Are we safe at a public range

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"I used to think everyone should have an unrestricted right to own a gun, but after seeing these idiots, I'm not so sure."

That's worse than the three idiots, if there really were three idiots.
 
Well, every so often, I go to a non-monitored public range, generally when I want to do something like test tracer loads, or see if a particular bullet expands in grapefruit media, whatever - Can't do that sorta thing at my club...

I don't go unarmed at any time while there. A coupla years ago, a bud and I were playing with some bolt guns and ARs, and a carload of folks pulled up - these guys kept looking at our stuff, and looking, and started to generally make us nervous. They left before us, and we packed up, and were locked and loaded until we got to the highway...

I've seen bangers at this range, along with nice folks - It's just the closest public non-monitored range to a large metro area...

On the flip side, at my club it is common for folks to leave their stuff (if another member is there) while they drive into town for dinner...
 
Okay--------here's my take on the original story, putting aside the assumption of some that is is BS or the real thing.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH -------> YOU!?!?!?!?!?!?

YOU LET PEOPLE POINT GUNS AT YOU?
Granted, you didn't need to draw and drop the person for idiocy, but you should have approached and "learned" this fool in some proper life and death techniques.

If this really happened, you are a P****y and need to get some balls before you pick up a gun again.

Next time either call the cops or gather what little cajones you have and put that punk's forehead into the benchrest. He threatened you with a deadly weapon and you feel "horrified".
 
The worse I've seen at a public range is when some Latinos were out blasting away, turning to speak with their amigos, and pointing the guns everywhich way they turned. After blocking one gun from coming my direction, I spoke with a kid who accompanied them and had the kid translate some safety rules to them. They weren't malicious - just untrained.

The best I've seen was at ranges where there was no rangemaster. Any fellow who wanted to would call out that he wanted to check target and we would acknowledge with a wave, step back behind the bench, and then proceed forward as a group. Safety, respect and cooperation with no one to impose it upon us.
 
This sort of thing does happen. And no one is more RKBA than I.

There must have been a full moon this weekend the loons were out. I was at a local gun shop/small in door range. Two young guys and a girl come in. The guy “holding” the revolver, with closed cylinder, buys ammo and targets. He has a belt with a services holster slung over his shoulder. He proceeds to open the box of shells and start loading the revolver. One the costumers piped up and said, I don’t think you are allowed to do that. The owner turned around and said, “no, please do that”. The guy put the shells back in box and went out on the range. About a minute later he comes off the range to get his friends. I heard ka-thud. When I turned around the revolver was lying on the floor. He had put it in the holster, still slung over his shoulder, and had failed to snap the retaining strap. Was it loaded? I haven’t a clue. Did the owner say anything? No!

So what do you do when your in someone else’s place of business, a customer is being a “MORON” and the owner is less concerned that the costumers. I just shook my head turned to the gentleman I had been speaking with and frowned.


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Guns are not dangerous! People are! RKBA!

homes.acmecity.com/rosie/happy/307/
 
Worse range story I ever heard. This coming from a new member with all his/her posts within this thread. All the no no's were stereotypical HCI crap. Then the Roll Tride is perfect for Troll Ride!

Definitely points to a troll.

If this indeed happened, you should've done something sooner. Think of the poor soul that came to the range after you. An accident could've/might've happened. An accident you could've prevented.

It's not just about you. It's about the safety of all others.
 
Some years ago I was at my favorite indoor range exercising my 1911, and a guy comes into the carrel next to me. He proceeds to remove a 1911 similar to mine from a bag and place it on the table board in front of him. He loads and commences firing a magazine full just as I finished one. I placed my gun down, slide back, muzzle down range and stepped back just a tad to stretch. Just then, the guy experiences a jam of some sort. He swings around my direction, and, while negligently pointing the gun at my head, tries to clear his weapon. I was FLAT ON THE DECK in a hurry screaming at this dolt to put his weapon down, muzzle down range. Before I knew it, the rangemaster had vaulted his raised counter area and was on the guy like stink on s**t, guiding his gun-wielding arm down range.

The rangemaster chewed this guy a new one like a DI to a newbie just off the bus and personally escorted him outside. He had the guy wait there until he, the rangemaster, gathered up the guy's stuff, cleared the jam, and delivered it all to him. The rangemaster later told me he told the guy to return for safety training or he could not use the range again.

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Safe shooting - PKAY
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by galt:
What Country was this in ? Sounds like NY or PRK.
[/quote]

Wait a second here. I live and shoot in PRK very frequently. We take our safety very seriously. The worst problem we have is people not obeying the range speed limit while driving to shooting stations.


Back to the origional topic, I would have had harsh words with the family, and if not satisified, I would have them arrested to brandishing and 86'ed from the range for life.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gopher .45:
I keep telling my wife that I am going to buy a ballistic vest. I think she thinks it is a macho thing, but it is a range thing. The only time I have ever felt threatened by guns is while at the range. I have never had anybody do anything outright stupid as was described by polymerange, but I have been concerned about transgressions of people ignorant to proper safety.[/quote]

I think Massad Ayoob advocates wearing his Second Chance vest at the range, whether teaching new shooters, or in competition.

Yesterday at the range a SWAT member in full gear was practicing, vest, LBE, everything.
I bet that girl would not have drawn down on him!
 
polymerange:

Find no fault in your reaction to this... I would have mostly likely reacted the same way. The best we can hope for is that the "Darwin Syndrome" will result in their early demise before they can pass along their intellectually inferior genes. On second thought, maybe they will do you a favor and bag that useless range master first!

Here in SE Alabama we have only one major range at the Tri-State Gun Club near Pinchard, AL. Last experience I had with them, they were dominated by active and retired Army personnel (from nearby Fort Rucker). Other gun ranges are small and attended by idiots similar to those you've experienced.

I prefer shooting on my private "gun range" located on my old farm property some 8 miles west of Elba. My 16 acre farm pond has an abundant population of turtles that need "controlling" with my SLR-95 AK-47 variant and occasionally my Remington Model 600 - 308WCF. Yes, there nothing like a nice quiet place to shoot.

I close with a WAR EAGLE !!! - but may the best team win.

[This message has been edited by AUTiger73 (edited August 22, 2000).]
 
Thanks again for the good advice. I especially like the bullet proof vest idea, but is it legal for a civilian to own one? If so, who sells them?

As far as growing some cajones, part of doing that is learning what I can or should have done. That is why I am here. A big part of what shook me was that it was a girl, I never expected such behavior from a female. I wasn't raised to lay a hand on a lady, but in this case I maybe should have.

To those calling me a troll. Yes I just registered, but I have been reading for months. Roll Tide is just the war cry for my school U of Alabama, nothing more. I am not trying to wreck RKBA, just learn something.

AUTiger73, good to meet you. I'll have to look up that range in Prichard. Are you gonna make it up to Tuscaloosa Novem. 18? I can barely wait.

Polymer, UofA '92
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by polymerange:

A big part of what shook me was that it was a girl, I never expected such behavior from a female. I wasn't raised to lay a hand on a lady, but in this case I maybe should have.

[/B][/quote]

Why? You had the chance to walk away and nobody got SHOT! You did the best thing.
Why would you prefer to lay hands on someone who is pointing her gun at you? Since her actions were unsafe horseplay, as opposed to innocent unsafe error, you used the best safety device available, DISTANCE.
Good job, just avoid trouble.
 
Four posts and he's already saying, "something must be done" I believe Al Gore himself is polymerange incarnate. Or is it the other way 'round? Go back to your HCI meeting, we're full up here.

BTW, if this is serious, that's the reason I stopped going to public ranges.
 
My thoughts on some of this
Strange things can happen on ANY range public, private and military. Be aware of your area, never leave your firearms unsupervised. Seems to me like we are not really talking about a range but a local place where folks go to shoot. I would be more than careful in this situation. Once upon a time I enjoyed hunting on public land
but never again!
 
The original poster is probably a troll:

Date Registered: August 21, 2000
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Total Posts: 4
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"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force."

--Ayn Rand, in "The Nature of Government"

http://hometown.aol.com//jsax13/web.html
 
And just how does his profile make him a troll? The staff of TFL probably looks at more profiles than most other members. You might be surprised how many members have practically no info in their profile. It means nothing.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>A big part of what shook me was that it was a girl, I never expected such behavior from a female. I wasn't raised to lay a hand on a lady, but in this case I maybe should have.[/quote]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. When I am anywhere, the first people I expect to act violently are the women. I used to work at a bar/pizza place, and whenever guys would get in a fight, it was short and to the point, and in reaction to guys fighting, all the women in the whole place would pull out their little .22 automatics and start shooting the place up, and then after they ran out of ammo, they started stabbing everyone with nail files. It is simply amazing how nuts they went. I had to teach a young lady one night about how big a mistake she had made after 3 bullets passed between my legs and blew holes in the make line. Yeah, I hit a girl, and so did the two police officers trying to help me restrain her. She was going absolutely crazy, and I strongly suspect she was on drugs. Regarding the pistols used, according to my LEO friends who worked the college area during that time, at least 99% of all weapons seized were stolen or even of questionable origin(probably smuggled in from overseas). Great to think that Klinton/Gore/Fienstein/Reno and pals want me to have no weapons while these maniacs continue to get them. The worst part is, I don't even live in a very wild town at all. Incidents like this are fairly isolated, and almost exclusively focused around the campus, which has an absolute weapons ban.

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I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
polymerange, if you meant your post with sincerity, then welcome to TFL.

But please ... just because you see irreponsible behavior, let's not discuss trashing the RKBA. When you see someone blow a red light, or swerve in traffic, is your first thought to ban driving? I didn't think so.

Take care. And, try a new range. ;)

Regards from AZ
 
Some of you guys are acting disgracefully toward a new member!

Haven't you ever heard "Roll Tide" before? If not then you haven't seen or heard an Alabama game in the last 30 or more years. Haven't you heard of the Crimson Tide? I had wondered if polymerange was from 'Bama from the start and he confirmed it.

Please show me where he advocated trashing the RKBA. If I saw people acting like those he described, I'd like to see them banned from owning handguns also.
 
Holy MOLY what an experience! There should be a law/rule availble to any ranger owner/operator that gives them to power to confiscate any users gun that is used in a careless/threatening manner as such was displayed in your case. It should be held for an indefinite period of time until a MANDATORY saftey class is PASSED! If failed then you LOSE the gun. Sorry, you should not have had it in the first place.

Most of us grew up respecting guns for what they are and would NEVER be behind the actions of the above situation. Now if they pass the class and come to the understanding that what they did could have killed someone then they get their stuff back and all is well.

Glad I was not there!

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Try to take away my gun...and you will see my 2nd Amendment Right in ACTION!!! -Me

FOR THE CHILDREN!!!!
 
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