Annoying Shooters on the Range - First time out with my AR15

I took my Bushmaster AR15 out to the range for the first time today.(It is the Varminter with the 24 inch heavy barrel.) A gentleman could not help himself but hoover. When he finally asked about it and found out it was its first time out, he made sure he scolded me and made "darn sure" that I had taken it all apart and "given it a good cleaning before hand..."

I had bore sighted the AR in, but like I had said I had never fired it before. I fired my first three shots and the shots were well grouped but about 9 inches high, and 6 inches to the right at 100yrds. (Like I said, it was only bore sighted with a bore laser). He immediately tried to "coach" me in my shooting skills. I adjust my scope and ended up with a perfect elevation and was about three inches to the left. He once again tried to "coach" me (unasked by the way).

After making a slight adjustment with the scope I was putting them all in the 10 ring at 100 yards. And this was with wholesale reloaded, mix brass ammo that I picked up for breaking in the AR. Once I get everything where I want it, I will be shooting my higher end hand loads.

Once I had my scope zeroed in (only 2 adjustments) I just loaded up and shot about 50 or so rounds. This "gentleman" kept trying to coach me on how to tighten my groups. I was NOT shooting for accuracy, I was just getting used to this new gun, and enjoying myself.

So, I got seriously tired of his talking, interruption and when he started trying to "teach" my 8 year old daughter how to shoot her Crickett, I had enough. I asked him to please leave my daughter alone, and I broke out my 30-06, and the loads that I spent a lot of time and effort developing. I sent three rounds down range, and created a perfect clover leaf in the X (100 yards), at which point I closed the range since it was just my daughter, myself and "this gentleman". We then walked down range and I finally saw his target and his dinner plate size groups. I then showed him my clover leaf and told him I sure wouldn't mind giving him a few tips, and he STILL wouldn't shut up!

My daughter and I were packing our stuff up, and another gentleman came to the range and started setting up. He complimented me on bringing my daughter. This 2nd gentleman was great, and mentioned "gentleman #1" to him, and he made responded "I see you meet Range Cop Rob"...

I just wanted a great morning out with my daughter at the range!

So, how do you handle these kind of "situations"?

Handle it? There's always next time. No sense getting too worked up about it.

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For a short time after we moved a few years back I had a membership to a popular public range given me. In the run-up to deer season I went out one weekday afternoon to verify the sights on several rifles that I thought I might want to have ready for the season. One was an 1887 vintage Winchester Model 1886 .45-90. I was all cozied up to the curved steel butt plate of the rifle, shooting for group at 100 and 200 yards, using a carefully prepared handload that shot well in the old Winchester, consisting of a 300 grain Sierra jacketed bullet intended for the .45-70.

An older very well-dressed fellow came by and gave a perfunctory approval of the novelty of seeing an old '86 on the firing line, remarking on its caliber and condition then launched into a tirade about me using jacketed bullets in the "soft steel" rifling of the barrel. Why, to hear him tell it, I would wash out the rifling within shooting up the 20 round box and ruin the rifle's accuracy. I remarked that I had a second nice round 2 1/2-inch 5-shot group going at 100 yards and returned to the rifle and shooting. At the next cease-fire called he trotted over to remonstrate with me further about the folly of shooting jacketed bullets in the Winchester, becoming really strident. I patiently pointed out that it was my rifle, I was familiar with it, and that over the past twenty years or so it had fired off a couple of those 50 round boxes of Sierra jacketed bullets in between shooting several hundred lead bullet loads and was shooting better now than ever before. The bore was (and is) in first rate condition for a rifle produced 40 years before the advent of non-corrosive priming. He actually had gotten himself so worked up that he walked off in a huff.

His poor demeanor and pestering caused me to want to tell him that it was my rifle and if I wanted grasp it by the muzzle and swing it against one of the drill stem pipes that held up the awning over the firing points, bending the barrel and smashing the stock it would be none of his business, but bit my tongue.

Thankfully, a private gun club and our own property are the places where I shoot.

To handle it simply walk away and bite your tongue. Another day at the range and most bets have him not being there. If you run into gentleman number 1, politely ask him to keep to himself. I have a friend that sort of does that, we try to not go to the range with him.


Si vis pacem, para bellum

"Thank you for your comments, now go away and leave me in peace"
As for the bothering of you daughter, it is NOT allowed. "Leave my daughter alone or you will be explaining to the nice LEO why you were saying rude things to her"

You're a nicer guy than me!

I've never had that problem because I either use my private grounds at home, or go to the DNR range early enough on weekends, or during a week day while at school where the only people there tend to be the cooler old guys that are actually pretty fun to shoot around.

If someone tried to do that to me, I'd like to think me ignoring them would be enough.

I'm not sure how you could have handled it any better than you did. Posts like these make me grateful that I have private places to shoot on my own property.

I personally would have told him thanks for the advice,but I know what I'm doing,if he persisted I wouldn't be quite as polite.If I see somebody that needs some help,I always ask if they wouldn't mind me showing them a few shooting techniques,most of the time they are glad since they may have never shot a gun before and are struggling with shooting it.

First time i would politely tell him I am comfortable in what i am doing, but thanks for the offer of help. the second time, i would offer him a hot cup of shut the fark up. some people never get subtle hints and need to be told more directly to mind their own business.

Oh you are way nicer than me, and there are many people that are happy that I do not have a daughter. IMO I would have told him thank you for your insight and to piss off. And that is about as polite as it would get. I have no time for the "experts".

On the range I usually shoot for enjoyment. If there's a person like that who obviously had a strong enjoyment even with some overbearing assistance also I tend to not sweat the small stuff. If I can make his range day a good one by being a student, then more power to him. I'll still have the enjoyment of shooting.

Any day two people can walk away happy instead of one is a win.

You handled it well. It takes all kinds, and on a public range, you sometimes have to put up with them. Here's to a great outing with your daughter next time.

Range "experts" really are annoying. Our public range is not bad, yet. I'm sure there will be that "encounter" one day and I will have to think of a gentle way to tell Mr. Expert to blow off.

Most of the curious at our range just kind of look. I have an old sporterized Spanish 7x57 Mauser that I was shooting. The AR guy adjacent to me pumping 30 round mags and showering me with his hot brass finally noticed my rifle and when a break in shooting came, he kind of asked what type of rifle it was.

I told him and offered to let him shoot a couple rounds, the 7x57 ammo is getting expensive but since he was nice, why not. He accepted the offer, and put a couple downrange. He had a big smile on his face and said this thing is something else. Then he let me shoot his AR. First time ever me shooting one.

So the curious can be ok at times, but sometimes the ones with too much time and too little knowledge can make a day at the range feel bad. Don't allow that to happen, it's not worth it.

Great job spending time with your daughter! I shoot on my land so the only unsolicited advice I get is from my wife LOL. When I go to the public range to shoot trap or meet friends I have never seen a problem with the locals. The folks that spend weekends here from MA and Conn are the ones we worry about. They love to chat and show off their brand new guns (which is nice but annoying) or they are totally dangerous. There is no RSO and everybody lets folks know when you go down range to check targets. More than once some idiot from out of state acknowledges you going down range but WILL continue to fire! They say I was way over here so there is no danger. They are promptly kicked off and their range privleges lost.