What's the worst shooting you're ever seen at the range?

[GEM]

There is a documented case of a Desert Eagle 50 AE that a guy rented at a range. He fired a round and left in on the lane table and told the range guy that was enough for him and you could finish the box of rounds.

Range guy fired once, recoiled back and fired one into his head. Obviously, dead.

In Bastrop, there was a young boy who was given a 454 Casull to shoot. The gun recoiled back into his head and killed him.

On a lighter note, when I was taking a NRA handgun class in Oregon to qualify for my carry permit, a guy shot down the cable that moved the targets. He claimed the barrel must have been curved to cause the bullet to arc up into the cable.

On another funny note, I was on my friend's land near Rock Springs, TX. We set out targets on a log and proceeded to shoot them with rifles. Well, further down there was a over the ground plastic water pipe from the well. I had to go down there later in the day to get something and saw a water show like Vegas. We had shot holes in the pipe.

 

[mavracer]

FWIW defensive pistol shooting would not be shooting a single hole at 5 yards as that would mean you are shooting far too slow

Most of the time I see the same folks and they ain't shooting fast either.

Combat accuracy at bullseye speed

 

[HKGuns]

FWIW, most if not all, public ranges typically have a one second rule. Everyone shoots the same speed. I shoot one hole, they shoot scatter gun.

Speed is meaningless if you can't hit your target. I'm shooting plenty fast, but thanks for your input.

 

[Deus Machina]

Worst thing I've seen?
An older gentleman carefully listened to a younger man coach him on a pistol's function, waved him away, and immediately crossed his thumbs vertically against the back of the slide before firing.

 

[Skoghund]

Its the week before moose hunting and there was quite a few people sighting in there rifles. The old boy who shot before me had dusted off his old Husky rifle and was shooting a few groups to see if his rifle was OK. First group well out to the left so he twiddled with his scope and shot another group. Still the group was off the bull. This twiddling and shooting went on for about 20 mins with no improvment. Before the last group he shot he took out a screw driver and with the screwdriver handle tapped the scope from front to back then shot another group that was no better than the rest. He then turned to me and said that the rifle was OK, packed up and left. Mind you, the rubbish level of peoples shooting ability down the range never ceases to amaze me.

 

[Warp]

FWIW, most if not all, public ranges typically have a one second rule. Everyone shoots the same speed. I shoot one hole, they shoot scatter gun.

Speed is meaningless if you can't hit your target. I'm shooting plenty fast, but thanks for your input.

Most shooters in the US spend most of their range time at places that don't limit you to 1 shot per second. Most of the shooters on this board are from the US. Insulting people for not shooting one hole with their pistol at 5 yards is missing the mark. It would have helped to specify up front that nobody was allowed to shoot faster than 1 shot per second at the ranges and that everything was in fact shot at bullseye speed. FWIW.

 

[AR-15Nutt]

What's the worst shooting you're ever seen at the range?

someone shooting a rifle from the bench and hitting an overhead baffle 20 yds. out, not sure of the caliber, but i know it was not a 40mm anti-aircraft gun.

 

[45_auto]

FWIW, most if not all, public ranges typically have a one second rule.

Your might consider the relevance of your location before making such sweeping statements.

FWIW, not a single one of the many public ranges that I frequent in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, or Texas have a one second rule.

 

[Doc7]

That is sad........

I can't tell you how many times I see pistol shooters peppering a target 5 yards away and they are all over the place. Pretty hard to understand how you can't drill a respectable, single hole at that distance.

I don't find it hard to understand at all and think the vast majority of shooters, even if you just count the "Safe" shooters, would not regularly "drill" a "single hole" at 5 yards.

 

[JellyJar]

The worst I have seen was Me!

 

[jmace57]

I used to work at a shop that had an indoor range. The number of bullet gouges in the floor, walls, and ceiling was astounding

I've told the story before, but it's MY bad shooting, I guess you could call it. I had a new (to me) 1903 Colt from about 1920, I was the only person at the indoor range. I was in the far left stall, next to the wall. As I was standing there loading the magazine, I was looking at all of the gouges from bullets in the ceiling, floor and the wall to my left and thought, what kind of idiot shoots the wall 2 feet in front of the stall.

Well, I AM.

I was holding the pistol in my right hand. When I racked the slide on the 1903, it slam fired 6 times like a machine pistol. It had a stuck firing pin. All of the rounds hit the wall about 5 feet downrange.

I was safely pointed downrange I guess, but took away that I always only load one round the first time I shoot a semi-auto pistol now.

 

[.452]

OK this was not at a range, but in real life and on the mean streets.

late 1960's or early 1970's I didn't mark down the date, it was just another day on the job:

Crazy/doped up guy steals an ambulance from City Hospital North. He's leading the police on a merry high speed chase around the city. Soon becomes evident he was on the main boulevard that just so happed to pass right by the Metro Police Dept. Garage, where there were 30 or 40 cops there getting their cars serviced in one way or another. The radio calls came out and the cops, being without their vehicles temporarily went outside, maybe 10 each manning a corner of the intersection. Meanwhile other cops were blocking off streets and traffic so this crazy guy had a clear path in front of him.

At 100 miles per hour he flew through the now heavily armed intersection, I figure about 1 second of time it took to clear the intersection, well over 100 rounds were fired at him and the vehicle.

No rounds hit the driver. The vehicle went out of control though and crashed into the bridge abutment at the net intersection. He was killed in the crash. Meanwhile all present were counting our blessing, and also our fingers and toes, you talk about a 4 way crossfire....a miracle not one of us were hit.

Later I examined the vehicle, with over 100 bullet holes in it.

Sounds like a lot, but not the most I've seen, which was over 200 hits to one vehicle. A story for another day.

Anyone here by chance was present that day?

 

[CapnMac]

Was about 1985 or so, outdoor range, pay one price,-shoot as long as you wanted. The 'regulars' all tended to use the one line, so it was rifles at one end, and pistols at the other (target frames at 25, 50, 100, 200, & 300 yards).

Now, this ranged was used by all, to include both rifle & pistol silhouette shooters. You could tell this, as everyone parked a couple car lengths back of the line.

So, it's a busy Saturday afternoon, and the place is pretty busy. Busy enough that my shooting buddy and I were discussing going over and asking the PPC/IPSC guys if we could hag with them on the other range (if only so we'd not have to wait for the rifle guys hiking 2 or 3 hundred yards to police their targets.

We're in the middle of a long line is hot spell, and I'm filling mags with .45acp. Dude wheels up behind us, close enough to feel the heat off the Corvette's engine. Dude steps out, steps up to the line, picks him a sport, pulls his gun out of his trousers, takes aim, and blazes away.

Result: Three in the dirt; one sorta at the target stand; two at the sky; last one through the sheet metal roof over the line.

Dude looks around, sticks the gat back in his trou, get in the 'vette, and drives away ne'er to be seen again.

A bit later bossfella of the range comes down and see the hole in the overhead and put the gimlet eye on me and my buddy, guys at the nest stand over pipe up and say it was your buddy in the 'vette airconditioned the place.

 

[Ironicaintit]

I have never been to a "real" range. Ive always been lucky enough to have a place of my own, and friends who have their own, too!

But that can backfire, and sometimes ive had to act as unofficial RO.
Some of these guys would keep shooting as one guy went down to swap targets! pisspoor muzzle and/or trigger discipline in general, and then...they start cracking open beers.
Uh.....no...so home I went!
Luckily, a few of them later witnessed some close calls (on separate occasions)and finally started heeding the advice I gave before I left for home that day.

Sometimes I forget that not all people grew up in an "up armed" household, where some rules are a given, and like a way of life.

 

[redneck2]

Couple days ago I went to the public range at Kingsbury, IN. Above the pistol/rifle firing line are a series of concrete baffles to stop stray bullets from going over the back of the berm.

Sign says "$50 charge for bullet hitting concrete". There have to be over five hundred divots that have been repaired

I worked part time at the LGS. Had a guy come in from the range with loaded 9mm. Had his finger on the trigger. Supposedly a round stuck in the chamber. He was trying to run the slide back and forth while the muzzle was pointed at my chest. He couldn't understand why I screamed at him and shoved the muzzle away.

 

[vaupet]

At the Sint Truiden shooting range, at lane 8, there is a bullet hole IN FRONT of the shooting bench, right in the middle of were I put my feet when shooting 25 m pistol competition.

There is an other hole in the bench.

 

[Warp]

Couple days ago I went to the public range at Kingsbury, IN. Above the pistol/rifle firing line are a series of concrete baffles to stop stray bullets from going over the back of the berm.

Sign says "$50 charge for bullet hitting concrete". There have to be over five hundred divots that have been repaired

I worked part time at the LGS. Had a guy come in from the range with loaded 9mm. Had his finger on the trigger. Supposedly a round stuck in the chamber. He was trying to run the slide back and forth while the muzzle was pointed at my chest. He couldn't understand why I screamed at him and shoved the muzzle away.

The thing I dislike most about Kingsbury is "no rapid fire". Even 1 shot per second and some of the RO's get all hot and bothered and call you out on the loudspeaker to the tune of some thing like "THAT'S WHAT WE CALL RAPID FIRE AND WE DON'T DO THAT HERE"...no matter how accurately you are shooting. Nobody I know goes there any more.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

A few months ago I saw a girl about 13 years old, put one through her hand and blow the knuckle of her forefinger away. Apparently her father wasn't paying attention to her and she was trying to clear a jamb of some sort.

This was the scariest thing I have since someone gave a folding stock AK to an overweight granny on 6 inch stilettos. She took about two shots (leaning back and looking the other way) -- with myself and half the other folks at the range a few feet behind her ready to tackle her if she let it get away from her -- before the ROs politely asked her to leave.

I try to stay away from public ranges..

 

[old lady new shooter]

This past Thursday was my first experience at an outdoor range. I didn't like it. I had to go there to try my SD ammo because they wouldn't let me shoot it at the indoor range, but I don't plan on returning.

I guess the main thing I didn't like was that every shot fired by the woman next to me (about 6' away) the brass hit me. I was wearing a sweatshirt so it wasn't dangerous or anything, but it was still very distracting. I couldn't move over any further because I was already on the end.

 

[jeepnik]

LAPD range in San Pedro. When the use of semi autos were first allowed. Officer could use their own if they qualified with it. Female officer drew and emptied the weapon. Only safe place was the target. Reloaded and repeated. And we pay them. Sad really.

 

[chicharrones]

Most shooters in the US spend most of their range time at places that don't limit you to 1 shot per second. Most of the shooters on this board are from the US. Insulting people for not shooting one hole with their pistol at 5 yards is missing the mark. It would have helped to specify up front that nobody was allowed to shoot faster than 1 shot per second at the ranges and that everything was in fact shot at bullseye speed. FWIW.

Your might consider the relevance of your location before making such sweeping statements.

FWIW, not a single one of the many public ranges that I frequent in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, or Texas have a one second rule.

Most of the ranges I go to in the greater Houston (Texas) area have some sort of 1 second rule. Some of them didn't until they got bullet holes in their roofs and awnings.

I miss the days before the 1 second rule, which was only a few years ago at some ranges near me.

 

[chicharrones]

I guess the main thing I didn't like was that every shot fired by the woman next to me (about 6' away) the brass hit me. I was wearing a sweatshirt so it wasn't dangerous or anything, but it was still very distracting. I couldn't move over any further because I was already on the end.

I'm pretty used to the rain of brass at some ranges. What I hate is when brass lands in a spot on me that burns my skin. That can be distracting.

 

[JohnKSa]

I guess the main thing I didn't like was that every shot fired by the woman next to me (about 6' away) the brass hit me.

I like to think of that as being good training. I figure in a real shooting there will be far more distracting things going on.

 

[old lady new shooter]

I like to think of that as being good training. I figure in a real shooting there will be far more distracting things going on.

Oh, I don't doubt, but I'm not up to being ready to add stress to my training, I'm still only about 500 rounds lifetime count.

 

[alex4922]

As a paramedic in Hotlanta during the '70s we saw some quite unusal discharges. One natilly dressed bro down on Auburn Avenue decided he was tired of a painfully decayed tooth. The .32 he kept in his pocket for fun did a fine job of getting rid of the tooth..plus a few inches of jawbone.

A young 'banger down toward Decatur answered his door only to have "some dude" push a .22 toward his chest and fire. He had fortunately put his hand up so the round after exiting his hand did not have enough velocity to penetrate his sternum. It just sat there under the skin like a big zit. He refused transport."got some business to attend to"

On the lighter side...my friend and I were shooting our Glocks off the same bench at an outdoor range. Somehow a 9mm mag got in a .40 pistol..I wish I had a picture of our faces as we watched a bullet skip slowly, but merrily down range.