Attempted gun theft at the range today

[DeadAye]

The gym I go to, has electonic non-assigned lockers. I put a carabinger on the handle of a free locker so I can remember which one is mine. I've had two carabingers stolen. I suspect what a thief wants they are going to take, no matter the value. Go figure.

I HATE any thief.
Take a latex type glove and some Never-Seez with you next trip to the gym. Coat the carabinger with a bit of the N-S and you will KNOW who the thief is
IF no one steals your carabinger DO NOT forget to use your glove when removing it. That stuff is a real bear to get off!

 

[jkc]

Funny this post comes up, after just this last weekend, while I was packing up my stuff at the local public range, I was tapped on the shoulder by a friend who's the owner of a local gunshop, who'd been assigned to an adjacent bench. He surprised me by asking about range rules, and told me he'd never used the range before. Among the various rules I explained to him is, that while a "cease fire" is in effect, no one is permitted to even touch anything on the shooting benches, not just guns, but anything. And, shooters are required to remain behind a painted line, at some distance from the benches. Moreover, during cease-fire, while shooters are downrange checking and setting targets and such, it is forbidden to handle even cased firearms, such as to take them off the line and out to your vehicle.

This rule is enforced under the hawkeyed supervision of numerous armed Range Officers, who brook no violations and do not suffer fools gladly. Firearms left on the benches are required to be displayed with actions locked open and empty. Apart from the obviously salutary safety benefits of this protocol, it has the ancillary benefit of discouraging pilfering stuff from the shooting benches while you're downrange and not able to attend to your stuff. This is not the case behind the safety line, and guns or gear left there would be subject to the chicanery described in the OP.

I'm informed by my friend and Past President of the range-operating organization that theft of shooters' gear has been
almost unheard of during the range's decades of operation. Nonetheless, I am always in Condition Yellow, when it comes to leaving guns and other valuable stuff unattended at ranges, and prefer to have a companion paying attention when I'm not...

 

[bitstream]

Funny this post comes up, after just this last weekend, while I was packing up my stuff at the local public range, I was tapped on the shoulder by a friend who's the owner of a local gunshop, who'd been assigned to an adjacent bench. He surprised me by asking about range rules, and told me he'd never used the range before. Among the various rules I explained to him is, that while a "cease fire" is in effect, no one is permitted to even touch anything on the shooting benches, not just guns, but anything. And, shooters are required to remain behind a painted line, at some distance from the benches. Moreover, during cease-fire, while shooters are downrange checking and setting targets and such, it is forbidden to handle even cased firearms, such as to take them off the line and out to your vehicle.

This rule is enforced under the hawkeyed supervision of numerous armed Range Officers, who brook no violations and do not suffer fools gladly. Firearms left on the benches are required to be displayed with actions locked open and empty. Apart from the obviously salutary safety benefits of this protocol, it has the ancillary benefit of discouraging pilfering stuff from the shooting benches while you're downrange and not able to attend to your stuff. This is not the case behind the safety line, and guns or gear left there would be subject to the chicanery described in the OP.

I'm informed by my friend and Past President of the range-operating organization that theft of shooters' gear has been
almost unheard of during the range's decades of operation. Nonetheless, I am always in Condition Yellow, when it comes to leaving guns and other valuable stuff unattended at ranges, and prefer to have a companion paying attention when I'm not...

Where do you shoot at? I'm relatively new to Mesa and am looking for a good range.

What I love about Arizona: My work has a pistol team and I've already been invited to join.

 

[LVSteve]

Firearms left on the benches are required to be displayed with actions locked open and empty.

You might find this odd, but that rule enforced for all firearms is why I quit the private range I used to frequent. I shoot a lot of rifles that have blind magazines. If an immediate cease fire is called I'm up the creek. The only way to empty the gun is to rack live rounds through the action, which I refuse to do on, guess what, safety grounds. I got the silent treatment from the club hierarchy when I mentioned this issue.

Ask any milsurp shooter who uses an 03A3 and I'll bet you half of them have had grief from range officers because they have not performed a Mauser style mag dump when a cease fire is called.

 

[Sebago Son]

Originally Posted by oberon
Not hijackin' the thread.
A pair of friends went the extra to nail some thieves who had been operating in one of the downtown parking garages. They left some desirable equipment in plain view on the front seat and parked in the adjoining space in a minivan and waited. Within minutes, dirtbags were on hand getting in to the 'bait' car, and were grabbed, thrashed(read:beaten), threatened with punishment worse than death, and released. Those particular boys never came back.
There is no substitute for a righteous beating.

That is vigilante justice and while it sounds good in theory and works some times, it is also a crime, possibly a felony. Should one of those beaten have lost an eye, suffered a brain injury or even die, your friends would have been arrested, sued and much more. Had any of those beaten chosen to go to the police, your friends would have faced serious jail time and just suppose one of those guys were armed. He would have been legally within the law to shoot any or all of your friends. The law protects people from intentional bodily harm, especially when the perp lays in wait for their intended victim.

INTENDED VICTIM? Man that's backwards. These are thieves. Caught in the act. Sometimes the public just needs to step up. Especially when the Cops can't be bothered to do so...

 

[oldman45]

INTENDED VICTIM? Man that's backwards. These are thieves. Caught in the act. Sometimes the public just needs to step up. Especially when the Cops can't be bothered to do so...

Maybe they are thieves. Maybe they deserve punishment. But when individuals take the law into their own hands, then they become victims. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle things. A person cannot take the law in their own hands.

I worked a case many yrs ago. There was a person stealing some things off a car in the parking lot of a bar. He was caught and a half drunk insurance executive took a swing at the thief knocking him to the ground. The thief's skull was split open on the parking lot and he died very shortly afterward. The insurance exec was charged with manslaughter and got seven yrs as well as losing his job and family. None of which would have happened if the man had been detained and waited for the police.

Now for my personal experience. I was out with my pastor one night on church visitation. We witnessed several young thugs with baseball bats run a middle age man off into a ditch with their car. They jumped out and proceeded to beat the windows in on the man's car The preacher called the police while I was armed and had my credentials and went toward the group to stop the thugs. Just as I had my sidearm out, a state trooper pulled up. I went on to see if he might need assistance. Within seconds it was learned the middle age man attempted to harm a young child in a mobile home park and ran over another trying to get away. The thugs were innocent residents of the park that chased the man down while alerting police as to their location. Things are not always as they seem on first blush.

Becoming a law breaker to gain satisfaction is not worth it. Let the law handle it.

 

[DeadAye]

Let the law handle it.

And therein lies the problem.
*The Law* ain't handling it!

Even if these goofs get caught they'll be back out and back at it shortly.
How a judge can remain in the *he'll turn his life around soon, so I'll give him probation* frame of mind for very long is beyond me

The liberals have made the rights of the criminals more important than the rights of the victims -- This practice MUST STOP.

 

[oldman45]

And therein lies the problem.
*The Law* ain't handling it!

Even if these goofs get caught they'll be back out and back at it shortly.
How a judge can remain in the *he'll turn his life around soon, so I'll give him probation* frame of mind for very long is beyond me

The liberals have made the rights of the criminals more important than the rights of the victims -- This practice MUST STOP.

But how does one do it legally? If WE become criminals ourselves, then we are no better than those we are critical of.

 

[thndrchiken]

But how does one do it legally? If WE become criminals ourselves, then we are no better than those we are critical of.

Well, It has already been decided by the Supreme Court that there is no expectation of protection from law enforcement.

 

[Sebago Son]

Sounds more like someone trying to retain their power yet do the absolute minimum to get by.

Respect for the Law demands Justice.

BTW, Cops are NOT The Law. They are merely those whom we have entrusted to inforce the law. If you can't get it done then don't expect that we will continue to pay your salaries, benefits and pensions. We'll get someone else to do the job or do it ourselves.... "We The People..." remember?

 

[jkc]

Where do you shoot at? I'm relatively new to Mesa and am looking for a good range.

What I love about Arizona: My work has a pistol team and I've already been invited to join.

Rio Salado Sportsman's Club, on North Ellsworth Rd. at Usury Pass, under the huge white "PHOENIX" sign painted on the hill used as a backstop, visible from miles away. Ranges for various shooting sports, and a public range with target stations out to three hundred yards. $7/day fee for non-members. And as mentioned, a well run, carefully supervised range.

 

[jkc]

You might find this odd, but that rule enforced for all firearms is why I quit the private range I used to frequent. I shoot a lot of rifles that have blind magazines. If an immediate cease fire is called I'm up the creek. The only way to empty the gun is to rack live rounds through the action, which I refuse to do on, guess what, safety grounds. I got the silent treatment from the club hierarchy when I mentioned this issue.

Ask any milsurp shooter who uses an 03A3 and I'll bet you half of them have had grief from range officers because they have not performed a Mauser style mag dump when a cease fire is called.

This range announces a "one minute warning" prior to announcing a cease fire, so as to allow shooters to prepare for the cease fire (wouldn't address your issue, I guess). Then the line is polled for "actions open and empty?" --- if someone has a problem, such as being unfamiliar with a weapon and not knowing how to lock the action open, an RO will assist. Only until every bench has been inspected and all problems resolved is the red "hot range" flag retracted, the line declared safe, and the shooters released to go downrange.

 

[oldman45]

Well, It has already been decided by the Supreme Court that there is no expectation of protection from law enforcement.

We are not talking protection. There are more private citizens than police officers. There are more businesses than police officers. Police cannot be everywhere all the time. Also police officers are taxpayers too and they can seek protection.

We are talking judicial process. Let the courts judge the persons and that is why we have the court system. While I do not always agree with the judgements or the sentences, they have the power and we must let the system work as it was designed. Sometimes it works the way it should.

 

[Tyrod]

Many folks complain that the system is broken. When a high profile case doesn't go the way people think it out to is when you hear about it. But, our system of jurisprudence is set up to protect the rights of individuals and not the rights of the collective whole. If you think protective rights of the whole is better, then move to Communist China. Or form a revolution and change things here.

The point is that to protect YOUR individual rights sometimes a guilty person must go free because the laws and the courts are made that way. If you allow the police or the courts to run ramshacke over the rights of criminals then they'll do the same to you.