I really thought it would take longer to happen to me...

roval said:

our outdoor range always asks if you have a muzzle brake. if so they set you up further from others. with muzzle loaders they usually try to set you up downwind of others.

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This range doesn't have anyone controlling the operations, when you need to change targets you ask everyone for a cease fire and go cold. It's a small range also, 5 benches but usually there aren't very many people there when I would go. My luck the benches were full that day.

We used to have a rifle rated 200 yard indoor range at one of the clubs. Members had gun lockers and I had confirmed zero on some of my rifles outside before it started to rain so I moved inside to shoot some handguns storing the long guns in my locker. One of those guys was aggravating me with his Pistol AR. So I went and got my .338 Win Mag out of my locker. Didn't take him long to leave.

After I got into guns and shooting, after a few years my wife said she wanted to go to the range with me and "see what it's like". I took a .22 revolver and a .32 semi-auto for my wife to shoot, and a .38 Special for myself. The place was packed and they put us in lane 2 of a 15 lane indoor range.

My wife stood behind me while I shot a couple of cylinders of .38 special. Then she gets in front of me and I'm starting to get her adjusted to start shooting the .22 revolver. The guy next to us in Lane 1 who has not shot until now, pulls out a long barreled 460 or 500 with the barrel sticking past the barricades in between us and shoots the full cylinder at about 1 second per shot. Every round that goes off is like us being slapped in the face. My wife backs into me trying to get away from it. I back off too. My wife is in tears...shouting that she wants to get out of there...and we leave. She's in tears out in the showroom area. She has never been back, never seen me shoot, has no desire to ever be around guns again. Scared her to death.

I have always carried a piece of paper when I am shooting a pistol like that at an indoor range (I had a .44 Magnum with 8 3/8" barrel) - that I show to the people on either side of me (when convenient) to let them know and won't be startled.

jmace57 said:

After I got into guns and shooting, after a few years my wife said she wanted to go to the range with me and "see what it's like". I took a .22 revolver and a .32 semi-auto for my wife to shoot, and a .38 Special for myself. The place was packed and they put us in lane 2 of a 15 lane indoor range.

My wife stood behind me while I shot a couple of cylinders of .38 special. Then she gets in front of me and I'm starting to get her adjusted to start shooting the .22 revolver. The guy next to us in Lane 1 who has not shot until now, pulls out a long barreled 460 or 500 with the barrel sticking past the barricades in between us and shoots the full cylinder at about 1 second per shot. Every round that goes off is like us being slapped in the face. My wife backs into me trying to get away from it. I back off too. My wife is in tears...shouting that she wants to get out of there...and we leave. She's in tears out in the showroom area. She has never been back, never seen me shoot, has no desire to ever be around guns again. Scared her to death.

I have always carried a piece of paper when I am shooting a pistol like that at an indoor range (I had a .44 Magnum with 8 3/8" barrel) - that I show to the people on either side of me (when convenient) to let them know and won't be startled.

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Its only tangentially related to the subject but I find the best way to introduce the women.in your life to shooting is to get out of the way. IE park our egos and simply sign them up for an all woman's intro class.(including instructors).where they get to start with lower calibers like .22 RF and work up to .45 ACP. Then maybe follow it up a month later with a basic woman's fundamentals class using a rental gun in a size and caliber they are comfortable.with.
Always time for us time later.

PS I can just imagine being on the General Range (as opposed to the Class Range) and someone opens up with one of the M4 (Full Auto) Rentals next to you.

Muzzle brakes are for people too cheap or too chicken shat to buy a silencer.
Assuming your state allows them.
GD muzzle brakes are what should be banned.

The ear protection I have to use to shoot my .44 and .460 revolvers, means what other folks are shooting next to me, are a moot point. I do use electronic muffs tho, so that I can hear conversation when the guns are silent. I'd assume there are folks next to me tho, that feel the same way the OP does........

748 said:

GD muzzle brakes are what should be banned.

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Maybe just ban those guns that are loud. Oh wait.....most all guns are loud when shot indoors.

Am thankful that the indoor range I frequent has separate ranges for pistol and long guns.

at indoor ranges it stinks to get put in a bay where someone if firing a cannon next to you, when you just want to target shoot your .22 a little … been there

Shortly after my girlfriend started going to the range with me, we had a bad experience and I am just glad it was me that got it and not her. It was actually an outdoor range with 40-50yd lanes, and with it being busy that day we had to take a lane directly next to other shooters instead of leaving empty spaces.
We set up during a cease fire, hung targets and unpacked ammo. When the range went hot I stepped up to the shooting line to unbox the pistols we had brought, and at the same time the guy to my left shot his first cylinder full of 460 S&W. The gun had a compensator and I felt the blast of the first shot, the 2nd shot was stronger and my lip immediately stung like I'd been slapped in the mouth. A hand to my face came away with a small amount of blood, and I backed away and motioned my girlfriend to get back against the back wall.
There was a railing in between lanes and standing behind the guy with the 460 got me out of line with the blast and let me see that there were bullet shavings all over the top of the railing. I got his attention when I could safely, and showed him my bleeding lip and the bullet shavings laying on the bench. He apologized but mostly shrugged it off as having the a compensator meant for cast bullets rather than jacketed. He did put the 460 away and shot something else and nobody had any hard feelings. I was extremely glad to have on safety glasses, and can't help but wonder how it would have effected my girlfriends interest in shooting if it had been her that got their lip split open. I can't see the piece anymore but I had that hunk of jacket in my lower lip for a long time.
Now anytime we go to a public or commercial range, I always bring double ear protection, extra glasses, and usually hang back a minute when the shooting starts to see what people are shooting and if their equipment appears to safe. Sometimes its just a minor annoyance like trying to time it so that my girlfriend isn't being pelted with brass, sometimes its a lot worse.

indoor ranges are not for me. too many fools with very big guns wanting to play rambo. you can also get them at out door ranges too. but it is not as loud.

I only shoot outdoors. Two of the indoor ranges have gun sales. When you buy a gun new or used you get a free indoor range pass.
I gave all of them away. I don't want nothing to do with indoor shooting, it just isn't right.

I even found it unpleasant shooting next to an AR pistol when we switched ranges while the other one was upgraded. it was an outdoor range with a metal roof for shade. the sound bounced back down even if it was just a roof. our main outdoor range has an awning type shade cover that doesn't bounce the sound back down. I was shooting my 44 mag and another time my M1A but it really was just the AR pistol that causes more of a concussive effect with the tin roof.

[QUOTE="Jeb Stuart, post: 11318400, member: 245265" I shoot a lot of Air Rifles and Pistols. I developed Ear Tinnitus from all things Air Rifles. And I pride myself with some very nice high end rifles that have been Custom Tuned for quiet shooting. Some range from 74db to 88db, What people do not realize is that it does not take a lot of noise to get permanent ear drum damage. I now shoot these very quiet air Rifles with Ear Protection and when I go to any range, I use the best possible hearing protection. Another thing about ear drum damage is the fact that is accumulative and of course permanent.[/QUOTE]

I feel your pain. Courtesy of Infantry and Vietnam with thanks to the VA for the hearing aids. I take the hearing aids out and use foam plugs and the best muffs I can buy no matter what I shoot.

The good Lord blessed me with an outdoor range since I was a kid.

I have shot indoors at a range a few times. I wore cheap plugs and doubled up with muffs. The idiots that surrounded me with firearms made the experience very limited. Not saying all indoor ranges are bad, but when there's no range officer (or a lazy one in my case)? Bad news.

I feel bad sometimes because often I am "that guy". I try to be courteous and give space and warn fellow patrons if it's going to get loud and obnoxious. I end up shooting indoors a lot because my time is limited and outdoor ranges are far. A 5" 454 casull loaded heavy will move hanging targets on either side of my shooting lane. It doesn't bother me but I'm kind of a glutton for punishment. It's unavoidable for those of us who are stricken with the magnumitis.

On one of my range trips, there was a guy next to me shooting an officers ACP converted to 400 Corbon and he was shooting some serious hot hand loads. Impressive.

George Dickel said:

At a outdoor range where I used to shoot I had a guy on my right shooting a 338 Lapua and a 300 Win Mag, both had muzzle brakes. Almost blew me off my bench just from the deflected gasses and the noise was unreal. I had to stop and move away until he quit shooting.

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If I'm shooting a braked gun, I try to set up away from everyone. Under an awning I'm lucky to get off 20 rounds before I switch guns.
I've been that guy at indoor ranges running max loads of H110 in a short barrel. After the first time, I went home and switched back to Universal.

bersaguy said:

Yeah....I had a similar experience years ago when my wife and I were dating. She had never fired a gun, so I asked the range officer at the indoor range if we could wait until it died down a bit on the range, told him we didn't mind waiting. He sent us in with a AR pistol on one side and 454 Casull on the other. We were shooting 22lr. Think my wife fired 3 rounds...

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While not quite on that level, one day at the range they put a buddy and I on ports bracketing a guy showing his wife/girlfriend/sister how to shoot a .22. I had my Anaconda and he had his .44 Desert Eagle.

Good muffs cancel out the noise, it’s the muzzle blast and shock wave from the adjacent shooter, even hand gun, that I notice. At least indoor ranges have baffles between shooter.