Hotwells Gun Ban

[poolingmyignorance]

Hotwells shooting range bans the use of scary looking pistols. Specifically AR pistols of ANY caliber including PISTOL caliber. You can shoot a pistol of the same caliber one handed, all you wish. But should you find yourself in possession of a AR pistol chambered in a pistol caliber which offers two points of contact, less recoil and superior optics, suddenly it's now banned at their facility.
I originally encountered this sort of non-logic there a few years back when they had the drum, for shooting shotguns. I was using a Sagia410 and was told I couldn't shoot it with the stock folded. When I asked them what the problem was they said it wasn't allowed, because the rounds were too powerful. Stupified by this, (I had a VFG installed) I asked it if was okay to shoot a Taurus Judge one handed... the answer was an obvious yes. So today I enquired about my 5.7AR pistol.... NOPE. But the FN57 was good to go? Sure. Why? Because somebody might want to fire the AR pistol from the hip, was their answer. Now can somebody tell me why this unlikely potential of misuse would be limited to AR pistols and not all handguns? Nope. They couldn't answer that. It really boiled down to the AR pistols look scary, and there fore were banned from their range. Damn shame I have to drive 2 hours to American to use my guns after years of shooting at Hotwells. I just can't support any business with such questionable judgment.

 

[BIGPAPIGREG]

That makes nooooooooooo sense at all.....I just don't get it
Did they get some new owners or have an incident of some sort that may have contributed to this "rule"?

 

[Major Kong]

Won't be trying out that range anytime soon.

Sent from an undisclosed location.

 

[Sugar Land]

Sounds on par for HW

 

[rsayloriii]

Never did care for it. Can't change my own target. The way the shooting benches for rifles are set up, they're too low for my height and all I see is a board instead of the target, OR I've got to get into an uncomfortable position to shoot from. The last time I was there (and from what I've heard, it hasn't changed in quite a long time), there were potholes in their parking lot big enough to swallow a deuce and a half. I was afraid of bottoming my truck out and that doesn't happen anywhere else as there is PLENTY of ground clearance.

The only plus side they had to it is their charging per gun, not per person. Most of the time I don't agree with that, but since I took a friend that didn't have a gun, and we only shot my one rifle, then it was cheaper ... in that lone instance.

 

[Moonpie]

Because some Fudd bitched more likely.

Sometimes "gun owners" are our own worst enemy.

 

[matefrio]

Too many idiots make the range have too many rules. Got to regulate down to the least common denominator. That range is historic. Been there a long time. They're fighting a PR battle with the mobs that are moving in that area buying half million dollar houses..

Most likely a person came in with a large frame ar pistol and launched one over the berm while shooting from the hip.

The gunsmith they had on sight get run out of town yet?

 

[TXARGUY]

I just left a review on their Facebook page. Suggest you guys do too.

https://m.facebook.com/pages/Hot-We...7284484914?refsrc=http://www.google.com/&_rdr

 

[IXLR8]

Hot Wells has forced me to shoot elsewhere due to their rules. Come to ASC, at least they are a bit more logical.

 

[Chirpy]

I learned to swim there, the pool was closed decades ago due to lawyers. Kind of amazed the range is still there at all.

 

[scap99]

Don't even get me started on the no rapid fire bs....one shot a second is not rapid.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Wow, words cannot describe how idiotic these range owners are.....

 

[scap99]

Wow, words cannot describe how idiotic these range owners are.....

Cross the railroad tracks and you hear banjo music....

 

[Texasjack]

I used to deal with them quite a bit many years ago. We had a gun club at work and had to make arrangements with private ranges when we had to shut down our range because of idiot neighbors. The Hot Wells owners were pretty nice folks. There was a time when they'd have brisket set out on a table with a knife and a loaf of bread and you could make yourself a sandwich and just put a buck in the cigar box. They had a kid - probably 6 or 7 years old - sitting in there reloading shotgun shells.

But now you have to deal with neighbors and insurance and lawyers. And you have idiots who were never taught anything about shooting (or common sense) who show up and plop down their range fees. So the owners have to institute all sorts of draconian rules and put in boards to force shooters to stay low, etc. It's not the range owners who have become lunatics - it's the rest of society. Range owners are just trying to survive.

 

[RetArmySgt]

Too many idiots make the range have too many rules. Got to regulate down to the least common denominator. That range is historic. Been there a long time. They're fighting a PR battle with the mobs that are moving in that area buying half million dollar houses..

Most likely a person came in with a large frame ar pistol and launched one over the berm while shooting from the hip.

The gunsmith they had on sight get run out of town yet?

If that guy was a gunsmith, then Im a world renowned brain surgeon. The one time I had to talk to him I had a case jammed in my AR and asked for a cleaning rod to clear it and he tried to tell me the only way to clear a jam in an AR would be to remove the barrel then pry the case out and hope you dont damage the chamber.

 

[matefrio]

If that guy was a gunsmith, then Im a world renowned brain surgeon. The one time I had to talk to him I had a case jammed in my AR and asked for a cleaning rod to clear it and he tried to tell me the only way to clear a jam in an AR would be to remove the barrel then pry the case out and hope you dont damage the chamber.

He got out of smith school and went directly into his own business. Two days after he opened up I asked if he could thread a barrel. Not only figured out he didn't have the equipment but he told me it was illegal to thread barrels.

Too young moving too fast into his own shop. Location was golden though.

 

[poolingmyignorance]

I used to deal with them quite a bit many years ago. We had a gun club at work and had to make arrangements with private ranges when we had to shut down our range because of idiot neighbors. The Hot Wells owners were pretty nice folks. There was a time when they'd have brisket set out on a table with a knife and a loaf of bread and you could make yourself a sandwich and just put a buck in the cigar box. They had a kid - probably 6 or 7 years old - sitting in there reloading shotgun shells.

But now you have to deal with neighbors and insurance and lawyers. And you have idiots who were never taught anything about shooting (or common sense) who show up and plop down their range fees. So the owners have to institute all sorts of draconian rules and put in boards to force shooters to stay low, etc. It's not the range owners who have become lunatics - it's the rest of society. Range owners are just trying to survive.

I understand what your saying, but isn't it just as likely that one could perform the same dangerous action with any weapon? I could just as easily shot a FN57 from the hip or a glock (and be rightfully kicked out)... but those aren't scary looking so they aren't concerned about it.
And when you try to control peoples behavior be limiting their accesses and use of the firearms you've given the very definition of gun control. Which apparently they support.