Amusing & Not So Amusing Range Incidents!

[Barn Dog]

Luckily I have never had or witnessed any "incidents" and I generally only go to two different ranges, one indoor and one outdoor.

What always amazes me at the indoor range is the number of holes and marks I see in the walls and ceiling only 5 feet downrange. Some people have shot straight up or sideways!!

On the outdoor rifle range which is covered for rain, I see a couple of hundred holes in the sheet metal ceiling for cryin' out loud. Very scary sometimes. Barn.

 

[tc556guy]

Two years ago, a now-retired head firearms guy was supervising the range I was on. A fellow officer had a weapons problem. Range officer proceeded to manipulate the shooters gun, and in the course of do so he repeatedly aimed the loaded firearm at my chest.
Later in the day, he did the same thing to another officer.
And they wonder why I wear my armor on the range.....

 

[Mithirium]

A lot of people including myself have been reporting muzzle direction violations when at the range. Its important for our safety as well as others that we let people know in direct fashion when they point their firearms in unsafe directions. I had to do this with my boss two weeks a go at a pheasant club. I was kind of uncomfortable pointing it out to him but i'd still rather not be accidently shot.
In any case he carried his shotgun in a combat ready position as he is a gulf war marine vet. Problem is with combat ready leaves that muzzle horizontal left in a right hand shooter. Needless to say i kept to the right side and asked hit to try a cross chest hold with the muzzle in the. It just isn't comfortable being put in unsafe situations and can sure ruin a fun trip.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Zundfolge, most of the shops in Milwaukee that had ranges have closed, so there's only two left. One is the closest to the bad parts of the city, and that's where the gang-banger types gravitate to. The police have arrested quite a few of them at the shop/range, but the owners can't discriminate against someone because of race or attire.

MikeH, my friend's conduct wasn't in keeping with range rules. But it was funny. I hold drug dealers and gang-bangers in the lowest regard, and have done some things to screw them up that were patently illegal. (Imagine the satisfaction one can get from pouring heavy-duty paint stripper on a brand new Cadillac owned by your neighborhood drug kingpin ).

 

[SAWBONES]

Hey Monkeyleg, which ones are left open?
I lived there for 20 years, and usually went to The Shooters Shop in West Allis, but also rarely used a dungeon of a range on National Ave. (can't remember the name, up past the VA Hospital) and another one in Waukesha.

 

[G23CT]

The joys of belonging to a club that requires keeping 10 centerfire rounds in an NRA B-2 target at 50ft for membership.

Before I got into this club, I saw some dooseys at the public indoor range. This range is on the third floor, the store is on the second floor. No employees ever check in on the range.
One time, I came up and found 2-5 of the overhead light tubes had been shot down and shattered on the floor. Another time, a kid has a full size silouette out at 5 feet. Doubletaps, brings it in to check. Sends it back, doubletaps, brings it in, doubletaps. Target is now on the floor downrange.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Sawbones, the Shooter's Shop is still alive and well. (One of the owners used to be my sales rep. He makes more $$ than I do. A smart guy).

The shop you're talking about was Flintrops; they closed nearly ten years ago. A shame, since they had some good people working there.

The shop with the most trouble is Badger, but it is not their fault. Like I said, they're the closest to the areas with gang activity, and so they're most likely to have bad guys trying to buy guns. If the BATF gave out awards for shops that give the most cooperation, Badger would win first prize.

 

[Phil Ca]

Back in the 70s I decided to become a reserve cop for the SFPD. Afriend at the USTD office where I worked had completed the training and said it was worth the time.

After several weeks of training two evenings per week in all sorts of classes such as, history of the SFPD, legal responsibilities, self defense, first aid and CPR, cuffing techniques, patrol techniques,crowd control,and a passel of other classes we finally got to go to the range.

At that time I did not own a 4 or 6 inch barelled reevolver of my own. I borrowed a Colt Official Police model with a 6 inch barrel. I did not have time to try it out before going to the Lake Merced Police Range to take the test.

The day of the shooting test was a cold and rainy and foggy day. Not the type of weather for a comfortable shooting test. We were placed in different orders and handed a container of really cheap looking reloaded wad cutters with different types of brass. I figured I would do my best and see how things panned out.

After the shooting was over we were sent in to the range house to a warm room that was at least a respite from the rain. Pretty soon the RO came in and said he would read the results by the highest score and the persons name and agency or affiliation. I sat back figuring I had to wait a bit for the good shooters to be read off first.

To my surprise I heard my name called and, "U.S. Treasury Department, 400 over 400". Needless to say I was somewhat taken aback, but I decided to shrug it off like it was a regular thing. I heard several others say things like, "Those Treasury guys really know how to shoot".

The next closest was a captain of the Pinkerton Detective Agency who got 396/400. Our training waas soon finished and then we were told the SFPD was reorganizing their reserve program and that we would not be sworn in for awhile. After nearly a year of waiting I went to the PD and requested my training file. I applied for a position at the San Bruno PD near SFO as a reserve. I worked there for over a year and my wife said if I was going to keep doing that maybe I should get a position closer to home. She showed me a noticew in the St. Helena Star for reserves. I have been on that force now for about 22 years or so.

 

[ATTICUS]

I was alone at an outdoor range, in a state wildlife area, when a “wiseguy” stopped in to shoot his PPK. He pulled about half a dozen empty prescription bottles from the pocket of his black leather jacket, threw them on the ground and started blasting away. I have to say he was a hell of a shot and was making those bottles dance. Then he got bored and started looking around for something else to shoot. There was little pond about 20 yards behind us, and a crane had just landed on it. The moron says in gangsterese,
“Look at the freakin boid” and proceeds to dump a mag in that direction. He missed. I kinda crabwalked to my car about then, and left. Yo, take it easy, been a pleasure,fuggetaboutit.

 

[ahenry]

This doesn’t exactly fit the topic as it isn’t amusing and it wasn’t actually a range, but I still have to say it (just a great shooting experience).

It happened this past weekend as my buddy and I were done hunting. My buddy wanted to re-zero his ’06 so we set up a steel plate at 100 yards (we used a range finder and it was actually about 115 yards). While he was setting up his make shift bench I started getting this itch to try my bow at the plate. I pulled it out and shifted my bottom sight pin all the way to the bottom (unfortunately this meant that the windage would be off to the right). I shot and would you believe I was dead on distance and elevation wise? I knew I would be wide right and I was by about a foot, but I never thought I would be able to hit a target with a bow at more than 100 yards. I can’t wait to actually spend a little time setting up my bow for 100 yard shooting now!

 

[Bogie]

Hey, I'd only shoot someone else's target if I knew 'em...

Of course, then there's OTHER targets... A few years ago, Bill Gammon's (he's the guy who makes those stock covers you'll see in the Sinclair catalog) hat somehow mysteriously made its way onto one of the target posts at Kelbly's range... The range officer very carefully told the line that whatever they did, they absolutely must not shoot poor Bill's hat...

He's still got the shreds, and occasionally wears it...

 

[jkenney]

We were shooting in a M1 Grand computation when this dog came down and started to spray are
targets. We were in the middle of shooting and the animal could care less. The range officer was
scream for us not to shoot the animal and to clear our firearms. Once all the firearms were clear,
we turned are spotting scopes to look at the animal and it was a big bobcat.

 

[Aggie]

New Year's Eve, 1999, I took the afternnoon off to finish sighting in my '06, just in case Y2K turned out bad - Ya' know?

Anyway, the commercial range I was using has (left to right) 25, 50, 75, 100 and 200 yd ranges. On the FAR right is the trap/skeet area. Over the years, subdivisions have grown up around it.

I was set up on the right hand side of the 100 yd range, next to the 200 section. Looking downrange through my 4X 'scope I thought I saw motion to the right of the targets - scary thought. Some neighbor's kid wandering loose?

As I raised my head and surveyed the area, the entire range went QUIET as two doe slowly trekked right to left in front of the targets. They were followed by two more doe and a nice buck. All you could hear was "D^%^, where's my license?!", "Do YOU have a huntin' license - on ya'?!" and so forth. Those were the safest deer I'ver ever seen.

 

[johnAK]

most amusing scene in the range is always,
the guys shooting M16 type next lane,
bang, jam, clear,
bang, jam, clear,
bang, jam, clear,
just have to laugh myself everytime,

 

[coati]

Last weekend, my wife pointed out to me a couple of students in a class that had walked in without their "ears"

coati

 

[coz]

Not really funny, but...

Finally talk the bride into shooting. We go to the range.
We are there just before the final 5 minutes of a session, prior to changing target time.

We are at the last lane of the 25 yd area. Next to us is a man shooting a Remington Woodsmaster 30-06. (I think the semi auto is called a Woodsmaster right?) He has a large scope on it and is shooting at a 50 yd target, which I can't figure.

Here I am trying to explain safety and range etiquette to my son and wife who have never shot a weapon. My wife is flinching at the sounds of large caliber pistols rifles etc.
I tell her that everything is perfectly safe...yada yada yada

Guy next to sits his 13 yr old skinny son down on the bench with the 30-06. I hear him say...too late..."Make sure it's against your shoulder..." BOOM "Oh ****!" The scope opens up about a 2 inch gash above the kids eye.

Needless to say, my wife is shaking like a leaf the 1st time she shoots her .38...and of course it's an Airweight so it kicks like a friggin mule....
Poor kid..the range said "take him to a doctor" and handed them a towel for the blood..guess they didn't want to be liable....

 

[H&K Fan]

I don't even know where to begin - the neophytes, the homies in the hood (not in the hood) or just every day guys. Several folks from work were skeet shooting one time when one guy took a snap shot and the propellant gases knocked another shooter's cap off of his head. Second guy wore his ball caps real loose but still, need I say who doesn't get to play with others any more? Immediately after everyone got over that, all other participants decided it was past time to go home. Same guy guilty of that "minor" infraction virtually begs me to take him shooting -what ,so I can get killed? Saw a guy show up at the range one time with a new .300 Winchester Magnum , a pair of safety glasses and (to his credit) earmuffs. I loaned him my makeshift bench rest and you could tell after about the third round it just wasn't fun for him any more. That rifle was knocking the hell out of him.
Finally, nothing like seeing a half dozen shooters share one revolver and two boxes of ammo. They couldn't hit a 2 liter pepsi bottle from ~ 15 feet.

 

[treeprof]

Frightening #1: Guy loads rental G19 and retains in rt hand. Picks up target w/left hand, and attempts to place target in holder by using rt thumb or gun butt (couldn't tell which) to push open the target retaining clip. BANG, right into the ceiling. Told the range guys as my wife and I quicky found our way out the door, and they headed in to remove him.

Fright #2: Textbook case of a poor-shooting klutz with a laser is bouncing the beam all over the target and backstop at 25 yds, hitting absolutely nothing. He turns and walks back to the bench to reload. With my head down loading my mags, I suddenly see a laser dot on my chest. "F---!" I lunge to the side, look up, and there he is with his gun tucked under his arm, the muzzle sweeping everything in sight, while he loads his mags. Tap him on shoulder and say, "hey man, next time your laser lands on me, you're going to be shot in self defense". He left, and since then I have always carried a loaded snubbie in my pocket at the indoor range, the signs on the door saying "no loaded firearms" be damned.

 

[Mithirium]

I'm sure everybody has experienced this. I used to frequently shoot at an outdoor range in Concord, CA. It was always a pretty busy place especially on the weekends. At any time you could have 50 people shooting pistols there. One time i noticed this woman do the the look at my shot waist twist to her beau. Thus she was holding the pistol still loaded and cocked done the line of shooters. What follows that is generally some kind of perverse wave. It just seems as such when 50 people duck and cover one after the other. Of course that was alway followed by loudspeaker beratement by the range officers. I think the fear factor in range rants keeps people in line, at least it did me in my youth.

 

[hoeftjl]

I have a couple of stories.
Once at an indoor range I was shooting my Blackhawk with some pretty hot handloads. A couple comes in to try out a small revolver. They don't have any targets or eyes and ears. I told them I was about to start shooting and that they might want some ear plugs. The guy goes out to get some and the girl was handling the revolver. I looked down the line and she was pointing it right at me. I jumped behind the plastic lane separator thinking that it might stop a bullet. I started packing up my stuff and watched them shoot as I walked out. The girl was shooting downrange at nothing with her eyes closed and her head turned to the extreme left.

At another indoor range a guy had rented a Glock 20 and the ranges reloads. Apparently he had gotten a squib or a double charge. When he came out of the range his hand was cut up pretty good. The Glock grip was blown out and the slide was locked up.

And once at an outdoor range I had seen a guy who had shot himself in the hand. He had a small revolver and he was dripping a steady stream of blood from the area where his left pinky met the rest of his hand. I guess he had his left hand over the top strap and his pinky in front of the muzzle as he was trying to open the cylinder with a cocked hammer. Someone said "you need to go to the hospital" and the guy said "I'm allright" as he shook uncontrolably and was pale as a ghost.