Public range (horror) stories

I had an experience at the range last night. I went with two of my buddies to a local indoor range. We had rented two lanes and were getting situated and we hear a bunch of giggling coming from the door area. We turn around and see a black guy dressed like a thug walk in with a basket full of rental weapons followed by five females. I ignore it and begin shooting at my target. When I finish with my 2 clips, I step back and see one of the girls turn an presumably loaded Glock my way while looking back at the guy. He looks at me and then tells her to keep the gun pointed down range. The other girls laughed and giggled. I must have heard the guy say this 2-3 more times during my time there at the range. I also heard the guy yelling "Ooooh girl you look sexy as hell with that fowty, unload that clip!" and "No triple taps!". I saw the typical one handed horizontal thug shooting style as well as the loaded gun being dropped on the floor. When we were about to leave, the guy approaches me with a loaded glock in his hand and asks how he "locks the top of the gun back." I was absolutely appalled at the lack of knowledge and utter stupidity of this whole group. There should be a competency test administered before somebody can go to the range and shoot a firearm. The nonchalance that these people had while shooting handguns removed any question from my mind as to how these bigots can go around blowing people's heads off. It was a game to them. I made sure to stay behind my partition at all times, but should have informed the range officer of the ordeal.

I'm usually a live-and-let-live person and just let stuff be, but I would have gone to the range officer about that guy. The two indoor ranges in my neck of the woods are pretty heavily monitored, and they're pretty good about getting on the PA and yelling at people when they need to. Too bad your range staff weren't being more vigilant. If I ran a range, I'd require everyone to demonstrate to me that they could fully operate the weapon before they took it out onto the range. To do otherwise is just irresponsible on the range's part. And as you experienced, dangerous.

Originally Posted by DangerousMind

I had an experience at the range last night. I went with two of my buddies to a local indoor range. We had rented two lanes and were getting situated and we hear a bunch of giggling coming from the door area. We turn around and see a black guy dressed like a thug walk in with a basket full of rental weapons followed by five females. I ignore it and begin shooting at my target. When I finish with my 2 clips, I step back and see one of the girls turn an presumably loaded Glock my way while looking back at the guy. He looks at me and then tells her to keep the gun pointed down range. The other girls laughed and giggled. I must have heard the guy say this 2-3 more times during my time there at the range. I also heard the guy yelling "Ooooh girl you look sexy as hell with that fowty, unload that clip!" and "No triple taps!". I saw the typical one handed horizontal thug shooting style as well as the loaded gun being dropped on the floor. When we were about to leave, the guy approaches me with a loaded glock in his hand and asks how he "locks the top of the gun back." I was absolutely appalled at the lack of knowledge and utter stupidity of this whole group. There should be a competency test administered before somebody can go to the range and shoot a firearm. The nonchalance that these people had while shooting handguns removed any question from my mind as to how these bigots can go around blowing people's heads off. It was a game to them. I made sure to stay behind my partition at all times, but should have informed the range officer of the ordeal.

So the range you go to allows 6 people on one lane? That's unreal. My range only allows 2 people per gun owner. Meaning if I'm the only one with firearms(no matter how many) I can only have one other person with me. If two people have firearms then a total of 4 are allowed. You also can't even rent a gun unless you already own one.

Definitely would have gone to the range officer. I'm usually shooting with someone who's shooting for the first time so I would have made an example out of the kid. Plain and simple.

Originally Posted by Reedo302

I'm usually a live-and-let-live person and just let stuff be, but I would have gone to the range officer about that guy. The two indoor ranges in my neck of the woods are pretty heavily monitored, and they're pretty good about getting on the PA and yelling at people when they need to. Too bad your range staff weren't being more vigilant. If I ran a range, I'd require everyone to demonstrate to me that they could fully operate the weapon before they took it out onto the range. To do otherwise is just irresponsible on the range's part. And as you experienced, dangerous.

The range I went to is hit or miss with regards to the diligence of the range officers. There is never any type of competency check. I would definitely require one if I operated a range. Not only would it keep potentially dangerous situations like that to a minimum, but you could assert how serious even holding a loaded firearm is. Those idiots were acting as if they were playing with a toy. With that attitude, they should not be granted the priviledge.

Originally Posted by speedcrazy1532

So the range you go to allows 6 people on one lane? That's unreal. My range only allows 2 people per gun owner. Meaning if I'm the only one with firearms(no matter how many) I can only have one other person with me. If two people have firearms then a total of 4 are allowed. You also can't even rent a gun unless you already own one.

Definitely would have gone to the range officer. I'm usually shooting with someone who's shooting for the first time so I would have made an example out of the kid. Plain and simple.

They had 2 lanes between the 6 of them. None of them were gun owners and frankly, none of them except the guy looked as if they had so much as held a gun before. The only posted rule AFAIK is that nobody can rent a gun if they are by themselves; they must be with at least one other person.

I usually visit a different range, but a friend wanted to try a gun that they had for rental only at that range.

I was excited to check out an outdoor range today (first time since I moved to Austin) but it turned out to be a bit unnerving,

The range was divided into three shooting sections, with the last 2 being offset and having a firing point that was a couple hundred feet downrange from the first. (Issue #1, though it didn't bug me as much)

Not sure if this is common, but at every range I've been to, the firing line is even for everyone (you can move your target further downrange)...this way, no one is shooting behind you.

Another thing that bothered me was the 2nd and the 3rd sections were separated by what appeared to be wooden logs (these 2 were the designated handgun sections)

My group was shooting from different distances (7 and 15yrds), and at some point were all the way downrange at the 7yrd line while the guys in the next section were shooting. You could actually see their rounds landing in the dirt a few feet to the left of our class (not a good feeling).

To make this worse, these jackasses were firing rifles (sometimes in full auto) and shotguns (in a handgun range). I'm not calling them jackasses because they were firing rifles, they were generally being unsafe and goofing around


Green arrow is our group, red arrow is where the rounds were hitting the dirt....yellow arrow shows the wooden logs that served as a demarcation


Am I being overly paranoid? I also have a video which gives a better perspective. I also had to ask some guy to put his gun away as he was aiming and fiddling with it while we stood DIRECTLY behind the guys shooting in front of us

Ranges like that are actually normal. Many places will use old tractor tires filled with sand and dirt, or stack up sections of old railroad ties with dirt or sand between them. That stuff will stop basically everything under the sun that would show up at the range, unless someone showed up with a 25mm chain gun. Then you're screwed.
It's a bit unnerving if you're not used to it, but once you are, it's not an issue.

If you're uncomfortable with a situation, especially eprtaining to range safety and the general stupidity of others - you're probably right. You only get 1 f-up with guns...

Originally Posted by Reedo302

Ranges like that are actually normal. Many places will use old tractor tires filled with sand and dirt, or stack up sections of old railroad ties with dirt or sand between them. That stuff will stop basically everything under the sun that would show up at the range, unless someone showed up with a 25mm chain gun. Then you're screwed.
It's a bit unnerving if you're not used to it, but once you are, it's not an issue.

Yeah, definitely a new experience for me, which was exacerbated by the the unsafe and irresponsible shooters around.....I calmed down a bit once they stopped rapid firing the rifles

What kind of logs are those? they will actually stop a rifle round from ~25 yards?

Originally Posted by Rush4theYehO

If you're uncomfortable with a situation, especially eprtaining to range safety and the general stupidity of others - you're probably right. You only get 1 f-up with guns...

Yep, if I end up going back there, I will leave if I see anything of that nature

Originally Posted by Ghostie

Yeah, definitely a new experience for me, which was exacerbated by the the unsafe and irresponsible shooters around.....I calmed down a bit once they stopped rapid firing the rifles

What kind of logs are those? they will actually stop a rifle round from ~25 yards?

Most people who use wood to make divider berms at ranges use railroad ties, which are usually made of treated hard wood like oak. Considering that a railroad tie is 8.5" wide and 7" high, that's a decent amount of hard wood to be shooting through. Most are doubled-up, and then you add in dirt or sand filler, and you have the ability to stop pretty much anything. It all depends on the thickness of the barrier and the density, condition of the wood, etc.

However, no matter how much effort you put into range design, any and all safety features can be easily defeated by general stupidity. I wouldn't worry about the range design, but I would worry about the behavior of people shooting there. If you see that behavior again, find a range officer if you can. If it is an uncontrolled range, pack up your stuff and get off the range until they are done. If it's a gun club, notify club personnel.

Good info as usual, thanks

Some mothafucker with an AR opened up while I was downrange putting up my targets this afternoon (he would later claim he didn't see me).

Never mind that we'd been under a cease fire for a few mins, and I was standing on the 7yrd line, just a few lanes away from him.

One moment I'm taping up my targets, the next there are rounds whizzing by me. Needless to say my adrenaline is still up

The there was the other idiot shooting next to me, with some ridiculous side port brake that gave me a headache every time he fired (he should have gone to the rifle only section)

Originally Posted by Ghostie

Some mothafucker with an AR opened up while I was downrange putting up my targets this afternoon (he would later claim he didn't see me).

Never mind that we'd been under a cease fire for a few mins, and I was standing on the 7yrd line, just a few lanes away from him.

One moment I'm taping up my targets, the next there are rounds whizzing by me. Needless to say my adrenaline is still up

The there was the other idiot shooting next to me, with some ridiculous side port brake that gave me a headache every time he fired (he should have gone to the rifle only section)

Where was this? Monitored range? Thats ridiculous and he should immediately have been thrown out. About the brake thing, that's tough...I may end up being that guy though, as I'm planning on throwing one on my SBR.

My regular outdoors range here in Austin.

They have roving range officers that move around between all three sections, but for the most part we police each other. Anyone can call a ceasefire and we all check with the entire line before we go hot (never been an issue in the past) Not sure wtf this guy was thinking...he should have asked, and he should have definitely seen me

About the brake thing, I hate to complain about other people's guns (it is a range after all), but we have a dedicated rifle section which provides ample spacing between shooters. He should have gone there

Originally Posted by Ghostie

My regular outdoors range here in Austin.

They have roving range officers that move around between all three sections, but for the most part we police each other. Anyone can call a ceasefire and we all check with the entire line before we go hot (never been an issue in the past) Not sure wtf this guy was thinking...he should have asked, and he should have definitely seen me

About the brake thing, I hate to complain about other people's guns (it is a range after all), but we have a dedicated rifle section which provides ample spacing between shooters. He should have gone there

What an 4sshole; lucky you didn get hurt.

And yeah, I feel the same way. I don't understand why rifle users shoot in the pistol lanes; just be considerate

had a guy walk out infront of me once picking up my brass at the end of the day. I was about to pull the trigger and my scope went fuzzy, look up and his head is 6 inches infront of my muzzle.

Same guy would walk out on a hot range with 20+ people shooting to check targets at 100 yards. He would fire 1-2 shots, then walk up the center of the range....range goes cold, he would fire 1-2 shots again and walk back.... 3/4 of the time we were there was waiting for him, literally 1 minute of shoot time to 4 minutes cold. People were getting PISSED and this went on for hours.

He was confronted multiple times, warned, people got frusturated and left. I was there for about 8 hours and by the end of the day not everybody stopped shooting when he walked up to his target.

Had one strange old guy who looked exactly like Ned Beatty from shooter (crookid teeth, tan hat and jacket to!) come to the range with no guns, he was just looking around. Walked up to me when I had my m2 out. He asked me about it, asked about the cost of ammo, then got PISSED when I told him what ammo costs. Started ranting and raving shaking his finger, red faced and spitting at me saying how "STOOPID" I was in a NY accent for wasting money like that, then he said "Being rich must be nice" turned and walked back to his car.

I about DIED laughing, senator Charles F. Meachum was going postal about the cost of ammo for my gun! At first I thought my friends were setting me up or something but nobody ever admitted to it.

^ First guy had a death wish. I might have considered calling police or whoever runs the range for disturbing the peace or something. That's unreasonable and he's endangering himself.

The second thing is hilarious. Always love to laugh at an idiot

When you have a guy shooting at a target and doing grouping or zeroing like that, there's an easy way to screw with him. Just start unloading at his target. Piss him off enough and he'll leave. That, or I would have grabbed his ammo and chucked it into the woods. Go find it, dick bag!
Luckily, I shoot at a gun club where we have bylaws that allow us to take action and have people disciplined or removed. We can vote people off of a range on the spot if we need to.

Actually I believe the police were called, nobody ever showed up though...its a NF range way out in the boonies.

Only time we ever seen a "cop" was when we were up there after dark messing around with night vision, tracers, and jugs of gas. They came to shut us down as we were packing up. A friend of mine had a PS90 with a fake can, cop rolls up and starts giving him HELL over the can, practically calling him a lier. Made him take it apart to prove it was a slip over.....

I just wanted to see his reaction so I claimed we did not have any lights and needed his help to grab the last of the stuff. The Ma duce was WAY down at the end of the range and his dim little mag light could bairly make out the shape.

About 5 feet in....What in the hell is that?
10 feet in.........WTF
15 feet in.........is that???
20..........Thats a F%^&in Ma Duce!!!

he helped me remove the barrel, untie the rig (its tied with two straps so recoil wont launch it off the back in to your lap), and lift the mount off the bench. Never asked for a tax stamp or nothing and even called his backup over to check it out..

"You gotta come see this!!! You will probably never see one of these in real life again....

Clift notes, buddy got hassled over not having a stamp for a fake can and I practically got sucked off for a belt fed fifty....My buddy was mildly annoyed.

Not really a horror story but it was funny as hell.

Originally Posted by tailo

Actually I believe the police were called, nobody ever showed up though...its a NF range way out in the boonies.

Only time we ever seen a "cop" was when we were up there after dark messing around with night vision, tracers, and jugs of gas. They came to shut us down as we were packing up. A friend of mine had a PS90 with a fake can, cop rolls up and starts giving him HELL over the can, practically calling him a lier. Made him take it apart to prove it was a slip over.....

I just wanted to see his reaction so I claimed we did not have any lights and needed his help to grab the last of the stuff. The Ma duce was WAY down at the end of the range and his dim little mag light could bairly make out the shape.

About 5 feet in....What in the hell is that?
10 feet in.........WTF
15 feet in.........is that???
20..........Thats a F%^&in Ma Duce!!!

he helped me remove the barrel, untie the rig (its tied with two straps so recoil wont launch it off the back in to your lap), and lift the mount off the bench. Never asked for a tax stamp or nothing and even called his backup over to check it out..

"You gotta come see this!!! You will probably never see one of these in real life again....

Clift notes, buddy got hassled over not having a stamp for a fake can and I practically got sucked off for a belt fed fifty....My buddy was mildly annoyed.

Not really a horror story but it was funny as hell.

I always wondered who enforced the Tex stamp thing; I didn't think average cops knew anything about it.