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The public range... you just can't make this stuff up...

5K views 59 replies 42 participants last post by  Guantes 
#1 · (Edited)
Some things that have been experienced before but some things that are just off the wall you would never think would happen....

The following stories are 100% true...

#1 "The sky is falling"
At an indoor range doing some 7 yard drills. Notice two enter the range with an AK either 47 or 74 (couldn't tell); they enter a stall to the far right. I pay no mind... until they let off the first 2 shots which promptly ricochet busting one of the lights :blink:... how this happened i dunno... the lights are protected by a triangular armored ceiling...There was a pause, then a sudden rapid fire complete with muzzle rise until 10-15 rounds rounds hit the ceiling :gah: the employees of the range announced over the PA for all shooters to maintain muzzle control somebody was hitting the ceiling. :rant:

I thought maybe hitting the light was a fluke but the shooting the ceiling with a rifle thing prompted me to leave... I packed up and cut my time short. I also clued the employee watching the cameras in on which side of the range "someone" was shooting the ceiling. :buttkick:

This is the same range that posts not to use tracer, armor piercing or incendiary rounds... they have to tell people that? This makes me think some idiot actually brought those types of rounds to practice with... :ticking:



#2 "jumpy aren't we?"
At an indoor range sighting in and testing function of a recent repair on my S&W 29-2. Firing at a target 20 yards away. The procedure is as follows.
fire 4 rounds,
unload,
check target,
adjust as necessary,
reload 4 rounds (repeat)
Well about the time I was at the unload/check target part someone approaches the stall next to me. All I see is the muzzle it was an OD green frame polymer auto loader of some sort. Judging by the muzzle flash, report and target's hole size I would guess 9mm.

Any who I went back to check the target, it was a good group and pretty well on target. :danceban: I load up 6 rounds and on the first shot I hear a *KLUNK* and a gasp...:gah: I immediately cease fire, unlock the cylinder, put it down muzzle downrange and step back to see what happened. Well the guy next to me I guess wasn't expecting the muzzle flash or report he told me he thought he had a KB :scruntiny: almost had a heart attack. I apologized, he moved a few stalls down. :tumbleweed:


#3 "Hey that's my tango!!!!"
This is probably the most annoying and I don't know if it was intentional or not. Practicing with my .45 at 10 yards. I am grouping pretty well. The range is pretty full and you can see targets out on almost all the stalls. I am practicing without my glasses so I can't see the groups unless it is a giant ragged hole or I use feedback type targets (which I do the 2nd).... anyway. I retract the target to see how I did and if I had any zingers (a round or two flying off target)... I find holes of a different caliber in MY target.... whiskey tango foxtrot.... Either the person was a really really really bad shot or they where intentionally shooting my target...Either way it is lucky I was shooting a larger caliber then them I could distinguish what was mine and the alien holes :twak:
 
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#2 ·
I'm surprised they allowed an AK on an indoor range to begin with. The only one around here is only 25 yrds (maybe). Hardly AK range.

During one of my military M-16 quals, the instructor commented that I must be one heck of a shot. He counted 75 holes in my 60-shot qual. Strangely, the guys on either side of me failed to qualify. I took my "expert" qual and ran with it! (I did qual as expert every time before and after, but never managed to get more than 60 after that.)
 
#3 ·
Agree but I think they allow it since the backstop can handle rifle calibers. For the most part I guess you can sight in the rifle at 25 yards it would be pretty close at 100 yards.

Mostly they allow it for hunters that want to sight in. They even sell targets with different MOA markings so you can get close.
 
#4 ·
#3 "Hey that's my tango!!!!"
This is probably the most annoying and I don't know if it was intentional or not. Practicing with my .45 at 10 yards. I am grouping pretty well. The range is pretty full and you can see targets out on almost all the stalls. I am practicing without my glasses so I can't see the groups unless it is a giant ragged hole or I use feedback type targets (which I do the 2nd).... anyway. I retract the target to see how I did and if I had any zingers (a round or two flying off target)... I find holes of a different caliber in MY target.... whiskey tango foxtrot.... Either the person was a really really really bad shot or they where intentionally shooting my target...Either way it is lucky I was shooting a larger caliber then them I could distinguish what was mine and the alien holes
I was shooting my 30.06. I had just put up a fresh target and my buddy was looking thru the scope, I shot, and he said great shot. So I look at my target and while I am the guy next to me shoots....and I notice a hole appear low and to the left on my target, barely on the paper. The guy's kid says "great shot, Dad", lol. So,I ask the guy if I can talk to him for a second...I did not want to embarrass him in front of his kid. He ignores me with a grunt so, I tell him he is shooting at my target, he ignores me....I decided to have some fun. I would shoot right before he did, bulls eye, and then he would shoot, total miss. His kids looks and says "great shot". We did this 3 more shots....kid says great shot. I then let him shoot 1st... his son looks and says "Dad, I cannot see where you hit, I think you missed" I then shoot and the son tells his dad " That guy just shot your target, he shot a bulls eye" The guy turns to me and tells me 'Hey, you just shot my target!" I said..."Nope, I tried to tell you, but you would not talk with me" You are hitting low left" He looks thru the scope, looks at the number on my range and says %$#^@ and laughed, lol. He said he had not shot in years and thought "Dang, I am good" We talked for a bit and got his scope sighted in.
 
#7 ·
Sighting a rifle in at 25 yards isn't that great for zeroing in at farther ranges (close but not precise), but does a dandy job of getting you on the paper so you don't punch holes in the next guy's target!
 
#9 ·
#3 "Hey that's my tango!!!!"
This is probably the most annoying and I don't know if it was intentional or not. Practicing with my .45 at 10 yards. I am grouping pretty well. The range is pretty full and you can see targets out on almost all the stalls. I am practicing without my glasses so I can't see the groups unless it is a giant ragged hole or I use feedback type targets (which I do the 2nd).... anyway. I retract the target to see how I did and if I had any zingers (a round or two flying off target)... I find holes of a different caliber in MY target.... whiskey tango foxtrot.... Either the person was a really really really bad shot or they where intentionally shooting my target...Either way it is lucky I was shooting a larger caliber then them I could distinguish what was mine and the alien holes :twak:

:rofl2: Now that's funny! :above2:
 
#12 ·
The 1000 yd range here allows about any rifles and AR's, but no AK's.
 
#13 ·
When I was an LEO I was qualifying with my 9mm off duty,we shot 48 rounds to qualify,when we checked targets mine had well over 48 rounds and the guy next to me was shooting a 9mm also and didn't qualify
 
#15 ·
We had a guy in my Trooper class that could not qualify! They made him shoot everyday during his lunch, by the end of the class he was doing very well. Practice does help, a lot of practice helps a lot!:hand10:
 
#16 ·
I must confess that I have shot the wrong target stand in the past. Not at a 25-yd indoor range, but...

And the business of the big Ka-Boom - Yeah, been there, too. Some guns just aren't polite at an indoor range. I once rented a .454 Casull (sp?) and while I was having the time of my life with it, the people on either side of me were clearly not enjoying the experience as much. I took it back to the counter and went back to my .45.
 
#17 ·
Stories like this always make me so happy that I own land. I've only been to a public range a few times... and only because I was shooting with my brother in law / some friends and the location worked out to be easiest for all. Luckily I have yet to encounter anybody who was story worthy.
 
#36 ·
^^^^^^YEP^^^^^^^^^


Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuda66
When we signed out, the guy working the range was laughing...seems this gentleman is a bit of a pain in the keister, they had issues with him before, and he was just an all around unpleasant person...and he swore he'd never go that particular range again.

We got free passes for our next visit.

:congrats::haha::danceban::congrats:
 
#18 ·
#2 "jumpy aren't we?"
At an indoor range sighting in and testing function of a recent repair on my S&W 29-2. Firing at a target 20 yards away. The procedure is as follows.
fire 4 rounds,
unload,
check target,
adjust as necessary,
reload 4 rounds (repeat)
Well about the time I was at the unload/check target part someone approaches the stall next to me. All I see is the muzzle it was an OD green frame polymer auto loader of some sort. Judging by the muzzle flash, report and target's hole size I would guess 9mm.

Any who I went back to check the target, it was a good group and pretty well on target. :danceban: I load up 6 rounds and on the first shot I hear a *KLUNK* and a gasp...:gah: I immediately cease fire, unlock the cylinder, put it down muzzle downrange and step back to see what happened. Well the guy next to me I guess wasn't expecting the muzzle flash or report he told me he thought he had a KB :scruntiny: almost had a heart attack. I apologized, he moved a few stalls down. :tumbleweed:
Similar story.

My buddy and I were at an indoor range (it being winter and a bit chilly); this range allows you to do some rapid fire, or come up from a low ready, if the right guy is working the range and it's a dead afternoon...which it was; beisdes a couple of guys at the far end of the range, my buddy and I had the range to ourselves.

A gentleman arrives, and begins setting up to sight in a .22, right next to our lane. My buddy and I are practicing double taps, mozambiques, all that fun stuff...and he comes over and tells us that our practice is making it difficult for him to concentrate, could we please refrain.

Except he wasn't nearly as polite as I just typed it.

We suggested that since we had been at the range for close to an hour before he arrived, he may want to move down to a different lane; he looked at us like we had lobsters crawling out of our ears. The lane he was on had better light. We should acommodate him and move down (moving all of our attendant range bags, etc, etc, etc...). My buddy looked at me and said that we're just going to take a few more shots, we'll be leaving soon--that he should go ahead and shoot.

The gentleman gives us a pained look for daring to interfere with his plans, and resumes his sighting in.

My buddy removes his 4" .500 S&W from his range bag.

If you've ever been in an indoor range when one of these monsters is uncorked, you know how the concussion is...a bit extreme. Let alone the muzzle flash.

The gentleman left without even bidding us good day.

When we signed out, the guy working the range was laughing...seems this gentleman is a bit of a pain in the keister, they had issues with him before, and he was just an all around unpleasant person...and he swore he'd never go that particular range again.

We got free passes for our next visit.:bier:
 
#19 ·
I think If you shoot enough it happens

Recently- I was at an out door range but the way there lines are set in relation to the cover overhead a short barreled pistol makes quite the reverb. Just yesterday I picked up my Taurus 709 Slim and a teen girl next to me was saying oww everytime I pulled the trigger. I checked to make sure brass wasn't hitting her, I decided to put it away. I didn't want to make the range a negative experience for her, sometimes consideration is also courtesy.

I have a remington 700 BDL in 7MM rem mag. it's not the biggest round in the world but the 360 degree porting 3 inches back the 26 inch barrel usually buys me plenty of space at the range.
 
#21 ·
...he told me he thought he had a KB :scruntiny: almost had a heart attack.
What's a KB?

Be happy you have a public range. The National Forest Service shut down ours.

Cuda66--I came in one time and there was one guy on a 5-lane range. He was on one wall. I took the opposite. As soon as I shot a little .44Mag and he left. Apparently, on his way out, he asked the owner's girlfriend what I was shooting. She smiled and said, "Knowing him--probably a .44 or .45." :biggrin:

I don't know if he was already leaving or if I ran him off. I don't know what I could've done to be more considerate.
 
#28 ·
True story, happened to me.

The first auto handgun I had was a ....gasp.....Lorcin .380

It was without question a piece of junk, but I knew pretty much nothing about guns.

I went to the indoor range for some practice, fired maybe 4 rounds and then....

On the fifth round the slide and barrel flew forward off the gun into the range. The firing pin, spring, and retainer thingy flew backwards.

About 3 seconds passed and the gentleman in the stall to my left peeped over at me and said..."was that your ****ing gun!?"

With still big glowing eyes I said yes.

I found a broom and swept all the pieces off the range floor and found all the small parts behind me. Then I got rid of that gun and bought a Dan Wesson .357.
 
#29 ·
I get some dirty looks or nods from a few people sometimes since I do practice shooting from esoterical positions (kneeling, sitting, prone, standing, squatting) using my Black Hawk shooting mat. And, I really do not care what they think as long as I am doing my practice in acccordance with the range rules and not endangering others.
 
#30 ·
I usually don't go to indoor ranges due to knowing people who own plenty of land to shoot on. i do remember a couple of times though that I've had to laugh a bit.

The first was one time I went to a range and these two guys rented the Desert Eagle .50AE. The problem was, they were so scared of it that they were leaning almost all the way back when they shot it. It isn't like that puts you farther away from the gun. LOL They also had cycling problems. It wouldn't ever feed the second round. I'm guessing they were limp wristing the thing too.

The other time was when I didn't tell the other guys who were with me that I brought my father's AMT Automag III .30 carbine pistol. That thing makes one hell of a blast and I got a few interesting looks when I was lighting that thing off.
 
#38 ·
Got another one for ya.... this one happened recently...

"Ah... fiddlesticks!"

At the range playing with my Beretta 92 when the CCW class gets to the range portion of their training. They reserve something like 5 stalls for shooters and have 1 range instructor watching the whole bit. The sound of the instructor's voice "load your pistols and commence fire" was followed by clicking, clanking then boom, boom, boom....etc. I finish my range session and decide to watch a bit from the back wall. The first 5 finish and bring in the targets. Next 5 step up and mount targets. Instructor gives the same go ahead but one of the students fired as soon as the mag was loaded... the muzzle was pointed at the ceiling... "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" and screaming is all I heard as I exited the range running up the stairs... :theyareontome:

You may be wondering why I still go to this range... well being that 2 of the 4 stories involved DS (dumb****) syndrome in the 3 years I have attended the range I believe that isn't so bad.
 
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