Recommend protection for a range safety officer

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Gary Gill

New member
I work for a range and gun shop. I take my turn as RSO and woild like to buy my own safety gear. Mostly shooters with pistols but some AR15 rifle shooters. Would you recommend body armour and or plate carriers. What level. Thanks
 
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zoomie

New member
I've never seen range officers wear anything more than eyes and ears. I think I wouldn't be an RSO if I felt the need for more than that.
 
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Gary Gill

New member
I have nearly 3000 hours working as an RSO. I have seen many careless people on the range. Most of them just don't think about the sweeping or unsafe moves they make.
It seems taking a safety measure is reasonable.
 
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NoSecondBest

New member
I've shot extensively for over fifty years and a lot of it was at major competitions. I've never seen a RSO wearing any body armor. Eyes and ears are required. You may set a trend......try it and see how it goes. I'm surprised that in those 3000 hours you haven't noticed that. A good RSO makes sure that shooters on the range know the safety rules. Some places make everyone sign the rules and any violation gets an immediate expulsion. I'd focus on preventive actions rather than wearing body armor. FWIW, I've been an RSO and a trainer for many years.
 
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AzShooter

New member
After being an RSO for many years I'd add and orange vest to my Electronic Headphones and a good pair of shooting glasses. I worked at one of the biggest and busiest ranges in the country, Ben Avery Shooting Range in Phoenix and we would fill about 65 tables with shooters and guests on the Public Range alone. I also ROed many USPSA and ICORE matches.

Never needed Body Armor.
 
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Nathan

New member
A range officer should not need body armor. They do need to learn situational control through voice commands and positioning. I would recommend an RO keep a weapon hot in their holster at all times in case a range user has bad intentions.

For the regularly unsafe, you need to exercise control and be willing to send people home for bad behaviors. It lets that customer reset. Just secure the situation, explain what they did clearly in one sentence and then ask them to leave. If more ranges did that, we would be better off. If it is student, givr them a 5 min break and coach the behavior.
 
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g.willikers

New member
Yeah, kind of overkill.
Just stay behind the shooters.
If anyone looks menacing, stand closer to them so you can redirect any untoward movement.
Preferably verbally, but physically if necessary.
Prevention is a whole lot better than a shield.
How large is this range?
 
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Gary Gill

New member
I probably should have been more specific in the original text. The indoor range has twenty stalls. We rent firearms for use on the range. Many of the shooters have little or no experience. I can't keep an eye on everyone at all times.

The most recent situation involved a new shooter with a rental Glock 19. At the back table, the shooter inserted a full magazine in the Glock. With the slide locked back and a finger on the trigger, the shooter was struggling to release the slide while aiming directly at me. In a command voice, I said stop! Hand me the gun. I took charge of the gun and explained the problem. There after, this shooter behaved quite safely.

This particular incident made me consider the body armor idea. Most days are no ways this dangerous.
 
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NoSecondBest

New member
I probably should have been more specific in the original text. The range has twenty stalls. We rent firearms for use on the range. Many of the shooters have little or no experience. I can't keep an eye on everyone at all times.

The most recent situation involved a new shooter with a rental Glock 19. At the back table, the shooter inserted a full magazine in the Glock. With the slide locked back and a finger on the trigger, the shooter was struggling to release the slide while aiming directly at me. In a command voice, I said stop! Hand me the gun. I took charge of the gun and explained the problem. There after, this shooter behaved quite safely.

This particular incident made me consider the body armor idea. Most days are no ways this dangerous.
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You seriously need to review your own procedures about range rules and training before allowing anyone inside the range. I've been to places where the rules were pretty simple, well explained, and emphasized at length to all shooters. Letting people know where and when they can handle and load a gun are very important. Tell and require acknowledgement before letting them on the range. Lots of really good signs around are a big help also. If you're still overwhelmed, you need two RSO's. A well run range is a pretty safe place to be. With experience you'll know where to put your eyes and what to look for. I spend a lot of time watching what's going on behind the firing line. That's where someone's going to screw up handling a gun most of the time. Review your procedures.
 
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Aguila Blanca

Staff
Gary Gill said:
I probably should have been more specific in the original text. The indoor range has twenty stalls. We rent firearms for use on the range. Many of the shooters have little or no experience. I can't keep an eye on everyone at all times.
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How many RSOs do you have on duty at once? You shouldn't be trying to watch 20 shooters -- you shouldn't be watching more than about five.
 
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SauerGrapes

New member
We have a couple indoor ranges near me. You can't shoot there unless you get thru their safety check first.
The other makes you take a 3hr course for a nominal fee.
Our gun club requires nothing. Go buy a gun, blast away. :eek: Every time a unfamiliar face shows up, I stand back and watch them for a bit. We have tons of rules, I swear some people can't or don't bother to read them. :mad:
 
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g.willikers

New member
Yeah, it's nuts to just hand over a gun and ammo to anyone who comes in the door.
These days, it's not hard to have at least an introduction to gun safety video running in a lounge or class room.
 
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MarkCO

New member
I've never seen range officers wear anything more than eyes and ears. I think I wouldn't be an RSO if I felt the need for more than that.
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This. One of our local guys, who is retired LE started wearing a vest while he worked at the range...mostly bravado from what I have been told, and got canned as a result. I think he has now worked at every range in the area except one.

An RSO is most likely to get shot in the hand or the lower extremities. You are better off taking a good TTC course and having a LE type gunshot wound kit on each range. My home range put almost all of our MDs through TTC from a good trainer and bought AEDs and full med kits for use on the range. I carry my own when I go to the range. A tourniquet is much more likely to be used to save a life than a vest.

In the first 15 years I heard of two people getting shot at ranges. In the past 10, the numbers are climbing and I personally know of 3 this year, plus two heart attacks on the range.
 
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