Run off at the local range while mining

[country gent]

Depending on the clubs rules ( all are slightly diffrent diffrent) members have the right to "card" others for reasons of keeping the club grounds secure. At the club I belong to it isnt unusual for people to follow members thru the coded acess gate, or one thats open for equipment / contractors and use the facilities. They can be a real problem as even though they arnt members the club is responsible for the results of their actions. Our back stops are sand and digging in them will increase the amount of erosion. We have tried to get grasses and difrent things growing on it to help hold the sand in place. At this club everyone is a "range officer" . Personally You dont want to show me your members card when I ask politly to see it I have no problem calling the board members and or sheriff. Show a temper tantrm Ill call the sheriff for saftey reasons also. No Im not a busy body but I do want a safe enviroment and having been a officer I know what the club has went thru with the above issues.

[a.squibload]

I was gonna say it ain't safe for you 'cause HE wants to do it
(boolit mining). PbHurler beat me to it!

At our range we wear ID badge with a clip, any member
may challenge for it if it's not visible. Non-members have
been caught & ejected. Sheriff will help with objections.

[clodhopper]

A membership card has no value if no one ever checks it.
My range also has the everybody has the right to challenge another's membership rule.
Very rarely exercised.

[Frank46]

At our old range our club president got a good laugh when he found out I was mining the pistol range berm. He even went so far as to make a statement to the effect that I was the only lead scrounger in the club and left the place cleaner than when I left. That range was there for over 50 years and most of the pistol shooters shot store bought hard cast boolits. Filled up two 5 gallon buckets in about 30 minutes. We lost the range due to the railroad and others had used the site as a dumping ground for hazardous waste. The railroad wanted someone with deep pockets in case the EPA came gunning for them. So for about 3 years no place to shoot. Then we bought our own land and had our own range. But there must be literally tons of lead in the berm. But now its overgrown and you would need a bulldozer to get to the berms. Frank

[Sparky141]

Our club posts the paid up membership list at the clubhouse , rifle range and pistol range . When you drive thru the gate you membership card is to be on the dashboard of your vehicle , any member can ask for your card if it is not visible , and tell you to leave if you don't have it . it has helped out with fewer people getting to use our ranges without paying .

if I was told to quit mining the berm , a phone call would have been made to one of the directors to straighten it out imediately

[kdiver58]

I'm afraid the Safety officer is in the good old boys club. The place is controlled by the life members. Going up to the board would be pissing into the wind. Now the guy who oversees the place has NEVER said a word to us .. He's a good guy . Just a nice everyday person. Too bad he's outnumbered by the busy bodies ..

[TheGrimReaper]

Get some caution tape and a bundle of 3', pre-sharpened wooden marker stakes from the lumber yard and cord off your work area. Throw out anyone who crosses the line while you "repair" the berm. All those boolits/bullets in the berm material are ricochet hazards, doncha know, need to remove them and "dispose" of properly.

Gear

Very good...I like it!!!

[prs]

I'm afraid the Safety officer is in the good old boys club. The place is controlled by the life members. Going up to the board would be pissing into the wind. Now the guy who oversees the place has NEVER said a word to us .. He's a good guy . Just a nice everyday person. Too bad he's outnumbered by the busy bodies ..

Rut-row... The busy body safety officer guy is part of the core group of folks who established/maintain the club? The Executive Board would support him? Seems like maybe he does have the authority to ask you to cease and desist, even though his reasons seem to be pure BS. I would still ask to be on the agenda at the next meet to ask the Board to clarify and give permission to salvage the valuable lead instead of wasting it. Like someone above noted, club rules and by-laws vary. There may be founding members and regular members and associate members and so on. Authority may be closely held and protected. Then again, t'ell with all of that, I say Ya should have buried the old Curmudgeon in the "new berm". But "bury him deep" so no body will smelt him, not even the vultures.



prs

[fatelk]

Then again, there are a (thankfully) small number of people whose mission in life seems to be rooting out anyone doing something fun/enjoyable/worthwhile/recreational, and BY GOD THEY ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Isn't that the truth? I've found that some people get upset or jealous seeing you profit from something even if they are too lazy themselves.

Years ago I hauled off a bunch of stuff from work. It was of little value as it was, was going to be thrown away, and I went through proper channels and got written authorization to take it. I went to a lot of work to figure out how to refurbish and sell it, and made a nice profit. A couple other guys at work eventually heard about it, and even though they laughed when I hauled it off and would never have gone to the trouble and work that I did, they were jealous when they found out I made money. They made it known that I was not to do that any more (not that they had any authority). They were too lazy or stupid to benefit, so dangit they wanted to make sure I didn't either.

Perhaps you could approach the person or persons who have the authority to authorize mining the berm, and lay out a well-prepared case, perhaps printed safety information regarding lead, a list of the PPE you will be using, how you intend to reinforce the berms so that they will be left better than you found them, etc.. Unless they are completely close-minded, a written plan with all your ducks in a row can be very persuasive. It's really not that hard to put something like that together.

[a.squibload]

I was told by our VP that I am part of our range's
Lead Abatement Program. Makes me feel important!

[fixerupper]

I'm afraid the Safety officer is in the good old boys club. The place is controlled by the life members. Going up to the board would be pissing into the wind. Now the guy who oversees the place has NEVER said a word to us .. He's a good guy . Just a nice everyday person. Too bad he's outnumbered by the busy bodies ..

Very often the biggest fascists comes from the smallest of kingdoms.

[9.3X62AL]

Yeah, buddy!

[GabbyM]

For sure. Property Owners Associations come to mind.

[USAFrox]

For sure. Property Owners Associations come to mind.

Homeowner's Associations are the devil! I will never never never buy in a place governed by a HOA again. Ugh!

[mold maker]

In 4 years, (6-10 hr/wk) I was able to mine a little over 2.5 tons of raw range lead before the powers that be saw me as profiting at their expense. Along with the lead, I picked up all their ammo boxes, gum wrappers, drink bottles, sandwich papers, and emptied the trash barrels.. I furnished 2 loads of split oak firewood for the fireplace, and hauled away a truck load of trash. Each trip, I mowed, picked up a bucket of shotgun shells, and a like amount of brass.
Funny how they thought I was taking advantage of them.
Since then they have hired a groundskeeper, and contracted keeping the place presentable. The range still isn't up to the way I kept it for free.
I do have a lifetime supply of lead and brass, but at 71 that isn't that much. I did find a more friendly range, with lead privileges and no membership fees. (for cleaning up the range) Plus, it's closer to home.

[merlin101]

In 4 years, (6-10 hr/wk) I was able to mine a little over 2.5 tons of raw range lead before the powers that be saw me as profiting at their expense. Along with the lead, I picked up all their ammo boxes, gum wrappers, drink bottles, sandwich papers, and emptied the trash barrels.. I furnished 2 loads of split oak firewood for the fireplace, and hauled away a truck load of trash. Each trip, I mowed, picked up a bucket of shotgun shells, and a like amount of brass.
Funny how they thought I was taking advantage of them.
Since then they have hired a groundskeeper, and contracted keeping the place presentable. The range still isn't up to the way I kept it for free.
I do have a lifetime supply of lead and brass, but at 71 that isn't that much. I did find a more friendly range, with lead privileges and no membership fees. (for cleaning up the range) Plus, it's closer to home.

"Funny" how that works. Just goes to show there's some truth to the saying "no good deed goes unpunished"

[armprairie]

I have to side with the safety officer on this one.
Too often members keep silent when club rules or safe practices are violated and other members don't speak up. I applaud the one that does. In my own situation I did a sampling of pick up from range lead. I only picked up what was lying loose, figuring that if I pried a bullet out with a knife I was contributing to erosion. I then tried sweeping up shot from the trap range. The return for time spent was many times greater. At the next board meeting I asked for clarification, would it be OK to do this. I even had cans of samples of what I had accumulated. The unanimous decision of the board and all in attendance was that it was no different than picking up an empty hull that had been discarded.
You see I didn't feel that because I was treasurer of a 500-member gun club, that I had any more rights than anyone else. Consideration for other members and club property was something I promised when I joined the club. Safety officers are appointed for a reason and they deserve our full cooperation and respect. I would never criticize one when only hearing one side of the story.
If you had a problem with with the officer, you should have attended the next meeting and presented your case. Adjustments could have been made if appropriate. Some clubs are blessed with a high percentage of members who are willing to volunteer and work in cooperation with the board, others have a large percentage of members who don't attend meetings, never do anything to help, want to act like they own the place exclusively.
The only negative outcome of me handling the matter like I did was that I all of a sudden had a lot of company sweeping up shot, but that's OK. There's a lifetime supply of it out there and the trap shooters keep firing hundreds of pounds a month out there every month.
You can't have a gun club with everyone making their own rules and deciding for themselves what ought to be done on club property. That's anarchy and that is the worst form of government.

[Browningshooter]

I can't stand people like that. A lot of good suggestions here. I say carry on until someone with the authority to do so says "stop"...
- Will

[Lance Boyle]

Ugh, I can recall members of the board making rules up on the spot contrary to the bylaws. One buddy of mine got yelled at while we were using the 100 yard rifle range. i was shooting my .308 reloads for groups and he was zeroing his scoped .44 magnum revolver for hunting season. Board member comes by to see what we're up to (we're the only two using the club on a weekday morning). Sees my buddy shooting his .44 handgun sandbagged on the bench on the rifle range and declared that's against the rules he has to go to the 50 yard pistol range. Didn't care that he was trying to zero it for a 100 yards and had all of his rounds on an 8.5x11 sheet target. No rules posted prohibiting said activity. We went to the next club meeting and talked to the club president who declared there was no such rule and was pissed about the incident himself. Told us to carry on.

Some people just have to be a pain to decent folks. That said, I have no problem with folks checking club id's. That is an issue at most clubs, you get former non renewing members, nonmember adult sons of members, and just plain trespassers coming in and sneaking use. The worst ones seemed to be the teenaged sons of members who would tend to come in, shoot their targets and then start shooting target frames, signs, or anything else that would cause destruction. For some it doesn't stop as they age too. Heck I really wouldn't care what you shoot on the range as long as you were willing to clean it up and weren't bringing in so much junk that it's a disposal cost issue for the club.

One club I belong to has a minor issue with some guys bringing in melons and squash for targets. They're only a bother for a day or two before the deer clean them up.

Most clubs i belong to change their combos and keys regularly with the new years club due schedule. club membership expires in january, renewals go out in Sept/oct. Locks/combos get changed a week after the new year. The vehicle parked in front of the gate is a pretty good clue that who ever is there is not a member in good standing.

[fredj338]

I can see a range banning such extreme mining as a pick & shovel, after all they have to maintain the berm for safe shooting. I mine at the range I belong, but if I can't get to it in the first 6" of soil, I let it go. Private range is free to make their own rules. I do think of it as recycling though. Aren't we supposed to be green?