[:O]
Yesterday, I tried out the training bay at a local indoor range where I just became a member, and set up a course of fire where I proceeded to walk to various targets, attempting some semblace of a "tactical" application.  When I was done, I was confronted by one of the employees who (politely) requested I bench my weapon, then he pointed out my angle of fire and how it appeared to him that my shots were likely passing through the target...and hitting the concrete floor. I'm not sure whether they actually were, but I apologized profusely and thanked him for reminding me of Rule # 4 (be sure of your target and what's beyond it).

Needless to say, I felt like an idiot, but realized my oversight.

Anyone else?

A couple times I've been told to slow down but thats about it.  I save my stupid stuff for shooting on private land. [;)]

I've been reprimanded many times for firing too fast, but I don't go to those ranges any more.

Only once, for trying to nail a boar that wandered out onto the .50 range at Graf.

The usual range MO is to go out with the "serious work" of zeroing a rifle at 100 or 200 M.  Because you can't go forward whenever you want, a .22 pistol usually accompanies and is used to dispatch Pepsi cans and the like that are thrown forward of the line, passing the time till the next time the firing line is cold.

Not anymore.  Some safety nut passed a rule that this could richochet "and you could put your eye out" or some other such nonsense, so no more shooting at anything other than paper targets mounted to "approved" backings.  You can't even do the "bust the water-filled gallon plastic jug" thing anymore.

I got yelled at for plinking once.  I don't go back much anymore.  This is an outdoor range (obviously) with a mountain for a backstop.  Wotta stupid rule.  Hell, if you want a completely safe range and guarantee no injuries forver, let's just pass a rule banning live fire.

Ya for picking up brass that the guy next to me said i can have.the ro wanted it for himself.

I've been a member of the local club for about 15 years / half of that as a life member.  A couple of years ago they put in a really LOUD alarm and flashing light system when someone wants to go down range.  I always use the system when there's anyone else at the range, but I try to go during the week and hope that no one else is there and if no one is there I don't see much point in making noise for myself.  I park my auto/truck right in front of the door and I always take tons of stuff with me into an open bay shooting structure.  I was out there a couple of weeks ago; my first shooting of a '94 .32 special that was my Grandfathers (been in my safe for years, I was just waiting for the right mood)and the caretaker jumped me about not using the alarm system even if I was the only one on the range.  Tis the rule...sure ruined my mood.

San Gabriel Valley Gun Club?

Don't give the Fienstien/Schumer show any ideas!!!!

RBAD has a good one about getting bitched at for LEAVING THE MAG IN THE RIFLE WHILE FIRING!!!

Seems in his state, they have some weirs semi-auto laws...

Yeah, they griped at me once for breaking their one round every 3 seconds rule. I was firing one round every 2 seconds. Give me a break.

A couple times for rapid fire.

The ONLY rule at my club is...
NO FULL AUTOS

After my buddies and I finished bumpfiring a few mags through our AK's, the range caretaker(which we sorta knew) came charging up the stone drive to the bench area, and asked "Who the hell is shooting automatic weapons?"

We just 'kinda chuckled, and explained how we "Bumped", then offered to show him the internals of the guns...

He said "Oh,it's only you guys", "No problem", "I wouldn't know what to look for anyway"

He chilled out, watched us shoot a little, and left...

No big deal...
We could have had real full autos and he wouldn't have known the difference...  

Yes, right after I had joined the range we were on the public shooting side and once the alarm and flashing lights commenced I started to walk out.
 The Range Master quickly pointed out the fact that HIS VOICE was the final word on when we could walk downrange...

The next time I went, I brought my Remington 7400 Carbine for test-firing.  I checked the public side and it was full, with 3 guys "on deck" in the benches.  The above mentioned Range Master was on duty again and told me I'd have to wait my turn, even though I was a member.
I was waiting for a couple of minutes when another gentleman walked in and proceeded to ask about a Remington 7600.  I spoke up about having my 7400 and began to have a conversation with him.  The Range Master started to trash both of the rifles and their ability to shoot a group, instead saying they shot "patterns" and I thought he was an idiot for putting this new guy off.  The new guy left.
It then occurred to me that as a member, I had access to the "members only" range, which nobody was using.  After getting the records checked to confirm that I indeed had permission to use that range as per the range meeting, I started to ask questions re the use of the range and the alarm system.  
In walks another guy, who upon hearing it was my first time on the members only range, offered to help me get familiar with it.
Now, we're talking!  This is the type of behavior I expected to encounter from fellow members.
After using the range, I went in to show His Highness the "pattern" from my 7400, which measured from just over 1" to 1-5/8" at 100-yds.
He acted surprised.  I told him I hoped the guy that left would have it so good and maybe return to the range.
About the alarm system---it's there so everyone knows that someone is downrange---including YOU---even if you are by yourself!!!
SAFETY 1ST.  

I was told to leave 2-3 seconds between shots at an indoor range.  I was cutting a ragged hole at 75' with my Buckmark Varmint - aim, fire, repeat.  Since it's a really heavy .22, it doesn't take more than half a second to get back on target, and another half a second to fire.  When he saw the target and the gun, he said it wasn't a big deal, but he didn't want other people to get the wrong idea.

You see I have lived up north all my life. I was at a gun range in Mississippi when I was walking out to the target and there in front of me was a snake the thing had to been about 8 feet long and it was coiled right in front of my target. I just used my Glock 22 with CCI bird shot and killed it I was no going to take a chance. Well I was bitched out so bad for doing it(I need mind you that it was an outdoor range and the ground by me was just soft earth and me and my uncle where only one's at the range and he was behind me.)He told me that I was to be discharging my fire arm when I was walking down to the target and that I need to pack up and leave. I told him what happen but he would not lesion to me so I packed up and tossed the head less snake up on his counter top when I left. You should have seen the look on his face.  

Yeah I have!

Every time I bring a rifle without any wood on it. If the dickhead Nazi guy see`s us with a synthetic stock gun, he says this area is for serious shooting only. I tell him I am very serious and proceed to shoot anyway.

He can kiss my ass!!
But now I only go there in the late aftermoon.
Nobody around.

I got yelled at a few weeks ago.  

My Winchester 94 jammed up with a piece of brass stuck inside the receiver down by the lever.  I tried to un-jam the thing by shaking it upside down and banging with my hand on the side of the receiver.

Well, I must have gone brain-dead because I didn't realize that I was sweeping up the firing line with the muzzle end. [:O]  So, the RO promptly and sternly told me about it. [:I]

Even though the magazine and chamber were empty, and the action was open, it was a dumb thing to do.  What really bothers me is that I know better.

The local range here in St. Aug is a Full Auto range---
Awesome.
The setup of the entire range--Pistol Range- Action Range, and Rifle range.... Is 110% conducive to rapid fire.
It's encouraged.

Never! I am a model of safety and decorum[smoke]
Even if I had I would be too ashamed to admit it
to you guys[smoke]

I have learned that there are pure A%$holes in every sport.  I seem to find even more in the shooting sports than in the overall population.

I have met with them in the following circumstances:

Shooting too fast with a pistol ("hey, it's not a machinegun!" from a rough-neck country boy sighting in his rifle)

Shooting too fast with a .22 rifle at an indoor range (woman in next stall did not like it, bitched to range owner, but he didn't say anything to us; he even has an SMG range [;)] )


Holding an empty AR-15, no mag [muzzle up] during cold range.

Saftey IS important, but so is courtesy to others.  If you do not like what someone does, but it is not a dire saftey issue, then be polite when you tell them, or at least SHUT YOUR OWN DAMN MOUTH and move farther down from them on the line (if you are right next to each other).  

well once when i was a newbie i was blasting off a high cap mag rapid fire from my glock and the guy yelled at me to slow down. never went back there agien

must be, I don't think Wades has a bay does it?

When the firing line is "cold" NOBODY touches ANY firearm. Not on the bench, not behind the line, not even to open a gun case behind the line. On the range I shoot at, when the line is "cold" you don't even get to approach the bench to makes notes in your reload book or count cases in your ammo box.

I got yelled at for picking plastic ammo blocks and boxes off the top of the trash bin. BFD. Darryl yells at everyone for everything.

Shooters at the range (run by the county) cooperate with each other, decide when to put up targets, open/close the firing line. But Darryl is the range officer, and runs the show. Everyone gets called all the time for really minor stuff -- like leaving cleaning patches on the firing line, or standing in the handgun bay while shooters are putting up targets. (Ya gotta be out of the bay.)

I didn't leave the gate open on my revolver once while heading out to put up targets. Minor stuff.

We can fire as fast as we want to, so long as no one on the line gets annoyed. Generally about one mag of rapid fire and someone asks, "are you going to continue?" That's a polite way of asking you not to toss brass all over the line while others are trying to shoot.

It's MUCH safer than out in the woods where I find it a good idea to carry a loaded side-arm with a backup shotgun in the truck. Never know who you might run into in the woods.

What is it with Range Officers? I mean, I compare these guys to life guards at swimming pools. YES they have a very important job to do to make sure no one gets shot. However, they all seem to let this get to their heads. I had one guy at a MO Conservation Department Range (Busch Wildlife in St. Louis) harass me about the fact that I was cleaning my Mini-14 (with the gun completely disassembled from the stock, trigger assembly removed, trigger and stock in friggin booth) outside of the booth during a cease fire. I mean, can a human being be that brain death to no recognize that there was no way in I could kill someone?

I do not understand at all some ranges problems with rapid fire, especially at outdoor ranges. I can understand that some people might loose control of the gun and shoot the roof off, but then that is the point the range officer needs to recognize that they do not know what the heck that person is doing.

Anyway, I guess I'm POed. Sorry for ranting.

themao [chainsawkill]

I went to the indoor range (H&H) in Oklahoma City to shoot. They have a "no rapid fire" rule for centerfire rifles.
It's ok to rapid fire a handgun or a shotgun.
WTF, I'll live with it.
I paid my money and became a member.
One time I went there with a Beta-C mag and I loaded it up. I followed the rules of no rapid fire / one second between rounds. I shot the entire mag up that way. One of the range jockys came in there and told me that I was no longer allowed to fire off a full Beta mag as it had "bothered" a couple of the patrons.
Next time I was in there and I was shooting my Mossberg 12 gauge with slugs as fast as I could rack the slide and pull the trigger.
When I got done one of the range jockys came out and told me that rapid fire of a shotgun was not allowed. I pulled out my rule guide and told him that only centerfire rifle was not allowed to be shot rapid fire.
The last straw was when I was on the range by myself and one of the employees came out with an SKS and shot up 4 30 round mags as fast as he could.
I asked him if it would be ok for me to shot some double taps and he said ok.
About 5 minutes later I am into a groove doing double taps and head shots when one of the range jockys comes out from behind me and grabs my shoulder WHILE I am firing! He told me that double taps were not allowed and neither was rapid firing.
When I told him that employee "A" had told me it was ok, he didn't believe me. He also didn't believe me when I told him it was employee "A" who had done the rapid firing.
I said screw this, packed up my stuff and left.
I stopped in the next day to talk to one of the owners.
I told her what had happened, she shrugged her shoulders and told me that I had broken the rules. I told her to call in employee "A" and ask him what had happened. She did, he told her the truth, and she still told me I was in the wrong.
I asked her about rapid firing of shotguns, even she didn't know her own range rules.
I pulled out my range membership card and flipped it at her and started walking out the door. As I was walking out of the building she came out and tried to hand it back to me.
I took it, asked her if I could shoot rapid fire with my AR15 or my shotgun, if I could use my Beta-C mag and if I could double tap. She said no, so I ripped up the membership card and told her to fuck herself and her range.
Avoid H&H gun range in Oklahoma City like the plauge.

my guess why they are so anal is because they were the ones who were picked on when they were young and they never fought back. that is why they got into guns in the first place, to preserve what is left of their manhood. they are just power hungery. the range that I go to doesn't really give a crap, mostly because they are not your average gun range. one day every year you can shoot free if you dress in proper uniform. wich is great because where else can you dress in class a's or bdu's hammer out a full 30 round clip as fast as your finger can move and still not draw any weird looks, it's great.

Yes--WSI it was (you guy's weren't the ones who told on me, were you [spank] ?!?!).  I'm going to start dropping by there twice a week.  

BTW, Paul was the one who "educated" me that day; he's actually been one of the coolest people I've run into on the range in terms of handling an issue like that, as he's pretty sophisticated in the way he handles himself.  He knows how to get his point across without coming down on you in a tirade like some ROs.  For those of you that mentioned the "no rapid fire" and similar rules, I've noticed most of the outdoor ranges are like that.  Around here one has a "1-every-3-seconds" rule and one round in gun at a time, another is "ROs discretion" at when rapid fire is outta hand (dirt and pieces of berm flying up) and 10 round max in weapon.  The problem with rapid fire at outdoor ranges is their concern that most of the uninformed living/working within the vicinity think it's "a machine gun" and bitch.  In today's climate and with ranges closing right and left, they're just trying to cover themselves. About the only places I feel comfortable "cutting loose" is the isolated areas in the hills.

Yeah, for loading an empty mag while the range was cold. I was back from the bench, all weapons were laid down with their actions open. As I touched a magazine one of the older members began to shout at me about range rules, safety and endangering other shooters.

I calmly put the mag down and he went down range. Guess he realized how stupid he sounded because about 15 minutes later he came over and apologized.

Yup over the PA system for rapid fire....it wasn't that fast though.

At a range I went to once and will never be returning to, this old fart, who seemed to get off on yelling, screamed at me for crossing the yellow line during a ceasefire. Normally this would be justified BUT, this happened when I stretched my leg out while I was sitting down on an observer/guests bench. Kind of hard not to when these seats are only about 12" behind the line.

On state ranges here in PA they have a three round rule. No more then 3 in the mag!!! My first time out there I opened up with an AK,guess what, BITCH BITCH BITCH goes the warden. Dumb Rule

I got chewed out once on the range at Ft. Jackson, SC while I was a dumb kid private E2.  We were standing at port arms with our M16s when the load command came.  I reached into my field jacket pocket and found nothing.  My magazine had dropped out.  I glanced down to my right and there it was one step to my rear.  I stayed at port arms and took one step backwards, squatted  and picked up the mag and then stepped back online.  It was a no win situation.  I was going to get chewed out no matter what I did.  Oh well, I lived through it.

Ok, I've been reading how everyone has been ragging on range officers. Maybe some were justified and some weren't. I've have been a NRA certified firearms instructor for about 10 years and a certified range officer for several years. In my 10 years of running an outdoor firing range,(a county range that the different gun clubs run) I have seen a lot. At the start of every range session there is a meeting and we go over the rules and commands (I don't stutter or speak softly). Sometimes I feel like I am just pissing in the wind. Within five minutes someone will be breaking the 180 degree rule. One guy decided to go downrange to check his target just after I called the line hot. As several members before this post pointed out, when the line is cold that means no one is to loiter around the guns, not shooters, not RO's. A lot of the time when there is a cease fire the shooters will still have their hearing proctection on and the RO might be twenty yards away, so yeah we have to raise our voice to get their attention to get them away from their guns. Amazingly they always think you must be trying to get someone elses attention because they never look up.

We never try to offend anyone, but have to make sure that it is a safe range for everyone. Since our club is a nonprofit organization the RO's do not get paid. We are there for the love of the sport and so the shooters can get their dose of gunpowder and noise. I love to shoot soda cans and water jugs too, but we don't allow it because we know from experience the range will soon look like a trash dump. When the work days roll around who do you think are there to do the work? The general club members? I don't think so. Only the RO's.

Don't get me wrong, I love being out there helping and watching everyone have a good time. Most of the shooters are great people that are very safe and I trust completely. Some people that have been there several times still think that all the rules don't apply to them, so I never turn my back on them.

If you know the rules don't break them. If you are not sure, ask an RO. We don't get our jollies by reprimanding you. Shoot Safe.

got chewed out not to long ago for having two types of ammo on the firing line bench.  I hadn't heard of that rule.  It makes sense that you wouldn't want to get them mixed up.  I have just never had anyone tell me that was a rule before.  Is that a common rule that I have been violating?

Never heard of that one. But I'm sure every range might have a few different rules. Maybe they had a bad experience before. It's not a rule we have on my range.

Yeah I got chewed out at WSI, in the training bay, last friday.  I just bought an AR15, recently assembled it, and wanted to function test it.  Sone people were setting up a course of fire, and they let me go downrange after they were finished to function test.  

After I was finished I made sure my rifle was clear and put it on the rack.  Later, when I wanted to pack up my rifle I walked WAY downrange with my empty rifle and racked the bolt once (pointed at the backstop 10' away) and various people flipped out.

I told them I was just clearing the action, but they continued to bitch me out.  Fine, whatever.  Later, as I continued to observe people unpacking rifles they were clearing actions from way behind the line with rifles pointed in every direction you could think of.  

If racking the bolt on an unloaded gun is so evil, why do they allow it in the LOBBY!!!!!?

I agree with the sentiments that too many people have become SAFETY NATZI's.  Chill out everybody!

Godspeed

Wades does have a members bay. I suspect that PACorps was at WSI, since thats where I met him a few weeks ago.

I was yesterday! I was shooting my 11.5 (loud) SBR at a dirt berm at 25yds away and oops I forgot that we are not to shoot rifles at the berm. There I was blasting away with a Beta-C loaded and all of the time the R.O. was yelling at me over a PA system and EVERYONE was looking at me. I couldn't hear jack $hit over the blasting.[:I]

I did feel like a fool[:E]but oh well live and learn.

Hello everyone,

    I'm new to the forum, but I've been shooting since I was a kid. And believe me, that was a while ago. After reading these posts about all the stupid range rules, reminds me just why I have a rifle range in my back yard. I never complain about me burning 30 rnd mags, but my wife bitches about the racket sometimes.

Mike

Although alot of you seem to disagree with the no handling of firearms during a cease fire, I whole heartedly agree with that rule at the range I go to.  Most of you have said it yourselves, You have seen alot of stupid people and things done at the range.  Look at it from the other guy's point of view.  You may know that you are not "one of those idiots" and what you are doing is not dangerous.  But how is the other guy suppose to know this.  I myself like most of you have seen enough idiots at the range  that I do not want to seen anyone holding a gun when I am down range.  You may think that it is a stupid rule, but let's put things into perspective.  It is safer to assume that everyone could be dangerous than just assume that someone handling a gun during a cease fire must be doing it safely (i.e. unloaded or disassembled) since it is a cease fire.  Think of how you think of others, and that is how they think of you.  Better safe than sorry.
BTW not meant to offend anyone.

CH

Once I was frying some eggs and my wife raised hell because I was using her good iron skillet. Oh, you mean that other kind of range.[whacko]

Yeah my wife called and told me to get my arse home pronto.She had the range master do it over the PA.Seems I forgot a prior engagment.