Can you look down a firearm barrel on the firing line?

Exactly how would it matter if there was a shell in the unattached barrel or not?
It still takes a firing pin to make the cartridge go bang.
And, in this case, it's no where near the barrel.
Sometimes I wonder if having RO oversight at at range is a good thing.
Better to stay alert rather than blindly trusting an unworthy RO.
Might have been a smarter move to do the look-see behind the line
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Then he would no doubt have been yelled at for sweeping the line. :eek:
 
Of course it's perfectly safe to look down the barrel that's empty and no longer attached to the gun. However, the RO may not have been aware that the barrel was detached and all he saw was somebody looking down a muzzle. In that case he was more than justified to call out.
 
I understand the rule, always keep the muzzle pointed down range. But, with the barrel removed from the receiver, the barrel becomes nothing more than a piece of pipe. It’s not a gun without the receiver, even the Federal Government agrees with that.

I had a casing stick in the chamber of a NEF Handi Rifle. Big signs at the range saying no uncased firearms behind the line, so now what? I removed the barrel from the receiver, pushed a cleaning rod gently down the bore from the muzzle end and popped out the stuck case. It did attract attention from the RO and he walked down to see what was up. He didn’t start screaming and yelling like many “power drunk” RO’s would do. He walked down, saw what I was doing, smiled and walked back.

I 100% agree that some RO’s make things bad by their own actions. Same range as above but different RO. A guy swept the line with a loaded .44 Mag revolver he was zeroing at the 100 yard rifle range. The range does alow revolvers only on the rifle range. The RO started screaming at the guy. All it did was make the guy flustered and he made more mistakes. The RO should have calmly walked down and explained to the guy what he did wrong, and calmly but firmly tell him to never do it again.
 
As for being a safety violation, I cannot see one. Only way you can hurt yourself with a empty detached shotgun barrel is by beating yourself on the head with it or dropping it on your foot. Someone worried about which end you look thru the same is like advising you to avoid stepping on the cracks in the sidewalk. You may have tho, violated some other rule of the range by disassembling your firearm at the shooting line. I dunno. I'm not forced to shoot at ranges where responsible adults are watched like teenagers at prom and the ROs are like the old maid gym teacher chaperone.
 
So the OP took his barrel off the gun and looked down the barrel...right?

Are some of you guys completely insane? How the heck is that dangerous? HOW?
 
Wait till he sees an old codger on the trap line stick the muzzle in their mouth to blow out a stuck wad!!!!

No I do not advocate the practice. It's just wrong on too many levels.

Yes, I have seen it happen.

Yes. it did bother me.

The gun was a SBT and it was open.

I will use a wad knocker or a range rod, thanks.
 
Revolvers, most sa handguns and all muzzleloaders have 99.9% of the maintainence done from the muzzle. Looking down the tube on a dissembled sg is in no way a safety violation.
 
Most ranges where there is an RO require that you not touch your firearm when the range is cold. Was the range hot or cold when you were doing this?

Also, Some ranges do not permit you to work on a gun at the firing line, whether hot or cold, if you are having problems. Some do permit this, but generally all of them will only let you touch your firearm when the range is hot.

Personally, my thought is that if you are having a problem with a gun you are shooting, that you unload it and take it somewhere OFF THE FIRING LINE where you can try to work on it other than the firing line. If you are simply trying to keep the bore clean - then just squirt some break-free down in the chamber and keep on shooting. The firing line is for shooting, not gunsmithing.
 
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I wasn't there.
I have no doubt the OP was perfectly safe with his barrel detached.
I do not know how the RO acted.Maybe he was a total jerk.
Something beyween Barney Fife and Sgt Carter.OK.

I'm just saying the Ro cannot mind read,and the Ro may incorrectly evaluate what his eyes see,or he may have a different point of view.

We know,some RO's are dilrods.OK.

That's not going to change.I suggest being part of the solution.

On the firing line,your actions must fit a narrow range of "normal and acceptable" activity.If you do anything that looks different,good for the RO for being heads up and vigilant.
Might his tact or reasoning score be low?Sure.

My suggestion.just communicate with your RO first.

"I know what I'm doing and it makes sense to me" is not always good enough.

Maybe the range can't be open without an RO.Seems like a thankless job that probably is near volunteer.
Shooters can be great folks.They can also be a pain.Take a deep breath and just make it all work.
 
Checking Your Barrel

I think most of us can agree, once the barrel is removed there is not any danger. If there was a shell in either end I think you would know even if you were Ray Charles. I think the RO was just having a rough day and he wanted someone else to have a rough day with him. Sometimes people have to over react to show they are doing there job. In fact they are causing a very unsafe situation. They draw the attention of other people who are shooting loaded weapons and they can cause these people to have a accident. There should never be excessive yelling at a gun range. This will only cause other safety concerns. People will get nervous and accidently to something stupid because one individual could not control his anger. I think I would find someplace else to shoot if possible. I have a gun range that I refuse to shoot at just because the people who run it don't have any common sense. Good Luck
 
...So i unloaded my shotgun and disassembled the barrel from the body and looked down the barrel...
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Unless there is a rule against disassembling guns while on the firing line, there's not a good reason for the RO to be irritated about someone looking down a barrel that has been removed from the firearm in question.
 
I can only see one rational explanation to all this.

Disclaimer: I wasn't there, so I don't know the specifics

I've been a RO before:

I glance over and see someone staring down a barrel, It's gonna get my attention. And I'm gonna yell.

At this point, your heart is racing, You have that feeling in your stomach.

By the time you noticed it was just a barrel, you've already spouted out a paragraph worth of 4 letter words.

After that point, I might have been upset. I would have told the shooter, Please let me know if you are doing that. From my point of view I, all I see is an idiot staring down a gun.
 
I'd imagine he saw this and it took him by surprise. They have no idea who you are and what you are thinking. We all have stires about idiots we have seen at a range.

My suggestion is that if you ever need to do something that might appear unsafe at a glance, or something other than normal operation, to let him know what you need to do, before you do it. There is obviosuly nothing unsafe about looking down a detached barrel, but if he was not expecting it, glanced over, and just saw your eyeball in the muzzle, he probably had an instant gut reaction before establishing the particulars.
 
Sounds like you shoot at the same range I do. The old safety bosses can go quite "Nazi" at times. I suppose if I were in their position and witnessed as many range violations as they do, I would be one too.

As far as the op's situation goes, often anything out of the "ordinary" will cause these safety officers to react. If they are not sure about what you're doing, they may "flag" (correct) you.
 
Perhaps all the RO saw was someone looking down a gun barrel.

Visions of a suicide on his range, during HIS watch flashed through his head.

Not like it's never happened before.
 
I would have a nervous reaction if I saw a shooter on the firing line --- while the line is hot --- break the 180 of a firing line and have the muzzle --- detached or not --- point at something other than downrange or vertical. {Maybe that's why the RSO yelled at you}

I would do a double-take if I saw such an event happen...because how would I instantly know whether the barrel was detached or not from the receiver.

Other than that...I visually inspect {checking for barrel obstructions} my bores before a shooting event at our range --- either from the muzzle or breech end --- as long as the action is open, unloaded and the muzzle either pointed downrange or vertical. I've never been addressed by a SRSO {staff range safety officer} about performing such an action --- and we often have muzzleloader shooter's blow smoke out of their barrels, by cupping one hand over the muzzle --- putting there mouth over the cuffed hand --- and blow smoke out of the barrel.


During our AGC at Marriottsville ceasefires...all muzzleloader firearm muzzles must be pointed vertical during a ceasefire; while on the concrete firing pad.
 
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I ask one of the SRSO's --- at our gun range -- about my method {last post} on checking for bore obstructions while looking down the muzzle. He said the magazine should be removed, before I performed such an operation --- other than that --- he did not see a problem with it.
 
I've done it.

BUT. The RO carries responsibility. Don't make his life interesting. It's not fair to him.
 
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