Unwanted attention at shooting ranges?

[just browsing]

Just looking for some opinions here. Unlike some of you boys out West with more land than you know what to do with, us Eastern shooters are often confined to shooting at ranges, whether they're public or membership only.

I've shot 7mm Mags and '06's for years without giving it much of a second thought, but I've recently started to notice that whenever there are guys with larger caliber rifles, they always seem to garner more attention at the range (be it from other shooters, RSOs, etc.).

Obviously there's a fine line between minding your own business and just being plain disruptive (.50bmg), but at which point does it start to get you unwanted attention? I only learned just how loud a .300 win mag with a brake was today, and I'm starting to have some reservations about shooting 50-75 rounds at a time. Curious to see if anyone else has noticed this, or if it's just me being paranoid.

Any insight is appreciated.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Just looking for some opinions here. Unlike some of you boys out West with more land than you know what to do with, us Eastern shooters are often confined to shooting at ranges, whether they're public or membership only.

I've shot 7mm Mags and '06's for years without giving it much of a second thought, but I've recently started to notice that whenever there are guys with larger caliber rifles, they always seem to garner more attention at the range (be it from other shooters, RSOs, etc.).

Obviously there's a fine line between minding your own business and just being plain disruptive (.50bmg), but at which point does it start to get you unwanted attention? I only learned just how loud a .300 win mag with a brake was today, and I'm starting to have some reservations about shooting 50-75 rounds at a time. Curious to see if anyone else has noticed this, or if it's just me being paranoid.

Any insight is appreciated.

7mm RemMag with a brake on the end will do it... Used to happen to me all the time. I haven't been back to the range in 9 months or so because of how crowded it always is. Not to mention that none of those people ever ask you about your guns when the range is cold... It's always when you're in the middle of shooting when the range is hot. That ****es me off to no end. That's why I'm working on getting my own land to build a house on and setup my own private range.

 

[Doublezranch]

I also shoot at a range for load development and zeroing only. All my rifles are long range, big/over bore rockets. I use the attention as a positive. Most of the time they just want to see what your shooting and laugh at the size of the case. Some want to know what bullet, powder combo you have or what type of critter you plan on killing with this type of a rifle. Some are looking for advice, and some just want to hear about your rifle.
I was fortunate enough to be at the range early November. I was running a new load through my 375 RUM. There was a middle aged gentleman that was really struggling with a 308. After I fired a round I had the normal reaction of "holy s***" and the gentleman came over. Looked everything over and laughed. I took the time to build a positive report with him. Answered his questions, asked if he wanted to shoulder the rifle, look through the scope, even fire a round. After 15 mins he asked if I could help him zero his rifle. My answer, as always was "it would be my pleasure". He was trying to zero at 300 in a 25 mph wind. His first ever rifle, factory ammo. I had him move his target to 50 yards, dialed his vortex pst down 3 full revolutions and told him to let her rip. First time he had hit the target all day. I spent the time to explain his scope, rifle, and the effects of the wind. He was very thankful.
I told that story for this reason, because of that gentlemans attention, he was able to learn about his rifle and get it zero'd that day. Personally I find it easy to tell who is genuinely interested in what you are doing or have, verses people who are jealous about stealing "their" thunder.

 

[Doublezranch]

These are the people that scare me to no end.....

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f22/newbie-range-just-about-made-fatal-mistake-142448/

 

[406precision]

Range etiquette is a huge problem. We don't do a lot of public range shooting..because quite honestly we don't have to, but we do use a local range for 100 yard stuff and zeroing and we often rent the facility for private classes etc..

Some of the things I have seen there will make you cringe from unsafe activity to misinformed, uneducated parties that are spreading mistruths and misinformation faster than you can correct it. I don't know how you guys in bigger cities handle it..

The main thing I have noticed equipment wise is that bigger rifles and custom rifles get a lot of people interested in shooting ... a target cam system will flat shut the range down and breaks don't always make you friends...but suppressors do!LOL

My ideas on noise are simple...its a shooting range if loud isn't your thing I am sorry, but I am also not going to shoot my rifle in a different configuration just to please your ear drums.

I spend more time on the local range answering questions or demoing gear than I do shooting...but hey that doesn't bother me if I can help someone find the right rifle or equipment that makes them more successful in the field I am a happy camper

The local range is a good place to meet like minded people and to promote our sport ...are their idiots...yes hopefully they don't out way the good ones.

Jordan@406

 

[just browsing]

7mm RemMag with a brake on the end will do it... Used to happen to me all the time. I haven't been back to the range in 9 months or so because of how crowded it always is. Not to mention that none of those people ever ask you about your guns when the range is cold... It's always when you're in the middle of shooting when the range is hot. That ****es me off to no end. That's why I'm working on getting my own land to build a house on and setup my own private range.

That would be ideal. I'm not so much worried about people asking questions about my stuff as I am people getting annoyed with it or the safety officers giving me a hard time about trying to develop a load. I love talking to people who are genuinely interested and will always take the time to talk to them, I'm more concerned about creating a negative tension between you and other shooters.

These are the people that scare me to no end.....

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f22/newbie-range-just-about-made-fatal-mistake-142448/

Yikes. Like you said, building a positive rapport with someone that is genuinely interested is never a bad idea. I've had people come up to me before and I always take the time to explain things to them, help them zero their rifle, whatever. I'm never not going to take the time to do that with someone because I was there once too, and I definitely know how it feels to be the "new guy."

Stuff like this is just scary though.

Range etiquette is a huge problem. We don't do a lot of public range shooting..because quite honestly we don't have to, but we do use a local range for 100 yard stuff and zeroing and we often rent the facility for private classes etc..

Some of the things I have seen there will make you cringe from unsafe activity to misinformed, uneducated parties that are spreading mistruths and misinformation faster than you can correct it. I don't know how you guys in bigger cities handle it..

The main thing I have noticed equipment wise is that bigger rifles and custom rifles get a lot of people interested in shooting ... a target cam system will flat shut the range down and breaks don't always make you friends...but suppressors do!LOL

My ideas on noise are simple...its a shooting range if loud isn't your thing I am sorry, but I am also not going to shoot my rifle in a different configuration just to please your ear drums.

I spend more time on the local range answering questions or demoing gear than I do shooting...but hey that doesn't bother me if I can help someone find the right rifle or equipment that makes them more successful in the field I am a happy camper

The local range is a good place to meet like minded people and to promote our sport ...are their idiots...yes hopefully they don't out way the good ones.

Jordan@406

Yeah this is what I'm talking about. Obviously range shooting, especially for load development with boom sticks, is never going to be preferential. But as I said before, us East Coast guys don't have nearly as much freedom to do what we want outside of owning our own land.

I suppose noise levels are subjective. Like you said, anyone that goes to shoot and is displeased with the noise level shouldn't be there in the first place. I was more looking at it in a sense of "There's this clown over here blowing people's doors off with that thing."

I love going to the range and talking to like-minded people that have a genuine interest in the sport. But especially when there's a lot of people there, that attention can certainly show you in a negative light sometimes, so I was just wondering what others to do either combat those situations or avoid them altogether.

Thanks for all of your insight.

 

[FEENIX]

Range etiquette is a huge problem. We don't do a lot of public range shooting..because quite honestly we don't have to, but we do use a local range for 100 yard stuff and zeroing and we often rent the facility for private classes etc..

Some of the things I have seen there will make you cringe from unsafe activity to misinformed, uneducated parties that are spreading mistruths and misinformation faster than you can correct it. I don't know how you guys in bigger cities handle it..

The main thing I have noticed equipment wise is that bigger rifles and custom rifles get a lot of people interested in shooting ... a target cam system will flat shut the range down and breaks don't always make you friends...but suppressors do!LOL

My ideas on noise are simple...its a shooting range if loud isn't your thing I am sorry, but I am also not going to shoot my rifle in a different configuration just to please your ear drums.

I spend more time on the local range answering questions or demoing gear than I do shooting...but hey that doesn't bother me if I can help someone find the right rifle or equipment that makes them more successful in the field I am a happy camper

The local range is a good place to meet like minded people and to promote our sport ...are their idiots...yes hopefully they don't out way the good ones.

Jordan@406

lightbulbDITTO!lightbulb

 

[HARPERC]

My pet peeve is what I call "seagulls". They stake out the same post every day, rarely shoot, squawk continuously, and crap all over anything that comes near their perch.

I enjoy the free flow of information, but there are days I think if I hear about Jack O'connor's .270, and why any one of my magnum rifles suck, just one more time I'm going to butt stroke somebody. However, I figure that's my first step toward becoming a seagull.

I saw a better example 40 years ago. I had the privilege of sharing the range with Al Biesen one day, a class individual. When I asked him what he was shooting he handed me the Shah of Iran's brothers newest build (still can't spell his name). Gold inlay, engraved, awesome wood and checkering. Never hesitated, or blinked. I did not know him, he did not know me. Wealthy Prince, or kid with beater 721, all the same.

I try hard to be that guy, and not a seagull.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Range etiquette is a huge problem. We don't do a lot of public range shooting..because quite honestly we don't have to, but we do use a local range for 100 yard stuff and zeroing and we often rent the facility for private classes etc..

Some of the things I have seen there will make you cringe from unsafe activity to misinformed, uneducated parties that are spreading mistruths and misinformation faster than you can correct it. I don't know how you guys in bigger cities handle it..

The main thing I have noticed equipment wise is that bigger rifles and custom rifles get a lot of people interested in shooting ... a target cam system will flat shut the range down and breaks don't always make you friends...but suppressors do!LOL

My ideas on noise are simple...its a shooting range if loud isn't your thing I am sorry, but I am also not going to shoot my rifle in a different configuration just to please your ear drums.

I spend more time on the local range answering questions or demoing gear than I do shooting...but hey that doesn't bother me if I can help someone find the right rifle or equipment that makes them more successful in the field I am a happy camper

The local range is a good place to meet like minded people and to promote our sport ...are their idiots...yes hopefully they don't out way the good ones.

Jordan@406

This is another reason I haven't been back to the range. I've been shooting guns since I could hold it up myself and dad didn't have to help me... So I was taught proper handling early-on. Our local range is full of all types of yuppies and newbies, and quite frankly it scares me. It's not that I mind people asking questions or genuinely interested in learning something new. I'll help anyone, and have on several occasions. It's the people who are out there blasting away for attention or shooting their AR-10 right beside me slinging brass all in my face, knowing it, and not giving a ****. THOSE are the people I want to beat with their own gun, so I try to avoid them. When I go to the range, I go there to "do work" and ladder testing and load development. I don't go just to blast away and burn powder.

 

[sp6x6]

Our 1000 yrd range that been there 30 years got shut down by local property developement.Was a real loss for the LR and bench guys.Lots of us moved to much smaller like 6 bench type where you can shoot up the ridge and bust rocks etc.Hard at such small space,i go to end with my brake and lean up a sheet plywood help with blast.I go field shoot but in winter not as many options all snowed in roads.Im actually surprised that the valley I live in is a meca for rifle companies does not have a good long range.

 

[Engineering101]

just browsing

I'm pretty lucky as far as ranges go. I live a 15 minute drive from one of the best. It has two 200 yard ranges with 15 benches and one 600 yard range used for F-class matches and such. That range has 20 firing positions with target machines in the pits and multiple firing lines at various distances out to the full 600 yards. The firing lines on most of these ranges are covered. There are 4 pistol ranges including 1 indoor range. There is an archery range, archery walk through range (in the woods) and a shotgun range. All this, except the indoor range, is on one big plot of land owned by King County. Local police and SWAT train there also including live fire from helicopters. Membership is capped at 1,000 and there is a waiting list.

Even with 1,000 members I have many days when I am the only one on the range (I avoid weekends). When there are others there, very few are idiots. There is some pretty rigorous safety training required for every member and that training is repeated (for every member) if people start getting sloppy. Whoever is first on the range is RSO until they leave. You can shoot your own guns when acting in that capacity. Having members fill that role helps everyone stay focused on safety.

I have some braked RUMs and such and when I'm using those I will warn people about the muzzle blast if they act like they are going to take the bench next to me. That usually causes them to move down a bit but sometimes they don't care. Bottom line, BIG rifles get little extra attention most of the time.

 

[MMERSS]

Often times between development work I'll walk over to the pistol range while the barrel is cooling. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the serious pistol shooters are thinking, "this guy comes over here as if he has no specific purpose other than to burn powder and blow lead through paper." They would be correct. After a period of time the process between the rifle and pistol range begins all over again.

 

[cowboy]

There is some pretty rigorous safety training required for every member and that training is repeated (for every member) if people start getting sloppy. Whoever is first on the range is RSO until they leave. You can shoot your own guns when acting in that capacity. Having members fill that role helps everyone stay focused on safety.

I commend your club for this - the norm is an initial training/walk through for the majority of clubs and then you are good to go forever.

 

[just browsing]

Our 1000 yrd range that been there 30 years got shut down by local property developement.Was a real loss for the LR and bench guys.Lots of us moved to much smaller like 6 bench type where you can shoot up the ridge and bust rocks etc.Hard at such small space,i go to end with my brake and lean up a sheet plywood help with blast.I go field shoot but in winter not as many options all snowed in roads.Im actually surprised that the valley I live in is a meca for rifle companies does not have a good long range.

Yeah, there's not really a lot of options around where we are. There are a few 1,000 yard ranges within a couple hours drive, but a lot of them are membership only / don't let people just come for the day to shoot. While I do understand that, I don't make the drive often enough to justify the cost of getting a membership. Public ranges are just incubators for unsafe firearm handling and it doesn't make me feel any better drawing unnecessary attention to myself.

just browsing

I'm pretty lucky as far as ranges go. I live a 15 minute drive from one of the best. It has two 200 yard ranges with 15 benches and one 600 yard range used for F-class matches and such. That range has 20 firing positions with target machines in the pits and multiple firing lines at various distances out to the full 600 yards. The firing lines on most of these ranges are covered. There are 4 pistol ranges including 1 indoor range. There is an archery range, archery walk through range (in the woods) and a shotgun range. All this, except the indoor range, is on one big plot of land owned by King County. Local police and SWAT train there also including live fire from helicopters. Membership is capped at 1,000 and there is a waiting list.

Even with 1,000 members I have many days when I am the only one on the range (I avoid weekends). When there are others there, very few are idiots. There is some pretty rigorous safety training required for every member and that training is repeated (for every member) if people start getting sloppy. Whoever is first on the range is RSO until they leave. You can shoot your own guns when acting in that capacity. Having members fill that role helps everyone stay focused on safety.

I have some braked RUMs and such and when I'm using those I will warn people about the muzzle blast if they act like they are going to take the bench next to me. That usually causes them to move down a bit but sometimes they don't care. Bottom line, BIG rifles get little extra attention most of the time.

The ranges around here do require some safety training, pretty sure it's every 2 months or so. The range that you go to sounds pretty legit for some serious shooters though, and honestly that would be an ideal situation. Unfortunately I don't have that luxury around where I live, so I have to make do with what I have.

That's a good way to do it. Maybe I'll try to distance myself from the rest of the line so as to make it a little more bearable, but I'm glad to know that some of you boys shooting these big rounds have dealt with the same thing. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one.