Poor Range Etiquette?

Hakaman · Post by **Hakaman** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:47 pm

I am trainging to be a Range Officer at the club I joined. It is a task I don't take lightly. It is amazing some of the things people do with a gun in their hand. It is also amazing how some people can't hit a target 20 feet away. On the outdoor range, a shooter has to keep the muzzle even with the horizon to avoid shooting over the berm, possibly hitting public humanity. I have seen shooters such as vets, police officers, and other ranks, not being able to keep the rounds in the 25 ft sand backstop at 50 yards. It is almost as if the intentionally try to miss it? Some people point their gun which ever direction they are talking, forgetting they have a loaded weapon pointed at another shooter. When ever a new face comes into the range to shoot and says they are an "experienced shooter", the red flag comes up. They usually are the biggest violators. I am not the most experienced shooter by any means, but safety comes first. It is literally tiring trying to "nicely" remind people of the safety rules. Some people get a little testy being told the rules, and try to rebel some. I figure if they don't like it, then they can leave, but safety always comes first.
H

greener · Post by **greener** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 5:46 am

I keep an eye on other shooters when I'm at the range. The one I use has no one watching what people are doing. Most of the time people handle firearms safely. Those that don't usually get a quick reminder.

The folks I've had the "fondest" memories are the experienced shooters who have done something they shouldn't and then remind you just how long they've been shooting and just how much they know.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 5:58 am

greener wrote:I keep an eye on other shooters when I'm at the range. The one I use has no one watching what people are doing. Most of the time people handle firearms safely. Those that don't usually get a quick reminder.

The folks I've had the "fondest" memories are the experienced shooters who have done something they shouldn't and then remind you just how long they've been shooting and just how much they know.

Thay is why I likee my home club rang as it is usually just me and my buddy, unless we havve a guest.

Hakaman · Post by **Hakaman** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 10:19 am

The folks I've had the "fondest" memories are the experienced shooters who have done something they shouldn't and then remind you just how long they've been shooting and just how much they know.

There is something about those who brag how good thery are that usually have to be watched more closely. It is like they are really trying to convince me in what the say, not what they do. What they do is simply amazing sometimes (dangerous).
H

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 10:51 am

Complacency is an ugly beast. Being too familiar with a firearm can cause folks to take them too lightly. I like to call it "My pet gun fluffy syndrome". But they don't know that 'Fluffy' will bite when least expected. I always inspect the chamber of an unhanded firearm, even if I just set the gun down for a moment during a dry firing session.

Good handling habits make for a long and happy partnership with firearms.

R,
Bullseye

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:01 am

I press check my 1911 every time I pick it up and I know it was laoded when I sset it down last night.
. If I should ever really need it, I would hate to have it empty.

Hakaman · Post by **Hakaman** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 7:17 pm

Complacency is an ugly beast. Being too familiar with a firearm can cause folks to take them too lightly. I like to call it "My pet gun fluffy syndrome". But they don't know that 'Fluffy' will bite when least expected. I always inspect the chamber of an unhanded firearm, even if I just set the gun down for a moment during a dry firing session.
Good handling habits make for a long and happy partnership with firearms.
R,
Bullseye

I think the key word here is "complacency". It scares me to think what a moment of ill-attitude can cause.
H

Curmudgeon · Post by **Curmudgeon** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:44 pm

I saw one the other day that un-nerved me. I guy was standing out of his lane so much this brass was shooting right behind me. I said something be he ignored me. I was keeping an eye on him because I thought he was less that a handgun brother.

A few minutes later he gets a jam or hangfire dud, I'm not sure which. So he spins around away from the target and walks to the bench.

It's scary having a nitwit wave a loaded troubled weapon across your chest going to a bench were he isn't supposed to have loaded weapons anyway. The range officer was busy qualifying someone on CWP or something.

Post by **Bullseye** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:13 am

I agree, getting swept by another person's muzzle is not a comforting feeling. This situation is especially disconcerting if they're not a conscientious shooter.

R,
Bullseye

greener · Post by **greener** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:31 am

Diving to the floor is so unseemly and you are generally not allowed to shoot back.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:27 am

greener wrote:Diving to the floor is so unseemly and you are generally not allowed to shoot back.

Why not? seems only fair to me. No wonder I like my home town, more or less country boy range. Everyone just does things sensibly, with a rare idiot. Have never seen the loud mouth that more or less threatened me again. Really nice having the range more or lees to yourself most times.

Hakaman · Post by **Hakaman** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:42 am

As a RSO in training, I start to notice the shooter's habits, while I am RSO'g
or a shooting customer. One particular time, on saturday, a couple different groups of 5 people came in simultaneously. I looked like friends/husband/wife and such, and each of the group only occupied 2 lanes while the others watched. Well, it escalated from watching to handing different firearms around to a point where multiple guns were floating around "away from the firing line" (bad thing to start happening). As their conversation was directed to friends in their group, so was the direction of their firearms (even more dangerous). It was starting to get chaotic, so even though I wasn't on duty as RSO, I jumped in and corrected the situation. Let me tell you something about RSO'g, if you never have done it, it can get quite intense dealing with all the poorly trained shooters. We usually have 2 RSO's on duty when the range is open, and sometimes it get hectic. I think people NEED to train more often, with an instructor, then what they do.
H

Curmudgeon · Post by **Curmudgeon** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:10 am

bearandoldman wrote:
greener wrote:Diving to the floor is so unseemly and you are generally not allowed to shoot back.
Why not? seems only fair to me. No wonder I like my home town, more or less country boy range. Everyone just does things sensibly, with a rare idiot. Have never seen the loud mouth that more or less threatened me again. Really nice having the range more or lees to yourself most times.

No, but I did see a Loudmouth that was shooting at a full sized silhouette at about 10 feet. Every time he hit the damn thing, he shouted, "That's what I'm talking about" When he took to a short walk around his lane with a loaded Glock, he was asked to leave.

greener · Post by **greener** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:07 pm

Full size silhouette at 10'. Getting excited about every time he hit the target. Think I'd have watched that from a distance.

Sparks134 · Post by **Sparks134** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:39 pm

Were his sights on top of the pistol or on the side, GHETTO STYLE???...........Ed