Subdeacon Joe Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/an-interesting-experience-at-the-shooting-range The range is packed. Everyone got new guns for Christmas and wants to shoot them. There was about an hour wait for a stall. I sit down and start reading as I wait my turn. In a few minutes, a young girl sits down to wait in the chair next to mine. She’s by herself and appears to be in her early 20s. She’s the only black person in the room and one of the only women. She seems nervous as she fiddles with the gun case in her lap. She’s obviously uncomfortable. Uncomfortable people with guns in their hands shooting in the stall next to me isn’t what I like to see. I decide to talk to her. Keep in mind that no one at this range knows me or knows what I do for a living. That’s why I like shooting there; I have complete anonymity and can focus on my own training rather than teaching others. I rarely talk to anyone, but something told me that I needed to talk to this girl. "It’s a long wait, huh?” “What kind of gun did you bring to shoot?” She smiles and seems visibly relieved that someone was being nice to her. She says “It’s just a 9mm. Nothing special, but it’s the only thing I could afford.” We keep talking. I find out she’s a single mom with two kids. Her house has been broken into three times in the last two months. The last burglary attempt occurred while she was in the house with her kids. She has never shot a gun, but she recognized that she had a duty to protect her family. She went to a gun show and bought a Jimenez Arms JA-9. She asked all her male friends and family members to go to the range with her, but all of them turned her down." It got me thinking about the courage and commitment that this woman was displaying. How many people would intentionally place themselves into a situation where they know they will be the outsider and probably look stupid and inept to all the other “experts” at the range? Not many. The woman had guts. “I think I can help you. Let’s share a stall. I’ll show you how to shoot your gun.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangler Rich SASS #42157 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Good for you, Joe!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twelve mile REB Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Did it work for her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Good observation, good on you for helping her. Here's hoping you can follow up. I would hate to have to defend myself and my family with just one range lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 23 minutes ago, Wrangler Rich SASS #42157 said: Good for you, Joe!!!!! 6 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said: Good observation, good on you for helping her. Here's hoping you can follow up. I would hate to have to defend myself and my family with just one range lesson. 15 minutes ago, twelve mile REB said: Did it work for her? Sorry, I didn't think, given the I linked an article, that people would think it was my account. That's from an article I found. Not my own account, but I have done similar several times. As I'm sure several of you have. I just thought that maybe it was time for a reminder to not put people down for what they bring to the range. At least not to their faces. Maybe online, especially with some of the tackykool stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Eagle Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 We need more interaction like this with new shooters. Guns aren't scary. Guns don't hurt people. They can and do protect us, but as all of us here know, they're also fun to shoot and compete with. They can be a way for people to gain confidence shooting clays, shooting targets at 1,000 yards, or shooting cowboy stages in 30 seconds. It always makes me mad when I see the youtube videos of someone taking a new shooter to the range and then giving them a .50 cal pistol to shoot. We need to encourage people to shoot more and understand that guns are useful and good. Please take the time to pay this forward whenever you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, Wild Eagle said: It always makes me mad when I see the youtube videos of someone taking a new shooter to the range and then giving them a .50 cal pistol to shoot With zero training or coaching. A lot of those "gun fails" videos say more about the mentality of the guy who thought it would be funny to give "the little lady" way too much gun than it does about her. Several times at a range I've seen a guy trying to show off how "manly" he is by doing stuff like that, giving his girlfriend who has maybe shot a squirt gun his .44 Mag. then laugh at her. She fired maybe 2 rounds, gets scared and quits. I'd motion her over, tell her that she should start with something smaller caliber and the target closer. 5" Shoot'n'See, target at 4 yards or so, .22 pistol or revolver. 5 minutes and she's shooting groups at 7 yards. Work her up to 9mm and .38 special. Build her confidence. Have her try a .44 again Tell her to go back to her "macho" boyfriend and tell him she wants to try it again. It's fun to watch his face as she shoots groups to his patterns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I would have done the same thing if I had talked to her. When I worked part time at a gun shop/range I did it several times. I would have also tried to help her get rid of that Jimenez if possible . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Huckleberry Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Gun snobs -- see 'em in lots of places. Have managed to sandbag one or two at the range and have to say there is a sense of satisfaction to it. Kudos to Mr. Ellifritz, not just for recognizing a new shooter in an intimidating environment and reaching out, but for recognizing and answering a very real, and very desperate, need and working to meet it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantry Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 11 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said: I just thought that maybe it was time for a reminder to not put people down for what they bring to the range. At least not to their faces. Maybe online, especially with some of the tackykool stuff. I derive a certain amount of pleasure of beating some shooters (non-SASS) with something old or un-fancy. They are the ones who think the latest and greatest gun makes them some sort of super shooter. Of course I am a grumpy, cynical smart ass too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, Chantry said: I derive a certain amount of pleasure of beating some shooters (non-SASS) with something old or un-fancy. They are the ones who think the latest and greatest gun makes them some sort of super shooter. Of course I am a grumpy, cynical smart ass too. Just as much fun is going over and admiring it, and doing the "HEY! Nice (whatever)! May I try it?" And, at least here, range etiquette almost requires letting the asker put a couple of rounds down range unless they are outrageously expensive, or the gun in question is something rare and very valuable. Then outshooting them with it. My favorite Range Story is a guy who had his girlfriend at the range teaching her to shoot. Had a 1911 and a Ruger M77 (I think M for Mauser) with a scope. I had a H&R Target in .38-55 that I was sighing in, and a reproduction Colt 1860 with detachable stock. She was doing pretty good with the 1911, but having trouble with the rifle. I was going about my business, having fun. At one of the cease fires to change targets we chatted some, he expressed interest in what I was shooting, so when the line went hot I let him try. He thought the .38-55 would kick like a mule and so really leaned into it the first shot. He was also startled by the smoke from the Colt. Naturally he reciprocated and let me try his Ruger. "But it's not sighted in, you have to hold about 6 inches right and a couple of inches down. My brother was supposed to sight it in, but all he did was mount the scope." OH BOY! I had a rest that I had cobbled together - looked a bit like a boot jack om a long base. "Mind if I try to sight it in?" I asked innocently. "Go for it!" Put it in the rest, held on center, fired, got it back to on center, adjusted the reticle to the hole in the target, fired. Made one more adjustment. Fired and was about two clicks right and one click down at 100 yards (something like that, pretty close) and figured that he could finish. Had his gf sit and try from a rest. She fired 3 rounds, "Are all the bullets supposed to go in the same hole?" she asked. His face did a nice imitation of the color of a fire truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, Subdeacon Joe said: And, at least here, range etiquette almost requires letting the asker put a couple of rounds down range Now that is one of the spots where we differ. Jeff Cooper said one time, "Never ask to handle another man's gun. That puts him in the uncomfortable position of having to say 'no'." Or as I tend to put it,"KYFFO!" If I offer to let you shoot my gun, that's one thing. But would you walk up to the man with the '63 split window 'vette and ask him if you could take it for a spin around the block? Same thing. I've let many people shoot many of my guns. Several quite expensive. Always my suggestion. But if someone were to walk up and ask me if he could shoot one of my guns, I would tell them that he could shoot one just like it. Just go up there to the counter and buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 2 minutes ago, Alpo said: Now that is one of the spots where we differ. Jeff Cooper said one time, "Never ask to handle another man's gun. That puts him in the uncomfortable position of having to say 'no'." Or as I tend to put it,"KYFFO!" If I offer to let you shoot my gun, that's one thing. But would you walk up to the man with the '63 split window 'vette and ask him if you could take it for a spin around the block? Same thing. I've let many people shoot many of my guns. Several quite expensive. Always my suggestion. But if someone were to walk up and ask me if he could shoot one of my guns, I would tell them that he could shoot one just like it. Just go up there to the counter and buy one. That's the way it works most of the time, "HEY! That looks sweet!" "It is, would you like to try it out?" Again, almost obligatory. But, occasionally, there's the "HEY! That looks sweet! I wish I could shoot something like that!" which gets treated as a request to try it out. And, again, politeness almost requires that you allow the person to try it. I rarely had any qualms about allowing someone else to try out whatever it was I had at the range that day. In fact, only once did I decline. Person just made me uneasy for some reason. "Sorry, but I'm out of the ammo for that one." Or....load up the cap and ball 12 gauge with 120 grains of FFg and a patched round ball. Fun watching them flinch on the second barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I always try to be a good ambassador when shooting at a public range. I have had people ask me outright to try one of my guns. I rarely refuse and the couple of times I declined it was because the person was too young or didn’t appear to have the strength, in other words, frail. In those cases I have offered a softer shooting gun. I did refuse a couple of belligerents a few years back simply because not only were they loudmouths but unsafe gun handlers as well. I never ask a person to try their gun(s). If offered I will try out a gun, but I do not wear out my welcome by shooting up their ammo. I recently had a gent offer to let me shoot his .500 Smith & Wesson. I politely declined even though he insisted. I have finally gotten my arthritic right wrist to the point where it doesn’t pain me much. I figured a .500 S&W wasn’t good medicine for my wrist. Often, when I am done shooting, I will give away targets I haven’t used. I especially seek out newer shooters in the hopes that they will someday do the same. Being a good ambassador for shooting doesn’t take a whole lot of effort. The rewards are sometimes unseen. But I don’t do it for reward. I do it to show people that shooters aren’t all gruff ruffian tacticool egomaniacs. I do it to show that we as a shooting community are approachable and helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I've told this before, I know. This has been several years back. I walked out on the range and there was two people. A man and his son. The boy was watching daddy shoot. So I gave 'em four or five lanes between us, and ran out a target and started practicing my trigger technique. Padadow. Padadow. Padadow. And when I finished that magazine I turn around and the kid is standing there looking at me. I asked him if he would like to shoot it, and his eyes got real big. I told him to go ask his daddy. So he runs down, and then they both come back, and the first thing that Daddy says is "did he ask?" I told him no, that I had offered. I told him that if somebody had offered to let me shoot the machine gun when I was about 10 years old it would have made my year. So I show Daddy how it worked, and he apparently shot something similar before, because he shot two nice little three round bursts, then he got the kid up there and the kids shot a nice little 26 round burst. Mag dump. And they both said thank you, and then they packed up and left. I fired off another magazine, and when I turned around to reload it the daddy was standing there. Handed me a box of PMC ball, thanked me again, and left. I believe that that is the only time, in all the times that I have let people shoot my guns, that somebody replaced the ammo. Or even offered to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 this was a great thread , restores my belief in the "good gun guys" , the range i work at has a small group of older RSOs , its one of the best places for someone like the gal in the OP to go to because these guys sense the new/uneasy and tend to do as the OP mentioned and go to every effort to not only make a new person feel at ease but to aid them in getting comfortable as possible with whatever they brought , instruct and encourage proficiency , then they encourage return to maintain the skills they are working with , she would be a typical one to get all of that from this bunch , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.