I was zeroing my Krag at fifty yards on the 100 yard range at MSSA.  There were several other gentlemen on the firing line with me.  Well, this is a sporter krag with lyman peep sights.  I was shooting at 50 yards to see if it was hitting the paper.

So I'm looking at my sight picture, and notice a black streak going down the right side of the target.  I close my eyes for a sec and look again.  black streak still there.  I close my eyes again and rub a little and look again.  Still there.

Only now do I sit up and look directly at the target and see a very large hawk sitting comfortably on my target stand. hock.gif

Now I realize that this hawk wasn't so much stupid as it was ignorant, but it was breaking the rules just the same and ignorance is no excuse.

So I'm wondering whether to tell everyone to let the range go cold, when everyone sees the hawk and sort of stop shooting on their own.  There was some uncomfortable silence and finally an older gentlemen to my right looked at me and said, "I guess he figures that's the safest spot on the range". his

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa.

Was the older gentleman just making a funny or commenting on your marksmanship?

Both I think.

Sounds like a posisble compliment to me - that the hawk was safe sitting on top of your target, since you would put the rounds in the center.  

We had a sergeant-major firearms instructor in my old regiment that would sometimes stand NEXT TO targets at the 100m range while the privates were shooting (M1 Garands).   That guy was crazy - but I guess it was an illustration of his trust in the men, and his faith in their shooting ability.

I’ve had deer go through the range before, obvious plants by the game warden to see whom he could get to start the season early.

My personal favorite was a herd of cows that came out of the mountain behind the range, marched across all the lanes (no big deal because I was the only one there), and proceed down the hill to the racetrack below.  You would think farmers would have enough sense not to let their herd graze near a firing range.

Quoted: herd of cowshr

*cough* BUMP FIRE

Quoted: I’ve had deer go through the range before, obvious plants by the game warden to see whom he could get to start the season early. My personal favorite was a herd of cows that came out of the mountain behind the range, marched across all the lanes (no big deal because I was the only one there), and proceed down the hill to the racetrack below.  You would think farmers would have enough sense not to let their herd graze near a firing range.

Somebody could be eating burgers and steak for a long time.

I think it was a compliment. I have seen some folks hit everything but their target center including other folks target stands.

Quoted: Somebody could be eating burgers and steak for a long time.

…in my new fancy jumpsuit, with this guy named Bubba who seems real fond of me.

Quoted: Sounds like a posisble compliment to me - that the hawk was safe sitting on top of your target, since you would put the rounds in the center.   We had a sergeant-major firearms instructor in my old regiment that would sometimes stand NEXT TO targets at the 100m range while the privates were shooting (M1 Garands).   That guy was crazy - but I guess it was an illustration of his trust in the men, and his faith in their shooting ability.

Quoted: I think it was a compliment. I have seen some folks hit everything but their target center including other folks target stands.hr

You two may be right.  I think I tend to think of it as more of an insult because to be perfectly honest, that wold've been a lot funnier. Fact is though, I shoot that old Krag better than any of my other rifles.

Military ranges with tracers are interesting with deer.

Of course, range control would tell you to stop shooting but, what happens is the tightest cone of fire I have ever seen appears on top of the deer's location.

The result.................................
usually the deer gets away.

We had a sergeant-major firearms instructor in my old regiment that would sometimes stand NEXT TO targets at the 100m range while the privates were shooting (M1 Garands). That guy was crazy - but I guess it was an illustration of his trust in the men, and his faith in their shooting ability.

No he was just a idiot with a death wish

Quoted: We had a sergeant-major firearms instructor in my old regiment that would sometimes stand NEXT TO targets at the 100m range while the privates were shooting (M1 Garands). That guy was crazy - but I guess it was an illustration of his trust in the men, and his faith in their shooting ability. No he was just a idiot with a death wish

Not really, I've heard of this being done a lot actually... Mostly in WWII or Korea.

Insane? Yes. Death wish? Probably. Stupid? No. Good training? You bet!


After all, not like you won't end up shooting around your buddies in combat. Being trained in such a way that you trust yourself  to make shots close to friendlies can be an edge.


Still, it isn't something I would ever do, or recomend. I'm just pointing out what his logic may have been.


I'm still amazed that none of these guys ever got shot doing this... Heck, maybe they were onto something .

Quoted: We had a sergeant-major firearms instructor in my old regiment that would sometimes stand NEXT TO targets at the 100m range while the privates were shooting (M1 Garands). That guy was crazy - but I guess it was an illustration of his trust in the men, and his faith in their shooting ability. No he was just a idiot with a death wish

Opinions differ  

He was one of the main firearms instructors for almost 20 years, and was a legend in the regiment.  A former blacksmith, he wasn't just an incredibly good shot (he would regularly shoot the prone qualifications standing up), but also ridiculously strong.  Even though he was known to be pretty tough with the privates, he was extremely well liked by them.

He certainly had no death wish, and had a very distinguished career until he retired.

I had 3 gobblers come onto the range in the middle of turkey season, once.  I was shooting my AK and wasn't really inclined to shoot them, legality aside.

I thought it was pretty funny, there were parked trucks belonging to turkey hunters all over within a hundred yards or so, and they'd all humped way into the boonies looking for the turkeys, which were all hanging out back by their trucks.

The turkeys must have decided that around the nut with the AK was the safest place to be.  They were right -- before long I heard a fourth turkey coming my way from downrange.  The "fourth turkey" turned out to be a pair of hunters who clambered over the backstop while I was unloading a mag into it.

I don't know why they have so much trouble getting a bird, since they can obviously move a hell of a lot faster than the turkeys.      

Quoted: Military ranges with tracers are interesting with deer. Of course, range control would tell you to stop shooting but, what happens is the tightest cone of fire I have ever seen appears on top of the deer's location. The result................................. usually the deer gets away.

Too true.  In Basic we had a deer come onto the SAW range.  Of course being trainees, most were too scared to shoot at it even though they wanted to.  I wasn't on the range at the time and heard two of my drills hoping it would get shot so they could have some deer meat.

We were threatened with an un-holy ass-whuppin' if we so much as looked at the deer.

On our crew served weapons range, the day we shot the M-60's, we had a slight problem.  The firing points were just gravel, where you would lay prone to shoot.  So many people had shot there that there was a 4" to 6" depression right under where your elbows and upepr chest should be.  This made firing the weapon properly rather difficult and uncomfortable.  

Most privates opted to just get comfortable and to hell with actually trying to hit the targets - so soon after firing commenced, tracers started arcing up into the sky like it was freakin' Hanoi or something.  Then, over the loudspeakers:  "I would like to remind the privates on the firing line that there are no aerial egnagements on this range!"

Quoted: I’ve had deer go through the range before, obvious plants by the game warden to see whom he could get to start the season early. herd that came out of the mountain behind the range, marched across all the lanes (no big deal because I was the only one there), and proceed down the hill to the racetrack below.  You would think farmers would have enough sense not to let their herd graze near a firing range. hr

Cows ... shooting range ... race track ?  Got to be Wenatchee. :D

I had sparrow land on my target stand while sighting in my Weatherby 300 mag. Bye bye birdy!!!!!!!!