bothersome range sessions with friends (sometimes)

[dekibg]

I go to range on average once a month, and analyzing my sessions in last year or so, with 4 guys that go with me sometimes, I came to conclusion that first two of them are not good range buddies, and I would rather go by myself.
-friend #1 : nice guy, but cheap a..
he likes guns, but he does not own any, b/c he does not want to spend money. I don't mind him using my guns at range since I am shooting them anyway, but would be nice if he at least buys ammo at Walmart or Dick's that he wants to shoot, instead of me hunting for the best deal, and than splitting the bill with him. This is especially irritating with 22LR, where I have my own stash of 6 cents per round,( took me a while to gather), and I almost want to tell him to buy his own 22LR ammo at the range at their own prices ( 10 cents) if he wants to shoot it.
-friend #2 : has several guns, but usually takes only one of his own per range session, because he is " too busy to clean them". guess whose guns he shoots ? one time he took his .38 special revolver and whole time he complained how expensive ammo for this gun is
-friend #3 : good family friend, fair in splitting the cost of ammo and range fees, but owns only one (hand)gun and not very interested in shooting - I have to initiate it every time.
-friend #4 : best shooting buddy- nice collection of guns, very fair in every aspect, always ready for a range session when time allows him.
What your experiences are ?
I decided to start avoiding first two guys, and sometimes is better to go alone anyway, so you can do what you want to do ( zero in a new gun, practice drills you want, etc.)

 

[cat_IT_guy]

Ive generally had good experiences taking guests, but dont do so too often. More often than not my range trips are planned very quickly (not far in advance) which is not really conducive to bringing guests. I guess I also kind of enjoy the range as my "quiet" place.

The friends I have taken more than once have always been willing to pay for ammo and / or targets, and usually without my prompting. Im sure the not-so-good ones are out there, but Im so far managed to avoid them.

 

[rcmodel]

Friends 1, & 2 are not friends.
They are moochers taking advantage of you.

Friend 3 & 4 are worth going to the range with.

(Or anywhere else they aren't taking advantage of you like 'friends' 1 & 2.)

rc

 

[sappyg]

I guess I'm lucky because i enjoy shooting with my friends. Of the four of us I'm the gun nut but it's not always about shooting.

During the ride to the range there is conversation. The jokes. The one upmanship. I think we look forward to that as much as the actual shooting. In fact, shooting is more of a happenstance though it is the goal.

Don't shoot with uninteresting people and you'll be better off.

 

[Lord Teapot]

Friends 1, & 2 are not friends.
They are moochers taking advantage of you.

Friend 3 & 4 are worth going to the range with.

(Or anywhere else they aren't taking advantage of you like 'friends' 1 & 2.)

rc

moochers don't buy the ammo off you lol,
friend 1 buys the ammo he shoots, despite apparently being uninformed about .22lr, but that could be fixed with a few words.
friend 2 brings his gun/ammo, and just whines, that isnt a moocher.

 

[Ironicaintit]

I used to have hangers-on like that. And, i dont go with them anymore. I have another group of friends that I used to shoot with, but they tend to get rowdy, and let safety rules slip. I dont go with them anymore either.
Now, its my wife and I, sometimes my mom, and usually my 3 year old boy. We have property and dont need to, or like going to a range. Honestly, im usually all by my lonesome. And thats good too!

My favorite though, is to take an individual with me who has shown an interest in shooting, but has never really been around guns. Coaxing an enthusiast out of a "well, maaaybe..." Kindof person is well worth the effort and ammo.

 

[the Real Alpo]

moochers don't buy the ammo off you lol,
friend 1 buys the ammo he shoots, despite apparently being uninformed about .22lr, but that could be fixed with a few words.
friend 2 brings his gun/ammo, and just whines, that isnt a moocher.

I don't agree.

Guy #2 - the OP says he only brings one gun, because he does not want to clean more than one, and "guess whose guns he shoots". That tells me that guy #2 brought HIS 38, and HIS 38 ammo, but also shot the OP's 44 and 357 and 45 and 9mm, etc. Moocher.

Guy #1 - I go to the range wanting to shoot 300 rounds of 22. I bring 300 rounds of 22. Guy #1 wants to shoot my 22, and pays me for the ammo he shoots in it, but because I only brought 300 rounds, and he shot 100 of them, I only got to shoot 200 rounds. If guy #1 wants to shoot my guns, he needs to bring ammo. He can go to the store and buy it, same as me. I ain't his ammo connection. Maybe not a moocher, but not anyone I'd go shoot with more than once or twice.

 

[22-rimfire]

I eventually curtail the shooting sessions with the moochers. I flat out will tell them to bring their own ammunition and I might give some suggestions where to find the ammunition. I am not going to spend all of my time looking for good prices just to have them shoot it up and expect it not to cost them anything or "want to split the actual cost". My problem is that I'm cheap.

Safety is one of my biggest concerns with people who do not shoot much especially in casual locations outside a formal range.

 

[rcmodel]

Friends that are Moochers?

It's hard to see it when it's happening.

Years ago, I rode motorcycles.
36 years in fact.
And I got pretty good at tuning them.

I made a set of vacuum gages for tuning 2 & 4-cylinder, 2 & 4-carb Honda engines before the Honda dealer had a vacuum gage bank set-up.

So I had an ever-widening circle of 'friends' who showed up in my driveway at all hours of the night & day wanting free tuning.

Finally, I started charging them the same hour rates as the dealer.

And suddenly, I didn't have as many motorcycle 'friends '.

Imagine that!!

rc

 

[chris in va]

I shoot by myself, unless I happen to see a buddy shooting.

My main gratification is letting the younger generation try a few of my rifles such as the Garand or CX4. The grin is more than payment enough.

 

[HB]

I enjoy taking new shooters to a controlled range a couple times a year. Usually they end up buying their own equipment and share the same opinions as me.

If I'm taking somebody who likes to shoot i ask for ammo money up front.

Honestly i prefer to go alone because I'm usually testing loads or "training". It's hard to put in a productive session while attending to others. I'm long past blasting away 100 rounds of 9mm. Much prefer to mix in snap caps and work on accuracy with 5 rounds in the mag or testing new loads on my own time.

HB

 

[BigBore45]

i shoot a lot. Some of my friends and family cannot afford to shoot the amount i shoot. i invite them and will reload for them. all on my cost. but they are respectful and will always help me out in other aspects. I never mind going to the range by myself though. i can get a real good handle on fundamentals of shooting with no one around to do "challenges" with or anything else you can think of that will get your mind wondering off of fundamentals.

I find it great to take some one out to shoot that cannot afford it. but if they have a 50k vehicle when my personal truck is worth maybe 10k, lol there loss. i allocate money for my enjoyment not to show off to other people.

 

[stompah]

My father in law is slightly similar. Pays the range fees for me but doesn't quite get that ammo isn't as cheap as it was when he stopped shooting in the early 90s. The worst part is when I don't take him he gets whiny. Doesn't realize that sometimes I just get an itch to go and go. And I often like to shoot alone.

When I do go with non shooters ammo is on me.

 

[ljnowell]

I'm lucky in that my main shooting partner is my uncle. We are nearly identical in our interests and activities. Both were mechanics, both collectors, both bullseye shooters, both reload, etc. We run two leagues together and practice together every week. No issues between us.

Now, when we are at the range practicing the guys at the range are another story. We both are very well known around the two local clubs because of our involvement with bullseye leagues and how often we are there. When we are practicing with our timer running and trying to concentrate sometimes we will have people coming up every five minutes talking to us. They don't realize that they are interrupting practice, as most people spend more time talking than shooting at the range.

To remedy this we started shooting at 6:30 am. We are packing up at 9:30 when others are just getting there.

 

[coloradokevin]

I've got a couple of close friends that I shoot with whenever I can. They're like-minded shooters, and we're dialed in to the same game. I'm always looking for more friends who want to do what we do, but they can be few and far between (mostly long range shooting for us).

I've had other friends who end up in the mooch category. One in particular never has ammo, and always wants to shoot your guns. He'll let you shoot his guns, too, but he brings very little to the table in terms of firearms/ammo. He's mostly interested in letting you buy ammo for him. This never annoyed me much until we went to the range one day and he asked me if he could try my AR-15. Naturally I answered "sure", and pointed him to the table where my AR-15 and two 30-round magazines of ammo were sitting. He proceeded to empty both magazines in about twenty seconds while I was getting something from my car. This was high quality ammo when things were scarce in the .223 world, so I figure he burned through about $40 worth of ammo while mostly just making loud noises as quickly as he could. I think most people probably have that "one" friend.

When I'm taking new shooters to the range I almost always provide guns, ammo, and training. I want more people to get into shooting, so I do my best to encourage such behavior.

 

[1911 guy]

Honestly, I have few people I like to go to the range with. Mostly my dad. Sometimes a friend or two. Lots of people assume that a range trip is free entertainment and when asked to supply the ammo they plan to shoot, balk at the cost. Couple that with the fact that I very seldom go to the range just for fun, it gets tedious dealing with people who have no interest in being serious about it. I'd rather play cards with them than shoot with them.

The only exception to this is introducing new shooters or kids. I'll spend the time to bring people into the hobby. I'll let them burn my ammo and take my time. But a grown adult who is already convinced he/she knows it all and wasting the little time I do get, no.

 

[gamestalker]

Wow, I'm sorry you haven't been fortunate enough to find / make better range buddies.

Me, I've generally been fortunate, in that most of the time, it's me and one or more family members. However, I do go with other folks from time to time, they too are usually good folks and are willing to share the expenses and firearms.

I have one particular friend who is rather new to the whole gun thing, he has always owned firearms, just never got actively involved in shooting them until recently. My Son's and I have been helping him train his boys in preparation for hunter safety. We've also been introducing them and some advanced hunting tactics as well.

Just over the last year alone, my boys and I, which are all grown adults BTW, introduced no fewer than 7 individuals, including those with minor children, to the advanced techniques of hunting and shooting. It's self rewarding and fulfilling when you see families bonding together with a common interest, and especially a hobby as moral and wholesome as shooting and hunting is. And even though we've been treated to gift cards for a nice meal, or something like Sportsmen Warehouse, the most rewarding expression of gratitude for me, is when you take pictures of them displaying their first deer, or their son's first, and they're smiling ear to ear. Then they tell the story over and over again during the trip home. That's as rewarding and fulfilling as it gets, IMHO.

My approach and advice, if you care to consider it, next time you invite one of your non contributing friends, conclude the invite with something like, "Hey, Dicks has a good deal on 38 spcl right now, so don't forget to pick up a couple boxes". "It'll be fun, I look forward to seeing you on Saturday". And the guy who never brings his guns, during his invite, you could say something like, "don't forget to get your guns cleaned up and ready for Saturday, I'm really looking forward to shooting that 1911 you have" They'll either reciprocate and get the message, or they'll decline the invite, wither way, the problem should be solved, and without any hurt feelings.

If you lose your range buddies, then begin searching for new friends, some that share the similar and sincere appreciation for the sport you have.

GS

 

[Deaf Smith]

Guest are guest. You do not have to invite them everytime.

Deaf

 

[gamestalker]

Ya, that also. If you invite them, and they don't exhibit some acceptable level of appreciation, don't invite them again. Frankly, there are a lot of times when I prefer to shoot alone.

GS

 

[Havok7416]

I bring (or meet) a lot of new shooters to/at the range and I usually let them shoot as much as they want. Most don't shoot that much and they don't usually come back with me, although they often swear up and down they will be out all the time.

If they do come out and shoot with me more, I'll ask for some cash to offset my costs. Exceptions include close friends and family.

 

[bannockburn]

If I want to get some quality range time in I usually go by myself. If I'm helping someone learning how to shoot for the first time (typically family members and close friends), then I don't do any shooting at all during those range sessions. If it I go with several friends then everyone pretty much brings their own guns and ammo. Don't really have any freeloaders (pardon the pun), or moochers among my shooting buddies.

 

[buck460XVR]

What you are experiencing is the same thing I experience whenever I do most any activity with others. Don't matter if it's going to the range, hunting, fishing riding motorcycle, shooting sporting clays, etc, etc. There are always the cheapskates, there are always the self appointed experts, the ones that never can take their vehicle, never bring enough ammo and never have cash to buy their own drinks/food if you stop someplace. Part of life. Take a long motorcycle ride(I'm talking days or weeks) with your best friend and his wife and odds are you will discover their idea of riding and where/when to stop are much different than your...and odds are you won't ask them to do it again. Don't mean they still can't be your best friends, just not your best riding buddies.

 

[Walkalong]

It's just life. People are people. Is the enjoyment worth the added cost?

Either quit worrying about it, or make some guidelines knowing you might lose some shooting "buddies".

I have a long time friend who I take shooting sometimes. He has a couple of guns, and limited ammo on hand. If I did not instigate a shooting session he might go once every few years on his own. So I bug him to go with me here and there, and often provide the ammo. On the other hand, he does things for me all the time with no thought of asking for compensation. It all works out. He's not a moocher, he just isn't into guns as much as I am, and I like to go shooting with him sometimes. I enjoy the time spent with a friend and it's worth the "cost" to me.

So, are these real friends, or just moochers, and either way, is it worth the cost?

 

[Salmoneye]

I prefer to shoot alone...

 

[Reloadron]

I don't take friends to the range with the exception of new shooters who I school before we go to the range. I meet friends at the range, whoever shows shoots and whoever doesn't show obviously doesn't shoot. My regular shooting friends show up with their own guns and choices of ammunition for the day. That is pretty much true for both indoor and outdoor ranges.
I just spent about 3 weeks in NC and a few friends wanted to go shooting so a Google found me a nice local indoor range. I went over the safety drills several times allowing them to hold and cycle the guns they would be shooting. Then we all went to the range and I made it clear that range fees and ammunition were on me, my treat. Regular shooters? I am not that generous.

Ron