Had a great day at the range today,,,

A

aarondhgraham

New member
Recently I read a post where a gentleman stated,,,
He hates to talk to people at the range,,,
He said he goes there to shoot,,,
Not to socialize.

Hey, to each his own,,,
But I tend to go the opposite way.

I enjoy meeting other shooters and swapping alibis.

Today was a beautiful day her in Oklahoma,,,
Temps were in the mid 50's,,,
And the sun was shining.

Not being one to waste a potential winter range day,,,
I loaded up the Beretta NEOS case and a couple of other handguns.

I get there and it was relatively crowded,,,
A man and his adult son were shooting their CZ's,,,
Way down the lane a couple were shooting their revolvers,,,
I was there to nail down the zero on my new NEOS carbine scope.

So I open up up my case of NEOS',,,
And start getting ready to set up my targets,,,
I didn't even have to ask as they simply stopped and let me set up.

So I pop a few magazines and the son asks me what I'm shooting,,,
I hand the carbine to him and offer him a full magazine,,,
Then the Dad gave it a try and did very nicely,,,
Both agreed it was a fun gun to shoot.

He offered me a mag of 9mm from his CZ,,,
I declined the offer as I own a CZ,,,
Then he said "Try this one."

He had a 10" Ruger Mk-something,,,
Man but those are nice pistols,,,
I hit the target with it. :cool:

They left and a couple showed up in their place,,,
50'ish male with a 30'ish lady-friend,,,
She had a new Bersa 380.

And looked like Jessie Abbate.

I mentioned I owned one of those guns,,,
Next thing I knew I am giving the nice lady an operating lesson,,,
They were fairly new shooters so I gave them a target and helped them get situated.

We shot for awhile and then got to chatting,,,
So we took a break from shooting while the guns cooled off. :rolleyes:

It turns out she is wanting a .22 for cheap practice,,,
I let her shoot one of the NEOS pistols,,,
And a Charter Arms Pathfinder.

They frequent the same establishment I do,,,
They are usually in a dining booth while I'm in the bar section,,,
It turns out we even had some friends in common from the university.

I did get the scope zeroed in just fine,,,
And I got some time in with the pistols as well,,,
Then we swapped business cards and went our separate ways.

So a couple of bucks worth of rimfire ammo,,,
And I have 4 new range acquaintances.

They are putting in a small picnic area with some grills this year,,,
Next summer I'll be going after work with a cooler,,,
As well as my guns and range bag.

All total I was out there for about 3 hours,,,
I accomplished my goal of zeroing my carbine scope,,,
And had some fun while making some new range buddies as well.

All in all,,,
It was a great day. :)

Aarond

.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like a PERFECT day! I love to help others and get to know them. What they're shooting, what they like etc. This week I was able to show some newbs at my local indoor range some things that helped them tighten up their groups considerably on their range-rental M&P 9mm. They had been getting a bit frustrated but started having a lot more fun as they were able to hit the target. Before they left I let them try out my S&W Hand Ejector in 32 S&W long for kicks. They couldn't believe they had just shot a 100 year-old gun.

This past year I met and shot with a group of Australians, several groups of younger people and a few ladies. I say it does nothing but further the image of our sport if we are seen as the friendly, helpful types. If I can turn one person per year into a fan for life, I've done my job.
 
Sounds like a near perfect day, Aarond.
Good weather, a day at the range, and sharing with others.
It's always enjoyable to share what we like to do with other people.
During one range trip, there were three young fellows who were showing obvious interested in my 1911, but had never had the chance to try one.
Without hesitation, I handed it and a bag of ammo over, showed them how it worked and sat back.
Didn't even criticize their stance and grip (much).
They used it more than I did, that day.
Very enjoyable all around.
 
My experience has been(and maybe I'm just lucky) is that for every dick I encounter at the range, I encounter 10 or more that are like aarondhgraham or the folks in his post. My other experience is, on internet gun forums and other than this thread, everyone out there, but the author of the thread, is a dick.
 
I agree that chatting with folks at the range has many benefits, from finding shooting buddies, to new hunting lands or as in my case finding inspiration to buy more guns. The first time i went to the range with a co-workers husband he brought a .22 beretta and his ruger P89 and I took my browning High Power, while he was playing with my 9 I was putting lead from his .22 down range. By the time he was done, he checked my lane to see a ragged bullseye and was super impressed. Now we go shooting when we go camping, he brings his clay thrower and i bring the clays- one day we decided to have a lil 2 dollar contest with his beretta 390 semi. 25 rounds 25 clays- I took his 2 dollars-- after a couple months of giving him crap every time we went camping, he hit 21 i hit 22- a year after he needed some cash so i got first shot at his 390 semi and ruger p89- deal i got both for 525.00- back in the day.

The last time I was at the range I was setting up a scope on my Fnar and this other guy showed up with a fully decked .338 lupua------IT WAS GORGEOUS- it had so much blow back from the compensator it made me drool.

That same afternoon a LEO came in with a gun i've never seen, it was a fully auto gas gun not like any ar or ak- the barrel was super long and had girth (like a integrated suppressor) but it wasnt suppressed, He dropped 5 mags in 3 minutes and left. -that gun was super fast like a modded uzi. I wish i could have got a better look, Maybe ill see him again the range is only 10 minutes away.:D
 
I'm sure glad I went yesterday,,,

Because it snowed last night.

Only about 2 to 3",,,
Just a light dusting to you folk in the frozen north,,,
But it will be at least a week before it clears up enough to shoot again.

Aarond

.
 
Shoot'n

You are a good ambassador for the shooting community. I enjoy seeing what other people shoot and like to help if asked.

Aaround: I'll have to come down when it warms up. You find you a box of .45 ammo and I'll bring my Tommygun for you to shoot. I cant keep enough around to keep it fed. LOL Maybe we can grill some brauts afterwords!!
 
Last edited:
There is another reason to be friendly at the range...

Like Aaron, when I'm at the range I like to be friendly. I like to introduce myself to the guys I'm going to be shooting with. Make small talk, see what they're shooting etc..

However, there is another reason to be friendly at the range, I'm trying to get a feel for how stable is this guy near me, that is in possession of deadly force?

Of the hundred's of times that I've been to the various ranges, that I've belonged to over the years, only once did a guy react in a unfriendly, bordering on paranoid manner. He would answer questions with questions, the interaction lasted around a minute or two at the most, but I decided, for whatever reason, that it didn't feel right, so I just packed up and left.

Sometimes you just have listen to that little voice that tells you that something isn't right and get out of Dodge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top