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People you meet at the indoor range


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I went to a cowboy action match about 20 years ago only to find out a few days before that it was at an indoor range. Had to load some smokeless ammo. Not sure if they were officially affiliated with SASS.  No steel. The only good thing was they had a target that moved left to right as you shot it. What really surprised me was that after the match people were pulling out 45-70 leverguns and Sharps to shoot some kind of target. Didn't see what they shot at with them.

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My buddy Bill and I were a couple of Those People. Well, to folks we knew well and who could take a joke.

We were both Sr. ROs at the range and when there were not too many around we would get on either side of a friend and start shooting timed fire.

With our Cap and Ball revolvers.

 

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I stopped shooting my Kimber 3” at our local. Between the concussion and flame lance and raining hot brass over the divider onto the next lane, I felt it was better to be nice. 

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I think the favorite people I've met at a shooting range (indoor) was a young Canadian couple a few years back. They had rented a .357 and bought ammo for it. The range master later told me he had suggested .38 SPC for it, but the young man got the magnum ammo, of course. A few rounds in, and both realized it was more than either of them could handle. They started to pack up, looking extremely disappointed. They asked me if I had any use for the .357 Mag rounds, since they had already purchased them. Looking in my bag, I had quite a bit of cowboy action rounds from Choice. I said to try them, and if they liked them, I would give them 100 rounds and take what was left of the box. They asked if I was serious, and started to decline, but I convinced them to try.

 

Once they started shooting the lighter loads, both were laughing and having a great time. Before they left, they made sure to thank me, and even offered to pay me for the ammo, which I declined. It was worth it to see them having a great time on their vacation shooting guns.

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On 5/4/2022 at 3:17 PM, Rip Snorter said:

I saw a guy shoot a 45-70 derringer at an indoor range, knocked himself silly and lacerated his forehead.  His friends were howling, the rest of us tried to look concerned.

 

At this same range, several years ago a young man rented a .44 Magnum and let his girlfriend try it. She lost control of it under recoil, and when it went back behind her head she reflexively pulled the trigger again, striking and killing her boyfriend. Not only do you have to worry about careless and untrained people at public ranges but you also have to worry about people shooting too much gun for them to handle.

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The worst one I can recall was when a great range changed ownership and the new operator couldn't be bothered policing the range.  I was shooting with a couple of buddies and a group came in.  They started unpacking and fooling with firearms on a counter back behind the firing line.  I spoke to them politely about only handling their guns on the line.  One laughed waving a 1911 around, "Don't worry, It hasn't got a clip in it!"  I tucked my carry gun back behind my hip - if shot, I planned to try and return the favor.  It became tiresome pretty quickly, paying attention to shooting and watching fools, so we left.  May have been my last visit to that range.

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I've met lots of mediocre and poor shooters trying to knock down the indoor targets with magnum sound waves. 

 

But I've also met some really nice people, including some whose shooting impressed me--like the older black couple  shooting (him) a G19 glock and (wife) a G26.  Both guns were stock.  Both of them were putting round after round of factory 9mm through ragged single holes at 7 yds.

 

We got to talking and they said they'd been  shooting twice a week "forever", just for fun.  They scraped up all of their brass and gave it to me.  So I recipricated with several hundred reloaded 9x19 rounds. They both ended up in my garage, learning about reloading.  My wife and I call them and we shoot together whenever we go to practice with our carry guns.  He is a high school English teacher, and she is a school librarian.  Nice folks.  

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3 minutes ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

But I've also met some really nice people, including some whose shooting impressed me--like the older black couple  shooting (him) a G19 glock and (wife) a G26.  Both guns were stock.  Both of them were putting round after round of factory 9mm through ragged single holes at 7 yds.

 

I met a similar gentleman a couple years ago, who'd just bought a SIG P365 the same time I did. Turns out he went to the range every Saturday to get away from his wife. I've seen him there nearly every Saturday since... I thought that was funny.

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7 minutes ago, Sixgun Sheridan said:

 

I met a similar gentleman a couple years ago, who'd just bought a SIG P365 the same time I did. Turns out he went to the range every Saturday to get away from his wife. I've seen him there nearly every Saturday since... I thought that was funny.

Sadly we tend to remember the useless idiots that we meet up with at the range, rather than all of the normal and good folks.  

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15 minutes ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

Sadly we tend to remember the useless idiots that we meet up with at the range, rather than all of the normal and good folks.  

 

All the uber-macho idjits who bring their girlfriends to the range, ladies who have never picked up a firearm much less fired one, shove a .44 Magnum or 1911 into their hands and tell 'em "Just point it down range and pull the trigger!" then laugh and show them how a Real Man can handle those handguns.  By firing a 16 inch pattern at 10 yards.  A few times I've quietly taken the lady aside, gave her a little instruction, put a .22 in her hand and brought the target with a 5" Shoot-n-See up to about 5 yards.  Then coach them through a few rounds.  Then offered them a .38 special or 9mm.  Built their confidence.  Sent them back to try Mr. Uber-Macho's hand cannon again.  They usually out shot him.  And, for some odd reason, the guy would suddenly remember some pressing business and they would quickly leave.

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35 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

All the uber-macho idjits who bring their girlfriends to the range, ladies who have never picked up a firearm much less fired one, shove a .44 Magnum or 1911 into their hands and tell 'em "Just point it down range and pull the trigger!" then laugh and show them how a Real Man can handle those handguns.  By firing a 16 inch pattern at 10 yards.  A few times I've quietly taken the lady aside, gave her a little instruction, put a .22 in her hand and brought the target with a 5" Shoot-n-See up to about 5 yards.  Then coach them through a few rounds.  Then offered them a .38 special or 9mm.  Built their confidence.  Sent them back to try Mr. Uber-Macho's hand cannon again.  They usually out shot him.  And, for some odd reason, the guy would suddenly remember some pressing business and they would quickly leave.

I had one of the Super-Macho fellows nearly shoot me a few years back at our outdoor public range.  There was no RSO on duty and the individual kept pointing a 1911 at my gut--arguing with me about his "unloaded" gun and muzzle direction.  You know the rest.  I was picking up to leave when a round retained in his chamber discharged within inches of me and somehow made it through the firing line of about a dozen shooters, without hitting anybody.   His scared wife promptly packed him up and got him out of there, as multiple angry shooters began to converge.   They forgot to stop and pick up their drivers licenses at the Range House, so the Range Manager knew who to exclude from the facility.   

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On 5/4/2022 at 7:18 PM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

One day I quickly unleashed 8 rounds of Hornady American Gunner .357 magnum from my 327 Night Guard and that pretty much shut the range down. The wet behind the ears “range master” came scurrying to find out what I was shooting. I guess the giant fireballs and the noise from that snubby N frame must have “skeered” him. :D

Did the same thing with a '94 Trapper in .45 Colt loaded with 300gr Corbon hunting loads.:D

 

The guy apparently saw the rifle, thought it was a .22 and figured that I'd blew it up on the first shot.:huh: 

 

He sure was baffled when I laughed, cranked the lever and shot it again.:rolleyes:

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