Gun Ranges & Alcoholic Beverages

Here in Pa there are many gun clubs that have full service bars(beer, wine and liquor), If you drink and then shoot you are banned for life at the club I belong to now. I'm not sure of the rules at the other one I used to belong to, but I'm sure it was the same. This includes the archery range. A lot of the members that drink there on a regular basis do not shoot much and would not want to screw up their access to cheap drinks. The members police themselves.
 
One of the trap ranges my daughter shot at had "meat shoots" on Sundays .... and part of the deal to allow the trap team to utilize the facility for practices was that they needed to staff the kitchen of the snack bar ..... I'm sorry to say there was more beer cracked there than clays..... we dropped trap, which is a shame, because she was pretty good for a sixth grader......
 
I see no problem with alcohol on the range as long as it is reserved after the shooting is finished. As you say you get flagged so no more shooting.
 
I might have 1 or 2 beers (e.g with a meal) then shoot but anything more I'm not touching one. If I won't drive on it why shoot on it.

Down here in Southland, NZ duck shooting is very popular but participants seem to be at either end of a scale. 1 end has the hardcore shooters and the other has the guys who treat it as a booze up with guns leaning in the corner, I sit closer to the shooters end however a beer or 2 with lunch is the norm and a nip of something to start the day.

Here in NZ age's are:-
15 to drive
16 to buy most firearms
17 to serve in the Armed Forces
18 to drink, vote and buy pistols, full auto's and MSSA's

In saying that NZ has a large drinking culture e.g Anyone can be bought alcohol by their parents in a bar so perhaps my opinions are slightly skewed by that.
 
The sky will not fall, folks.
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Maybe, Maybe not, but if you drink and handle firearms, and an airplane falls on you, then you are that guy: the headline will read

Intoxicated Man with Gun Injured

Don't Be That Guy. You represent all gun owners.
 
Don't Be That Guy. You represent all gun owners.
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While I am of the personal belief that one or two beers, after shooting, will not hurt anything, I really do agree with the above statement. All of us really do represent ALL gun owners, especially if/when we do something stupid.
 
I am of the personal belief that one or two beers, after shooting, will not hurt anything
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Maybe, but I forsee people deciding to play around with their guns in the drinking area afterwards, leading to tomfoolery and injury. Alcohol is a drug, and one that compromises judgement and reaction time, even in small amounts.

I've run ranges where such things happened with no alcohol present. I'd be very leery of one in which it was.
 
I can carry concealed in my state and drink as loing as I dont go above .08. I can recall a few times in Vietnam I was kinda almost drunk and shooting too.
 
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I wish they would build one of these in my area!

The rules are pretty clear in their governor's club. You are not allowed to shoot after you are served a drink. Simple as that. This new gun club is getting all sorts of attention even though its still not built. I guess any attention is good attention...
 
Maybe, but I forsee people deciding to play around with their guns in the drinking area afterwards, leading to tomfoolery and injury. Alcohol is a drug, and one that compromises judgement and reaction time, even in small amounts.
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Let me clarify what I was talking about. I'm talking about having one or two beers when I'm all done, at home either by myself or with a friend cleaning guns. If drinking is going on at a range, I could see it if it were a private club and strict rules about guns being put away for the day.

But, I would have no interest shooting at a range where anyone can walk in, go shooting, and then booze it up after - just not my thing.
 
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