Local Range has taken the fun out of shooting

[Vector]

jerkface11 wrote;

Oh and as for the Cop asking why you needed a Desert Eagle the answer should have been "to shoot thru body armor sir"

Why on earth would you want to say something like that


41magsnub wrote;

Except for the "sir" part right on. Sir indicates they are superior to you in some fashion which they are not.

It is bad enough to provoke a LEO by saying the comment, but what is wrong with showing respect to someone who puts their life on the line every day?

Too many posters here have issues with LEO's, and I do not understand why. Granted some are jerks, just like in whatever your profession might be. But the overwhelming majority are decent people with a tough job to do.

 

[TAB]

I personally don't like shooting when there are a bunch of cops around( or anyone else for that matter)

I actually fear the cops there, not becuase they are cops and might arrest me, but do to thier gun handling skills. Thats not to say that all are unsafe as lots of them are, but about 25% of them scare me, I mean they actually scare me. Thier Marksmenship also makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside... lets just say if your in a shoot out with the local SO... the safest place to be is in thier sights.

 

[aka108]

No range fees in Tallahasse or Elko. Both ranges very decent and well kept. Never realized how lucky those of us in these two areas are. We do have a few law enforcement types that use the ranges but they are just like everyone else.

 

[JWarren]

Vector wrote:

Quote:
Oh and as for the Cop asking why you needed a Desert Eagle the answer should have been "to shoot thru body armor sir"

Why on earth would you want to say something like that

Maybe because he felt the need to question WHY that person would need such a weapon?

I understand that the vast majority of LEOs are good people. I know several of them. And like you said of any profession, there are bad ones, too. I know a few of those.

The reputation of the good ones does not -- in any way-- give the bad ones a pass.

Many doctors are strongly devoted to saving lives. Yet, I know one who used to CUT with his scapel the surgery nurses if they were not fast enough with tools. He eventually lost his license.

I know one that was like a candy store for dispensing speed to women who wanted to lose weight.

And I had a client who was a heart surgeon who would have a nurse hold the phone to his head while he traded the OEX with me WHILE performing heart surgery.

Tell me... should I respect these persons?


This may be a tough pill to swallow, but I am completely unprejudiced. Regardless of your profession, your actions and beliefs have a bearing on how you will be treated. If you are an accountant who wants to be a jerk, you'll get a negative reaction from me. Same with an insurance salesman. Same with a police officer.

Don't go off making favored classes on me now... its a VERY slippery slope.

It is bad enough to provoke a LEO by saying the comment, but what is wrong with showing respect to someone who puts their life on the line every day?

Perhaps you give your respect too easily. I respect that someone does the job, and I respect that he made that choice. But I don't KNOW anything about that person other than that.

We had a sheriff who had to be cut out of the loop in order for the Feds to bust a large drug dealer in our area. He couldn't be told because he was on the take from the drug dealer. Does his job trump that?

One of my best friends from High School is a LEO. When he was younger, he literally bragged to me over drinks about he and another LEO teaching an unruly arrest a "lesson" on a deserted road with a mag light. It is my belief that he's matured past that now... but I don't know that either.

Should I respect that?


I could go on to even more extreme things.

I know those examples I just gave are the vast minority. I could give dozens of stories of honorable LEOs.

But I illustrate that just because a person puts on a badge does not mean you know ANYTHING about them. People get respect based upon THEIR actions and beliefs. Those actions and beliefs are revealed by exposure.

Too many posters here have issues with LEO's, and I do not understand why.

I have issues with SOME LEOs. I have very good reasons to dislike ones who exhibit certain personality traits. Fool me once, shame on you... Fool me twice, shame on me.

Granted some are jerks, just like in whatever your profession might be. But the overwhelming majority are decent people with a tough job to do.

True. And the MAN gets the respect the he has shown himself worthy of. I make no assumptions of merit or vice until I have reason to do so. Respect given easily is worthless.

-- John

 

[SsevenN]

I think alot of the uncomfortable feeling of shooting around cops from two things:
Being young (I'm not saying the OP is young, but everyone profiles, even cops, and the "crazys" with guns these days tend to be young...)
Not shooting around them alot (If you get to know them/they get to know you, the human factor will shine through, just break the ice!)

That being said I'm both young and almost completley inexperienced with doing anything around cops other than being questioned! So I have felt the same way, but in the end it is a feeling of no real reasoning so it passes...

 

[langenc]

Bandit et al-go to odcmp.com (or org) and check their list of gun clubs. May have to drive a short ways but may find it enjoyable.

Join a club-many benefits.

 

[zoom6zoom]

as for the Cop asking why you needed a Desert Eagle

"This is one of the ones Demi Moore used in 'Charlies Angels'. It was a gift from her in appreciation of my being such a great lover".

 

[QUICK_DRAW_McGRAW]

geeze its only $10 per DAY at the out door range i go to in seattle. pistol and rifle, rifle is 50-100-200 yards as well. as well as skeet shooting.

 

[crebralfix]

truth-be-told, I don't want to be around a lot of cops
That's odd. I am surprised no one has asked you about this. Do any of the rest of you feel the same way?

The last cop I shot with began firing while my friend and I were downrange inspecting the target.

Needless to say, we were not impressed.

 

[41magsnub]

It is bad enough to provoke a LEO by saying the comment, but what is wrong with showing respect to someone who puts their life on the line every day?

I was going to respond to this, but JWarren did it much more eloquently than I ever could and mirrored my thoughts exactly.

 

[jerkface11]

It is bad enough to provoke a LEO by saying the comment, but what is wrong with showing respect to someone who puts their life on the line every day?

I'm sorry I don't think I was clear. Sir was to be said in such a way as to sound insulting. As for why I'd say it why would the cop ask why I need a certain gun? Putting on a badge doesn't get instant respect if you want respect you earn it.

 

[Vector]

I wasn't there, but unless his tone was inappropriate, what is the problem with asking a simple question like that?
Would you have taken umbrage if someone other than a LEO asked the same question?

 

[JWarren]

Would you have taken umbrage if someone other than a LEO asked the same question?

Yes.


And you are correct... Tone does make a difference-- especially since a great majority of communication is nonverbal.


-- John

 

[jerkface11]

The way the poster described it the cop was not being merely curious or even polite.

 

[Macpherson]

Would you have taken umbrage if someone other than a LEO asked the same question?

Would someone other than a LEO have the ability to make your life miserable if they didn't like your answer? I would never want to shoot at a range around cops, NOT because I'm doing anything illegal, but because they might be anti-gun, or just plain ignorant, in which case I could end up in Bandit's situation. What if they decide they don't like your AK, or AR and decide to hassle you about it? The majority of LE agencies in this country have made it clear whose side they are on when it comes to RKBA, and it's not the people. I don't intend this post to bash LEO's, but to say that they are not obligated to act in our best interests. Most do, but some don't and there's no way to tell the difference until your sitting in the back of a squad car in handcuffs.

 

[Macpherson]

Double post

 

[pablo45]

Over here in my state we can drive right outside the city and shoot. I hate shooting inside. The area is small. The people there are not half as safe as they should be and there is too much traffic of people.
Plus I do not like to pay for shooting. Ammo is expensive enough. Also at the range in my town there is no holster drawing allowed. That is how I carry, That is how I practice.

 

[TWBryan]

Where I have to go shooting (county range) I never go alone. I always have a 'witness' due to past problems with range nazis. Sad to say the majority of leo's I run into have a bully mentality and operate as if they were above the law. I only remember one leo I met in the last ten years that acted like a decent human being.

 

[JWarren]

I only remember one leo I met in the last ten years that acted like a decent human being.

I've met quite a few. One took time out of his PERSONAL time to come to MY house to teach me about a new Glock I had purchased. He wasn't what I would have called a personal friend-- but we had met before. Because I was a revolver guy at the time, he taught me about limp-wristing and solved a problem I was having on misfeeds.

I've got others that I could tell, but that one sticks in my memory as representative of a LEO going out of his way for the firearms community.


-- John

 

[2nd 41]

I'm enjoying the indoor range I belong to. The rules are for everyones safety and to protect the lanes from damage. Their ammo is way too expensive but members/guests are permitted to bring their own.
My buddy belongs to a range that changed their policy to SHOOTERS MUST USE RANGE PURCHASED AMMO ONLY. He was forced not to renew and does not use the facility anymore.

 

[Zeke/PA]

Threads like these make me realize how good I have it.
My club is about 15 minutes distant, pistol, rifle and shotgun facilities.
My fee is $65.00/ year(senior citizen) N.R.A. membership required, and for 5 bucks I may bring a guest to shoot all day.
Ranges closed Wednesday P.M. to accomodate LEO's.
Sadly, the shooting sports have a way of bringing "nutcases" out of the woodwork, so there is often good reason for stringent regulations.
Zeke

 

[Hanzerik]

I do feel sorry for the folks that have to rely on private/pay to shoot ranges. I drive a few miles out of town and can shoot all day long and anything I like for free. It may be on a desolate prairie but at least it’s free. If I want a scenic view I can drive for a half hour and be in the mountains. I just have issues with folks leaving trash and other crap on these public land areas. I police my brass and trash and leave the area as I found it.

 

[rono]

Wow, some of these prices are high...

My range $40 per year, dawn to dusk outdoor range, unlimited use, free 50ft indoor range on Monday nights and Bullseye on Wed. nights. They do not allow .50 cal on the outdoor range because the range isn't long enough.

The other Club Range is $25 a year unlimited, trap range, rifle range, pistol range.

All with 15 minutes of my house. Most of the time is shooting on a friend's property. We ended up setting up our own range and shoot about every Sat. Just gotta have a good campfire going when it's 20 degrees outside.

Ron

 

[gym]

The best way is to have your own "private range", I'm not talking about "rich guys". my uncle was a member of a dues supported range, in Glen Cove LI, he is very ill now and bed ridden, but for the last 40 or so years, he was a member of a private range that was member supported. They each had a key, and could go and shoot whenever they wanted to, 3AM, can't sleep, go open the range. I don't know how much the dues were, but as I owned a gym, I can tell you from experience, only 10% of the guys, will even use it more than "once in a while". It still costs money for ammo and everything else you spend money on when you shoot. They also got deep discounted prices on everything Gun related. If you had any "real intrest" and say 100 guy's that were in a 20 mile radius of the club site, it might be something worth looking into. Also you don't need commercial real estate, just an old building someware off a main road. I don't know if the same laws apply to private vs public ranges. Maybe one of our learned members would know. Figure even a hundred members at say $30 bucks a month is $3,000.00, per month in dues, and after it got going, you could take in new members, or sponsidered members, and in no time you could cover all costs. I would do it in a second if I had 100 guys that would put money up in escrow, again I have no idea what the laws governing private ranges are, or if there even are any.

 

[buck460XVR]

I too am one of the lucky ones. I pay a $10 a year membership to shoot at the local Sportsman's club range. Sunup to sundown bench shooting to 200 yards and a trap. Most of the time, except right before the gun deer season we all the only ones there. Most of the time when others are there they are polite and considerate, but like anything or anywhere else sooner or latter you'll run into an azz. Last time I was there with my youngest we had shot for about an hour when a group of 6 young men arrived. Being from a small town, I actually knew most of them and enjoyed shooting with them at first......Till they got out the golf balls. Now the range has bunkers behind the stationary targets and the shotgun range is in a direction where shot is unable to fall on anything but open field....but these boys just threw their golfballs out in front and opened up with whatever they had. This varied from 17HRM's and .223 rifles to .44 and .500 S&W handguns. They continued to shoot at the balls wherever they were at until they either lost them in the woods or ran out of ammo. After their first melee and they stopped to reload I mentioned that without a proper backstop that some of the rounds they were using(especially the fmj .223) may be ricocheting off the frozen ground and going in directions that may be dangerous. They just laughed and said they had paid their ten bucks too and if I didn't like it I could leave.....so we left.

... because of fools like that is why I assume most heavily used ranges have to have rules and supervision. Again, I'm one of the lucky ones.