Idiot creates close call on range today

[DanThaMan]

This sounds exactly like the same thing that happened to me about a year ago. I just set down my rifle bag and was getting my 10/22 out (remember it like it was yesterday) and some idiot walks directly from his car to the target during live fire. Same after effect. Some people...

[Dave_Shotgun]

It's idiots like these that put the rest of us rational, civilized human beings in danger. I will be getting my first shotgun soon and will be going to a shooting range for the first time. I just hope that the range is properly run and has a good Range Officer.

[Catfish25p2000]

I belong to a private club that does not have a R/O. The club I belong to is not a blasting club, it is a competition club, so they assume that the members have some sense of range safety. A few months ago, we had a guy walk right past the rifle range, right past the sign at the pistol range that clearly states "no rifles, pistols only", and procede to shoot FMJ's out of an AK at 15 yards at our steel plates. He not only destroyed the plates, he also left the range in an ambulance with one eye less than he came with. He had either a ricochet come back and hit him in the eye, or part of a steel plate come back and get him. Last I heard, he was still in the hospital. Dumb ass!

[Venom1956]

Wow. I have my own range at my house. So many of your stories are strange and unfamiliar. I can relate to the "THUG, TACTICOOL, and NORMAL shooters" usually the people I invite to shoot with me are informed of my range rules. treat gun as if it were load etc. and I don't have many problems. I've had some turn towards me with a live weapon, usually their first time out. Easily corrected, but still not fun. I've banned one person from my range period for not respecting me, my firearms, or my rules. he fired two of my pistols one in each hand not really aiming, then tracked them across my house, aimed them at me. then dropped them both on the table. Needless to say guns were packed up locked up and he was asked to leave.

[magblast]

I was at a outdoor range one day the range was called cold so people could go down range to change and check targets I look down the covered shooting area and see a guy with two of his friends picking up a rifle and moving it to another shooting station.I told him that you do not touch a weapon while the range is cold he acted like I said his mother was working the streets almost escalated to a bad situation. Luckily there were a lot of other members there to help him understand his mistake.I do not go to public ranges any more its just to my friends house now it is worth the drive .

[Brian Pfleuger]

I must admit that I'm glad there aren't any public ranges in my area, although, the private ranges are entirely unsupervised so it's maybe not much better. Paying money for access doesn't make you smart.

[Manning Munitions]

My opinion......you shoulda...........well lets just say he wouldnt have done it again

[MLeake]

I've heard some odd range rules before, but those two are way up there.

Question for those whose ranges have such rules: How clearly are they posted? Are they on waiver forms? Are they on the walls?

How consistent is enforcement?

[Trashcan-man]

I did not know your only allowed 6 rounds in a handgun at the range.

Is this a common rule. I have to say I've never read or heard this in my life. I am semi new to range shooting. I shot a lot as a kid on my grandfather's ranch until I was about 16 and am now getting back into shooting after a few years off. My dad was a marine and was strict on safety so I'm a very safe shooter but like I said we didn't go to many shooting ranges.

I have to say you guys really sound lucky to me. I live in Tallahassee, FL, we have 2 ranges. The 1st is the rifle and pistol club and costs a little over $200 a year to be a member...I don't have that kind of cash so I'm stuck with...#2 which is a public range in national forest. No range officers, no supervision what so ever. I've seen everything from gang bangers practicing for their drive up's but literally shooting out of their car windows, to the tacticool guys. I now go during the week before 10am...apparently the stupid people don't like to wake up before then to go shooting, so usually I'm there alone and safe.

[Skan21]

If you guys are this upset about RANGE violations, you would hate Iraq! If I had a nickel for every time I was flagged, watched an AD/ND, saw someone shot by mistake or watched a round pop out of a chamber that was "cleared" by a new guy, I wouldn't have had to be there!

[fineredmist]

Range safety officers have two sets of rules, the first are written and the second are good old common sense. For example, a grown man with a hi cap semi who is practicing for a match loads a 15 round magazine and proceeds to fire in a safe manner at approved targets and a grown man loading 15 rounds into a hi cap and handing it to a young son or daughter who can hardly hold the gun. Which is safe? In the second case I would instruct the adult to limit the magazine to 5 rounds as a safety measure for the child as well as other shooters. The child cannot hold the gun long enough to "target" shoot the rounds and is not strong enough to control the weapon for rapid fire.
You want a thankless job, be a RSO.

[dabigguns357]

a while back 4 guys went our local shooting range and proceeded to set up targets but some how missed placed their brains and started shooting at each others feet while setting the targets.I quietly packed gear and left.

The range where i go has no range officer so it's up to individuals on their behavior,thats why there was a shooting back last year that lead to the murder of a preacher at one of our local churches.I do still go from time to time but i always take someone or if i see anyboby that looks shady i don't stay.

[Russ5924]

Two weeks ago I was shooting on the 7 Yard Range it was just me and another guy at the other end. I was shooting a new .40 I had bought, next thing I see him packing up to leave and his target is gone. The only way he could have gotten his target was to get it while I was shooting. But worst thing is I never even saw him do it.

[BlackFeather]

I have never been to a "real range"... I go out where someone dug out the side of the hill... more for hadguns but I take my shotgun and .22 mostly... that and the people I go with cant shoot like I can... but my "friend" had my shotgun I was loading my .22 mag. and he thought it was empty... (I did give lesson on safety because this guy acted like he knew everything but was in fact an idiot) well he had pointed the muzzle down for some reason and "accidently" pulled the trigger because he thought it was empty... well the was a loud boom and a hole in the ground less that 2 feet from is foot... and he was wearing sandals... which had I realized he was wearing sandals I would have made him wear boots. so it scared the hell out of him and I was ******... this is from a guy that also said he "forgot" how to load a revolver even though that was his "primary weapon"... I was also amused to his reaction when looking over the box of .38 shells and said "wow. centerfiring shells, those are the good ones.":barf: needless to say I know why his girlfriend wont let him have a gun... along with all of this he thinks the judge is a .44 mag that takes .45 colt AND the the .410 shot shells... hes not going shooting with me again... oh and he kept crossing everyone with the muzzle...

[ezenbrowntown]

All this rapid fire talk.......

I'm so glad I go to a very casual outdoor range (locked gate w/ membership key). I love setting up a pie plate, and unloading a 30 round magazine from my 10/22 into as fast as I can. I'm not going to rip out the bull's eye, but I can keep them in pretty close proximity.

[~kev~]

Its called "natural selection" for a reason. The sick, and sometimes the stupid are "supposed" to die off before they can breed and pass their defective genes off to their children.

That means that guys cave man ancestors were really lucky for the past 100,000 years. But their luck is gonna run out sooner or later.

[ken22250]

didnt happen to me, but a was talking to the guy working the cun counter at sportsmans wharehouse (defor it closed) and he said he was at the local game comission range about a week befor we talked, there was a guy there at the 100 yard range, where he was, there was very few people there that day, and the guy was shooting alot, they called clear but he didnt stop shooting, he went down and asked him tp stop because they called clear, he said " dont wory about it, im down hear by myself so just go down and i wolnt shoot at you". needless to say he left. thats why i usually go to the hawthorn rod and gun club, its got a locked game and doors on the 2 ports, there are very few rules, the only one is " no shooting befor noon on sunday" you could take an M60 with all the ammo you want on linkeed belts and blazer away if you wanted to, the game caomiision range is 3 rnds in a rifle and 6 in a handgun. having gone there for many years, its a rare ocassion that you see another person there, i went the sunday befor deer season started last year, and there were 2 other people there.
ken

[Brian Pfleuger]

That means that guys cave man ancestors were really lucky for the past 100,000 years.

Actually, it means that the stupid gene is (thankfully) recessive and doesn't show itself in large numbers until civilization "progresses" to the point where stupid and/or lazy no longer has negative consequences.

BTW.... that's where we have "progressed" to today.

[onthejon55]

Too bad he didnt catch a ricochet in the same way Forest Gump did

[Two 10's]

some people have to learn the hard way if ever.

[srt 10 jimbo]

Most Public ranges wont let you rapid shoot because of insurance policy's

[mp25ds4]

put one in his leg with a .22 next time to teach him a lesson nah, just kidding

[mustang_steve]

The range I go to mostly has people who can't seem to keep their long arms in their hands. About every time I'm there, some guy is dropping an AR, AK or shotgun. I avoid the rifle side of the range for this reason, even though I enjoy being able to fire my pistol at more than 50 feet (the limit for the pistol range, indoor ranges heh).

[rog45us]

Where my home range is in Missouri we had something similar like this happen a couple months ago. Me and my son were sitting down on the rifle range and a older gentlemen hollered if he could go down range to put up some targets. We made sure everyone was clear so he could walk down. Here is the interesting part, his grandson was with him at the 25 yard line and we were down the 100 yard line. Well as the older gentlemen reached the 50 yard line to put up his target we looked down the line to see his grandson scoped in on him with a .22lr. Needless to say the grandson not only got yelled at by us but the grandfather about went off the hinge and thanked us for noticing this.


This is why no matter who's kids it is, it is always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings no matter where or who you are with.

If there had been one joking idea or harmless error from the grandson this could have been a major incident.

[CMDrew6115]

The only rule infraction i've ever seen at my local range was a guy rapid firing(about 8 rounds in 5 seconds). The RO spoke with him and explained that it was against the rules which he signed before he was allowed to enter the range, the guy told the RO it was his first time and he apologized to the RO. The range now has a new rule that they don't allow any new shooters unless they are brought by a former customer/shooter. After another local range had a suicide by rental gun, they also started a new rule that you cannot rent guns to shoot unless you brought another gun of your own to shoot.