My bad day at the range.....

[atctimmy]

About six years ago I was at the public range (beech fork) near Huntington WV. I was working up a load for a new rifle so I was spending a bunch of time there. About 4 days a week 1 to 2 hrs a day. I got to know most of the "regulars" that shot there often.
My bad day starts when two Arabic fellows set up at the bench next to me. I was next to last, and they were last on the left of the firing line. What followed was simply too amazing for words but I'll try to give you most of the details. Instead of calling for a clear to post targets these two guys just threw a couple of shot shell boxes about 8 feet in front of me and commenced to fire. One guy was shooting an AK 47 and the other guy had a old Winchester pump shotgun (at first). They just started hosing the place down, the second guy went through all his 12 gauge ammo and then started in with his ak-74 (I think thats what it was, it had the orange plastic mag).
These guys went through about five hundred rounds (semi auto) shooting up and down, and left to right across the firing line. I'm sitting in a brass rain shower, and clumps of mud are flying around from hits 6 or 8 feet in front of me and everyone else. It was crazy, it was like something out of a bad movie.
Then the "leader" kid (the other guy spoke no English)gets out a 300 wby mk5 with just scope rings on it and starts firing (sighting through the empty rings). But instead of sitting and shooting he starts from about 10 feet behind the benches, runs up jumps onto a bench seat and shoots letting the recoil push him back off the bench. I'm watching this, speechless, as he does this about 8 times.
I'd totally stopped shooting and was just looking for a chance to leave. My problem was that I didn't want to leave my targets behind. They represented many hours of work and I wanted to get them ( you hand loaders know what I mean). I was definitely not going down range though, so I had to sit and wait.
The worst part of all this is I didn't have my ccw weapon with me, so if they had turned on the other shooters and I , I was toast. I left a .308 round in the rifle chamber and waited it out, hoping for the best.
Finally two coutny Sherriffs deputies came to shoot and these guys calmed way down and started packing up. I got my targets and got out of there. I didn't say anything to the really old and fat deputies for the obvious reasons, but I did copy their plate # and make and turned it into the FBI (my next door neighbor was an agent), and the state police 9 (located on my way home). About two weeks later my buddy thanked me on behalf of the local FBI anti terrorism unit ( he was narcotics) and that was the last I heard of it.

I have never gone to a range without my ccw weapon again!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[InspectorGadget]

Note to Self:
1. Keep local FBI Office and DHS Office numbers in my phones memory.
2. Keep at least 1 gun ready at range.
3. Learn to discretely use camera phone, may be useful in a pinch. (Never cared much for personal pictures, so this would be an issue.)

[slimjim]

Sounds like you did us some good.

[gddyup]

This"public" range... was there ANYONE there who was an RO or was this just a walk-up-and-shoot place?

This sounds like a sot where I would probably not go to again if ther was no alternative but to wait until these morons stopped shooting. I go to a public indoor range once in a while here and I know the guys behind the counter. One word from me, or really anyone else about someone being unsafe on the firing line, and that person is gone.

[atctimmy]

This was West Virginia which means no range officer if any kind. People have been killed at this range by thieves. I didn't know this at the time only after. i stopped going to this range and joined a club.

[Cthulhu]

A public range with no range officers?!?! Sounds like an accident (or accidents) waiting to happen.

Good call on the club. I hope to use my 'economic simulation' fundage to join the local club.

-JT

[paramedic70002]

Shame on you for profiling two recent immigrants to our fine country who were only trying to fit in by adopting perceived mountain man redneck personalities. Should have offered them a beer or perhaps some shine.

Or maybe not.

[Zach and Holly]

Holy cow...I could only imagine what that must have been like... so they were just incredibly wreckless but no intent to harm? Those two concepts almost go hand in hand.

[Sticks]

I'd have either said something to them from the word go about basic range safety and courtesy, or left.

[USMC 1975]

Ok everyone. Lets just stop and think for a second. Rewind back a few years and consider this - Imagine this happening two days after 9/11.

The other people would have hit the ground and commenced firing on these guys. There wouldn't have been anything left of them. :)

I am convinced that some people have two brain cells left and one is waving bye-bye to the other. It's the main reason why that:

" The more I know about people, the more I love my dog ".

Chris

[Redcap]

With that kind of disregard for safety and other shooters it sounds like they were looking for a confrontation. Good job keepin' yer cool!

[atctimmy]

Ok everyone. Lets just stop and think for a second. Rewind back a few years and consider this - Imagine this happening two days after 9/11.

The other people would have hit the ground and commenced firing on these guys. There wouldn't have been anything left of them. :)

I am convinced that some people have two brain cells left and one is waving bye-bye to the other. It's the main reason why that:

" The more I know about people, the more I love my dog ".

Chris

Summer of 02 or maybe 03. There is allot more crazy behavior to the story but you guys got the highlights.

[Rifter]

Wow. That's probably the craziest range story I've ever heard. If that ever happened here, I'm sure the range master and everyone else would have taken them into citizen's arrest at gunpoint.

[snowdoctor]

That is what happens when there is no RSO.
+1 for member only clubs.

[LongRider]

My bad day starts when two Arabic fellows set up at the bench next to me. I was next to last, and they were last on the left of the firing line.

It is my fondest wish that all Arabs, especially muslims around the entire planet shoot with that level of skill and awareness

Should have offered them a beer or perhaps some shine.

And some tasty American pork BBQ.