Noob question: range etiquette

[AzShooter]

Wow! Since we can carry concealed we are allowed to go to the range with a loaded gun in a holster. When there is a cease fire for a 15 minute break so shooters can go down range to check their targets weapons left on the benches must be unloaded and open for inspection but if you have it in your holster it can be hot.

I would never put a loaded weapon in it's bag. Shotguns and rifles need to be unloaded until the the command to load is given.

[stephen426]

AzShooter,

I think that might be the exception rather than the rule. Is your range a private club? Most ranges here in South Florida do not allow you to carry a holstered weapon unless you “qualify” and have a higher level membership. Here is a link to the “premier” range in South Florida called Nexus The other indoor range I go to is Stoneharts

At the practical shooting club I am in, we are allowed to carry loaded at all times. Guns should not be handled unless the line is hot or in the designated loading/unloading area.

[AzShooter]

It's a State run Public Range. If you go to the Practical Pistol range on the same property you cannot have a loaded gun on during the match unless you are shooting. On the same range if you are shooting IDPA it is allowed.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Load your mags prior to your visit to the range; it will save you time. Carry your gun to the bench in its case, then remove it from the case; do the opposite when you are done.

[Jim Watson]

It's a State run Public Range. If you go to the Practical Pistol range on the same property you cannot have a loaded gun on during the match unless you are shooting. On the same range if you are shooting IDPA it is allowed.

Not where I have shot.
IDPA (and USPSA) are run on a cold range. You may not have a loaded gun on your person until you are at the start point and are told to "Load and make ready". I have not seen even a squad level make ready for a long time, although it was once sometimes done to speed up the match.

At the local lane rental range, I observe many of the precautions mentioned above. I always go in with magazines loaded, as I do to a match.

[Big Shrek]

My range got a very smart idea I think most ranges should have.
When they go Cold, everyone steps back 4 feet and there's a 1/2" Orange Rope that they pull up that
separates the firing line from the people. THEN folks get to go down & change targets.
After everyone gets back behind the rope, they'll go hot, and drop the rope.
Then everyone can step forward and get back to reloading and shooting.

[SIGSHR]

One habit I have developed is I carry my gun box/case in my left hand with the cover opening to the left,the firearm inside lying on its left side, that way when I get to the firing position the muzzle is pointing down range. I carry my shooting box and supplies and ammo in my right hand. At the ranges I go to I haven't seen anything posted about not bringing loaded magazines.

[hemiram]

The only time I had my guns checked in about 43 years of shooting was at this little hole in the wall gun store out in the sticks in Western Ohio around 1985. The only reason we even went there to shoot was a friend was lusting over a S&W 629 they had in the used case. There were about 6 of us, and I just grabbed a half dozen gun cases and tossed a bunch of ammo into a bag and left home to go there. It was just ridiculous. The "range officer", AKA owner, took out every one of our guns and looked them over like he was going to buy them. He made weird comments on top of it, and his personal likes and dislikes were made clear. S&W made the only good revolvers, in his opinion, the Dan Wesson 15-2's I had would "fall apart" if I shot them a lot. When I told him the one had thousands of rounds through it, he just muttered, "I guess you got a good one!". Then when he pulled the second one out, he said, "I suppose this one has been shot a lot too?". Yeah, but not quite as much as the other one had, at least since I got it. He didn't comment about DW anymore. He didn't like my Browning BDA 380 much either. He DID like my S&W 686, but didn't like the aftermarket grips I put on it, as I loathed the "Cheese-graters" it came with. After all the checking the guns, he didn't say a peep to the idiots who were doing some dumb stuff a couple of lanes over. The manual target mechanism was pretty hilarious, you had to spin that handle a lot of revolutions to bring in and send your target out. My friend still has the 629, but the place is long closed up and none of us ever went back. I don't remember the name of it at all.

[PSP]

Your range should have all of their "range rules" posted. If they have a web site, check that first.

I carry guns in unloaded. All mags loaded unless rules say otherwise. My range checks all centerfire rifle rounds to eliminate steel and tracer rounds for the health of the back stop.

[Moonglum]

I read some of your posts and I realize how lucky I am.

I'm a member at a private range that is on 160 acres. The pistol berms are at least a third of a mile from the clubhouse. I make a point of getting there right after opening so I can have an entire bay to myself. I only take two handguns when I go and one of them is always loaded.

I check in and drive down to the pistol range, set up targets, unload the gun I'm carrying and load it with Blazer, reholster and start doing drills.

As long as you have a berm to yourself my range allows drawing from the holster, moving while shooting, shooting from "cover" (a big plastic barrel), shooting from a compromised position (laying on your back and the like) and rapid fire.

But, as I said earlier, I usually have the entire range to myself. If someone shows up while I'm shooting I pack up and leave.

[stinkeypete]

A good club is to be cherished and protected.

I usually have an entire bermed lane to myself (6 stations) too- but if a fella that looks familiar and knows what he is doing shows up I take the time to introduce myself and confirm that everyone knows the range rules and that we walk down range together, just for the sake of etiquette.

Three people gets to be a bit crowded and that’s why I have 50 yard targets in the car, the 50 yard range is the least popular- too long for most pistol shooters, too close for most rifle shooters.

Our club rules are “don’t correct people that are breaking rules flagrantly, just pack up, leave and call the Director hotline.” They’ll find out who it is from the video cameras and electronic locked entry door. First offense could be a 3 month ban (they de-activate your electronic key card.) Second offense is a lifetime ban.

That may seem too strict and finicky for some, but enough of us are of like minds and behaviors that we don’t need more members- there is a waiting list.

[Road_Clam]

I belong to a 2000+ member private gun club. There are NO rules posted at the ranges. You as a member are required to know all the range rules that were explained in deep detail when said member went through their new member safety orientation. However as a NRA certified RSO I occasionally have to reiterate specific rules. Sometimes it's just more simplistic common sense that some people just don't seem to comprehend. Here's a few safety issues that I commonly need to discuss with new shooters :

1) Do NOT just hit the "cold range" alarm switch and immediately start walking down range. First COMMUNICATE and ask your fellow shooter(s) or the current designated RO if it is ok to proceed "cold". ALL shooters on the line need to be on the same page of active range status.

3) Immediately prior to returning to "hot" the RO should do a quick final visual sweep downrange just to ensure all shooters swapping targets are back on the firing line. I had an incident where the range was very busy, and one shooter who was down range decided to urinate after swapping his target in some bushes and was momentarily hidden from sight. We went hot and I quickly see a late straggler shooter hustling back to the firing line. Had to have a "please don't do that sir" conversation with the shooter. Trying to keep track of how many shooters travel downrange and back, sometimes is difficult as late shooters will typically run down range at the last min so as to not miss the opportunity to set up a target on the cold range status. Again, shooter communication is paramount when deciding cold range , hot range status.

[darkgael]

I shoot at two very different ranges. One is an indoor 50 ft. range with an RSO.
Magazine loading is limited to five rounds. Rapid fire, in the form of dumping the five rounds as rapidly as possible, is not permitted. Why? Because most shooters cannot adequately control a rapid dump of five rounds accurately or safely. If you can, you are an uncommon shooter. The shooting lanes are four feet wide. There are bullet holes in the side walls of the end points indicating that the shots that made the holes were at least two feet off the centerline of the 50 ft. lane.
There are impact marks at floor level on the armor plating behind the targets. This is five feet below the target.
Outdoors i shoot at a State range in PA. The cautions mentioned in other posts are generally observed. I say generally because not all shooters will wait appropriately for a line check before going to check or hang targets.
I was shooting one day from a field position...not the bench.....I was sitting on the ground. Whoever called “clear” did not call it very loudly. I did not hear it. No one took the “check before walk” caution. No one on a line of a dozen shooters saw me. They started down. They had only gotten a few steps off the line and were not in my field of view. (Using the far right point, my back was to them.) I fired. I was shooting a .375 H&H. They were surprised. Perhaps i bear some responsibility for that faux pas. Situational awareness is important. Checking the line throughly is also.
Just the other day a simliar thing happened, or nearly so, at the same range. A fellow was shooting from the prone position....same point that i had used... there was a call to clear. Most shooters acknowledged the call. Most. Some started forward. Fortunately, the shooter on the point next to the prone shooter was paying attention. He the shot about to happen and called “NOT CLEAR” in a loud voice. Those who had started to walk returned and the shot was taken. There was some muttering “whuts he lyin on the ground fer. Nobody kin see him there.” True....not if they do not look.

[buddyd157]

here is what i was told from a range RSO/manager...

arrive with the gun IN THE CASE, under all circumstances, whether to use the range, or go up to the sales counter for say like gunsmithing work.

we can LOAD UP the magazines when we are in the parking lot, waiting to get into the range, cuz we are on private property.

NEVER HAVE the magazine loaded and close to (not inserted) into the magwell, but instead, in a different location (pocket) in the range bag.

i was told that in MY STATE, to have the mags loaded, and in the SAME area (or next to) the gun, it is considered a "loaded gun", and that can mean trouble.

so for safety sake and getting pulled over for whatever sake, my mags are empty.

also, always have your gun in the case or range bag, when entering a gunsmithing shop...

to walk into ANY PLACE with your gun in your hand, you can expect people inside, to draw on you......!!!!!

and maybe, "shoot you first, ask you questions later".....