Observations of myself at the range

T

twhidd

New member
In the last few months I've noticed something interesting that happens to me while I'm at the shooting range. When I'm standing back out of the barricades and observing others, the shooting that's going on around me is quite distracting. It's distracting to the point that it causes me to flinch, jerk, blink, you name it.

But when I'm standing in the barricade and looking down the sights of my gun, all of the other shooting around me is automatically tuned out and I don't even hear it. I've even had brass hit me in the head from shooters next to and I don't even notice. I only know it's hitting me because some else told me.

I'm not sure if it's just selective hearing or what, but I do find it interesting. I was wondering if anyone else experiences this.
 
This may seem overly obvious, but let me ask anyway.

Are you wearing hearing and eye protection at all times?

The only time I flinch is when it hurts my ears. You know like some guy with a 500 S&W on the next firing point.
 
I'll get distracted every now and then at the indoor range when there is only one other person shooting, and he/she is shooting .357, .44 or more powerful. But, after the first couple of shots I'm no longer distracted. In fact, if the range is packed, I find it easier to concentrate - lots of noise seems less distracting than a big "BANG" every now and then.
 
I have to agree with the OP somewhat.

Maybe it's the barriers created by the walls of the lanes.(sort of a "booth" or "cubby" effect)

I know my concentration does seem to intensify somewhat, once I lift the safety
and start dropping the hammer on my own target.

Then you back off out of the lane, and all the noise intensifies.

Maybe the noise designers created the powders and cartridges with lateral

sound abatement in mind.;)
 
Of course I wear the stuff at all times.
Click to expand...

Well no offense was meant.

I see guys who step back from the firing line and pull down their muffs to talk or because they are uncomfortable a lot of times.

I have also given ear plugs to people on the line who, for whatever reason, were wearing no hearing protection.

I double up and use plugs and muffs, especially on the indoor ranges. My hearing is so bad from years of being stupid it isn't even funny. - Just ask my family.

Anyway, maybe with a little more time on the line you will get used to it.
 
i double up on the ear protection too. my range is indoors, so ear plugs and muffs. but i still flinch when some one is shooting a 357 or more in the lane next to me. not so much when they're a few lanes down. the other day two kids rented the sawed off shotgun. 12 inch barrel with slugs. it was hard to even think when they were firing that thing.
 
I'm in the reverse. Our shooting stations only have wire mesh between them. Those SC 40's really drive me nuts! You really get a lot of latteral muzzle blast from those high pressure rounds.
 
double up

Some years ago I found that wearing 33db foam plugs AND earmuffs improved my personal performance.
I have noticed the same with anyone else who does so.
 
The main thing that really distracts me at the indoor range is when the guy in the next lane seems to have his gun dialed in perfectly to eject EVERY SINGLE spent case on top of my head. It doesn't cause me to flinch though.

Other times, I will momentarily stop shooting and watch (from where I am shooting) somebody else's target down range if they are doing particularly well or poorly.

I shoot everything from a .22 to .44mag at the range so the noise doesn't really bother me.
 
that goes away over time... especially if you are used to shooting insanely loud rifles like mosin nagants. I don't even notice pistol fire for the most part... you gotta be shooting a .500 or something ball buster for me to be like WHOA.
 
I've noticed the empty cases on the tray in front of me at the range jump up and down when someone in the next lane is shooting something magnum. I notice the blast, too, but I've never doubled up on the ear protection. In the army, on the other hand, I did not wear any hearing protection on the range because I couldn't hear the range instructions. Then I took artillery training and I don't remember wearing any hearing protection either.

I have a few times fired a handgun and it only sounded like a "pop," so maybe the anticipation makes a difference, too.
 
twhidd, I know exactly what you mean.

I was sighting in a scope on my 22 some time back, and my buddy was shooting his reloaded .40S&W in the next lane. His hand loads tend to be really loud. He was firing as I was loading the 22 and I was thinking how I needed to stay very steady to sight the scope. Without changing where I was, I looked through the scope and heard him still firing, but it seemed much quieter than before. Since then I have noticed that when I am aiming any gun, the world around me is very quiet and peaceful, no matter what is next door.
 
The only time I get distracted is when the idiot who came to a shooting range without hearing protection starts whining about how loud my gun is.:mad:
 
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