Public ranges are very similar to most gun shops... They are best visited when the least number of people are around. It's also a very good bet that in-depth conversation should be avoided, even with the owners, unless someone ASKS YOU for help... Even then, the odds of encountering baffling BS is very high.
Luckily, I normally have a private range available. It's easier to convince, or convert, those well-intentioned dummies with a few range sessions...polite conversation almost never works.
Them OLD range masters can surprise you.
I picked up a 30 carbine at the gun show and took her to the range.
The range master (my good friend) proceded to fire 1 shot at 100 yards off hand then said "watch this" and proceeded to empty the magazine into the bullseye.
WE WON. WE BEAT THE MACHINE. WE HAVE CCW NOW.
I ain't skeered of snakes or red headed women; but things I see at the range the two weeks before deer season give me the willies.
Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.
A big, fast tank.Originally Posted by xs11jack
I was foolish enough to go to a public hunting area one opening deer season morning. I thought I was going to get shot 3 different times walking back to the parking lot. Haven't been to a public access hunting area since, for ANY hunting season.
I now have trouble seeing the bullseye at the 100 yard mark.
smokeywolf
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms *shall not be infringed*.
"The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution."
- Thomas Jefferson
"While the people have property, arms in their hands, and only a spark of noble spirit, the most corrupt Congress must be mad to form any project of tyranny."
- Rev. Nicholas Collin, Fayetteville Gazette (N.C.), October 12, 1789
What the army guy was telling me his off brand match 7mm mag dropped 4 inches at 1000 yards. Yep, his match 7mm mag with sporter weight barrel in a wood stock was shooting 1 inch groups at a 1000 yards. This was at the gunshop. I asked him his bullet weight. I walked 5 feet over to the reloading section, picked up a manual looked up his bullet at max listed speed and flipped to the drop tables and handed it to him. Nope his loads are special he says. He knows because he's an army sniper. :-/
I generally stay out of people's way at the range. I don't say much unless they're doing something stupid like walking down range while it is hot. I have gladly helped people that have asked. You get asked when you have a large tackle box of tools and cleaning gear on the bench combined with a good front rest and bag setup. I have probably zeroed more scopes for others than the number of scopes I own. I once saw a young kid with an old 1911 surplus pistol. He was frustrated and thought the pistol was defective and out of tune. He kept getting stoppages and wasn't hitting much. I couldn't help it and opened my mouth that time and offered some advice if he wanted any. He did, he thought his chief problem was the sights were off. We got him sorted out, I test fired it, gun ran fine and was sighted in fine. I then taught him about limp wristing and showed him a couple stances to eliminate it. In 15 minutes he was shooting quite a bit better with no stoppages. Nice lad. I later heard via another club member that he was doing good.
I hated when I was his age and some old guy would come up and give me unsolicited advice. Usually it was couched delicately like "you should get rid of that piece of XXXX and get a real gun, or a certain brand name". God forbid if you showed up to the range with a antique or a milsurp rifle.
The Apex Predators fascinate me. I try to get pictures of them in the wild...while keeping a safe distance. Since I quit hunting years ago, I do all my animal shooting with a camera. Honestly, I find it very rewarding.
Dang, Bill, if you are calling someone old then THAT is OLD. Maybe even older than dirt.
Yeah, the man started out giving me pointers and I listened a little until he said "Watch how I do it." and proceeded to show me how well a person can shoot a pistol.
My dad did that for a while. He got tired of the hunting in cold weather and really didn't care to shoot anything anymore. He could "take" them with a camera.
+1 to your sigline. My gunsmith friend was very much along those lines. He said you can read all the books, magazines, and online theories all you want. You only know it when you can sit down at the bench and prove it to yourself through testing.
Facetious ,why of course.
I am fortunate that I do not have to go amongst the knowledgeable people you mention in order to shoot.
If you are unwilling to defend even your own lives, then you are like mice trying to 'negotiate' with owls. You regard their ways as 'wrong', they regard you as dinner. John Farnam
Thanks for the laugh, I needed it. My last trip to the local range was pretty tame for being close to deer season, except for the guy who colorfully cussed himself out for forgetting to clean his muzzleloader last season.
I remember when I got my first pistol, a 1911 too. i shot it at 25 yards and took the target inside. A club officer old timer was there, he was a bullseye shooter. He said pistol shooting is all about practice and perfection takes a long time. He said it wasn't bad for a beginner when I pointed out the few close to the center. He flipped my target over to the blank side and pointed to the holes (widely spread using up the whole paper, approx 14x14") "that's your group, keep working on it"
He was right.
Yeah you would, I've seen your fil shoot.
I get a chuckle out of some of those folks. The worst is when a guy wants to go check his target after each shot, or when you must say something about range safety and the offender wants to get an attitude. The free education is amusing at least.
If you think your a hammer everything looks like a nail.
I learned that Mall Ninjas back down rather quickly when confronted. I wish I knew what his girlfriend thought if him after the verbal tongue lashing. I don't appreciate having an idiot 1' off my left shoulder blasting away w/ an AR, w/ birdcage, at a target set up at five yards. He could barely keep all of them on the entire target, and it was a large one. Final straw, as if hot brass down my neck wasn't enough, was when the brass started hitting my new Single Seven sitting on the bench. There was no reason for him to be that close. He was two stations over but decided he had to get that close for some reason. Sorry for the rant. I hate stupid people. The scary part is that this idiot reloads. I guess the silver lining is that I left w/ a good bit of his brass because it landed in my range bags
Rail Gun...
Definitely a Rail Gun...
You nailed it. There is a reason I usually set the alarm and go at first light. Plus, I don't have to deal with questions as to why I'm picking through the trash and berm for goodies others left behind. If I was a less honest man, this kind of schedule would have netted me a few very nice rifles and 2 nice 1911's that people left behind, probably packing up at last light.
Were you at my range by chance? Last trip I had mall ninjas with so much **** hanging off their AR's they weighed 15 pounds. They cam over and looked at my lightweight and proceeded to tell me that the 300 yard range was to far I should be shooting 100 max. Where was my red dot? 45 degree rail and iron sights? Flashlight? Bipod(this I might add, dunno more weight to carry)? I told them to look through my spotting scope and see what I was doing at 300 yards and they claimed that target was from someone else with a high power rifle so I put my last 5 shots in a 3 inch circle for them. They claimed it was a trick. My bullets were hitting the ground and someone in hiding was shooting the target for me....
They proceeded to go back to the 50 yard range and their mall ninja drills and not hitting anything while I packed up. They also told me that shooting off my rifle case folded over on top of an ammo can for a rest would deform my barrel and never work(dudes, I have a free float hand guard for a reason). I had to be shooting standing or prone with a bipod rest that they had attached to their barrels(back to resting barrel on something guys?). They were shooting pencil profile barrels and doing mag dumps and spraying rounds in a 4 foot circle from over heated barrels. I use a match grade heavier profile barrel and at the range it is 5 shots, cool down a bit, 5 shots... I was checking zero anyway and not blasting having fun. When I do that it is cheap ammo and shoot the bouncy ground targets, good practice if you can get one in the air second shot.
Makes me very happ that I have the combination to our club firing range. I can go shoot what I want, when I want, and with who I want.
Same but weekends the idiot members come out, I try to shoot during the week and often have the range to myself or maybe someone shooting trap.
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