Today's Range Nimrod

[FirstFreedom]

Hope this is the right place to put range dufuses. Let me set the scene for you....Drove to the gun club; lock combination to the gate was changed..hmmm, didn't do my 05 re-orientation and dues yet, but I could have sworn they didn't change the combo until Feb 1 in the past. But ok, no dice...I drive to a public outdoor range; how bad could it be?

OK, it's cold, and very few people at the range. There are a couple of pistol ranges, and 3 rifle ranges, all separated by long, tall concrete walls so that you can change targets in each of the 5 areas independently of one another. Of the rifle ranges, 1 is 50 yards, 2 of them are 100 yards. Now, no one but no one except me is in EITHER of the 2 100 yard ranges - they are side by side. There are many close tables crammed into each range, so there's probably 12-15 tables per range, so 24-30 total tables in the 2 100 yard ranges. Now, picture this. I take the 2nd to last table on the very left, by the left wall. I post my target in the far left target stand at 100 yards. Just got started when here comes dufus and friend-of-dufus. Now friend of dufus sits at far end of 50 yard range to my left while dufus gets between me and friend of dufus - you guessed it, at the VERY next table to me on my LEFT, which is in fact the VERY last table on the left of the 100 yard range that we're on - oodles and oodles of open tables to my right. Now, he immediately asks to go down (doesn't wait for me to finish my 5 shot group). I say OK. Then he asks me if I'm shooting at the left target. Yes, I say. So he walks down and puts his target up on target stand to the immediate right of mine. So he sits on my left, and posts his target to my right, so that he has to shoot across my firing line. Hmm....k. Then he whips out his uber tactical rifle - of course it's painted camo with big scope, nice expensive rifle - looks to be a rem sendero or some such; good mounts, the whole nine yards. Then BOOM - my lord, even with plugs and muffs both! "That sure is loud - what is it?" ".300 Rem Ultra Mag" "Ahh, nice" I said. The shock wave is intense, and of course interfering with my concentration. So there he is, at the one table next to me, shooting a .300 RUM, with no one for 40-50 yards to our right. It was so absurb, I can't believe he did that. It's like when there's 10 urinals and a guy comes up and uses the one right next to yours. Makes me think he does it just to irritate people with that gun. I almost gave him an earful, but thought better of it. The guy had no shortage of that ammo either - he could have fed a small third world country for a week on what he spent on it, I'm sure. OK, just venting. I did sneak a gander at his groups through the spotter - his uber rifle wasn't helpin him much - a good 2.5 inch groups, to my 1.5" ones with my plain jane CZ 550.

[MCIWS]

Its ok to vent. I think he probably saw your groups as well. Maybe that will make him reconsider his shooting lane next time.

[PsychoSword]

I'm sure he wanted to show off.

I had a sort of similar experience last summer with some old nimrod next to me shooting some rifle in .280 Remington. He had some type of flashhider on the end which made it tremendously loud and it would spit crap out at me. I jumped everytime he fired it. I was really glad when he left.

[joab]

I guess y'all don't realize that Nimrod was a great hunter.

But I do comiserate, I have a friend that does that sort of thing just to piss people off

[mill hunky]

i go to a public range. start of a national forest, beauitful. sometimes i think some of the guys live in the woods , they are always there. these are the guys you can trust. it seems that some people are brain dead as soon as they get on the range. a family came w/ new toys one day, the women was shooting at the 25 yd. target, but the bullets were hitting the ground 20 ft. in front of her. her husband was shooting his pistol and then turning around to load the mag. the second time he pointed the pistol at my stomach, i asked him to point his pistol down range, nicely. he started to turn around to load his mag. again. he got half way around and the told him to stop , he stopped , and he told me he was just excited, and he didn`t mean to point the gun at me. the next time i was off the bench and in his face, he moved down to end table. as soon as someone doesn`t open their bolt or the slide back when all clear is called. is another person to watch. but i notice that all the persons that practice range educate are also watching the DA. i went to the range early, just daybreak. no DA there yet. a guy came over and said he remembers that i always ask someone to open their actions. he said 3 wks. ago a guy was haveing trouble w/ a rifle ejecting. people asked him a few times to open the bolt before going down range, but he would`nt. long story short- he came back from the 100 yd. target and kicked his bench , the rifle fell off, hit the seat, flipped over backwards and shot his truck twice. and yes i have been down the 100 yd. target changing targets and rounds fired at the targets. thanks, i`m also glad that we can went, even though it is somebodys thread. rich

[cpileri]

Dufus the 300RUM-dude was, but Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord.
C-

[carolinaflats]

The best I've seen was 3 teenagers at a RIFLE range tossing up soda bottles filled with sand for each other to time how fast they could clear the mags on their pump shotguns. The reason I decided this for timing their shooting rather than using the bottles as a target because none ever hit the bottle...I left immediatly!

[abelew]

Yikers, I hope the next time I do something stupid (which I try very hard not to) on a range, someone comes up behind me and slaps up side the head and says, Dumb A** and walks away. While some boys trying to clear the mags on a shotty isn't exactly the worst thing on a range, it can be annoying. I just hate those guys who get right next to you, and start hammerin off with some gonzo loud gun, when there are miles of empty lanes, and people who know their partiner (female or male) can't shoot worth crap, and don't try and educate them on the finer points of aiming. I also prefer to shoot by myself, because that way I know I am not going to annoy someone when I try some rapid fire drills with my handgun (hard to get good at them, if you dont start at crappy first)

[SNoB]

I try and do my "stupid crap" stuff to when Im alone on the range. Wait untill 9pm, outside door is locked, have an hour left before I have to stop shooting. If other people are around though, I always pick a lane far away from other people to just give them space. I know I dont like being crowded when Im shooting, so I dont do that to others.

[gxi.llc]

My favorite is when I'm nestled down real nice on some sandbags, working up some handloads, trying to get the most consistent data, and then I start getting pelted with spent casings. In the shoulder, on the head, a nice hot one down the collar of my shirt, but my favorite is when they start hitting my rifle and my scope. I try to stay away from everyone because I know my rifle is somewhat obnoxious, so naturally that's where someone just arriving will gravitate. Sometimes they'll get the hint when I throw a towell over my rifle to protect it, and I sit back and glare at them, but lately I've just been setting up on the prone pads off to the side, which are rarely used. It sucks when it's raining, but it's always better than actually working.

[just one question]

when i was at a pistol range before there were 3 gang banger looking people. the lane by them was all that was left so i took it.

they come over to me and yell "you need to hire some GANGSTAS" i shake my head and go to my lane and start loading my mags. they are right by me with all these gagnbanger weapons shooting wildly from the hip with shotguns and 45 caliber carbines. and yelling die moth----cker and other things of that nature. i had a brand new gun with me i wanted to try and one of them kept looking at it like he was gonna take it or something so i never let it out of my sight. and they just kept being annoying the whole time. 2 of them ran out and left the other one to pick up brass and pay the bill he came over and apoligized then left.

it makes me really mad when people act like that on a range

[Wildalaska]

Sounds like shooting next to Spiff, as I am about to touch off a precision shot he opens up with his AR raioning brasss on me :0

He got his, the guy next to him on SDunday was spurting an FA Uzi

WildthemarthastewartoftheshootingrangeAlaska

[BigBoreKindaGuy]

I can understand your gripe about everything.....but...your not liking the shock wave from his 300 UM because it disturbs your concentration is really not his problem...it is yours. You should get used to concentrating through any caliber sitting next to you.

[Handy]

BigBore,

That's ridiculous. No one needs training on how to shoot with a major shockwave 3 feet away. And if they do, they can ask for it. This guy chose to sit done as close as possible - he's the problem.


Or does your handle suggest that you rudely inflict yourself on people at the range the same way?

[Wildalaska]

What if the range is full, there is only one space open, thats next to you, and a guy sits down and proceeds to crank out rounds with a 7.82 warbird with a nice loud KDF brake...?

WildisherudeAlaska

[BigBoreKindaGuy]

No Handy...It is a matter of discipline and yes I have trained myself to shoot through it. Its a choice. I never said it wasn't comfortable...however you just train yourself not to dwell on it after the percussion wave hits. I am also not saying that there isn't a limit, however a 300 is hardly that uncomfortable for retaining one's concentration.

And by the way Handy...your last inference about my BigBore moniker was said to provoke or annoy me so you are clearly demonstronstraing that you are no less ignorant than the guy you claimed sat down at the range just to annoy the other shooter. The only difference is that he used a high-power load and you use words....nonetheless using your opinion then you are both ignorant. Perhaps you should get the FLF Nimrod Award for your unnecessary words.

[univtxattorney]

PHP Code:

I can understand your gripe about everything.....but...your not liking the shock wave from his 300 UM because it disturbs your concentration is really not his problem...it is yours. 


I disagree. It would be one thing if the range were full and the guy had to sit next to you. It would even be different if the range were 1/2 full and he had to choose to sit next to someone, and it just turned out that you were the unlucky one. But when you are going to be shooting something that is extremely loud, you ought to have the common courtesy to distance yourself if at all possible.

You should get used to concentrating through any caliber sitting next to you.

I agree with that. Sometimes you have to sit next to someone shooting a large and loud gun. But that was obviously not the situation here.

Or does your handle suggest that you rudely inflict yourself on people at the range the same way?

Perhaps you should get the FLF Nimrod Award for your unnecessary words.

Let's keep it civil in here. This is a place to share our opinions. For the most part, everyone is respectful. We should all be comfortable to disagree, but personal attacks are silly. We don't know each other personally (at least most of us don't). Let's remember that we agree about more than we disagree about. There are those who would not let us have this problem because they would make it illegal for us to shoot big caliber, or any caliber for that matter. If we are going to make personal attacks, let's attack them. Besides, if anyone is going to get this NIMROD award that you speak of, I want consideration. I think I have earned at least consideration.

[BigBoreKindaGuy]

To univtxattorney:

A person can sit where ever he wants regardless of how full the range is. There are no assigned seats, no rules about caliber of firearm being shot....there are just courtesies of protocol or etiquette which are not rules of law....they are just niceities.

Yes it would be courteous if that guy with the 300 didn't sit next to the only other guy on that end of the range but he sat where he sat and he has a right to do that.

As for being civil....I am not the person who decided to take a cheap-shot at someones moniker. So if someone here decides to be as careless as Handy and say what they want to me they should not then expect to hear what they want when I return my response.

There is no case for contributory negligence on my part here in this case so spare me your "politically correctness" . I don't subscribe to "politically correct" philosophies because that kind of behavior only provides a loop-hole for the guilty to continue their onslaught over the victim of their focus and condemns the innocent to feeling guilty for something he/she never initiated and entered into upon only because they exercised their right to defend themslves from such predators.

[Handy]

Bigbore,

Your post was basically opinioning that when someone is unnecessarily annoying you it is your fault for getting annoyed.

You must be a saint, since I'm sure no one else's behavior annoys you. But wait, I wrote one sentence and you're all upset.


So here's the deal. Sometimes, you'll be posting on a board and someone will sit right down next to you and post something loud you don't like. Instead of getting annoyed with me, you should look at this as training. With a little of the discipline you've mentioned, you should be able to keep posting without losing your cool, as you have here.


You should also train yourself to be able to withstand unnecessary words. After all, there are no assigned seats on this board, no niceties.


LMAO!

[univtxattorney]

there are just courtesies of protocol or etiquette which are not rules of law....they are just niceities.

LOL - You don't have to go to law school to know that. You can still say that he shouldn't have done it, even if it is a rule of etiquette. I don't think anyone is disputing his RIGHT to do it. I think what they are saying is that he shouldn't do it in the sense that it is rude. Just like you shouldn't go into an empty movie theater, sit next to the one person who is there, and blow your nose the entire time because you have a cold. It's not against the law. It's not even against the theater rules. It is just rude and you SHOULDN'T do it.

As for being civil....I am not the person who decided to take a cheap-shot at someones moniker. So if someone here decides to be as careless as Handy and say what they want to me they should not then expect to hear what they want when I return my response.

In legal terms, this is known as the "he did it first, so it's okay if I do it" defense. It's pretty popular, but rarely gets you out of trouble. Interestingly, most of us learned in kindergarten that this won't work. Again, law school is not necessary.

There is no case for contributory negligence on my part here in this case so spare me your "politically correctness" . I don't subscribe to "politically correct" philosophies because that kind of behavior only provides a loop-hole for the guilty to continue their onslaught over the victim of their focus and condemns the innocent to feeling guilty for something he/she never initiated and entered into upon only because they exercised their right to defend themslves from such predators.

Now this is just funny. First of all, what you did is not negligence. It was intentional. You might need law school to make that distinction, but I doubt it. Secondly, being respectful is not politically correct. It is the way that human beings should interact on this planet when they recognize that they share a limited space with limited resources and that they have to interact. The opposite is antisocial, but an antisocial attitude and guns rarely mix well. Thirdly, you might be making too much of handy's comment. I seriously doubt he is a "predator" and you are a "victim." I don't know if he has contacted you privately with pictures of him harming your family or with threats to do you physical harm, but if you are just going by what he said on here, that's silly.

And by the way--when you own a gun or carry a gun, sometimes you have to be "politically correct." You sometimes have to look the other way in the face of someone's criticizing you. Maybe you should use this forum as practice.

[univtxattorney]

By the way, on another post about whether beginners should have to take a class before shooting on the range, you said this:

I am a very experienced shooter and I would not want to have you or your friend on the range that I am practicing on unless you had more experience or had someone accompany you that is experienced.

So you would require someone to take a class before going on the range? Is that a law or a nicety? Doesn't someone have the right to come on the range with no experience and shoot away right next to you?

[Ledbetter]

The guy next to you isn't there to train to handle your gun's noise or your rudeness either. Some days, we just go to the range to have fun and make friends.

[univtxattorney]

Some days, we just go to the range to have fun and make friends.

Very well said...

[BigBoreKindaGuy]

I stated what I said and that's the end of it. And if you don't like the way I state things then get over it because I will be calling it as I see it because I am my own person...not some willow that bends to some blow-hard high-school peer pressure tactic.

If you want a friend then go buy a dog and form a circle with your friends and sing Kumbaya. :barf:

[univtxattorney]

I stated what I said and that's the end of it. And if you don't like the way I state things then get over it because I will be calling it as I see it because I am my own person...not some willow that bends to some blow-hard high-school peer pressure tactic.

Who can argue with that? Obviously you are a well-educated man with a rapier wit.

If you want a friend then go buy a dog and form a circle with your friends and sing Kumbaya.

Uh... [scratches head] Ok...