Weird Events at the Range

invention_45 · March 24, 2006, 09:01 AM

Anybody have truly strange range stories?

Here's mine.

I bought my first .45 at Anthony Arms in Pompano Beach, Florida. Got my CCL training there as well.

My daughter wanted to shoot, so I brought her along with me a few times. She wasn't ready to shoot the .45, so we rented a .38 for her.

We did this maybe 3 times. Then, a little after Christmas we went in again.

We were told that I could shoot, and she could, of course, shoot my gun, but we couldn't rent a gun for her. My daughter, bulldog that she is, wouldn't stop pestering the kid at the counter until he told her why. When we found out, I realized why he was reluctant.

It seems that, the week before, somebody had come in and rented a gun and committed suicide right there at the range.

My daughter sort of gulped and we decided to just go home that day.

I went a few times after that, then had to sell my gun. When I was shopping for my new USP45, I could not reach them. It appears they have closed, and I suspect this event had something to do with it.

riverrat66 · March 24, 2006, 10:12 AM

invention_45,

I have heard of people renting a firearm at a range and then committing suicide with it. For that reason, most ranges will not rent firearms to anyone who is alone. You're right the suicide probably did have something to do with the range closing but I'm not sure why.

cscoios · March 24, 2006, 10:20 AM

Very strange event. I never would have thought about that.

I rented a 1911 last week at the range. No problems. But then again they know me since I'm a member and have my own .45. I was looking to rent the 1911 to see how it feels before buying one.

Because of weird events such as this, I always keep a full magazine loaded with JHP while at the range. Just in case someone goes crazy I don't want to have my magazines empty because I'm training.

Topthis · March 24, 2006, 10:25 AM

This is not as uncommon as you might think. Like Riverrat said, most ranges will not let someone who is alone rent a handgun, unless they are well known by the range staff. The range probably closed down due to their Liability Insurance going through the roof and they just figured that it was no longer profitable...possibly.

Big Calhoun · March 24, 2006, 11:04 AM

Wow, that is a very sobering story to read on a Friday. That does explain why a few ranges I've gone to have said that you have to be with a 'party' to rent a gun.

invention_45 · March 24, 2006, 11:05 AM

I was kind of hoping it was rare.

westphoenix · March 24, 2006, 11:18 AM

What bugs me is the fact the the business suffers from someone
elses decision to take their life.

Over priced insurance is ruining this country.

Nortonics · March 24, 2006, 11:38 AM

There's a thread somewhere around here from a TFL or 1911forum member who was at the firing line when one of these episodes happened - yup, witnessed it. Very sad story when anybody feels so much pain they can't resort to anything else - very sad.

kjdoski · March 24, 2006, 12:29 PM

We had a fellow commit suicide on the local indoor range here in Corpus last year; not sure if he used a rental gun or his own...

Other than that, I can't count the number of times I've seen people blow up guns with bad reloads; shoot the wrong caliber through their pistol (just look in the brass bucket some day and look for 9mm cases "blown out" to .40...); try to stick the wrong magazine in their pistol (in a combat shoot once, watched a guy DESPERATELY try to reload his Sig using a Beretta 92 magazine...); etc. The range is a whacky and wonderful place - as long as you don't get shot or hit by shrapnel...

Regards,

Kevin

riverrat66 · March 24, 2006, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Very sad story when anybody feels so much pain they can't resort to anything else - very sad.

A very good friend of mine did it a few years ago and no saw it coming. He was a Vietnam veteran who evidently just could not live with himself anymore. At least he used his own gun (.357) and did it in his car.

But this topic is a completely different thread.

Double Naught Spy · March 24, 2006, 12:56 PM

If you think about it, suicide at a gun range with a rented gun isn't that weird. It is horrible for all parties involved, but not weird. For the family of the deceased, it is actually somewhat less hurtful as the deceased doesn't die in a home, car, etc. that the family may have trouble occupying or utilizing again because of the circumstances of the death. Of course, it sucks for the range. No doubt they end up with some legal hassles as to why they rented a gun to a person who apparently was suffering significant mental distress. Did they realize it? Could they have realized it?

support_six · March 24, 2006, 02:59 PM

I was a "permanent party" officer at Fort Knox, KY in the mid '70's. Of course it was a Basic Training post, lots of new privates away from home. There was an average of three suicides per year on the ranges from basic trainees.

Fort Knox had another interesting procedure. Drill sergeants marched their platoons to the range and then left them in the hands of professional marksmanship trainers. Some would think it was to increase the level of training but it had the side effect of not finding trainees, loaded weapons, and their "beloved" drill sergeants all in the same place!

porkskin · March 24, 2006, 03:09 PM

happened here in greensboro, nc at calibers but that was under the old management. i wonder with range ammo and a head shot if the muzzle wasn't pointed down range if the bullet would go through and through? the new owner of calibers has cameras installed now. he is cool too, but i bet he had to c.y.a. insurance on ranges has to be astronomical.

mica · March 24, 2006, 03:35 PM

Happened at the range I go to last year. The bigger tragedy, the mans drug addicted teenage daughter killed herself the night before(with one of his guns), after being questioned by the police he went to the range, rented a gun and killed himself.

I wasn't a member then but I 'think' they are under new managment now.

chrisandclauida2 · March 24, 2006, 03:52 PM

several years ago a guy walked into a pawn shop in phoenix and asked to see if a chain saw worked. might have been a skill saw . any ways he cut his own head nearly all the way off. bled out right there.

gac009 · March 24, 2006, 04:15 PM

^holy crap. Thats really terrible.

stephen426 · March 24, 2006, 04:52 PM

I hate to add to the "commonality" of the suicide at the gun range but... I had a female friend that was suicidal. I believe that it was a combination of a chemical imbalance and severe depression.

If any one had a reason for feeling depressed, she certainly did. She lost an uncle to liver cancer, her grandmother, and her father in the span of just a few years. She felt that she was somehow responsible for their deaths. First, she tried to overdose on Tylenol. They pumper her stomach when she finally admitted to it after complaining of a severe stomach ache. Then she dropped a hair drier in the bath tub. Her sister told me that she could hear her getting shocked before the breaker finally tripped. To get to the point, she asked me to take her to the range and expressed a "sudden interest in guns". I told her I would think about it but I knew no way in heck would I take her to the range. Unfortunately, she was determined enough that a simple plastic bag did her in. She asphyxiated herself in a hospital where they were treating her depression.

While most gun statistics are put out by antis, there is one statistic that I believe... Gun owners are much more likely to suceed in their suicide attempts. Guns are much more deadly and death is much quicker. Death is often immediate and there is little if any chance of saving the person.

choochboost · March 24, 2006, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Because of weird events such as this, I always keep a full magazine loaded with JHP while at the range. Just in case someone goes crazy I don't want to have my magazines empty because I'm training.

Same here.

chrisandclauida2 · March 24, 2006, 07:25 PM

i also remember that at the az sportsman on 7th and camelback here in phoenix a guy walked in and asked to see a 38spl. the sales man handed it to him and he then pulled out a round . the sales man dove to him and struggled a bit but the guy loaded it and killed him self.

if they want to at least hope they only want to do them selves not take a bunch of folks with them. that is the dangerous people. the ones who want to kill a bunch of others or force some one else to do it cause they are eunuchs and cant do it themselves.

D-Man · March 24, 2006, 07:35 PM

Wow - very sad indeed. It's bad enough for the person doing it and his/hers family, but think of what it also does to the people at the range who may see it or have to deal with the after-affects.

I had rented guns at two ranges by myself, one where a RO was right there with you, and another where I was 'set free' in the range. I never thought about the potential suicide issue before.

While I don't keep an extra loaded mag around while shooting, that does seem to be a good idea. I've read online where people keep their BUG on them at all times while at the range just in case something bad does go down.

OneInTheChamber · March 24, 2006, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Gun owners are much more likely to suceed in their suicide attempts. Guns are much more deadly and death is much quicker. Death is often immediate and there is little if any chance of saving the person.

I've heard a couple stories that spoke otherwise.

Talk to Capt. Charlie about it; I remember him talking about responding to suicide attempts where the person was still conscious.

riverrat66 · March 24, 2006, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Talk to Capt. Charlie about it; I remember him talking about responding to suicide attempts where the person was still conscious.

I think what Capt. Charlie actually said was "that putting a gun into your mouth did not assure you that you were going to die instantly.'

I saw a guy shot point blank under the chin with a .45 and he lived for about 10 minutes. The entire back of his head was gone. I could actually see his brains thru the back of his head. He was conscious but not aware. He was bleeding from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth.

I was told that people who attempt suicide with pills and other means are sometimes screaming out for help but someone who uses a gun really wants to die. I don't know how true that is but I was told by a reliable source.

Also not all head shots are fatal. My son's father-in-law served with the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam and was shot by a sniper behind the right ear with an AK47 and the bullet exited through the roof of his mouth. He recovered and returned to Vietnam for a second tour.

2IDdoc · March 24, 2006, 09:57 PM

There was a cat that I think was feeling suicidal walking across the berm on the range in my yard the other day.

I didn't shoot it though because I was at the 25 yard line and couldn't tell if it was my neighbors cat or not. We have been having some problems with mean feral cats out here recently.

Big Calhoun · March 25, 2006, 07:40 PM

I also tend to keep guns loaded, especially now after reading some of the horror stories in the multiple threads here. I only have an extra magazine for my Beretta. With the other two, I keep one magazine loaded with my defensive loads and the other magazine free for the range ammo. All defensive magazines stay in until I'm ready to shoot that particular gun.

Some of these stories have been a tough and sobering read, but good education.

gmeister · March 26, 2006, 05:55 PM

I do almost all of my shooting at a sportsmen's club range out in the country. Weekends are quite busy but on many weekdays there are very few people there. I shoot mainly on weekdays because I have the facilities pretty much to myself and I have the time available being retired and partially disabled. Club memebershiip requirements are very non-discriminatory and determnined non-members wouldn't find it too hard to access the ranges.

There are occasional instances of "strange" or really "weird" people showing up to shoot. I didn't used to be to careful to keep a means self-defense readily available. (Most shooters seem totally oblivious to the risks.)

After a few instances of seeing strange looking people or seemingly normal looking people acting strangely, sharing the range with me (and no one else being around) I decided to be much more diligent about keeping at least one cenerfire pistol or revolver loaded and readily available at all times while I was shooting.

March 24, 2006, 09:01 AM	#1
invention_45 Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2006 Location: Broward County Posts: 972	Weird Events at the Range Anybody have truly strange range stories? Here's mine. I bought my first .45 at Anthony Arms in Pompano Beach, Florida. Got my CCL training there as well. My daughter wanted to shoot, so I brought her along with me a few times. She wasn't ready to shoot the .45, so we rented a .38 for her. We did this maybe 3 times. Then, a little after Christmas we went in again. We were told that I could shoot, and she could, of course, shoot my gun, but we couldn't rent a gun for her. My daughter, bulldog that she is, wouldn't stop pestering the kid at the counter until he told her why. When we found out, I realized why he was reluctant. It seems that, the week before, somebody had come in and rented a gun and committed suicide right there at the range. My daughter sort of gulped and we decided to just go home that day. I went a few times after that, then had to sell my gun. When I was shopping for my new USP45, I could not reach them. It appears they have closed, and I suspect this event had something to do with it.

March 24, 2006, 11:38 AM	#8
Nortonics Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2004 Location: Murderapolis Posts: 521	There's a thread somewhere around here from a TFL or 1911forum member who was at the firing line when one of these episodes happened - yup, witnessed it. Very sad story when anybody feels so much pain they can't resort to anything else - very sad. __________________ Tom.

March 24, 2006, 12:56 PM	#11
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	If you think about it, suicide at a gun range with a rented gun isn't that weird. It is horrible for all parties involved, but not weird. For the family of the deceased, it is actually somewhat less hurtful as the deceased doesn't die in a home, car, etc. that the family may have trouble occupying or utilizing again because of the circumstances of the death. Of course, it sucks for the range. No doubt they end up with some legal hassles as to why they rented a gun to a person who apparently was suffering significant mental distress. Did they realize it? Could they have realized it? __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

March 24, 2006, 04:52 PM	#17
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	I hate to add to the "commonality" of the suicide at the gun range but... I had a female friend that was suicidal. I believe that it was a combination of a chemical imbalance and severe depression. If any one had a reason for feeling depressed, she certainly did. She lost an uncle to liver cancer, her grandmother, and her father in the span of just a few years. She felt that she was somehow responsible for their deaths. First, she tried to overdose on Tylenol. They pumper her stomach when she finally admitted to it after complaining of a severe stomach ache. Then she dropped a hair drier in the bath tub. Her sister told me that she could hear her getting shocked before the breaker finally tripped. To get to the point, she asked me to take her to the range and expressed a "sudden interest in guns". I told her I would think about it but I knew no way in heck would I take her to the range. Unfortunately, she was determined enough that a simple plastic bag did her in. She asphyxiated herself in a hospital where they were treating her depression. While most gun statistics are put out by antis, there is one statistic that I believe... Gun owners are much more likely to suceed in their suicide attempts. Guns are much more deadly and death is much quicker. Death is often immediate and there is little if any chance of saving the person. __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency!

March 24, 2006, 10:12 AM	#2
riverrat66 Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2004 Location: Western New York Posts: 394	invention_45, I have heard of people renting a firearm at a range and then committing suicide with it. For that reason, most ranges will not rent firearms to anyone who is alone. You're right the suicide probably did have something to do with the range closing but I'm not sure why.

March 24, 2006, 10:20 AM	#3
cscoios Member Join Date: November 19, 2005 Posts: 84	Very strange event. I never would have thought about that. I rented a 1911 last week at the range. No problems. But then again they know me since I'm a member and have my own .45. I was looking to rent the 1911 to see how it feels before buying one. Because of weird events such as this, I always keep a full magazine loaded with JHP while at the range. Just in case someone goes crazy I don't want to have my magazines empty because I'm training.

March 24, 2006, 10:25 AM	#4
Topthis Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2005 Posts: 863	This is not as uncommon as you might think. Like Riverrat said, most ranges will not let someone who is alone rent a handgun, unless they are well known by the range staff. The range probably closed down due to their Liability Insurance going through the roof and they just figured that it was no longer profitable...possibly.

March 24, 2006, 11:04 AM	#5
Big Calhoun Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2006 Posts: 213	Wow, that is a very sobering story to read on a Friday. That does explain why a few ranges I've gone to have said that you have to be with a 'party' to rent a gun.

March 24, 2006, 11:05 AM	#6
invention_45 Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2006 Location: Broward County Posts: 972	I was kind of hoping it was rare.

March 24, 2006, 11:18 AM	#7
westphoenix Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2002 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 582	What bugs me is the fact the the business suffers from someone elses decision to take their life. Over priced insurance is ruining this country.

March 24, 2006, 12:29 PM	#9
kjdoski Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Near Tampa, FL Posts: 113	We had a fellow commit suicide on the local indoor range here in Corpus last year; not sure if he used a rental gun or his own... Other than that, I can't count the number of times I've seen people blow up guns with bad reloads; shoot the wrong caliber through their pistol (just look in the brass bucket some day and look for 9mm cases "blown out" to .40...); try to stick the wrong magazine in their pistol (in a combat shoot once, watched a guy DESPERATELY try to reload his Sig using a Beretta 92 magazine...); etc. The range is a whacky and wonderful place - as long as you don't get shot or hit by shrapnel... Regards, Kevin

March 24, 2006, 02:59 PM	#12
support_six Senior Member Join Date: August 29, 2000 Location: Richland, WA Posts: 678	I was a "permanent party" officer at Fort Knox, KY in the mid '70's. Of course it was a Basic Training post, lots of new privates away from home. There was an average of three suicides per year on the ranges from basic trainees. Fort Knox had another interesting procedure. Drill sergeants marched their platoons to the range and then left them in the hands of professional marksmanship trainers. Some would think it was to increase the level of training but it had the side effect of not finding trainees, loaded weapons, and their "beloved" drill sergeants all in the same place!

March 24, 2006, 03:09 PM	#13
porkskin Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2005 Posts: 335	happened here in greensboro, nc at calibers but that was under the old management. i wonder with range ammo and a head shot if the muzzle wasn't pointed down range if the bullet would go through and through? the new owner of calibers has cameras installed now. he is cool too, but i bet he had to c.y.a. insurance on ranges has to be astronomical.

March 24, 2006, 03:35 PM	#14
mica Member Join Date: March 15, 2006 Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA Posts: 89	Happened at the range I go to last year. The bigger tragedy, the mans drug addicted teenage daughter killed herself the night before(with one of his guns), after being questioned by the police he went to the range, rented a gun and killed himself. I wasn't a member then but I 'think' they are under new managment now.

March 24, 2006, 03:52 PM	#15
chrisandclauida2 Senior Member Join Date: September 21, 2005 Posts: 312	several years ago a guy walked into a pawn shop in phoenix and asked to see if a chain saw worked. might have been a skill saw . any ways he cut his own head nearly all the way off. bled out right there.

March 24, 2006, 04:15 PM	#16
gac009 Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2006 Posts: 430	^holy crap. Thats really terrible.

March 24, 2006, 07:25 PM	#19
chrisandclauida2 Senior Member Join Date: September 21, 2005 Posts: 312	i also remember that at the az sportsman on 7th and camelback here in phoenix a guy walked in and asked to see a 38spl. the sales man handed it to him and he then pulled out a round . the sales man dove to him and struggled a bit but the guy loaded it and killed him self. if they want to at least hope they only want to do them selves not take a bunch of folks with them. that is the dangerous people. the ones who want to kill a bunch of others or force some one else to do it cause they are eunuchs and cant do it themselves.

March 24, 2006, 07:35 PM	#20
D-Man Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2006 Posts: 130	Wow - very sad indeed. It's bad enough for the person doing it and his/hers family, but think of what it also does to the people at the range who may see it or have to deal with the after-affects. I had rented guns at two ranges by myself, one where a RO was right there with you, and another where I was 'set free' in the range. I never thought about the potential suicide issue before. While I don't keep an extra loaded mag around while shooting, that does seem to be a good idea. I've read online where people keep their BUG on them at all times while at the range just in case something bad does go down.

March 24, 2006, 09:57 PM	#23
2IDdoc Junior Member Join Date: March 23, 2006 Location: In a house in the mountains Posts: 4	There was a cat that I think was feeling suicidal walking across the berm on the range in my yard the other day. I didn't shoot it though because I was at the 25 yard line and couldn't tell if it was my neighbors cat or not. We have been having some problems with mean feral cats out here recently.

March 25, 2006, 07:40 PM	#24
Big Calhoun Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2006 Posts: 213	I also tend to keep guns loaded, especially now after reading some of the horror stories in the multiple threads here. I only have an extra magazine for my Beretta. With the other two, I keep one magazine loaded with my defensive loads and the other magazine free for the range ammo. All defensive magazines stay in until I'm ready to shoot that particular gun. Some of these stories have been a tough and sobering read, but good education.

March 26, 2006, 05:55 PM	#25
gmeister Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Location: Central PA Posts: 154	I do almost all of my shooting at a sportsmen's club range out in the country. Weekends are quite busy but on many weekdays there are very few people there. I shoot mainly on weekdays because I have the facilities pretty much to myself and I have the time available being retired and partially disabled. Club memebershiip requirements are very non-discriminatory and determnined non-members wouldn't find it too hard to access the ranges. There are occasional instances of "strange" or really "weird" people showing up to shoot. I didn't used to be to careful to keep a means self-defense readily available. (Most shooters seem totally oblivious to the risks.) After a few instances of seeing strange looking people or seemingly normal looking people acting strangely, sharing the range with me (and no one else being around) I decided to be much more diligent about keeping at least one cenerfire pistol or revolver loaded and readily available at all times while I was shooting.