Dumbest thing you've seen at the range?

[russ69]

mcdonl says: Wow, do you shoot competitively? You should... I was watching shooting gallery this week and they were showing a match where guys were earning up wards of $3K and the killer was the 20 yard targets. These pro's were not getting near the result of you at 100 and 200 yards. USPSA Open Production... check out the video.http://www.outdoorchannel.com/shows/ShootingUSA.aspx Could be some good income for you!"

You have shown USPSA, that has no connection to long range shooting, it's mostly a speed contest. The guys that shoot long range are the metallic silhouette guys. They shoot at 200 yards, unsupported while standing with handguns. Perfect scores have been shot with production handguns (I know because my friend shot the first perfect score in production class). The shooters claim is totally reasonable for a good shooter. Sorry there is no money to be made in that sport other than paying for some travel expenses and maybe a nice prize.

Thanx, Russ

 

[Dr-Science]

I didn't see it, but my friend says he saw some guy at the range shooting .50 BMG and neglecting to save his brass--just sending rounds downrange to apparently impress his girlfriend. Not really stupid, but silly.
Also, I saw one of the guys working at the gun shop explaining the difference between a revolver and a semi-auto and how each works. The guy he was explaining this to was looking for a home defense gun. idk but in my opinion, if you don't already know all this stuff you shouldn't be allowed to get a gun.

 

[Sam1911]

The guy he was explaining this to was looking for a home defense gun. idk but in my opinion, if you don't already know all this stuff you shouldn't be allowed to get a gun.

Are you at all serious? So a guy was in a gun shop asking how guns work, because he's concerned for the safety of his family and wants to be able to defend them -- and you want WHAT? How about, good for him that he's asking questions instead of trying to figure it out for himself with a new gun and a box of ammo at the kitchen table? Kudos to the salesman for taking a few moments to make sure a new shooter had some sound information. How about thanking him for explaining the functional differences to someone about to make a significant first purchase?

I don't know you but I seriously doubt you'd want the collective population of THR to vote on whether your knowledge was adequate before you were allowed to purchase a gun. Especially your first. Who's going to make this law or rule? I certainly don't want a bunch of politicians penning that law, having witnessed for decades how much they DON'T understand about firearm function and technology.

"Why it says right here that you can't purchase a military style auto-loader until you can explain the purpose and function of 'the shoulder thing that goes up!'" Yikes.

I'm just saying, careful with the "there aught to be a law" comments.

 

[ChaoSS]

I didn't see it, but my friend says he saw some guy at the range shooting .50 BMG and neglecting to save his brass--just sending rounds downrange to apparently impress his girlfriend. Not really stupid, but silly.
Also, I saw one of the guys working at the gun shop explaining the difference between a revolver and a semi-auto and how each works. The guy he was explaining this to was looking for a home defense gun. idk but in my opinion, if you don't already know all this stuff you shouldn't be allowed to get a gun.

Sam nailed it. How can someone learn if they don't start asking questions? I don't know about you, but I wasn't born with inherent knowledge of firearms and how they worked, the differences between different types of guns, etc.

Kudos to the guy for wanting to have a gun to defend himself, and for trying to educate himself. Kudos to the guy who was educating him, and shame on you for having a problem with the situation.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

I seen an uninitiated fellow place a magazine and squeeze the trigger whith the pistol pointed at the head of a counter employee.
This is with live rounds in the customer area.

I don't care if the gun has been cleared a thousand times this is a no no.

 

[mcdonl]

You have shown USPSA, that has no connection to long range shooting, it's mostly a speed contest.

I know Russ, I was just impressed as there were 4 targets I think that were a "long distance" and many struggled with it, but I suppose that when you add the speed factor it changes everything.

Still though, accurate 200 yard shooting with a handgun of any kind is impressive.

 

[fyrfytr]

Dumbest thing I ever did at the range? I was adjusting the scope on my 870, getting ready for deer or turkey season, I can't recall. I chambered a round, pulled the trigger, and...nothing. Racked the slide, chambered the next round, and nothing again. I fiddle with the gun a bit, check this, check that, etc. The barrel was always downrange, BTW. Suddenly, the gun fired. Unfortunately, the stock was several inches away from my shoulder. The resulting bruise reminded me for days to keep my finger off the trigger until ready to fire. Like I said, the barrel was always pointed down range and fortunately nobody else was there to see what I had done.

 

[outerlimit]

One female LEO trying for more than 3min to make the mag of a MP5 fit inside the... pistol grip..

Now that's a highly trained professional!!!

 

[BradleyCole]

some people

I live in ca so not a lot of close ranges for my girlfriend and i to go to so we go out to Ramona to shoot we are all set up 10 targets down range two long haired air heads pull up one pulls an AK 47 30 round clip out (both illegal in ca) and fires full auto at my 20yrd target unloads the full clip a yells i love this thing he dint even hit the target he continues trying while my girl pinks at a 10x6 steel target at 100 with her .22lr after being emasculated by my girlfriends excellent shooting they left.

 

[cleardiddion]

Hey Bradley, not to come off as mean but:
It's a 'magazine' and not a 'clip' that you're referring to.
Sorry if I had to bump in with this but it kinda drives me up the wall when people start mixing and matching.

Welcome to THR by the way.

 

[jbkebert]

My dumb a$$ this afternoon. Went to the range with a couple guys and when I stopped to unlock the gate on the way out. One of the guys brought his .357 mag out to ask me a question about the trigger. Like a dumb a$$ I did not check the gun. I worked the hammer a couple times then pulled the trigger DA and it went off. Scared the crap out of me and powder burnt my hand that was in front of the cyclinder. I am a hunter ed instructor and you would think I would know better than to accept a gun without checking the damn thing. Stupid stupid stupid. At least I followed the rule of keeping the barrel in a safe direction.:banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[SATX man]

My wife and I went to range a couple of weeks ago and a young guy came to rifle range so we ceased fire so he can put up target and the guy stayed at the 100yd line with a riot shield. So there are three of us yelling at him to get out of the fireling line and he is yelling back that he is safe behind the shiels and he really wants to watch a bullet come towards him, we had to call range master to get him off fireing line so we can continue shooting.

 

[twofifty]

My dumb a$$ this afternoon. Went to the range with a couple guys and when I stopped to unlock the gate on the way out. One of the guys brought his .357 mag out to ask me a question about the trigger. Like a dumb a$$ I did not check the gun. I worked the hammer a couple times then pulled the trigger DA and it went off. Scared the crap out of me and powder burnt my hand that was in front of the cyclinder. I am a hunter ed instructor and you would think I would know better than to accept a gun without checking the damn thing. Stupid stupid stupid. At least I followed the rule of keeping the barrel in a safe direction.:banghead::banghead::banghead:

I can totally see that happening to anyone really.

I too have made a mistake or two (breaking one rule so nothing of consequence happens other than me feeling like an azz) and the common denominator is that I allowed myself to be distracted.

In your case, you were dealing with the gate as you are leaving, all guns supposed to be put away and safe at that point, and buddy shows you his .357 asking about the trigger. Under the circumstances, a brain fart can easily occur. Good thing it takes breaking three safety rules at once for injury to happen.

Glad all was ok save for you being embarassed.

 

[D94R]

Every time I see a story like this involving a new shooter I ask myself. "Is it the fault of the student, or the teacher?"

I like how 90% of those types of posts are ended with the obligatory, and cliche, statement that "they will/have never taken them shooting again" like it's our mission to be as smug and holier than though when dealing with all new shooters. It kind of disgusts me that people give up so darn easy; like they've never once in their life ever made a mistake while handling a gun, regardless of it's consequences. Yet they drop their friends, sisters, brother in laws, etc the first time they are "swept". Great for all of those people with that mentality and attitude. You've just showed us how rooted you are into your superior complexes and instead of stepping back to square one and reintroducing your peers to the rules and etiquette away from the firing line, you'd rather drop them all together from your list of people to shoot with 'forever'. Great way to get new shooters involved in the sport. Not everyone is going to be 100% perfect from the very start, especially involving something as intimidating as using fire arms, and I'd put a dime on it betting these safety Nazi's have done their fare share of rule breaking with or without knowing it.





Anyhow, my experience was when I was shooting with some work buddies at a rock quarry. We were down in a trench surrounded on all three sides by ~15ft rock/dirt walls. We hear then see a group of off-roaders coming from behind us down the access road adjacent to the trench so we stop shooting and wait for them to pass. We all wave at each other and then they drop off down and to the opposite direction we are shooting from. We gave them a few minutes to make sure they weren't around and continued our shooting.

No more than 10 minutes later the first vehicle pops up on top of the wall at the end of the trench that we are shooting at in the middle of us firing my SKS. The guy shooting immediately halts firing, the and the dingus in the truck just sits there watching us (waiting for us to shoot I guess ???). After a few minutes we finally start yelling for them to move on and it took them a good while to realize how stupid they were. I still sit and think about what they could have possibly had going through their heads to do that, but this is Utah and I'm pretty sure it was the normal case of 'the dumb'.

 

[chopper180]

The one consistent thing that I notice at the range is a young couple with the guy (who's obviously new to shooting/firearms) instructing the girl. I make it a point to approach these folks and strike up a conversation when there's a break. This way I can offer help to someone who obviously needs it without coming off as a know it all. Usually it's their first/second time at the range and first/second time with the weapon. Without fail, they genuinely appreciate it. I grew up around firearms, but many did not. I know that if you're not that familiar with them in general, it can be somewhat intimidating - and when you're standing there with your girlfriend you sure don't want to ask someone for help. Even if you do want some help or have a question, imagine how hard it would be to approach someone in this scenario and risk looking like a fool - that's why I take the first step.

 

[cleardiddion]

My wife and I went to range a couple of weeks ago and a young guy came to rifle range so we ceased fire so he can put up target and the guy stayed at the 100yd line with a riot shield. So there are three of us yelling at him to get out of the fireling line and he is yelling back that he is safe behind the shiels and he really wants to watch a bullet come towards him, we had to call range master to get him off fireing line so we can continue shooting.

Lol! Someone's been playing far far too much of the latest Call of Duty game.
Makes me a bit sad now that I think about it.

 

[Carl]

My first impression of the guy with the riot shield would be that he has some kind of mental problem. No reasonable person would do that.

My funny gun range story mostly consists of seeing a girl in the next stall doing a dance after a spent shell falls down the front of her low cut shirt.

 

[Maverick223]

I say leave the riot shield there...let him come back...shoot said riot shield, then let him see if he wants to go back (hope it's his personal shield, otherwise there will be one pissed off LE agency). There is a reason it is called a riot shield, rather than a combat shield (APC) or artillery shield (tank).

 

[Guiding101]

I have a good one for you all. I have a friend who built a cement walled room to sit in on his farm on his target range. The only opening once the steel door is shut is the shooting window. The rifle rest is back from the window a couple of feet. The interior of the building is carpet lined ceiling and all to cut down the shock of the muzzle blast and he wears eye and ear protection at all times. This has worked well for him with most guns. About a year ago he bought himself a .416 barrett equiped with barret's standard muzzle break. Another friend of mine was out there the first time he shot it. The gun's owner went inside the hut to shoot the rifle while friend number two stood behind the enclosure. This coming from friend #2. "All at once I heard an earth shaking roar, the door blew open and smoke poored out." He looked inside and the guy firing the rifle was in a daze gasping for air. The carpet on the ceiling was on fire from the muzzle blast. Apparently the burning powder instantly sucked the air out of the enclosure and out of my buddies lungs. He did not pass out but damned near. The blast had even pushed door hard enough to unlatch it. Since then the rifle is an "outside gun".

 

[Maverick223]

^...and that is why I just love a good muzzle brake.[/sarcasm]

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

aren't the bullet proof shields called ballestic shields?

 

[Dirtpile]

I once watched a guy shooting a DA revolver in SA. Every time he brought the gun up vertical when he cocked it. Apparently didn't keep his finger off the trigger because he shot the ceiling twice and then hit the target runner. Blew the circuit breakers and the whole range went dark.

 

[Quoheleth]

One of the officers on my range decided he was going to investigate, first hand, the complaints from neighbors about flying bullets. Unbeknownst to us, he decided to enter the back gate (unseen from the firing line) and hide behind the berm for a while. Then, he got in his truck, drove around the corner of the berm and headed up-range --- all without coordinating with the range officer. He was driving up-range while it was hot. He wanted to lecture us about range safety...:banghead:. Then he got back in his truck and went back downrange and out the way he came in.

There were three of us there at the time. The range officer had the shakes so bad afterward that he had to quit and go home. I shot a few more times and decided that was "close enough" for one day. I went home and reported it to another range officer and was dismissed with "Yeah, he does wierd stuff like that sometimes..."



Not only was his life at risk, but for the three of us our lives-as-we-knew-it were at risk.

Q

 

[tango2echo]

Wow, do you shoot competitively? You should... I was watching shooting gallery this week and they were showing a match where guys were earning up wards of $3K and the killer was the 20 yard targets. These pro's were not getting near the result of you at 100 and 200 yards.

Yep. I "retired" from IDPA, USPSA, and others last year after 20+ years of active competition and 35,000+ rounds per year. Four CTS operations, two LASIK operations, and complete loss of hearing in the left and 15% loss in the right, and a spare bedroom full of trophies later.... I may try my hand at CAS later this year.

Seriously,...Slow fire at a 12X12 target at 100+ with a revolver is NOT that hard. I deer hunted for years with a .357 GP-100, with SIGHTS, and made clean kills well past 125. (This is beyond the effective range of the .357 and I do not suggest hunting game at these ranges. I am only stating that I've done it.) Elmer Keith was known to practice shooting the end of a 55 gallon drum (about 30" IWG) at 400y with a .44!!!

As far as the comments about my saying "Female" LEO, I call'em like I see em. If she had been 9ft tall, blue, and had a tail, I would have called her and Avatar. I am actually FOR more female LOE's, and women in so-called gender specific rolls. I never intended for the comment to appear sexist, and I appologize if it seemed that way.

t2e

 

[tango2echo]

My wife and I went to range a couple of weeks ago and a young guy came to rifle range so we ceased fire so he can put up target and the guy stayed at the 100yd line with a riot shield.

IIUC, even Level 3 Ballistic sheilds will only stop pistol rounds up to about .45ACP. They also weigh like 50lbs, or so. I have no idea if they make any that will stop .223 or larger rifle rounds. Most of the clear Plexi/Lexan type are designed to stop Molitov Coctails and rocks, me thinks.

Did you watch this guy unload the shield from his car and then walk down range with it? I think I would have spoken with him PRIOR to the DR trip.

t2e