For those who frequent ranges with rules against rapid fire, does the range generally specify exactly what constitutes "rapid fire" or is it normally considered to be understood? The reason I ask is because I got kicked out of a local range this past weekend for "rapid fire".
The range I normally go to was renovated this past year and several new rules were added after the renovation. This is a public range run by the DNR in a state fish and wildlife area. One of the new rules is "no rapid fire" but nowhere on any of the posted signs nor the check-in cards is "rapid fire" defined.
This past Saturday, I was at this range with a friend of mine and, as we were getting ready to pack up, I decided to do some DA shooting with my S&W 629. While I wasn't intentionally shooting slowly, I wasn't particularly trying to shoot quickly either: just firing as I brought the gun down out of recoil and realigned my sights. If I had to guess, I'd say there was probably slightly less than one second between shots as that's really all the faster I can shoot accurately with the ammunition I was using without the recoil becoming uncomfortable (Remington 180 gr .44 Magnum JSP). After firing a cylinder full of ammo, I was approached by a DNR employee and informed that what I was doing was "rapid fire of that weapon" and that it was "time for me to pack up and leave". I didn't argue the point as I was close to being done anyway and, honestly, I was rather irritated and didn't want to say something I'd regret.
Honestly, the more I think about it, the more disgusted I am. My friend agreed that I wasn't shooting all that "rapidly" and I kind of feel that if a range in going to arbitrarily kick people out over a single infraction without so much as a warning, the rules should at least be clearly defined. Really, I don't think I'd be so angry if the RO had simply told me to slow down or given me some sort of warning. Being arbitrarily kicked out over what I feel is a vague and poorly written rule, however, just rubs me entirely the wrong way.
What's particularly annoying to me is that the same employee didn't seem to care about other violations of the rules such as a large group of people (8-10) crowded at one station (the rules state no more than four people at a single station at a time) nor a young boy who was muzzle sweeping half the range every time he reloaded his single-shot .22 rifle.
I'm really considering finding a different range now as this is kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for me with this facility (It's a somewhat long drive, the road up to it is nearly impassable after it rains, it's a lot more crowded than it used to be, and there's other silly rules now like banning shotguns). It's really a shame because it used to be a nice facility but over the last couple of years it's been ruined for me.
What does TFL think? Am I overreacting? Is there some sort of "range etiquette" regarding rapid fire that I'm unaware of? Or was this incident as big a load of malarkey as I'm perceiving it to be?
The range I normally go to was renovated this past year and several new rules were added after the renovation. This is a public range run by the DNR in a state fish and wildlife area. One of the new rules is "no rapid fire" but nowhere on any of the posted signs nor the check-in cards is "rapid fire" defined.
This past Saturday, I was at this range with a friend of mine and, as we were getting ready to pack up, I decided to do some DA shooting with my S&W 629. While I wasn't intentionally shooting slowly, I wasn't particularly trying to shoot quickly either: just firing as I brought the gun down out of recoil and realigned my sights. If I had to guess, I'd say there was probably slightly less than one second between shots as that's really all the faster I can shoot accurately with the ammunition I was using without the recoil becoming uncomfortable (Remington 180 gr .44 Magnum JSP). After firing a cylinder full of ammo, I was approached by a DNR employee and informed that what I was doing was "rapid fire of that weapon" and that it was "time for me to pack up and leave". I didn't argue the point as I was close to being done anyway and, honestly, I was rather irritated and didn't want to say something I'd regret.
Honestly, the more I think about it, the more disgusted I am. My friend agreed that I wasn't shooting all that "rapidly" and I kind of feel that if a range in going to arbitrarily kick people out over a single infraction without so much as a warning, the rules should at least be clearly defined. Really, I don't think I'd be so angry if the RO had simply told me to slow down or given me some sort of warning. Being arbitrarily kicked out over what I feel is a vague and poorly written rule, however, just rubs me entirely the wrong way.
What's particularly annoying to me is that the same employee didn't seem to care about other violations of the rules such as a large group of people (8-10) crowded at one station (the rules state no more than four people at a single station at a time) nor a young boy who was muzzle sweeping half the range every time he reloaded his single-shot .22 rifle.
I'm really considering finding a different range now as this is kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for me with this facility (It's a somewhat long drive, the road up to it is nearly impassable after it rains, it's a lot more crowded than it used to be, and there's other silly rules now like banning shotguns). It's really a shame because it used to be a nice facility but over the last couple of years it's been ruined for me.
What does TFL think? Am I overreacting? Is there some sort of "range etiquette" regarding rapid fire that I'm unaware of? Or was this incident as big a load of malarkey as I'm perceiving it to be?
than the rest of the crowd. I won't go to those ranges unless there is some reason that there is no other option.