Plinkers Go Home And Stay There!

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ppcmaster

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Hello everyone,
I am sorry to start this thread, but I was reading another earlier which made me mad. Respond to this however you want.
I can no longer stand PLINKERS!!!!! To me they are the bad apples of shooting community and unfortunately the largest group of shooter in the world. The reason I can longer stand them is this: Last week my gun club issued new rules for our indoor range, specifically NO SHOOTING at 7 or 15yds. Because the range has been shot up, the walls and ceiling. I know some did this by accident and most did this on purpose. I am SICK of them! I have seen these plinkers almost shoot people, have accidental discharges, drop guns, etc. Not to mention " Hey John let's see how fast I can shoot this magazine, DUH. These people are in my opinion are DANGEROUS and should be removed form the range. If you want to own a gun, thats great I am all for that, but have someone teach you how to use properly. Remember a firearm is not a toy like most plinkers think they are. Most likely you bought a gun for home or self protection sounds good to me, but to some training, get involved with a type of group or organization to learn more from, just don't be this typical idiot who goes to the range to see how his guns sounds, "wow that's cool man huh huh. BAcially go out and get involved in some form of shooting, before you hurt someone.
 
Last week my gun club issued new rules for our indoor range, specifically NO SHOOTING at 7 or 15yds. Because the range has been shot up, the walls and ceiling. I know some did this by accident and most did this on purpose.
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I know what you're talking about.

How freaking hard is it to keep your rounds at least ON PAPER at 20 feet? So they at least hit THE BACKSTOP (a.k.a. "The Broad Side of the Barn") at 25 yards at the back of the range?

I see absolute idiots with whatever semiauto handgun... doesn't matter the brand... Beretta, Glock, Sig, some 1911... dumping rounds down range at 2-3 shots PER SECOND and missing paper entirely.

I don't think I've ever completely MISSED PAPER, even at 100 yards. Good God, the target is 2 feet across and 3 feet wide, and you can't hit it at 20 feet?!? Put the d@mn gun down (now!) and get some instruction (immediately), at least from the range master on duty if nothing else.

A slouch should be able to put all shots from a semiauto handgun into at least a 6 inch circle at 20 feet, at 1 shot every 2 seconds. 2-3 rounds per second should at least stay inside of a 1 foot circle, or else you need to SLOW YOUR RATE OF FIRE. YOU ARE NOT MEL GIBSON, JACK BAUER OR DANNY GLOVER.
 
This will date me, but I recall when gun safety classes were taught in the 11th and 12th grades. Too bad that the "children" who go to the local ranges aren't required to show proof of such training, either from a school or certified instructor.
 
PPCMaster, your name says it all. You have some good points and some bad ones.

Not everybody wishes to shoot their 38 spcl K frame slowfire at 25 yards. What is more you could have a person shoot that weapon and course of fire and still be completely unsafe in how they are handling the weapon. Your ne no 7 or 15 yard shooting will do nothing to prevent that.

At the same time far more defensive shootings occur 7 yards than at 25. Practicing at that range is entirely reasonable if personal defense is what one is concerned with. Rapid fire at that range is also reasonable. I will rip off two fast ones and one to the head at that range often, many times from the holster. I do not believe I am being unsafe but shooting.

We have all seen people at the range whose safety skills were lacking. Rather than implementing a stupid rule though I suggest the range master actually speak to them. That person who is not handling a gun safely can kill you just as quick if his target is at 25 yards as at 7 yards.

Living on Long Island I see some stupid range rules. An outdoor rifle range has a rule that all shooting must be from the bench, no exceptions. There are rules requiring only politically correct (bullseye) targets only, and other such hogwash. Your range with its no 7 yard shooting is no on the path to such stupidity.

My advice is educate the unsafe shooter instead of becoming a range nazi to all the people present who may have a perfectly good reason for shooting at 7 yards (such as they WANT to).
 
Hey Musketter,
Very good response. I try not to be a range Nazi. Funny story. I am at the range as usual and a couple comes in also, never seen them before, but find out they have been members for a few years (maybe come to the range once a year). They set-up in the port right next to me, I have my shooting box on the ground inches from my body. I shoot a string of fire and dump the empties into my shooting box, but I can't, why you ask, because this stupid woman has put her purse in my shooting box, why did she do that you ask, I didn't want to get my purse dirty. It took all the strenght in my body to stop myself from putting her purse in the garbage. I turn around to go to my shooting bag on the table behind me. (this is specifically what the table is for) and see her fat husband/boyfriend using my shooting bag as an arm support. I ask him if that bag is his, he says no, I say get you fat f___ arm off my bag. This is like a monthly thing I have to go through and I am SICK off it
7yd and 15yd shooting if fine with me I shoot 15yd as part of my practice, I also do not have a problem with people who are trying, I try to help them my self, but the others who seem not to care or when you ask if they need help and give you a dirty look, they need to stay home and I will refund their memebership. Or the guys who are shooting steel, you bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang very fast and then you hear the ding of the steel, what's the point.
 
I guess the topic maybe shouldn't call these people "plinkers". To me, plinking is when I go out to the farm and shoot at tin cans and the like. When I go to the range, I abide by the rules. I understand the need for rules such as 'no rapid fire'. Especially at a suburban pistol range or indoor range, uncontrolled fire can place a bullet into the wrong trajectory, and it can do some damage. Since training every single shooter is not an economically feasible option, blanket 'no rapid fire' rules are thusly created. If you violate these rules, then you should be asked to leave.
 
Definition of PLINKER:

A person who belongs to a gun club, joined orginally to either get a gun or was very interested in the sport of shooting. After 6 months leaves and never comes back. Or continues to be a member that only comes to the range now, when they have nothing better to do, it's raining out today, wants to impress a friend or someone of the opposite sex, shoots his mouth off more than his firearm (go to the club house instead of yelling at each other on the range about what your dog did yesterday), is an expert in everything gun related and believes he is in charge of the range. Doesn't listen to anyone at the range, shoots unathourized targets, shoots as fast as possible without hitting the target even once at 7yds. Thinks gunfire is the coolest sound to man kind, trys to beat his time at empyting his magazine as fast as possible, thinks he is in the Matrix movie and hopefully will eventually resign from the club, hurt someone or forget to renew membership.
 
Is that what Webster's defines as a plinker? You just described a punk to me. When I think of plinking, I agree with VUPD; Casual shooting. We all started out plinking with rimfires and such. Relax. What's the big deal?
 
Hedley,
Thanks for the post. At this time I would love to shoot next to a casual shooter, I guess my club doesn't have too many of them. We seem to have serious competitors or idiots. Thank goodness they (the club) didn't reduce the annual dues, we would be over run with riff raff.
 
Thank you for the Offical definition, the one above is of course my own by what I see at the range. I have and do try to help people, but it works sometimes and doesn't others. Maybe people SHOULD have to take a class to learn how to shoot and handle safely, I did and still do.
 
PPC: If you would head to your local library and pick up the latest issue of the VUPDblue New World Dictionary, you would see that what you define as plinker is clearly defined in my book as "idiot".;)
 
Maybe people SHOULD have to take a class to learn how to shoot and handle safely, I did and still do.
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+1 to that. Too bad, though, that this is our reality. I used to belong to a range that had mandatory instruction before you could be a member. Them was the days.....
 
I couldn't agree more! But why does it seem that my club has so many. Another example we have 7-25yds pistol pits to shoot at 1 100yd rifle range and another 100 yd range which is universal, but only aloud to shoot at 25 or 50yds. This is the ONLY place anyone can shoot a hangun at 50yds, but what happens, everyone is there shooting steel or paper at near point blank distance and I have to then confront them ask them to move, etc, etc, etc. And they get mad at me. Oh and forget about when rifle shooters can't hit anything at 100yd so then they want to shoot at fifty yards right next to you. Don't you love when you are shooting your handgun and the person next to you is shooting his 300 WinMag. Wow that is fun also. Again confront and please move along. What is so hard about this?
 
PPCmaster, I feel for your dilema. I have not encounterred many rude people at my local range but when I lived in FL I had a fair share of stupid people on the line. Nothing was worse than being down range at the outdoor range, setting targets, and to hear the RO over the loadspeaker state firmly "DO NOT touch the weapons when the line is cold!" After instincitvely crouching (probably no help but we do it anyway) you would turn and see some moron holding an "empty" gun pointing down range at you...

Rudeness need not be condoned. Bad safety practices certainly need not be condoned. The only problem I had at my local indoor range was some guys with a high point 9mm carbine. They were firing away like Rambo at short range, not hitting much. When they aimed it was to shoot at the clothespins holding the targets on the retrieval wire. I went out to the counter and told the huy there about it. He came back a few minutes later, watched a little, and then told them to please controll their fire or leave. Problem solved.

I am against rapid fire bans. Most people like to try it once and a while, myself included. There is nothing wrong as long as you are competent and safe. It is far better for the group who notices an unsafe shooter to let the RO know than to put a rule in effect that penalizes all good shooters due to a few unsafe ones (kind of like gun laws, don't you think...)
 
So you have to join a club to shoot in Marryland? That's the bee's knees. From reading those definitions above, I can see where you're coming from. I know what you mean now. Like the guys at outdoor ranges that aim for the wooden target supports, or have more money invested in Tapco junk than they do their rifle?

Sorry for sounding like a wise-ass, but us Texas folk have different definitions of plinking. It would seem to me that a range that prohibits 7/15 yd shooting would be very strict on rapid fire and non-target shooting.
 
We used to have a 'lawless' range near here at Camp Atterbury. No enforced rules, backstops full of shot-up junk, just plain unsafe. Finally the DNR took control of it from the Army and made a respectable place out of it. It has been closed now since December for remodeling (they dozered the whole place flat and started over). I have driven-by a couple times and man, is it going to be sweet! Cast-in-place concrete walls 25' high for range wall barriers, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 150 yard ranges. Pro-shop, modern restrooms, snack bar, what more could a guy ask for. Aint us Hoosiers a lucky bunch?!:D
 
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