frkelly74
05-19-2013, 12:48 AM
I went to the range with the intent of looking for brass on the way home from the store. There were open benches which is not the norm for a Saturday, And there were some shooters there just getting started who noticed me looking for brass and said they would save me theirs, What did I want them to do with it? So I decided to go home and get something to shoot with and come back, and I told them to just leave the brass lay and I would be back. So an hour later I came back and these men were still there and there was also a lot of 223 brass and 9mm brass and a few 30/06 , So I helped them pick up and put the brass in the car and then got out my gong and my Mutt 1 Garand and my cast boolit loads that it was sighted in with. They had been shooting at and getting near some clay pigeons laying on the bank and there were quite a few left over. I was having fun ringing my gong and they were having fun trying to hit targets and two other parties showed up. One was a guy and a girl who just got a new 40 of some kind and the other was a couple kids with grampas old Remington 760 and some 30-06 loads that he had loaded up and labeled only HOT! I wish I had paid more attention to them because they were apparently having a great deal of trouble getting the shots on paper out of grampas old trusty. I was watching the other couple because they set up a target on the bank, went back , got their new gun and then walked back down range to shoot their target. Now the pistol range is set at a 45 degree angle to the main line and theoretically i could have been shooting when they were downrange but there is not much margin for error in doing that. So I yelled at them and told them that being down range was a really bad idea and that as long as they were there I could not shoot. I would not want to be down there when anyone was shooting from the line. They got a little huffy but came back and began to shoot with a rifle. I got finished and then went over to them and offered to let them shoot my gong ,with the new pistol, which they could put any where they wanted to and shoot from the line where everyone would be safe. They thought that would be fun so it worked out well in the end, And it was more fun than boring old paper targets. Meanwhile the two boys were all the way through one box of shells and had not made a mark on the paper yet. They did not know how to adjust the scope to move their shots plus they were shooting at 100 yds and did not have a clear idea of where they were hitting. On top of that grampas loads were not that consistent just judging from the sounds of them. They did eventually get holes on target just before running out of ammo. I did mention to them that I would pull down their loads if it were up to me because I didn't think they were safe. They did not take my advice and seemed to get away with it this time. They gave me all their old brass anyway. Then a trio of men showed up and began to bang away with w 9mm pistol of some kind and were experiencing stoppages regularly. So I walked over and immediately said " Reloads? " while pointing at the assorted brass sticking out of a foam holder. " Yes " one of them said. " Did you load them?" I said. " No , we bought them at the Pawn Shop over toward town. They were cheap." the man said. So this was the third scary thing I saw at the range this day. The 9mm rounds were all different overall lengths and most would not fit into the magazine. When I left shortly after that they were still loading up one at a time to shoot them up.
So My conclusion is that indeed the shortage, with all the news noise and hyperbole has brought people out of the woodwork who have had little or no education or experience with shooting, let alone loading ammo, who suddenly find themselves wanting to shoot something. These people have very little idea what they are doing and how quickly they can get into trouble, or how serious it can be. They rely on the strength of modern firearms which is really quite remarkable, and the vigilance of others to keep them safe without any understanding that they are rolling the dice. We can talk to these people and maybe head off trouble, That is what I normally do, sometimes it works out well and sometimes I am told to mind my own business. So be it. I would hate to be a witness to something terrible and know that I should have tried to intervene somehow.
So My conclusion is that indeed the shortage, with all the news noise and hyperbole has brought people out of the woodwork who have had little or no education or experience with shooting, let alone loading ammo, who suddenly find themselves wanting to shoot something. These people have very little idea what they are doing and how quickly they can get into trouble, or how serious it can be. They rely on the strength of modern firearms which is really quite remarkable, and the vigilance of others to keep them safe without any understanding that they are rolling the dice. We can talk to these people and maybe head off trouble, That is what I normally do, sometimes it works out well and sometimes I am told to mind my own business. So be it. I would hate to be a witness to something terrible and know that I should have tried to intervene somehow.