Newbie at the range just about made a "fatal" mistake

[Doublezranch]

This morning my son Zayne and I headed to the range to double check zero on his 270 wsm. When headed to a bench and settled in. Another gentleman was to the left 2 benches down sighting in his rifle. As Zayne and the other gentleman were shooting, another couple of guys showed up and headed to a bench. These guys were acting a bit strange so I decided to watch them from behind the firing line. My suspicions became reality quickly when they "tried" to load and rack their AK47. Once they realized how a semi auto works, they quickly shot the loaded clip. As I watched in horror, one guy gets up and starts walking to the target as the firing line was still hot. My mouth opened to scream but nothing came out. Zayne saw him out of the corner of his eye and jumped off the scope. The other gentleman at the end of the line pulled off the scope when he saw the other gentleman that was walking down range in it. I was shaking. Zayne looked at me and said, "dad, what the hell is he doing?" As we grabbed our target, I mentioned politely to the gentleman how stupid of a move that was. He didn't get it. We grabbed our stuff and left the range. Never in my life have I seen this and hope I never see it again. Unbelievable.

 

[gohring3006]

Public ranges are beginning to make me nervous, especially on the weekends. There seems to be a lot of uneducated people that are shooting guns that they have no training with. I see a lot of "cute girlfriends" shooting guns they can't control, they point it where ever and say things like "ewe it kicks" one pull of the trigger when its pointed the wrong way and we all know how that ends. You should be proud of your son and yourself for seeing the warning signs and acting accordingly. I'm all about people getting into shooting but they need to be trained and considerate of others and not put people in a position of accidentally shooting some one. Because they walk in front of someone...

 

[Tikka 300wsm]

Wow what an idiot, im all for more people getting into shooting sports also but dont have a death wish and have someone that knows there butt from a hole in the ground show them what to do.

 

[Varberger757]

[FONT=&quot]Doesn't sound very promising! I wouldn't use shooting ranges like that one described, too dangerous. Maybe you should do as we do in Central - and Northern Europe. Get some experienced people who are willing to be "range officers" voluntarily. They could then look after that everything is going smoothly and correctly under shooting sessions. Especially due to safety and gun management. People who are lacking all knowledge how to use weapons safely could get a decent instruction in addition. Experienced shooters could feel safe and newbies find their way into the sport.[/FONT]

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

That's a major reason that I avoid the local 100 yard ranges... they are the ones the local idiots use as they can't hit jack squat further out.
I've had idiots do the same to me as ZZ just spoke of. I gave them an earful and they simply whined that I should notice them going out. My response was that when you are on the rifle you can't always see a moron walking out on a hot range and they were welcome to have another hole in there body if they wished but I'd rather not shoot them.

 

[sourdough44]

An that's why many/most of the busier ranges have 'range officers' while the shooting is going on. I just went to a friend's farm the other day. The local shooting range is my last resort.

 

[J E Custom]

I know It is not pleasant, but sometimes the experienced shooters have to speak up even if it causes a scene.

You did the right thing even if the idiot didn't appreciate it .

I always take the lead when at the range (I am old, and close to 300 lbs) so I can get away with it.
and state when the range is safe, and when it is Hot,

Some times people may look at me like "Who put you in charge" and I just hope they say something.

I once had an idiot challenge me and I simply told him that I was calling 911 and to give me his name so we could identify the pieces for his next of kin. apparently it struck home because he stopped fooling with his rifle while everyone was down range.

As Ron White said "You Can't fix Stupid"

You did the right thing doublezranch, and your son has got it because of your parenting.

So if we don't speak up, you may witness something very bad.

J E CUSTOM

 

[scoaus]

In Australia, we have range officers who declare the range open or closed. When people arent firing, all firearms are cleared and no handling of guns is allowed. Its then declared safe to move forward to the targets. There are very few incidents because of it and I feel very safe. I have seen someone accidentally walk forward and the range officer scream at them after calling cease fire.

They have no hesitation to ban idiots and call the police if laws are broken, its not worth someone's life..

 

[savagekindaguy]

I have been on the range where there was no range officer. I was at the long end of the range and several benches at the short range were full of pistoleros. I called downrange and everyone saw me with my hand up. I started to walk downrange and saw a guy pick up his handgun and fore away.

I also saw a few people give him what-for. As I approached him I heard him say some bs about..."he's down there, I'm up here...screw the range rules." I made my point very clear to him. I would call the range officer at home if he didn't start respecting other shooters and realize what a dangerous situation he had caused. He laughed. I called a range officer, but a deputy showed up first. The man was ordered off the range and he is now banned from shooting at the range until he passes a safety course.

 

[Dgd6mm]

You will be banned from my range also if you can not follow the rules of safety.

 

[KYpatriot]

Most outdoor public ranges i have seen have a hole in everything there.

 

[openlake]

Almost every indoor public access range that I have been in, has holes in the ceiling from the backstop all the way to the shooter's station. That's a lot of lanes, with a lot of holes. It pays to be on your toes and be aware of your situation at all times.