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If the noise is a problem, deal with it somehow, but a punitive attitude of placing them in mud is not how to treat fellow shooters who paid the same money and showed up for the same event.
But who showed up NOT with the same equipment, but with equipment which has a demonstrable detrimental effect on fellow shooters who paid good money to develop, or to further improve, their skill-sets at the same training venue.
I can understand the objection to having a brake on the next firing point. Sound pressure diminishes rapidly with distance. If you have appropriate ear protection, a brake 20 yds away should be no issue.
Dude, good for you ... you just made my point.
That's why the non-MB shooters voted to have all the MB guys moved to the far end of the line - about 20-25yds away, just for that reason.
And if it's muddy and wet and uncomfortable there, so what? Range conditions vary all over the place, including at the same training venue when the weather changes. You're there to shoot and develop marksmanship skills with your rifle, not be a nancy-boy who's worried about getting mud on his Brad-Pitt autographed, tacticool combat pants.
Look, repositioning the MB guys is a teaching point on 2 counts: first, they'll benefit from learning to shoot accurately at distance from a less-than-desirable position ( ), and, second, for future reference in subsequent PR classes, they may actually reconsider whether it was such a good idea to hang a MB on their stick in the first place.