love that accurized M14. Wonderful, wonderful weapon.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

If ya wanna be so badly, go sign up & do it for real; otherwise, knock off the tacticool BS.

OR

Many, many years ago when I was on my state's Composite National Guard M14 team, I would practice wearing the same uniform I'd wear during competition shoots. I practiced off-hand/standing, kneeling, and prone positions complete with magazine changes.

I hope I didn't come off as a mall ninja. Really did love that accurized M14. Wonderful, wonderful weapon.

This. Some of those people who dress the part may be doing it for training. That's what I do when I go to state land to shoot. Don't they always tell us "train as you fight"? Well It sure as heck feels different doing reloads and movement drills when you actually have your plate carrier on. I have about 3 or 4 buddies who I shoot with, all in my unit, who do the same thing. It has made us far better soldiers than a day of waiting around at an Army range training session could ever hope to. After we started doing this about 4 years ago, all of our BRM score shot up, our general weapon handling got better, our tactics and comfortabilty moving in full gear improved. And I do think it prepared us more for our deployment to Afghanistan in 2010. Now that we're back, and all alive and unharmed, I plan on keeping it up for the next deployment. Laugh and scoff and me all you want if you see me at the range. You won't be the one behind the mud walls next deployment, so your opinion doesn't really matter to me.

 

[Agsalaska]

There's a part of me that admires the ability of others to act out a bit of their 'inner dreams'. If this guy is a SOCOM wannabe, and wants to spend a little time living the dream, more power to him.
OTOH, c'mon. It can be pretty comical. And when you get past some of the PC comments, it's fun to get a laugh out of the look and behavior of others. So long, at least in my book, as you bite your cheek and laugh with your inside voice. Life has a big theatre component to it and I do my best to watch it all and enjoy it.
Finally, all the the above aside, when it comes to guns, safety is the prime directive. Stepping out on a hot range to get your knives, drinking a few and shooting the rest, any form of letting your personal style conflict with your safety, and the safety of others is just plain unacceptable. Help out in those situations where it seems prudent or get the heck out of there.

This. The 'life has a big theater' is how I see it too. For whatever reason it just makes me laugh too. Doesnt necesarily mean that I am judging them. THey may be awesome guys. But there clothes are funny.

I play a lot of golf. Competitive golf. We have the same thing on the golf course. Guys will show up all decked out in the latest and greatest fashions from Nike, Taylor Made, Callaway, etc. They will have the newest of every club all by the same manufacturer as their clothes. The look like they are being paid big money. We might laugh a little cause its funny, especially if the attitude comes with it. But by no means are we rude or treat them bad. Usually they are pretty nice guys that just like the look or get more confidence on a golf course with it. They are usually real nice when they realize they cant win a hole. Some of them are pretty good friends of mine now. But again, that doesnt mean its not funny.

 

[JRH6856]

Quote:
It actually does. In states where OC is legal, you may OC on the range whether the owner specifically is okay with it or not. Since Texas state law does not allow OC, it is up to the owner of the land.

ummmm....no, like you said, on private property.....the owner makes the rules..

I would guess the difference is that in OC states, you may open carry on private property unless the owner prohibits it. In NON OC states, you may not OC unless they owner allows it.

I just know that if no open carry on ranges is insane, then around here where I live, insane is the new normal.

 

[JRH6856]

more importantly what sort of Fudd range do you belong to that you can't Open carry on a rifle range?

I'm guessing you can open carry a rifle on the rifle range.

30 years ago:

I could go to the range and not worry about what I or anyone else was wearing, because there was nobody else there.

I could shoot bench, bullseye, silhouette, tactical, whatever, because there was nobody else there.

I could open carry, shoot from the hip, practice fast draw, use any target setup I wanted because there was nobody else there.

I din't have to worry about hot or cold range because there was nobody else there.

The range didn't need a full time range officer controlling the range because there was nobody else there.

Shooting has gotten a lot more popular and ranges a lot more crowded. And just like life in general, the more people you get close together, the more rules you need to ensure safe conduct by everyone. When I go the range now, I follow the rules, no matter how strict they are because there is somebody else there and the rules make it safer for everyone.

 

[mortablunt]

I never expected this thread to be simulateously poignant and hilarious.

+1 to litauer for showing us how a real man does his tactical handgun light.

 

[exavid]

I'm lucky or perhaps people here are just more polite. At my gun club indoor range and the country outdoor ranges most folks say hello and are pleasant. Most are dressed casually, the only time I see much camo is when it's close to deer season and then the camo is mostly orange. Tactical stuff other than quite a few AR type rifles doesn't seem very popular here but that's probably because hunting is very popular and pistol shooters don't seem to be much for tactical stuff.

 

[ms6852]

Ooops never mind.

 

[Chris-bob]

Hmm, I see all sorts at our range. I know most of them, so it's easy to know if they are crazy or real. But they are all fairly polite. Me, I wear Carhart double-knee pants, Flannel shirt, Carhart jacket, camo ball cap, and extra-tuufs(16"neoprene boots). I blend in with 90% of the other shooters.

 

[ms6852]

You are right, I remember the days in the early and late 60's when I thought I was pretty cool with a bandana wrapped in my long hair, my father's army shirt with no sleeves or buttons and my jeans tucked in my moccasins while riding my Harley...yea I was cool...in my mind...probably just a female hygiene product to everyone...lol.

 

[ms6852]

"He got a little upset when he was told he could not open carry on the rifle"

Why does the range have this policy?

"Asked him if he had served in the military and replied he had not."

Why does this matter?

An interesting OP. I have never met a person like that at my gun club. I have seen a kid with a dad who would allow his son's bolt to be closed on a rifle pointed down range when people went to check their targets. (I saw that the magazines and chambers were emptied but I still like open bolts)

Just curious - did the knife stick?

The range I belong to requires that you conceal carry as is Texas law...when he was asked to remove or conceal it at that time he was on the rifle range. It is okay to open carry while you are on the pistol range only.

It does not matter to me whether he served or not. I asked him simply because I am retired military and since he was dressed in such fashion I figured it would be nice to talk about something in common, something we could both share as I had never met the individual.

 

[ms6852]

This thread is a HOOT! I know a lot of people including maybe me who dress funky on the range but I think the point was this guy's dress betrayed him as a "I don't know anything" type of guy. Sometimes you can teach them what they really want to know and sometimes you just walk away....shaking your head, hoping they don't hurt themselves or someone else.
Let's face it in the good ol' US of A everyone is special.

You hit the nail in the head...I pre-judged him as most humans do but will not admit it. I just figured he was a little bit more knowledgeable because of his attire. Usually most people have conducted a ton of research whether through the internet or word of mouth.
I was mislead by his attire. But when I kept him from ruining his AR I realized his knowledge of this particular weapon was very limited.

You wanna see funny stuff, come out to my range on Veterans day and laugh at all of us who remember the days when we were actually that small and could actually fit in those uniforms...Khakis for me with bloused boots.

 

[forestdavegump]

Where we shoot it is invite only and you have to be brought by a member if your not a member. So this cuts way back on the people doing the barrel rolling and tactical rail swap on the firing line. Also there are alot less of the tactical gear wearing. We have a place and time for the "running and gunning" and all that gear testing....lol. Never ever had anyone afraid to shoot here to the point they needed to "open carry" for protection. If and when I am firing a weapon that would not be the SAFE time for you to steal or should I say attempt to steal all my guns?
Common courtesy, manners, humility are all things that will get you respect on the range. Let your kindness and your shot placement inside the ten ring speak for you. You don't need to dress tacticool or were hoodies or dress like a redneck unless that is who you are? Who are you trying to impress? Respect, honor, manners, will get you far.

 

[ChCx2744]

The most "tactical" I've ever gone to the range in, is black BDU pants with Danner boots, but they weren't bloused into the boots. Never put on my chest ring or drop-leg platforms or anything like that...Now if it were some outdoor private range where I wanted to do some drills with all that stuff, then yeah...But I don't think that is necessary at a public indoor range where your everyday joe goes...Don't wanna scare the sheep away.