Range Behavior, what would you do?

jimbo728

jimbo728

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You are shooting at your clubs range. All is well and having a great time.
Another arrives, opens up with repeated rapid fire mag dumps.
After 5 or 6 you are becoming concerned, to put it mildly.
You are a duly appointed range officer.
What would you do?
Jim
 
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At the range that I belong to, mag dumping isn't allowed. I would politely tell him that when he joined that he was issued a set of the range and club rules and also tell him that mag dumping is specifically disallowed in the club rules. As well as class 3 auto weapons not being allowed too. There are other ranges he can go to if he wants to play Rambo and waste ammo, but not at the club range. If he still insists on being a dork I would take it further and run his butt off.
 
So far our club has not prohibited mag dumps. We never even had to consider it. I think it would be a challenge.
Jim
 
I will add that over the years, somehow, more yahoo`s that have no interest in basic marksmanship have slipped into our club.
Im getting old but remember that we all shared a respectfulness for our fellow shooters. I fear that this is eroding.
Jim
 
Being the enforcer can be tough, in any situation. In my community, all summer long, we have constant issues with people violating the rules at our pool. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, but if you don't speak up nothing will change.

In the scenario you describe, I would politely remind the mag-dumpers that this behavior is prohibited. If they ignore you, report them to the club officers for appropriate action...
 
If mag dumps aren't prohibited at your range, I'd approach him and say, "Hi, I'm BUFF, and I'm the rangemaster and safety officer today. That's a really nice rifle you have there. We put shooters with rifles like yours way down to the last shooting position on the right end of the firing line. That way, your fired brass doesn't hit anybody and won't get mixed with anybody else's if you save it. Here, I'll help carry your stuff."
 
Permitted or not, consideration to others on the Club Range is first priority. If it's not against Club rules, he should be considerate enough to either move to a farther position or dump his mags when the Range is unoccupied by others.
 
The first post doesn't specify that rapid fire is prohibited,.nor that the shooter in question isn't controlling his rounds, hitting the proper backstop, or otherwise being unsafe. If there are any actual rule violations or unsafe behavior, by all means address it.

Shooting ranges inherently involve shooting, generally including noise and ejected brass. As related, he just happened to be making more noise than you at the moment.
 
At my club there isn't anything inherently "concerning" about rate of fire as long as safety rules are being followed and the shooter is at the proper range. We have the Plinking range if you want to give your select-fire M16 or MAC-10 a workout or just exercise your trigger finger with a semi-automatic.

Our 500, 300, and 200yd high power range isn't the place for rapid fire, nor is our 25 and 50yd bullseye pistol range or at our 50 and 100yd competition range or training range.

The point here is that there's a wide array of different types of shooting people enjoy. A club that stuffs all shooters on the same range or otherwise accommodates all types of shooting on the same firing line is going to be an unpleasant experience.

In your post you indicate no violation of range or safety rules. So as a range officer what would I say to someone following safety and range rules? "Thanks."
 
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Biggfoot44 said:
The first post doesn't specify that rapid fire is prohibited,.nor that the shooter in question isn't controlling his rounds, hitting the proper backstop, or otherwise being unsafe. If there are any actual rule violations or unsafe behavior, by all means address it.

Shooting ranges inherently involve shooting, generally including noise and ejected brass. As related, he just happened to be making more noise than you at the moment.
Click to expand...
What these two guys said.

There's nothing wrong with fast fire if it's controled. This is one of the reasons I don't go to club ranges. I'll take my chances at the state game lands. There is a club within walking distance from my house that I never go to. Went once and that was enough. Apparently their version of rapid fire is not waiting for the barrel to cool after each shot.

Marksmanship is fine but not everyone is into slow and steady and shooting fast doesn't automatically mean waste of ammo and spray
ChattanoogaPhil said:
At my club there isn't anything inherently "concerning" about rate of fire as long as safety rules are being followed and the shooter is at the proper range. We have the "Plinking" range if you want to give your select-fire M16 or MAC-10 a workout or just exercise your trigger finger with a semi-automatic of any kind.

Our 500, 300, and 200yd high power range isn't that place for rapid fire, nor is our 25 and 50yd bullseye pistol range or at our 50 and 100yd competition range or training range.

The point here is that there's a wide array of different types of shooting people enjoy. A club that stuffs all shooters on the same range or otherwise accommodates all types of shooting on the same firing line is going to be an unpleasant experience.

In your post you indicate no violation of range or safety rules. So as a range officer what would I say to someone following safety and range rules? "Thanks."
Click to expand...


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jimbo728 said:
So far our club has not prohibited mag dumps.
Click to expand...

At this point, this is the overriding factor in how you should proceed. Just because you don't like the practice, there isn't anything preventing the fellow from enjoying it himself. At best, the next meeting for range officers and the club board is when it should be discussed. If you feel the rules need updating, that is how it needs to be handled. At the range I go to, they define rapid fire as more than 1 shot per second (but they don't have an issue with quick double taps). If you want to move forward with a new rule, make sure it's clear and concise so there is no room for debate.
 
jimbo728 said:
So far our club has not prohibited mag dumps. We never even had to consider it. I think it would be a challenge.


Im getting old but remember that we all shared a respectfulness for our fellow shooters.
Click to expand...

If it's a matter of respect, then perhaps it's the club that isn't respecting it's members.

A hunter zeroing a scope on his Remington 7mm magnum, grandfather teaching his 10 y/o granddaughter how to shoot her new Crickett and a guy exercising his MAC-10 are simply not compatible on the same firing line.

IMO, a club worth joining has to take into consideration how to accommodate different types of shooting or otherwise restrict what it can't accommodate for the broader use of the membership.

And sometimes you just have to understand that your type of shooting isn't going to be respected by others and get over it. I regularly suffer the obnoxiously loud slow fire of disrespectful centerfire revolver shooters. ;)

IMG_2733_zpssedqfuor.jpg
 
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Just because he went through a 5 or 6 mag dump gave you reason to be concerned? Was he being unsafe? I see nothing wrong with doing multiple mag dumps as long as the shooter is being safe and it doesn't violate range rules.

Heck, if you were at my range a month or so ago it might have been me. I had purchased 8 used mags for my Shield and was function testing them. I emptied all 8 mags rapid fire...it was fun and all rounds were on a 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.
 
as long as there is no mag dump rules, and as long as he is using safe gun handling skills (muzzle down range) than there should be NO safety concerns.
 
One of the clubs I belong to has a no rapid fire rule on the 100 yard rifle range, mainly due to excessive noise and destruction of the target backstops. The pistol ranges allow controlled rapid fire and multiple mag dumps. Our ranges host IDPA and action shooting competitions, so members must be able to practice fast fire. Unless the person was doing a "spray and pray", then the multiple mag dumps wouldn't concern me a bit.

The PA State Game Lands ranges prohibit loading more than 3 rounds in a rifle or 5 rounds in a pistol, plus no shooting at anything except the official 25 and 50 yard pistol backstops and the 100 yard rifle backstop. Not much good for anybody except hunters.
 
Xfuzz said:
I guess I should know but don't...

What is "Club" Range.?
Must you be a member to shoot there ?
Is it open to the public ?
Click to expand...

Membership is sponsored and required.
It is not open to the public.

We are currently dealing with a noise complaint. The complainants are demanding the range be shut down with charges of continuous shooting among other things.
We are dealing with this at the City Council level.
The mag dumping, which in my lengthy experience with this and many other organizations,was enough to draw the attention of any RO . And his response to my concern was
IMO an insult to the club and every member in it.
I would have ignored it under better circumstances but had to speak out.
The guy was acting like a yahoo and Im not going to let him
contribute to a bad reputation for my club.
Im a range officer, club VP and a club Board member. I guess I have some responsibility to the club.
Jim
 
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