Irate people at the range.......

[Vulcan Bob]

Well I guess it takes all kinds! Whenever someone starts makeing me uncomfortable by thier actions I just pack up and leave. Found it is much easyier that way. The rat-a-tat's and muzzel waver's are the usual. However waveing a firearm at me might just call for a wee bit more action!

 

[NFrameFred]

Originally posted by Douglas Haig:
I think it was rude to set up and fire the thing without warning / asking permission of the others. Sort of like someone coming up and blowing a whistle behind your ear. Who wouldn't be a little PO'd.

It would be different if the guy was puttering around nearby and wasn't paying attention, but this guy apparently took an interest in what was transpiring and wasn't smart enough to not put himself in a position to get shellacked.

I'm an RO, an NRA instructor, and served on the BOD of my club for 15 years; I am stringent on range safety and manners. But just as there are idiots who don't know how to handle firearms who sometimes make it onto the range and must be moderated or booted off, there are clueless morons who put themselves in harms way as well through no fault of the shooters on the line.

You're at a firing range . . . you see someone preparing a large caliber rifle . . . you walk up and stand next to it like a putz without hearing protection . . . what do you think is going to happen ?

I agree that it is good manners to warn those in close proximity and vital to take a quick scan around to ensure no one is in a danger zone, but if you frequent a firing range the onus is on you to not put yourself in dangerous situations. It's like wandering around in city traffic and expecting evryone else to be responsible for not running over you.

 

[Roose Hurro]

I make it a point to always put in my earplugs before I even get out of my vehicle...


------------------------------------------------

 

[cmort666]

Originally posted by 84CJ:
Ever meet one of these?

One reason I enjoy shooting is fellowship at the range. I have met some really great people (luckyderby is one)and made some good friends.

However one day i went shooting with a friend he brought another friend that wanted to shoot my AR 50. A fellow came and sat next to us while we put up our targets and set up the 50BMG . Took a while for my friend to get up the nerve to pull the trigger and I forgot about the fellow next to us. When my friend pulled the trigger it removed the gentlemans hat from his head and probably peeled his eyelids back. He jumped up yelling things that would force Lee to ban me from here for life.He said you should warn people before you fire something like that (I normally do especially when young folks are around) This guy was a mature adult with a 45 SA on his hip. I said I was sorry but he wouldn't let up. I lost my temper and finally asked what kind of moron sits next to a rifle 5 feet long with a brake that looks like it belongs on a tank. He then pulled his 45 and started waving it around. Lucky for him I noticed it was not loaded (my other friend was pulling his Kimber it was loaded). I removed the SA 45 from his hand and was about to see how far I could throw it when another guy hops out of his car a yells hey thats my dads gun. I am thinking crape! But he turned out to be very polite. Maybe because I had all the guns at that time.

Anyone else ever have days like this?

Pulling a gun on somebody because you're mad would be a one way ticket out of our club, no questions asked.

 

[Hermann]

On the range I shoot there is hearing protection required at all times. However, only when the range is called "cold" you can take it of.
If you are on a shooting range you have to expect people shooting .. right?
This guy is lucky to be still walking around. I know some fellow shooters that would have shot him on the spot if he had pointed a gun at them in an agressive manner. They shot first and ask questions later. However after an incident like this this guy would have been banned from the range for lifetime.

 

[norm]

My opinion fwiw is that anyone who draws a gun in a fit of temper should never be armed.

 

[Evil Dog]

I pretty much have to agree with Norm on that one. I only shoot at "private, membership only" clubs as I find it a much more controlled environment. The one I am currently using does not allow anyone to wear a sidearm except for the RO's. Not that there are plenty of loaded pistols within easy reach anyway.

 

[feralmerril]

Like every subject brought up in the world, we tend to agree with the person bringing it up! I would have liked to witness the event.
I once was sitting in a car with two co-worker friends. We were in lousianna pulled over looking at a wild pig. The guy in the middle, (I was rideing shotgun) pulled a .22 revolver and fired it next to my ear as I was looking out the window. It not only surprised me ringing my bell, besides dangerous, I probley lost my hearing somewhat. It felt like I got hit alongside my head! I know it irritated me, and we had words! And that was just a .22 lr, not a cannon! I can see the guy comeing unglued!
My question is his action of drawing down on you. Did he point the gun straight at you? And my biggest question of all is this. How did you determine the gun was unloaded??

 

[sasu]

Originally posted by jkc:
it's my bad luck to always set up next to somebody who's wringing out something like a Magnaported Ruger Alaskan

That is one of the reasons I do not buy compensated guns or have the comp removed if possible. I just replaced the comp on my AR-10 308 with a flash suppressor so the gun would make less noise on the range.

I do not have a 50 BMG so I cannot say if the comp is really a necessity on that level. But at least on my 500 Wyoming Express, 454 Casull, 375 Ruger, 458 Lott I have no need for a comp.

But I must confess I have short barreled magnum revolvers and they do make some noise.

 

[jag312]

Displaying a firearm in a theatening manner is called Brandishing a Weapon. It will get you arrested in California and upon conviction, the defendent will lose the right to own a firearm for (I believe) 10 years. Even as a misdemeanor, it is one of the disqualifying convictions in California.

I prefer to go to the public range early in the morning. That's when the serious shooters go. The idiots go in the afternoon.

 

[duckloads]

then pulled his 45 and started waving it around.

right or wrong, I was tought the only reason to ever pull a gun on somebody is to shoot them. That being said, if somebody pulled a gun on me, I would have to realize his intentions and act accordingly.

I hope that day never comes.

 

[toroflow1]

I swear, I would QUIT the sport of shooting if I HAD to shoot at a range!! I thank God every day that I get to shoot ALONE on BLM land!!

 

[RGAmos]

I recently bought a Barrett 82A1 and can not find a range in Houston that will allow me to shoot it. I don't think the noise is a concern but rather the range and possibility of shooting through the back drop.

 

[Duke426]

Never had an incident like that but it is customary to check if everyone on the line has their "ears" in or on and everyone agrees that the range is "hot" before cranking one off. That way there are no surprises.

 

[MTKTM]

Originally posted by Duke426:
Never had an incident like that but it is customary to check if everyone on the line has their "ears" in or on and everyone agrees that the range is "hot" before cranking one off. That way there are no surprises.

I've had an AR-50 for a number of years. I don't shoot it as much now as I did when it was new.....ammo was much less expensive then.....but I've always been exceedingly careful to warn others at the range and to make sure nobody is standing to either side within at least 75 feet of the gun. Lighting one off when someone is close by and unprepared is a sure way to make an enemy, or possibly even hurt them.

 

[84CJ]

OK to answere feralmerril's question. How did I know the gun was unloaded. I was the luky one standing in the middle. When he first pulled the revolver he did not thumb cock it and waved it around for a few seconds before he pointed it at my friend I was watching him very close to see if he would reach for the hammer I had my hand on my pistol but never pulled it Just before pointing at my friend I got a good look at the end of the cyl and could see very clearly that it was empty. My friend that started pulling his kimber could not see well from his vantage point. And would have dropped this guy.He was mad at my other friend as he was the one that pulled the trigger. And was also the only one that didn't have a pistol on his side.
If I could not carry my pistol on my side loaded at the public ranges I would not go there. The one on my side never leaves the holster. It goes down range with me. I also never go alone now I have heard of people sitting in their cars waiting for you to go down range then snatch you weopons and haul but.I seldom visit one range in Rose Hill becaues the parking is too close to the benches.

As For sasu and removing the brakes. I dont. I did make a sleve for my AR 10 to cover the brake so if other people are close I can cover it. Have not tried it yet so I dont know how it will affect my rifle. The 50 bmg came with a tag that said something like do not remove serious injury or death could result.

So that one stays put.

.

NFRAM you hit the nail on the head.

You're at a firing range . . . you see someone preparing a large caliber rifle . . . you walk up and stand next to it like a putz without hearing protection . . . what do you think is going to happen ?

I agree that it is good manners to warn those in close proximity and vital to take a quick scan around to ensure no one is in a danger zone, but if you frequent a firing range the onus is on you to not put yourself in dangerous situations. It's like wandering around in city traffic and expecting evryone else to be responsible for not running over you.

 

[feralmerril]

Well, it ended okay. Sounds like he was a exciteable type. I have also been in similar events. Once I kept a excitable fellow guard from drawing down on a guy that made a innocent mistake.
Another time I had a drunk indian neighbor friend put a shotgun in my guts.
Both were normaly okay guys with quick tempers. Anytime you or someone else around you, you have to watch it and stay cool. I just remembered another time when a fellow officer pulled a gun on another officer. The guy made a ethic crack and that officers wife was the race mentioned! When you live with guns on the job long enough, you do see it. Usualy we all dive in, stop it, chew ass and keep it quiet from others.

 

[K-Mart85]

The guy with the SA .45 is the exact image liberals want to paint every gun owner with to the public, rage cases who throw down without a cause.

The range I shoot at is open to the public and I had never had a problem until a few months ago when I was shooting my Grandfathers old 44 mag and some big old boy got in my face and was hollering about the noise and how I was shooting his target, turned out his son who was using the lane next to him was shooting his target. No apology but the look on his face made up for it.

 

[S/W - Lifer]

Well, well. Here we have a 3 page desription of why I bought my own place to shoot and hunt on. It isn't about being some kind of elitest. I just want to enjoy my hobbies in peace and safety. Glad I made that decision. I see it was the right choice for me.