Gun range snobs

[ithacalover]

Has anyone had to stop going to a range because they couldn't stand the snobbishness of other shooters? I don't mean they were a brie-and-pate crowd, just that they felt they owned the place cause they are there every weekend?
I never returned after one visit to a particular range. The actual owners were just as bad. In Canada there are precious few places to shoot anywhere near a city, so your selections are limited. And this was the only range within 50 kilometres. Luckily I found my own place away from the prying eyes of the city, but that doesn't lesson the fact that owners of a public range have a committment to their community to operate a safe and friendly facility.
Any thoughts?

 

[Monkeybear]

I live in Houston. Ive never had anyone so much as speak to me at the range that wasnt already there with me.

 

[RemingtonFreak870]

That hasn't happened to me with guns too often. However, that snobishness can be found in every hobbyist group. I have found this with Guitars and Jeeps. All different people have hobbies and some of them are jerks. It happens. You are right that it is a huge turn-off. I have stopped going to certain stores because of some of the snobby patrons, sometimes the people who work there think they are gods gift to the hobby. Those are the ones I hate the most. I like people who do whatever hobby it is at whatever level they can afford. If you want to jam with me but you don't have a $1,200 like mine I have two choices...1.)Talk about how great my guitar is so great, sounds so good, and is what the other guy needs to buy or he is a loser. 2.) Or I could go play with anyone who can jam regardless of their guitar, as long as they play it like with passion.

The last thing I want at a range is some jerk with an AR-15 coming up and telling me how I wont be able to hit the broadside of a barn with my crappy Saiga 7.62 with a scope and whatnot(which I do own and love and is pretty accurate for what it is. 3"-3 1/2" groups of 5 at 75 yards with SUPER CHEAP ammo). And then saying how his AR is sooo accurate, and better. To which I would agree, I am not a rich man by any stretch, I am a poor college student. For me the Saiga s better than a nice AR because I could afford it, whereas the AR is definitely a post-college purchase for me. Hell, I have a 30+ year old 870, a Ruger MkIII, a Winchester 250 .22, a Saiga 7.62 and a Marlin .44 magnum lever gun. Two of those I got from my dad when I was a kid, the others I have bought on a shoestring budget...I would hate to have someone treat me like I was a moron just because I don't have the spendy equipment. I think that is what you meant by "snob", we all could be one probably in one of our hobbies if we tried. For me a could be a guitar jerk, instead I like to be a nice humble dude, I don't like to brag about my equipment or my skill(I'm not even that good ), it just doesn't make friends to be a snob.

 

[doubleg]

Yep I know how it feels. I havent been back to the range since my last altercation.

 

[Nightcrawler]

I get a lot of harrumphs when I go to the Lee-Kay public range with my FAL carbine. Bunch of hunters with their wooden stocked Remchester rifles, and there I am with a 16" FAL carbine.

 

[nibb]

I suppose this happens on all type of sports or hobbies. But there could be a little more of this on gun ranges since shooting is not exactly cheap.

 

[RemingtonFreak870]

It is most common in hobbies where money talks more than skill...like Jeeps. With guitars you need skill before you have a nice one, or else people will talk about you like a retard. With jeeps, you rig is as good as your wallet, with a few exceptions being people who fabricate. Anyone with a good job can get good guns, I know a guy who has a $3,000 shotgun he has never shot even once...He isn't a snob, just a rich man. I would love to go bust targets with my 870 with a few snobs standing around with multi-thousand dollar O.U.'s. I bet I could match them, I sure would love to try. My old 30+ year old 870 isn't expensive, isn't pretty and always shoots where I point. Then there are those guys who say you cant shoot clays with an 870 successfully and that you NEED a "Trap gun". To me it is a great clay buster.

 

[SnWnMe]

I'm too busy shooting to notice these gun snobs.

 

[Vairochana]

I shoot at Belmont in Brisbane, I am not the best shot in the world but I am an enthusiastic amateur.
I am good friends with a number of the ROs and some of the older members cos I am friendly and i listen to advice but for my own opinions.
We don't seem to get the sort of snobbery I am reading of above. I shoot my Russian coachgun alongside Mirokus and heven higher end shotguns without a problem.
I shoot my factory made Pedersoli next to homemade and custom smokepoles and I shoot my 2nd hand centrefires alongside expensive Wetherbys and the like. I guess we don't get a lot of the really expensive toys out our way.
But everyone is helpful without being smothering or trying to tell you everything they know etc.
I have only had one bad experience but that was largely my fault and inexperience at the time in not knowing the etiquette.

 

[IronSightRot671]

Never had experienced that at the range. What we do though is, we help who ever needs help on their firearm.. or we exchange compliments on our shooting skills, carbines that are being used during therapy.. ahem... plinking

DT!

 

[mmike87]

My issue is with range snobs that feel it's their duty to "police" the range. Now that in itself is not necessarily bad ... BUT ....

I shoot at an unsupervised range. On several occassions I have experienced or observed these self proclaimed range police questioning and harassing folks at the range about supposed violations of the rules.

Again ... not in itself bad. If someone is doing something unsafe, someone should say something. The problem arises when these people are just plain wrong. Often their knowledge of the rules is outdated or just plain incorrect. Some others, in the name of "safety" proclaim their own rules and insist the entire range obey their rules so that they can feel safe on the range.

On one occassion some folks were shooting on one of several ranges at the club. Each range is divided by what has to be a 6+ foot berm. There is NOTHING in the range rules that says EVERYONE on the range has to stop shooting when someone on ANOTHER range goes downrange to work their target (emphasis on ANOTHER range mind you. There is one specific exception that did not apply in this case.) Yet this self proclaimed owner of the range tried to insist, loudly and dramtically, that EVERYONE on EVERY range stop shooting so HE could feel safe tending to his targets. He was very loud and very dramatic.

 

[qajaq59]

I guess we're lucky

I've noticed just the opposite at our county range. Most of the regulars are nice guys that aren't uppity at all. And they'll help anyone that asks. However we have paid range officers which I think eliminates a lot of the "obey my make believe rules" types. And the range officer will speak to one of the regulars who happens to step over the red line, when the range is cold, just as quick as he does a new guy.

 

[PILMAN]

I never met a gun snob, then again I am a new shooter. Most people I meet say just to get what works and value all guns as the same really. It's not about how much money you have, just that the gun goes "bang".

I guess every hobby has it's *******s though. When I played paintball, there were a bunch of eliteist pricks who bragged about how much money they spent.

 

[308win]

Practice a look that is based on the one you give an unpleasant surprise on the sole of your shoe. It works on the majority of 'snobs" when coupled with a willingness to turn your back after delivery.

 

[SwampFox]

After rereading the first post several times I'm still trying to figure out what exactly he is complaining about.

 

[deadin]

I'm with SwampFox, exactly what did they do to have you consider them "snobs"?

 

[bakert]

I like to look at nice guns and will admire any gun a person is proud of but I do I run into the snobs occasionally. It used to irk me quite a bit but after listening to some of their BS and watching many of them shoot I never argue nowadays, usually just ignore them and do my own thing. Funny how them old cheap guns of mine sometimes shoot just as well or even better than many with all the bells and whistles.

 

[PvtPyle]

We will not have that issue at our range. We will not tolerate the snide comments, the whining about muzzle brakes or rude behavior. You can throw stink eye all you want, nobody cares how you view the "other gun owners". But make an out of line comment and we will ask you to leave. The next time we will revoke your membership and you can go back to the Lee-Kay center where that kind of thing is acceptable.

As long as you are shooting, we don't care what you shoot. A Lorcin to a $5,000 trap shotgun. The fact is, YOU ARE A SHOOTER and we will ensure you are treated like a valuable member of the community. We are all in this together and you will learn to accept if not love the other shooting choices of our members or go elsewhere.

And it looks like we have found the new home for the range. We met with a landowner who sees the need and vision of what we are trying to do. While we are at SHOT he is working on stuff on his end to get the new facility designed and the details worked out. 30 lanes, 6 classrooms and the pro-shop will total just about 30,000 sqft. For the hunting crowd we will have the ballistic computer set up in the rifle range so you can type in your load data and it will print out your POI based on your desired zero at 25m. So you can zero in a controlled atmosphere at the range you desire. Target opening date is the first of the year.

 

[CZ223]

I have run into snobs before

and when I have I have done and will continue to do one of two things. Ignore them or beat them with my inferior firearm if my skill permits. Either one works for me but the latter is much more satisfying. Trap guys seem to be the worst when it comes to snobbishness. Not that all trap shooters are snobs, they aren't, most of them are great guys. It is just that I have seen trap shooters get mad when a guy walks to the line in cammo carrying his 870and outshoots them and their Kreighoff. I mean really mad. I even heard of an instance at a local club, where a shooter like the one I just described was asked not to return. I once sat down next to guy with a $3000 rifle with a $1,200 dollar scope on it and asked him how he liked it. I had my Savage 12BVSS with Leupold 6.5x20 scope on it. He proceeded to tell me how much better it was than my rifle. After listening to him politely for about 10 minutes, I agreed that his rifle was much better than mine but despite that I was willing to bet my rig against his that I could outshoot him with it. He was shocked and said that wasn't a fair bet since his rig was worth so much more than mine. I agreed that it wasn't but that it shouldn't bother him because there was no way I could possibly outshoot him with my Savage. I could tell he was a little nervous so I told him that should I win, I would allow him to buy his rig back for the cost of my rig which I put at $1300. He was already to go for it too when a mutual friend warned him not do it. After getting a little bit better aquainted we decide to shoot 10 5 shot groups each, just for fun. His best group didn't beat my worst group. He was not happy. I did have the last laugh. About 3 weeks after that I stopped into a local gunstore and saw his rifle and scope for sale on consignment. I told the owner the story and he told me that the guy ordered a Savage.

 

[Walkalong]

One day at the range the guy in the pistol pit next to me shot something that richoceted over the burm and towards the 300 yd firing line. A guy came around from there quite hot and since I was the first person he saw just blasted me. I just took it and as he left I went to the guy next door and told him about his richocet and about my but chewing and he was embaressed and said he would be more carefull. No argument with a very upset shooter and the guy responsible learned a valuable lesson. That is the closest I have come to an altercation of sorts and the guy who was mad should have been. My advice to the guy responsible was what he needed to hear and it came from someone who wasn't tearing into him.

 

[cbsbyte]

I have noticed this more at clay shooting ranges than rifle/pistol ranges. Many Clay shooters tend to think they are the elite upper crust of the shooting sports. I have also witnessed some snobbish rifle owners, who owned tricked out Sniper rifles, and very expensive hunting rifles. I useally ignore their claims, and just worry about my own shooting.

 

[ARperson]

I might be one of those range safety snobs....

It seems like every year during hunting season some moron fires his shot and is half-way down range when he yells clear (if he yells clear). Or he yells clear and expects everyone to immediately stop shooting because one seconds after yelling clear is already walking downrange.

Then you have others that just set a gun down, completely loaded, with one in the chamber and think that is okay for others to go down range.

My all time favorite that I know I make a lot of people mad over. If ANYBODY is down range, you shouldn't be touching your gun!!!! I don't friggen care how "unloaded" it is!

So in defense of some potential gun snobs and safety nazi's at the range, there are just as many morons out there that just seem to be asking for an accident.

ARperson's husband (Possible range safety nazi snob)

 

[strat81]

As a general rule, I try to be nice around anyone with a potentially loaded weapon. Everyone at the range gets a smile and nod from me.

 

[boredelmo]

I like to make small talk. Most people are nice.

I get compliments and questions a lot when i shoot my Uzi though. Mostly from the range officers , "thats not automatic is it?".

 

[FourTeeFive]

I try to go to the more "practical" ranges in the area. The sportsman ranges often have a one-round-per-magazine rule for rifles, three seconds between shots, etc.

Sam's in Everett is an indoor range with two bays, and in one of them they allow rifles and shotguns. The only recognition you get from other people is "wow, cool gun!" and often I'll let them shoot it (with supervision) or vice versa. One very nice guy there let me shoot his VEPR and Robinson M96, which resulted in me buying a VEPR (I'd love to own an M96 too, but they are a bit pricey).

So if you're in the right type of range then you'll find people with similar interests. Although I did have fun going to a trap range once with a buddy who was a junior champion in his day. He had a Remington 870 which looked pretty tactical and he smoked all the lawyers with their $12,000 guns.