Range trip, thankfully I'm still alive.

Ill share a few happenings at some of my range trips,im kinda new but i value safety a lot also.
One trip to a local indoor range i had a guy next to me shooting his Taurus PT145.The problem was he was setting the target at 7' yes 7 feet!
To make it worse he was consistently 1' low on his shots,and even after 150 rounds he never learned to compensate.During that i did make a mistake as i was taking my safety glasses off to look threw my binoculars at my targets.
And the range Officer did pull me aside and tell me to make sure i didn't ever take them off,not that its so dangerous.But the guy next to me was likely to start hitting the target clips if he ever did learn to compensate and aim higher,sending shrapnel back at us.
Seriously i could have spit and hit the bulls on that target it was so close.

Secondly was me at an outdoor range with 1 guy there shooting also.I was the recipient of the hot brass this time.It went behind my glasses and hung on the bottom of them against my cheek.
I do believe i jumped once and hollered once and then figured out what was going on,and then i even had the state of mind to put the safety on and then set the gun down.Once that was taken care of i started swatting at my face,my glasses and the brass both went flying and i was relieved as that hurt like a mother!
The other guy there didn't even relies what had just happened,but i was kinda proud of my good response under pressure.

Lastly was a sad and scary event filled day.
I went to a local outdoor range run by the DNR and as i walked and set my guns down a younger kid about 20 walks up and asks "what im shooting?" i pull out my 1911 and clear it and hand it to him,and then his buddy walks up and fondles it too.Why i turned over my weapon to someone i just walked up to i don't know why,they seemed nice and sincere i guess.We talk a bit more and then they left.
It seemed like a normal meeting and i wasn't scared,i also had my PT745 in my waistband.
I go home and then start reading this thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=475141
Im sure many things were different,but it sure made me think just how different my day COULD have went and i allowed it to also.
I learned a lesson that day to be more on my toes and not everyone loves guns and people at the same time.
Also i know the area Mark McCalla was killed in which most of my family is from that little town,and i never imagined something like that could happen there.Indirectly he taught me a lesson i wont forget.
I will add tho the guys i met that day seemed to be passionate gun owners with no ill intent,just friendly.
 
I was once at a public range, and in a similar situation, found myself looking down the barrel of my neighbor's weapon. I immediately left the firing area, and informed the rangemaster of what had occurred. The offender and his buddies were ejected.

Personally, I believe that either there should be more requirements attached to renting guns at a public range, or renters should be watched more closely.
 
Personally, I believe that either there should be more requirements attached to renting guns at a public range, or renters should be watched more closely.
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I suspect renters are far more profitable than regular shooters who own their own firearms. At least at the range I used to go to, I would spend maybe $15 during a visit, and people renting would drop ten times that or more. I know when I brought up my concerns with the staff, they fell on death ears.
 
robhof

Hey guys, it even happens in the millitary. I missed out on expert in basic because I had 10 extra holes in my target. At another training session, when the USAF was converting over from the revolver to the M9, a young security policeman managed to catch a hot shell in the back of his collar and it went down his back as he danced with the pistol in his hand, fortunately his finger was off the trigger. I belong to a gun club with an outdoor range and I know the slow days and frequent the range then.
 
I was at a range once and a kid who looked to be about 17 wanted to rent a .44 mag just to see how it felt. The range manager handed him the gun and a box of ammo and told him the ammo was something like $30 for 50 (I don't remember exactly, but it was about 3 or 4 years ago, and it was pricey). The kid was deterred by the price. Expensive ammo is a good thing sometimes.

Someone said something about taking safety glasses off. I got popped in the face at the range yesterday a few times by my own shell casings. I've also been there when the people next to me were shooting an AK and hot hit in the chest by a piece of a wooden clothespin that was used to hang targets. Thought I had been shot for a second. It did break the skin, and I do have a scar.
 
I have typically found that the range masters will bend over backwards to cater to the repeat business instead of the one-time visitors, but I'm sure this varies from range to range. I have not had the same experience with gun shops. I've never understood how they can be so dismissive or downright rude toward repeat customers. Not very smart business.
 
Where were the RO's at this range? That sounds to me as just as big an issue. Usually they put "renters" and noobs through at least a verbal test about their experience with a gun and certainly should explain rules and safety. Anyway glad you are OK. The RO's at my range watch like hawks, you have to wait at least 2 seconds between shots for 1 thing and they enforce it.

Also, alot of the very experienced shooters I see have 3 or more pistols which they point downrange BUT are behind all of their junk like reload boxes, gun cases, etc. Maybe it's just me but that irks me because they should know better. If that weapon goes off, the bullet will probably ricochet and end up who knows where? Just my rant....

I had a hot casing fly up and wedge between my shooting glasses and my temple - what are the odds?. I found that even with the burning I was able to stay focused enough to safety my pistol and set it down pointing downrange, then I flipped out getting that thing outta there. Now I have a scar on my temple and had to explain that to my wife!
 
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For $200 a year and a willingness to show up on weekdays at 9:00 am, I have a whole range to myself. On occasion I run into an old retiree popping .22's at 10 am, but once the weather turns chilly, I don't even worry about them. I'd pay $1000 for the privilege but luckily my club hasn't realized this yet....
 
I have typically found that the range masters will bend over backwards to cater to the repeat business instead of the one-time visitors, but I'm sure this varies from range to range.
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I think that's true of a lot of place (firing ranges aside)... if you don't find regulars, it's going to be difficult to maintain that steady stream of one-timers, especially in places that operate heavily on word-of-mouth.
 
I've once had someones laser on me. Needless to say, but I'll do it anyway, my adrenaline started pumping real quick.... It was a really, really old guy, 4 or 5 lanes down. I went to range officer and they said enough and took him out. Apparently, prior to tagging me, he had been making swiss cheese out of their ceiling with a little airweight 38.
 
Oh, where to begin? The only range available to me is a public range. There, I've seen people shoot target hangers, walls, floors, and ceilings. I once saw a guy shoot his buddy when he started hopping around with his finger on the trigger of his gun after a hot casing went down his shirt. I've seen a young woman in the lane next to me put several rounds through my target and apparently, never realize she was doing it. I've seen people come off the line, walk two or three yards to the rear, reload, and walk back to the line with the fingers on the triggers of their guns. I've seen a group of kids with a rental 9mm "practice" shooting by holding the gun sideways a la some rap video. Today, I watched a guy with a laser sight in the lane next to me set his silhouette target at five yards and MISS everything with every round he fired. And, so on. My solution is to come very early and leave early. And to leave earlier when I see anything remotely fishy going on.
 
Stories like this will keep me from complaining about mowing for a while.
I live out in the country and my range is the back yard.
 
So I started firing a few rounds down range. While reloading, I hear the girl next to me "HOLY <expletive>!" I immediately take a step back and look to see what's going on. I see she got a hot brass down her low-cut shirt and was dancing all over the place...with the gun in her hand and she's muzzle flashing everyone (mainly where I was standing in the lane next to her) with her finger on the trigger.
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I learned the hard way to keep my shirt un-tucked.:D

Maybe you should start riding a motorcycle, and smoking.
 
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Never could stand to read 1000 words when 100 would probably have done the job. :eek: I take it something dangerous happened at the range?? :cool:
 
The OP makes a good point....shooting at a public range can be a near death experience. Up until recently, I always shot at a LE range which meant I was next to professionals and there were lots of Instructors and Safety Officers. Never had to worry about the guy next to me.

Of late, I have been shooting at a range wherein I have witnessed some severe safety violations which scared the crap out of me. A couple of days ago a guy was shooting some sort of revolver with a green light laser. I could see the laser was very unsteady. I put my gun on safety, put it down, and backed up so I could see what he was shooting. Just then, he took the gun from down range, held it sideways with his hand still on the trigger, and had it pointed to where I would have been standing. I yelled at him to point the gun down range, which he did immediately.

From now on, I will go to the range only on weekdays, and go right after they open as I never want to be in the same space with idiots that don't have a clue. If it were up to me, I would make everyone that was going to use a range, take a written test about gun safety and then a practical test with a range officer. But of course, being profit motivated, most public ranges would never put that procedure in place for fear of losing a few potential customers.
 
Firearm safety is good. Proper behavior when holding a gun keeps us all safe...but on pg 1 of this thread a man talking to his target (take dat fool!) is thrown under the same bus as the unsafe people? Is that for good reason or a knee jerk reaction because it may look bad?:rolleyes:

It wasn't unsafe from the way it sounded. I only ask because I wonder if ya'll know why it made you uncomfortable?

I had a head shrinker tell me once that to envision ones enemies faces downrange on your target was a healthy and socially acceptable form of release for the the stress and negative energy that one may have for thier enemies...

Resident head shrinkers feel free to chime in! Discuss!
 
I've had a hot 45 casing go behind my glasses! I was at the line shooting at the time as well. My muzzle never pointed anyplace but downrange. I just reached up real quick with my free hand, and ripped the glasses off with my index finger. It wasn't until after I got free of the hot brass, that I had time to think, decock my revolver, set the gun down, and pay more attention to my eye area. Fortunately, I just got a minor burn just below my left eye.

I guess we just get better reflexes over the years. I am glad I reacted the way I did, cause I sure didn't have any time to think about it. In the meantime, the learning curve of others coming up in our sport can be rather scary.
 
I was the recipient of the hot brass this time.It went behind my glasses and hung on the bottom of them against my cheek.
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I had a hot casing fly up and wedge between my shooting glasses and my temple - what are the odds?
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I've had a hot 45 casing go behind my glasses!
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A hat with a brim will keep brass from falling behind your glasses.
 
I haven't shot at a public range in years, got tired of fearing for my life each trip. I shoot on National Forest Service and BLM land, and usually shoot with a couple of my brothers, and don't see another soul all day.........its great. Unfortunatly, my step-mother is one of those that walks around with loaded weapons, finger on the trigger, and sweeps everybody in sight. She will be firing a pistol/rifle, and turn in the middle of her shots, cause she wants to be a part of the conversation taking place a few yards behind her, sweeping everybody, and has on a couple of occasions let loose a live round. She dosen't know how to deal with any type of jam, and dosen't know how to operate the safties on many of the guns she shoots. Its not that my father and my brothers and I haven't taught her, maybe she just dosent care. Despite her unsafe behaviors, my father still brings her with when he shoots with us, and as posted above, I feel like I need some Dragon Skin or something, and often end up leaving early when she shows up. I try not to be too judgemental when I see somebody make a mistake, they may be a brand new shooter, where I have been shooting since before I could hold the gun by myself (quite literaly about 2 years old) and by no means know it all.
The problem is, even a little mistake with a firearm, can have pretty nasty consequences.
 
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