There was this time at a Public Range where I was picking up my expended pistol ammo.  While I was down at the 25 yard range, a new shooter came to shoot at the 50 yard targets.  While he was unloading his equipment I told him to let me know when he was going to start shooting.  He never did.  The first time I had any prior notice is when I heard his .22 Long Rifles being sent down range.
Now while I was on the far left of the Range, he was on the far Right of the Range.  Why this made him think it was safe to start shooting I don’t know.
There are no Official Range Officers unless the Game Control comes around every so often.

On the Good side of shooting…
Last Saturday there was another guy besides me getting in some practice at a Club.  Using a scope he was shooting at targets 400 and 500 yards.  He was using a 6mm rifle.  I was using my Bolt Action Remington BDL .223.  I had put a tripod on it and was getting interesting groups because the wind was going all over the place.  And that excludes the effects of any wind gusts.
Soon after he finished I took the scope off my rifle and proceeded to shoot with iron sights at a large (roughly deer sized) metal target that is set at 400 yards.  As the sights are zeroed for 200 yards I expected to hit about 50% of the time.  He told me he couldn’t even see the target I was aiming at.  But he did hear me hit the target 8 times out of the 15 shots I did.

Scopes are fine, but if you can’t hit with iron sights you don’t deserve to be called a Shooter.

Quoted: Scopes are fine, but if you can’t hit with iron sights you don’t deserve to be called a Shooter.

It's not that: it's just that if you can't hit anything with irons, you won't be able to hit anything with optics, either. Unless you have a grasp of the basics that allows you to hit consistently with iron sights, all the optics will do is give you a better look at what you're missing.

And that is, more or less, is what I just said.  Get your Basics down pat first.  For the first several months I shot that rifle with iron sights because I couldn’t afford to buy a scope.  Scopes can refine your shooting, but unless you know what you’re doing you are not going to hit with any sort of consistency.

Quoted: Quoted: I went to Gunstock last week.  Here is what I saw: 2.  Bad form II       People who use the magazine of the rifle for a base.  It make a great swivel base, too bad it is so unstable. I've been shooting using my magazine as a monopod for about 3 years now and haven't had any problems with stability using an AR. I use the mag as a monopod and the use my offhand to brace against the tail of the stock. I've found it quite useful on targets at 300yds and 500yds, especially when rapid follow-up shots were desirable. I'm also skeptical of the "What if it kabooms" line of thought. I don't see any good reason not to use a good technique based on the less than 0.1% probability that your rifle is going to explode on you. 3.  Wrap around trigger fingers.  'nuff said. Generally I would agree with this; but I'd also point out that this is a valid technique for some styles of shooting (especially rapid, close-in shooting - though it works at longer distances as well). I was first introduced to this by a Marine Force Recon turned instructor named Chris Grollnek who taught it as part of a close-range CQB style course. He advocated sticking as much of your finger as you could get through the trigger guard comfortably. 4.  People who try to compensate for poor marksmanship with technology.  If you are a shitty shot with iron sights, you will still be a shitty shot with a thousand dollar optic on top of that rifle.  Most people don't realize that the best thing you could spend your money on with a rifle is good training, and more practice ammunition.  Throw a couple of competitions in there just to keep you humble. Yes, for the most part; but a $350 Aimpoint will make better marksman of most people than $350 of ammo and no instruction will. Good training is key though and is almost always better than the monetary equivalent in gadgetry. However, if you want to see improvements fast, optics do give an improvement and the imrpovement is greater to those who know the least.

Can you explain to me the logic behind the wrap around finger?  I am not trying to flame you, I would just like to hear the justification for it.   It would seem that in a stressful situation, your basic instinct would be to clench your fist, to hold on to the rifle, and either make it impossible to pull the trigger, or make it go full auto till the bolt slammed open.

I guess I didn't make myself clear on using the magazine as a monopod.  These people were shooting off a bench, and using the magazine as a monopod.  Why not use the handguard resting on your hand, or a rest of some kind.  It would be more stable.   I can see using the magazine as a base in the prone position, especially if you are a little fellow.

When I first started back shooting I had the problem of leaning back.  When I was younger, I was a 95lbs weakling and had a hard time holding a gun for extended periods.  A fine Marine I met at the range got me squared away.

At a range I used to go to, sometimes cops would come in dressed in plain clothes and just pull it out of their holster. This would piss off the range officer, and he would tell them to leave.  One that always cracks me up, are the cops that cannot hit a 7yd target with their duty weapon.  

My dad is a Fudd, but doesn't shoot anymore.  It is a good thing, because there is no way I would go to the range with him.  

The most common mistake I see at the handgun range is jerking the trigger.

The past Saturday I was a my local range and a couple gangsta wannabes came and wanted to rent the  "50 cal".
They settled on a 1911 instead.  Home boy #1 was holding his pants up with his left hand and ran the pistol dry
shooting in the cool sideways mode as fast as he could.  Of course all the brass was bouncing off the overhead showering this idiot
with hot brass. One of them must have made it into his boxers cause started he started dancing around yelling his balls were on
fire.  Home boy #2 "disarmed" him by jerking the pistol out of his hand.  Fortunately the slide was locked back or I'm sure we'd have all
heard a very loud click as the hammer fell.  

The only funny thing was, after we'd bodily removed them from the bay, and the range officer threw them off the premises,
when I went to pull thier target.  They'd shot up most of a box of fifty but there were only three holes in the targer way over on the
far right of the B57 they were shooting at.

Up at our local range its pretty much open season, maybe once a week we have a range 'officer' that helps to sorta control things.

Well, one day there's about half a dozen of us there at the range and a couple of wannabe 'bangers' pull up and start unloading their stuff about the time we call a clear. I had targets out on the 100, 200 and 300yd berms, so it took a while to go out, check, replace and stuff. Im crouched over at the 100yd berm, finishing up patching up a target and BAM! BAM!. I sorta do this duck/turn around/slide down the berm maneuver and see one of the lil bangers holding a revolver, nobody else was even up on the line, they were all still out setting up targets and such.

Man, to say I was a few steps past pissed would be putting it lightly. I remember throwing down my stapler, storming back to the line and getting up in the guys face all DI style. Did a bigtime 'WTF ARE YOU THINKING YOU STUPID SOB! ARE YOU SLOW IN THE HEAD BOY?! ARE YA STUPID?! DIDNT YOU SEE PEOPLE DOWNRANGE?!?! IF YOU CANT FOLLOW THE RULES PACK YER SHIT AND MOVE OUT!!' The buddy I was with, and quite a few people at the range, pretty much stood there with jaws agape. His 'excuse' was that he wasnt firing the thing DOWNRANGE he was firing ACROSS the range, like parallel to the benches!

I went back over to my bench and starting grumbling to myself the two bangers start packing up and my buddy comes over and says 'man, ya know you just got up in his face while he was holding a loaded gun?!?! He could have shot you!' I kind of laughed and told him that I would hope he would have returned fire if they did.... ;)

Quoted: Can you explain to me the logic behind the wrap around finger?  I am not trying to flame you, I would just like to hear the justification for it.   It would seem that in a stressful situation, your basic instinct would be to clench your fist, to hold on to the rifle, and either make it impossible to pull the trigger, or make it go full auto till the bolt slammed open.

Well I can demonstrate it easier than I can explain it; but let me give it a shot. You are already have part of the logic, in a stressful situation your instinct is to clench your fist. This basically takes your instinctive reactions to stress and uses them to your advantage to improve trigger control in a close-quarters shooting scenario.

To get an idea of what I am talking about, shove your trigger finger all the way through the trigger guard - say to the second knuckle  (if possible) and squeeze like you are shaking someone's hand or clinching your fist. Now put your the tip of your finger pad on the trigger and do the same thing. What usually happens is that you get more trigger jerk with your finger on the pad of the trigger because there is more range of motion as your hand instinctively clinches..

The other thing I noticed was that trigger control (releasing to reset and firing again rapidly) was much easier with this method. Now on longer range shots, you will see issues with this because as you squeeze your entire hand, you'll change the point of aim ever so slightly as you are firing; but at the 0-50yd range where IPSC-style shooting usually happens, it makes no difference. You can also use it at longer ranges with some practice; but I like more traditional first pad or joint for longer shots.

I imagine that since Chris teaches out of North Texas and Houston and does special classes for AR15.com members, a lot of the shooters at Gunstock had probably had exposure to this line of teaching. He often posts in the Hometown forums under Recruit_Killer and can probably explain the reasoning much better than I can. The above is just my own interpretation of what he taught us combined with my own experiences using the technique.

I guess I didn't make myself clear on using the magazine as a monopod.  These people were shooting off a bench, and using the magazine as a monopod.  Why not use the handguard resting on your hand, or a rest of some kind.  It would be more stable.   I can see using the magazine as a base in the prone position, especially if you are a little fellow.

Yes, off the bench I'd rather just use a rest under the handguard as it is more stable. The key to the whole monopod technique in my opinion is to use the off hand to create a stable point at the tail of the stock AND at the magazine.

Siting in from a bench is pretty much a waste, you should site in from the position you expect to use in the field.

In Highpower, I site in from offhand for slow fire offhand, and I site in from prone for the prone stages, etc. Yet most "open" shooters are using benches.

Quoted: Quoted: Can you explain to me the logic behind the wrap around finger?  I am not trying to flame you, I would just like to hear the justification for it.   It would seem that in a stressful situation, your basic instinct would be to clench your fist, to hold on to the rifle, and either make it impossible to pull the trigger, or make it go full auto till the bolt slammed open. Well I can demonstrate it easier than I can explain it; but let me give it a shot. You are already have part of the logic, in a stressful situation your instinct is to clench your fist. This basically takes your instinctive reactions to stress and uses them to your advantage to improve trigger control in a close-quarters shooting scenario. To get an idea of what I am talking about, shove your trigger finger all the way through the trigger guard - say to the second knuckle  (if possible) and squeeze like you are shaking someone's hand or clinching your fist. Now put your the tip of your finger pad on the trigger and do the same thing. What usually happens is that you get more trigger jerk with your finger on the pad of the trigger because there is more range of motion as your hand instinctively clinches.. The other thing I noticed was that trigger control (releasing to reset and firing again rapidly) was much easier with this method. Now on longer range shots, you will see issues with this because as you squeeze your entire hand, you'll change the point of aim ever so slightly as you are firing; but at the 0-50yd range where IPSC-style shooting usually happens, it makes no difference. You can also use it at longer ranges with some practice; but I like more traditional first pad or joint for longer shots. I imagine that since Chris teaches out of North Texas and Houston and does special classes for AR15.com members, a lot of the shooters at Gunstock had probably had exposure to this line of teaching. He often posts in the Hometown forums under Recruit_Killer and can probably explain the reasoning much better than I can. The above is just my own interpretation of what he taught us combined with my own experiences using the technique. I guess I didn't make myself clear on using the magazine as a monopod.  These people were shooting off a bench, and using the magazine as a monopod.  Why not use the handguard resting on your hand, or a rest of some kind.  It would be more stable.   I can see using the magazine as a base in the prone position, especially if you are a little fellow. Yes, off the bench I'd rather just use a rest under the handguard as it is more stable. The key to the whole monopod technique in my opinion is to use the off hand to create a stable point at the tail of the stock AND at the magazine.

I've taken instruction from Chris as well, and I think you sum up the logic of the technique very well.  Ayoob also teaches this.

Most common would be cease fire violations (Eg., approaching the shooting bench when folks are already downrange).

Next most common are newbies thinking that those targets downrange are belonging to them! So, they not only shoot your targets, but windflags are also fair game. The younger shooters who shoot at 25 yards often put huge holes in your target frame (made out of PVC) downrange. This is because they align their targets such that yours is right behind theirs (even though you were there first).