Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Interesting trip to the range

Got a chance to go to the range yesterday for the 1st time in months. I had been playing musical chairs with my scopes so I wanted to zero them. When I got there a old gentleman was busy picking up the junk left by other shooter so I spent about 20 minutes picking up cans and plastic bottles that littered the range with this fellow. Anyway we got it looking half way presentable and I finally got set up and was using a target at 50 yds to bore sight my scopes. Mind you this was a target stop and target I brought from home. Don't you know a fellow showed up with a kid about 12 and they sat down at another bench and with out a word proceeded to start shooting at my target. Luckily they couldn't hit the bull but when I finally started shoot if I wasn't on the paper it sure made it difficult to see where I was shooting in the bullet riddled cardboard. I finally got all of my scopes in the center at 50 yds but I decided to call it quits there so I retrieved my target and just went to the house
Someone asked about pet peeves when hunting in another thread and I started to answer other hunters. These are the people Im talking about and they seem to be the new norm. I don't see a bright future for the shooting sports as unfortunately the quality of folks I see at gun shows and ranges is declining exponentially. Yesterday was just a startling comparison between the sportsman of yesterday and the new generation of gun owners.

Public or private range? If private you should have adressed the other guy about club rules. Publice, atleast tell the guy not to crossfire at your target.

It was a public range. I really just didn't want to get into a big confrontation and ruin my day besides there was the kid involved which was another reason I just worked around it. It is partly why I only go there rarely as it is usually crowded and usually a bunch of knot heads just shooting the place to pieces.

Same thing happened to me and my wife a few years back. We set up on the last two benches (my wife on #11 and myself on #12) of the public rifle range.

I was sitting there coaching the wife on a few things, breath control and trigger squeeze when some yahoo shows up with his buddy. They set up on benches #8 and #9. They pull out a few lever rifles and load up. Instead of waiting on the next cease fire to go set up their own targets, they just start blasting at whatever is currently set up. I didn't realize it until we all walked down to examine our targets and some how all four of us ended up walking straight to my wife's target.

I was staring at all the random holes and took a glance over at the two when one of them ask "were these yours?"

Needless to say, a few words were exchanged and the range officer had them leave.

I would have been fine to exchange words and have the guys kicked out but I was trying to introduce a new shooter to the sport. Behavior like that doesn't boost a lot of enthusiasm for new people to keep shooting.

while shooting at a 200 range last year i had ablout the same issue with a guy who was so off with his scope/ rifle/ ability that he kept hitting my target while trying to hit his.
So after putting up a new target over what looked like a shotgun pattern test i proceeded to put 3 into the bull of his.
Thinking he would get the point he actually thought he had FINALLY made the correct scope adjustment and was smiling and bragging to his buddy that he was "dead on".
He actually put the target in his shooting bag when he left. probably framed it, too.

One day last summer a group of young guys pull into the trap part of the range duct taped a target to a pole and started shooting at it with a .22.I went over politley gave them shyte and told them to move to the rifle range.They claimed they didn't know they weren't suposed to shoot .22s on the trap range etc etc,I think it was bs they just didn't care.

Started shooting at a public range several years ago. Fought the crowds and rift raft. Joined a private club and could not be happier. They are open to the public every othre Saturday. I try to avoid those days, if possible, or move to another range. Joining a private range was one of my better decisions.

My friends father had a gunshop and a 100 yard range behind it.
A couple of times he told me that guys would show up after dark
and shine the headlights of their truck on the target and open
fire. This was usually the night before deer season.

When I was in the USArmy I lost track of how many guys were
told to leave the range because they kept firing after a "cease
fire" was called.

My local, public rifle range, has 4 50y benches, one is wheelchair accessible (no seat) and 10, 100y benches.

What chaps my onions is guys with scoped, high power rifles blasting away on the 50y benches while there are 8 empty 100y benches- Oblivious to the folks, often parents with kids, wanting to shoot rimfire rifles are cooling their heels 10 feet behind them.

My $0.02

My biggest complaint is guys with SKS rifles doing rapid
fire at the 50 yard range.

exact opposite for me. when guys walk right past the 100 yard range to the 200 then set up a target at 50 and shower you w/ 22LR brass from a 10-22.

So you let him teach another human how to be boorish?

If you won't speak up there, why bring it up here, I would be to embarrased.

I would have said something while he was setting up, and then if he shot my target I might drive off about 300 yards and put his automobile out of commission.

Even on private ranges there are boneheads.
Latest example was a guy who put the 1 inch orange stickies up on our painted range line numbers, that a member had so carefully made professional-looking.
So I watched this, he goes back to the bench. We call hot range, he fires, I call cease fire. Go over, introduce myself, get his name, ask if he's ever been on the spring work party, et cetera.
Then I let him have it.
And no, he wasn't around for work day the next spring.

I am guilty of one instance. I set up next to a guy and his wife -also with an sks. I started shooting his target by mistake- he was in the next lane. We joked and I gave him some shoot-n-see targets which were new at the time. He had the typical cheapo scope he was trying to screw in and was all over the place. IT was frustrating for him but he had fun with it and kept his wife from being bored which I admired. Before zeroed he was out of ammo and ran back to buy another box - he paid I think $6 outrageous at the time when I got mine for like $1.99 We bantered back and forth and at one time he said 'well at least I shoot my own targets". Think I said , "well..sorta" -which made him laugh, then - Least I never paid $6 for sks ammo" which made her laugh. HE shot through that last box and I handed him two full boxes on my way out.

Can't tell you how many times I made temporary friends on the range like that.

Best story of the day!

I've seen more people wasting time and ammo with junk scopes, even on some pretty nice rifles.

Yes but we aren't all a big bad azz like you . Talk about an embarassment, Its all the bigtalkers like you threating to shootup another persons property that will convince the general public that all gun owners are crazy and ultimately be responsible for guns eventually being outlawed. Thanks for nothing.

Well I have to thank you guys because the more of these stories I read, the more I appreciate being able to shoot off my back deck.

you are a lucky man. Just looking on the bright side I guess but I have met some pretty great people at the range. You don't even have to ask if I woul like to be able to hsoot from my porch though.