Interesting things happening at my local range.

[Daekar]

Maybe I'm just in my own little world while shooting, but it has never mattered to me what the guy next to me is shooting. And I find it a little unusual that somehow the rifle I'm shooting makes the rifle next to me louder because it's a centerfire.

This is kind of what I was thinking... it's not like the other guns are more offensive because I'm shooting something small.

Besides, who goes all the way to the range with JUST rimfires, unless that's all they have? We alternated between quiet little 22s, pistols, medium-power carbines like the SKS, and the hilarious muzzle blast (and accompanying fireball) of a m91/44 Mosin Nagant. Sure, I've been pelted with brass cases, but I'm sure not gonna tell the other person that they need to move or can't use the range at certain times now because that's inconvenient for me... and they gave me the same courtesy. Some guns chuck brass into the next county, but that's just part of the game - you could say it's part of the appeal, the different functionality and diversity. It would have been appallingly boring to go the range and see all the same kind of gun all the time, a range isn't complete without an ancient single-shot 22LR, a big revolver, a tactical magdump machine, a surplus rifle equally useful for clubbing and shooting, and a scoped 300 Ultra-Whizz-Mag on the same line.

Of course, that's just my opinion. YMMV.

[uscra112]

Hot brass down my neck from three benches away ain't fun. The guy who isn't controlling it ought to be horsewhipped.

Of course, that's just my opinion. YMMV.

Another pet peeve is AR and 9mm shooters who don't police their brass before they leave. I didn't mind too much for a while, it was free once-fired brass. But after I hit a thousand pieces of 5.56 it just got to be a chore.

[/rant]

[15meter]

Boy, am I spoiled, I belong to two gun clubs, the busy club has a ten bench combined rifle range, 25, 50 and 100 yards. Most times during the week there are only a couple of shooters, weekends maybe 7 out of 10 benches are in use. And that's usually just the last week or two before deer season.

On the less busy range, if we have 15 shooters a week, that's a busy week. And that range goes out to 300 yards.


Plus both clubs have separate pistol ranges.

Spoiled. Rotten.

[Bigslug]

Speaking for myself, when the "rule-mongers" walk in and insist on making changes beyond basic safety is when I usually walk out. I have enough Democrats in my state legislature - I don't want them on my rifle range.

I am all for making room for the kids and new shooters to learn without bombs going off next to them. But if things are to the point the time of day I have for my game is totally unavailable, or if I'm trying to avoid afternoon heat or morning cold, or if I have to turn around and go home to accommodate snowflakes. . .simply put, I don't think I'd want to join your range.

My range has it's matches for various disciplines on the weekends, closing the range typically from morning to early afternoon. Result - I don't shoot on the weekends unless it's an emergency pre-deer-season prep kind of thing. I have my every-other-flex-Friday off work and that's about it. I think I'd vapor lock if they launched what your club is proposing.

[uscra112]

See post #11.

[tazman]

Speaking for myself, when the "rule-mongers" walk in and insist on making changes beyond basic safety is when I usually walk out. I have enough Democrats in my state legislature - I don't want them on my rifle range.

I am all for making room for the kids and new shooters to learn without bombs going off next to them. But if things are to the point the time of day I have for my game is totally unavailable, or if I'm trying to avoid afternoon heat or morning cold, or if I have to turn around and go home to accommodate snowflakes. . .simply put, I don't think I'd want to join your range.

My range has it's matches for various disciplines on the weekends, closing the range typically from morning to early afternoon. Result - I don't shoot on the weekends unless it's an emergency pre-deer-season prep kind of thing. I have my every-other-flex-Friday off work and that's about it. I think I'd vapor lock if they launched what your club is proposing.

If you had read the update I posted(post number 14) this is temporary to find out if there is enough interest to build a dedicated rimfire range. This will not be permanent.
There are over 1400 members at the range I am talking about. They don't run it for the benefit of just a few people.

Probably just as well you don't live in the area. There are many different time slots that are carved out of the week and dedicated for practice sessions for some discipline or another. I have to watch the schedule and pick my times when the range is open for general use. Part of the deal when you are part of a large club with varied interests.

[303Guy]

My range has a dedicated air rifle section and a 25m sighting in range. That's where the 22 guys shoot. Once someone came to sight in his wiz mag with muzzle break. The range officer asked others if it was OK for this guy to shoot (well, he was actually just warning us of what was to come. The guy went to the end bay. I was a few bays left from him. When he fired that thing I left my position and stood back and waited for him to finish! He actually offered to stop to which I said, no, no. I'm happy to wait. Man that muzzle blast was impressive. I was thinking he would be better off with a fat suppressor. I have a fat and short over-barrel single baffle suppressor on my 303 Brit that takes most of the recoil out. I never got to chat with him though.

So that's my 22 range. Plenty of full bores being fired. Occasionally a full bore will go of just as I am releasing my shot. It doesn't do accuracy any good! Our sighting in range does have barriers between the benches.

I do want to shoot on the main range with my 22's but that's 100m (110yds) which is a little far for me at this stage. Once I have my chosen rifle tuned in sufficiently (which ever one will shoot well enough), I shall be going over to 100m.

[sniper]

I was at my local range a couple of weeks ago. Right off, I have a hereditary condition that makes me overly sensitive to loud noises, or loud, sharp and sudden noises. Trust me, that is a terrible condition for one who loves shooting to have! I wear good hearing protection even when I am on the range premesis. One discharge without my ears on, and I might as well quit.
I was shooting , and this young fellow who obviously had very little knowledge about rifles and scopes, couldn't get his rifle...a 7mm Rem. Magnum...sighted in at 100 yards, so they told him to come to the .22/handgun range. He shot maybe 4 times, which disturbed my concentration, so I quit shooting, and just observed.

At 50 yards, his pattern was inside the 18 X 18 inch target he was using...just barely. I watched, and each time he shot, he would "adjust" his scope. It looked like he was killing snakes! His whole body would be moving as he attempted to adjust his scope turrets!

I guess none of the range oficials knew enough to suggest he should start at 25 yards, get it centered then go back to the big bore range; or...had tried to help and were rebuffed. He finally got frustrated and quit.

I found out later he ws third in line for the guy who sights in rifles, and he got impatient and left. I hope he got it sighted in somewhere, because as it was, a deer would have been the safest critter in the county, if he had shot at it. Kind of sad...many guns being bought by people who have little knowledge about them, or about the basics of marksmanship.

[uscra112]

There are many different time slots that are carved out of the week and dedicated for practice sessions for some discipline or another. I have to watch the schedule and pick my times when the range is open for general use. Part of the deal when you are part of a large club with varied interests.

^^^THIS^^^ The club I still belong to is also 1500 or so members, publishes a schedule months in advance. Don't expect to use the pistol range if such-and-such LE agency has reserved it for training. Or a weekend when a GSSF or IDPA match is scheduled.
Or the rifle range when a Vintage Military Shoot is on, (but do come watch - we allow full-auto, and it draws some interesting pieces! I've seen a WW1 German Vickers, chambered 8mm.)

[15meter]

I suspect it would take quite a bit. The email said the expected cost to build the range would be around $200,000. It will be interesting to see how this works out. The club seems to have a lot of available money but they try to spend it wisely.
They currently have nearly 1400 members. At $150 a year, that adds up. The club also gets grants from the NRA for projects like this.

Just curious how it would cost $200,000 to build a 22LR range. With already owning the land, the dirt work and construction of a ten bench range at $200,000 sounds a bit pricey.

I would think that the dirt work would be the most expensive portion, a quick innerweb search shows a Cat D9 @ $510 per hour as a very high rate. 100 hours would be $51000. I would think 100 hours of dirt work would build a considerable back stop.

I had a very nice storage building built this time last year, 12'x36'x10' full concrete floor, oversized overhead doors on each end, side entry door(built for my iceboats, I've got one with a 30' mast) I suspect it would make a great shooting shed for at least 6 benches. It cost me ~$18,000. Double that to 72 feet wouldn't double the cost, 10 benches @ 7 feet for 22 shooting I suspect would work.

Eyebrow and target holders on the back stop plus concrete walkways @ 50 yards can't be any more than the $35,000 complete building.

Are you that close to Chicago that the governmental gratuities are that high?

Just curious.

I used to belong to a club that had those kinds of construction costs but the president had a nephew in the construction business and he was the only one allowed to bid on projects.

Operative word is "used". I decided I didn't need to subsidize his family.

[tazman]

I know nothing about construction costs so I will defer to your expertise on that matter.
What I will say is, this club never builds anything half way. It is either really good or they don't do it.
I would expect the range to have an overhead cover similar to what the benchrest shooting area does and also a concrete floor. The benchrest cover is only open on the downrange side. Three full walls with windows, doors, and a roof. A good level concrete floor and benches bolted to the floor made out of very heavy wood. They are VERY solid. I could dance on top of one and never make it wiggle.
I don't know if there will be much in the way of tree removal and grading necessary since I don't know where they are thinking of building it.
The range is just outside the southern edge of the quad cities(Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, And rock Island). I have no idea how that would affect costs.

[uscra112]

Just for comparison, the retirement BOL I bought has a "chicken shed" that's 24 x 60. I had the dirt floor graded out and 6" concrete floor poured for $6500. Granted I'm in rural Ohio, where labor is cheap, but still....

[Bigslug]

A proper smallbore range would be a fairly rare thing: STURDY, non-wiggly target frames at the ISU and NRA distances; more or less permanent wind streamers; dare I say it, electronic scoring.

The "Play" extreme would also be welcome - fixed kinetic targets that you wouldn't have to worry about centerfires destroying. Of course, realistically, that would survive about ZERO seconds on most ranges...

[tazman]

I doubt there would be any wind streamers unless you brought your own and certainly no electronic scoring. The steel targets are a good possibility as they have a league for rimfire silhouette monthly or more often during the summer I believe. Some hanging steel gongs of appropriate size and maybe a "know your limits" type of thing would be a good possibility. I may mention that to the board if it gets that far.
As you said, the trick would be to keep the centerfire shooters from shooting the targets up.
They had to kick some people off the pistol range for firing rifles on it. The pistol range is clearly marked with large signs that say "handgun only. No shotguns or rifles allowed."

[Pressman]

Our range is small, there is a dedicated 22 range separate from the general range. And there was a problem with young guys and AR's hogging the 22 range. That seems to be handled now. Our issue is a single 25/50 yard bench on the general side. It's too busy all the time. 3 covered 100/200 and longer benches see some use, 2 uncovered benches see little use even though they have a better view of the targets and are constructed better.

Many of us have discussed adding another 25/50 yard bench but can't solve the terrain issues involved. We have 300+ members and open shooting only, first come first served and no range master.

Ken

[uscra112]

Be interested to learn how the problem of AR types hogging the.22 range was handled.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Not too hard to hae it be "22 rimfire only" designated?

[uscra112]

Not too hard to hae it be "22 rimfire only" designated?

Except, without an RSO present, the sign gets ignored. Our club's outdoor pistol range has on occasion "hosted" AR types. They seem to like to be close to what they're blasting. (Probably because they can't shoot worth a darn.) I've even been present when some geniuses started shooting Tannerite on the pistol range. (I was over on the rifle range, so I only heard it; didn't see it.)

This was before the club installed locked gates on both ranges. Only members are provided with the magnetic keys. The lock system records the time of entry and the member's number. This is what it took to cut down the damage that was being done. And reduced the chances of lawsuits, according to the club president.

[tazman]

Our club also has locked gates at the main entrance and locks on the indoor range and equipment buildings. The indoor range is required to sign in with time but many ignore this. The outdoor ranges don't currently require anyone to sign in. This makes it a little difficult to find out who is doing what out there.
Due to some problems, all the ranges, including the outdoors ranges, have security video cameras that record activities.
We have had someone stealing from cars and breaking into buildings as well as some people mishandling firearms on the ranges and either getting hurt or damaging property.
The club recently rebuilt the wall between the shooting lanes and the spectator area in the indoor range due to someone firing a bullet through the wall. The bullet went through his hand first, then through the wall. It embedded in one of the door frames.
It won't happen again as the wall and windows are bullet proof. Steel plates on the walls and dual pane bullet proof glass in the windows.

[uscra112]

You must be close to a big city! We have our problems, but not like that!