Do you let others shoot your guns at the range?

It would only be if I knew them before the range. I will not hand my weapon to someone I don't know. However, I guess it is mute since I just go off into the desert or mountains to shoot by myself or with friends.
 
I encourage it. I let anyone that is interested in what I am shooting try it out. MY ammo. I like loaning my Anschutz 22 with a 5 ounce trigger and 15X scope to a new sporter rifle shooter. They can see what a good gun can do compared to their wal-mart special.

I was at an outdoor range one time shooting my Officers ACP light weight. A fellow member had tole me he just ordered a Rock Island. I said "Want to try this one?" He said no, but was watching me and looking at the gun with high interest. SO I asked him again. He said "Sure". 3.5" aluminum frame 45 with HOT 200 SWC. It was fun watching him. Its a real handful. He thanked me. I asked if he wanted another magazine. He said no.

I let others shoot my firearms because I want to encourage the sport. If its just some fella wanting to do mag dumps, then I don't offer. I shoot mostly wood and blue steel guns.

David
 
At the club range, I have no problems letting other club members shoot my guns.

At the local public indoor range, it would depend. If the person asking to shoot my gun is a regular with whom I've previously interacted, then I generally have no problems. If a complete stranger asks, I'll politely decline, citing potential liability issues with letting someone else shoot my handloads as the (admittedly flimsy) reason.

I will request that the person shooting my gun remove any finger ornaments, though, as I've had the finish on one of my guns scratched when it was shot by someone wearing a ring. For better or worse, I'm very OCD about keeping my firearms in mint condition.
 
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For me it's just paying back the courtesies I received,,,
When I first started going to the range.

When I was searching/researching for a full size Wonder-Nine pistol,,,
There were many folk at my rifle & pistol club who allowed me to shoot their guns.

I always had my own ammo though.

And as I did own some very nice revolvers,,,
I always offered to let them shoot one of my guns.

My club range is membership only,,,
I'm not certain if I would do this at an open range.

Aarond

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As a rule, yes. Under my supervision-in my lane, e.g., my ammunition, say 5 rounds. Plenty of other shooters have let me try theirs. That's how I discovered I didn't like Glocks.
 
NO, not anymore, but I use to let others handle / test fire my firearms, I remember these guys kept admiring my guns and I allowed them to take a few shots, then when I walked over to their table they had WW2 M1 carbines and they didnt even offer to let me have a look or fire a few shots out of their rifles, they didnt even return the favor after I just let them fire mine.

especially if Im at the indoor range, I never let a stranger fire my guns, they have the same firearms available at the range for rental, why should I let them shoot mine?

guns are very personal, I really dont like allowing others to handle them, only a friend / relative.

one time guy dragged my AR across a cement table three times, the same guy I kept running into at the public range, he kept picking my rifle off the table without my permission and dragged it and left scratch marks on it, I actually had to pull the rifle out of his hands to get my rifle back.

another time after I just told them not to drop the slide on an empty chamber, they ignored me and dropped it anyways

let them go to a gun store if they want to handle a firearm, the public range is NOT the gun show.

if you were driving your new car would you let a stranger take a test drive? or what if you had a brand new HARLEY and people asked if they could test ride it around the block because they were thinking of buying one too, NO you would tell them to go to the dealer / store.

my belongings are not rentals, I would never ask another person to let me fire their gun, unless I knew them personally.

Im the the type of guy at the range that keeps to himself and dont bother others, I dont go to the range to socialize.
 
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My guns aren't very interesting/unique so I've almost never been asked. What I do usually get is "what caliber" questions, normally when I break out the h110 loads in the 44 mag.

But, if someone were to ask it would be a judgment call. If Ive watched them be a knuckle head, I've never seen them before and they dont seem...right..Nope. Some of my range aquantences, sure. I get offered all the time so why not share too.
 
I shoot with the same 3 guys every Sunday. We often trade off guns, especially if someone brought something new. We offer full mags and cylinders....it all evens out in the end.
Now others who might be there? That all depends on the situation.
 
I'm not sure I would ever ask someone unless it was some particular model I was planning on buying but never shot - like for instance I really want a mini 30, nobody I know has got one, if I see someone with one hell ya I'm gonna ask to run a mag and will offer to pay for the ammo.

But where I normally shoot we push our guns on each other, if you show an interest it's probably gonna be offered.
 
reversal

I'd like to offer up a related / reverse experience.

Years ago I was shooting at an indoor range, doing pretty well that day (surviving several gunfights with paper targets).

A silver haired mustachioed gentleman comes over to me to tell me about his latest acquisition. For someone who approaches strangers, he was soft spoken but you could tell this was his version of "pretty excited". He told me how he had waited and waited and found a Sig P226 Navy for ~$700 on one of the popular auction sites and snatched it up. I had no clue if that was a great deal or not and aside from an anchor emblem what enhancements it translated into. But I said things like, "What a great deal!" So he invited me over to shoot at his target. I was aware the Sig P226 is expensive (that's why years earlier I had bought and sold a Zastava clone, not the real deal) so I was only going to shoot 1 round to humor him and not scratch anything. I shot it and was going to set it down but he said, "no no, finish the magazine".

Let me tell you. His target was swiss cheese with holes spread all over (even before I got there, I promise). I couldn't tell exactly where I was hitting because of it but I'm guessing center of mass. And I don't think he was quite able to squeeze every drop of accuracy out of his new gun but far be it from me to rain on his parade. He was so happy, and I kept saying what a nice gun it was and how well he had done for himself. I hope he's still sharing what joy he finds with others, wherever he is.
 
I've let folks shoot my guns at the club range as long as I have the ammo to spare. This includes my Automag and .50BMG. The latter requires that they dry fire it with a snap cap first so I can be sure that they're not too close to the scope. It has a very soft recoil, but that 1" of movement is unavoidable.
 
I had a gentleman let try his Coonan at the range last fall, it wasn’t long before my wife found a great used deal on a Coonan if our own. Just about every time we take it we let someone in the range try it. The reaction people get from the noise and how easy it is to shoot never fails to bring a smile.

As long as they show safe handling and don’t caus end any alarm, I enjoy letting others try my firearms.
 
I don't think I have ever had someone ask me to fire my guns at a range. I have offered when a person both appeared competent and was visibly interested. I have also seen women and youth struggling with a big-bore gun under the tutelage of a knuckle-dragger and offered a .22LR.

And I have taken several friends, and friends of my daughters, to the range for the first time. That happens after safety lessons and familiarization at my house. The only time I have loaned a gun to someone it was a very close friend who was considering a particular model for concealed carry. I owned one and loaned it and a holster for a week for him to see if it was the one he wanted.

A couple of unfortunate situations have been related in this thread, but most folks at a range are pretty decent. If still feel no obligation to swap guns, though, and definitely wouldn't if they didn't appear to respect and care for them.
 
I have loaned guns to friends/family in the past on several occasions, and in most cases I wouldn't hesitate to do so again. I did have one incident with a guy that I loaned a gun to where he finally told me after more than a year that he lost it somehow during a hunting/camping trip (this is why we can't have nice things!). Since that fiasco I've decided that I'll only loan guns to a much smaller group of friends and family (five people). Live and learn I guess.
 
Unless I get a bad/weird vibe from the person I would almost always let someone shoot anything I would bring to the range. I've only been asked a few times but if someone shows interest, especially kids and younger adults I will often offer. The M1 often brings interest from folks who have only seen them in articles or video games. Always with a quick orientation on the weapon system of course.

Loaning is another story altogether. Only my kids or my brothers, maybe a couple of close friends I know would treat it with the same care I do. Otherwise no go.
 
I have in the past and I am sure I will in the future. I was at an outdoor range, no range office you just hope people are safe and sane. I had a couple of gun one being a AK 47. On this day I noticed a gentlemen shooting with his grand kids. I notice they practiced good gun handling and safety. His older grandson walk over just standing there looking. I said hello and asked if I could help him. He smiled and just said "AK 47". Asked him if he would like to shoot it. Hugh smile on his face and I handed him the gun with a mag. The young man demonstrated good gun safety, when he was done he thanked and yelled down to his family " I am so stoked" . For me that was a good day.
 
Whenever there is interest I always offer. I've never had anybody do a mag dump (I avoid leaving the 50-60 round drums, fully loaded, sitting on the table!), but yeah, that would irk me. My son and I struck up a conversation with a guy who had his new Daniel Defense, integrally suppressed 300BO rifle. He let us shoot a few rounds and it was awesome...I offered several of my toys which he did the same.


Back home, we frequent a public range with zero supervision other than courteous shooters. Gun safety is always a concern, but I've never seen violations and only one cranky old bastard who kept cussing to himself...everyone else were the type of people you would invite over for a beer and chat.

My son and I get their pretty early so we have the range to ourselves for an hour or two. Most of our magazines are loaded to only 5-10 rounds for more dynamic drills. That's usually what a fellow shooter gets, a 5-10 round magazine, which I'm fine with them emptying.

ROCK6
 
Pahoo said:
A related question is; Do you ever loan your firearm, to a friend to take out and shoot? I have learned the hard way that this is not a good practice and no longer do so.
Click to expand...
Three times. I loaned a .38 revolver to a cousin, long-term, like a year or more. I forgot about it for a couple years and asked him about it. He's adamant he returned it, but I don't have it. I expect he forgot it in a truck or car he sold.

A Uberti .45 revolver loaned for a couple months to a good friend of mine who needed a second revolver when he was getting started in Cowboy Action Shooting. When he returned it, it was WORE OUT. I have no clue how the hell he could have accomplished that in a decade, let alone two months.

A .270 rifle to the husband of a cousin who need a rifle for hunting season one year. He bagged his elk, and returned the rifle in good order. No problems.
 
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