Range safety

[Vaquero]

In light of the recent death at a Central TX range and the ensuing "lively" discussion regarding safe or unsafe conditions or actions, I searched for some threads here at TGT on the topic yall are so passionate about. I found 2 and that took longer than I'd care to admit.

http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/beginner-articles/7778-firearm-safety-beginners.html
http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/beginner-articles/20249-step-2-rules-gun-safety.html

So, If yall can play nice and not attack establishments by name and keep it reasonably civil, let's talk about gun safety, whether at the range, field or home. We all have a pet peeve and all consider ourselves safe. I consider I35 from Round Rock to Buda to be more dangerous than any range I've visited. I grew up out in the sticks and carried a gun since I was around 13. I visited my 1st organized, public, for profit range about 2 years ago. I'm 50. I had the RO call me out twice on the 1st visit. Was I being dangerous? No. Did I violate range rules? Yes. The range was cold and I approached the line to get an ejected mag so I could re-load it. Yep, I can wait. No hurt feelings on my part. 2nd time I wanted my muffs off(sweaty things in summer) and had nowhere to lay them, so I thought I'd set 'em on the bench. Yes sir, sorry sir.
ROs remind me of basketball refs. If you miss it, people bitch, if you call it, people bitch.

In the field I keep my finger (or thumb) on the safety and trigger finger clear but ready. I also know where my buddy is and do not hunt public land. (I grew up with a lot of land but not a lot of money, now I got no money and a little land)

At home the safe was bought for a reason. There are loaded weapons in there, but I consider them "safe". Weapons outside the safe are hidden and known to household members who are farmiliar with both operation and results of said arms. These are cleared depending on visitors.

I welcome constructive and informative criticism.

 

[Texastransplant]

No criticism from me. When we moved to Tx the biggest choice of a place to live wasn't the house. Oh we had in mind what we wanted but it was a place to shoot. Having grown up on farms as a kid in Illinois I had places to shoot. Enter progressive agenda and in the 80's that went away. We did buy a place here where I can shoot and bother no one. My question to the owner was, what to folks think about shooting, he said everyone here does it. Really not a place close, just one place about 500 ft away from my property otherwise just fine. A tank and feeder draw for the runoff and gives me a nice place to shoot.

In Illinois it's crazy hard, 85 miles to a outdoor range where you didn't have to be a member and pay 500 plus a year to shoot. I used my M16 back in 71-74 in the Army and other weapons. You get some younger guys that haven't shot full auto and the first thing they do is bump fire. If there is one thing I don't like it's that. They spray ammo all over, no control, laughing to their buddies and swinging their guns around. Once as a 13 year old shooting at a pheasent I almost swung past a friends head. I still get bad feelings even thinking about that. You can't be to carefull and I practice that and past it on to my kids. My suggestion to anyone that likes shooting is to make it a point that when you move the next time take in consideration of where and if you can shoot. I checked out the laws in Texas an I am in an un incorperated area, it never will be annexed. The law says if you have more then 10 acres the county can't stop you from shooting safely on your property. As a former ffl and reloader it's nice to work up loads and test them and make changes without having to spend money driving and range fees or find out you can't even shoot your own ammo. My thoughts.

 

[Mikewood]

Well if the rule is you can't do "X" during cease fire I try not to do it under any circumstances. Those poor ROs get hammered from all sides and they deal with gang bangers, fuds, cops and wannabe arm chair commandos. So I cut them a lot of slack.

In the field I keep my finger off the trigger and along the frame of the gun. If I am walking, climbing a fence or not actively engaged in shooting the safety is also on. I verify my partners position before taking a shot and won't swing on a bird toward a partner.

I have a safe also there are "hot" guns in my safe that can be gotten in an emergency. There are also hot weapons in almost every room of the house and I don't have any friends that I don't trust with a loaded weapon.

All guns are afterall loaded. That is the only rule you need. There are three more that clarify it for people who don't get it.
I think you are on the right track. It's a real shame folks think guns have safeties that make them safe and unloaded guns make them safe.

 

[Younggun]

I got my first .22 when i was 8 and my first deer rifle and shotgun at 12. My dad taught me gun safety and made sure that i learned it. Now most of it has become such a habit that i don't notice doing it. I am lucky enough to have land to shoot on and have not been to a public range in years. My biggest peeve is muzzle sweep, or worse someone standing around BSing with a gun pointed at me or someone else. My brother in law is the worst person I have come across with this and I politly avoid any chance of him comeing out to shoot anymore. Mistakes happen, esp. with new shooters, but one that can't learn or doesn't have the presence of mind to remember he is holding a gun or where it is pointed doesn't need a gun. Oh yeah, and that stupid " Its on safe" or "Its empty" excuse. That burns me up. I don't give a damn what you say, point it somewhere else. With the venting out of the way, most that come out and shoot are very safe, esp noobs it seems because they are less comfortable with the firearms and think about every move they make.

 

[G23shootist]

The responsibility in firearm safety lies not only within the handler of the firearm but also with those that see a violation in safety protocol. So many of us get timid and do not want to get involved that we ourselves become part of the problem by not saying something. If some one sees a violation something should be said to that person or the very least to the management of the range or the RO on duty.

I have been to numerous ranges in my life and I have seen various incidents that should not have happened and that is including active firing ranges in the military, and they have at least 3 RO on the line and a control officer. Truth is most people that have weapons are not nearly as familiar with them as they should be and that is always going to leave room for an incident to happen.

Until you use a firearm so much it is second nature there will be a higher propensity for accidental shootings and you are not going to get that shooting one time a month at the range. These same individual take first time shooters to the range to (Teach Them) how to shoot and are in no way remotely qualified to to so.

If you had never driven a motorcycle before but you wanted one, would you buy one with no experience and try to drive it? Probably not because you know that it would be dangerous. You would probably say; Hey maybe I should take a drivers safety course and learn how to drive one and see how they operate. Why do individuals think a firearm is any different? If you look at yourself honestly should you or a loved one benefit from a firearms safetycourse?

I didn't mean to rant but people seem hell bent to fault ranges for the users safety and that kind of grates me.

I also send my condolences to the family and loved ones that have been touched by this tragedy. May everyone shoot safely.

 

[Younggun]

The responsibility in firearm safety lies not only within the handler of the firearm but also with those that see a violation in safety protocol. So many of us get timid and do not want to get involved that we ourselves become part of the problem by not saying something. If some one sees a violation something should be said to that person or the very least to the management of the range or the RO on duty.

I have been to numerous ranges in my life and I have seen various incidents that should not have happened and that is including active firing ranges in the military, and they have at least 3 RO on the line and a control officer. Truth is most people that have weapons are not nearly as familiar with them as they should be and that is always going to leave room for an incident to happen.

Until you use a firearm so much it is second nature there will be a higher propensity for accidental shootings and you are not going to get that shooting one time a month at the range. These same individual take first time shooters to the range to (Teach Them) how to shoot and are in no way remotely qualified to to so.

If you had never driven a motorcycle before but you wanted one, would you buy one with no experience and try to drive it? Probably not because you know that it would be dangerous. You would probably say; Hey maybe I should take a drivers safety course and learn how to drive one and see how they operate. Why do individuals think a firearm is any different? If you look at yourself honestly should you or a loved one benefit from a firearms safetycourse?

I didn't mean to rant but people seem hell bent to fault ranges for the users safety and that kind of grates me.

I also send my condolences to the family and loved ones that have been touched by this tragedy. May everyone shoot safely.

I have to admit when i used public ranges I saw safety problems and for the most part shook my head but said nothing, at home i am quick to squak because that shit aint gonna happen here but that is an attitude that i should have taken everywhere. +1 on those who don't know their weapons, work with a guy that has 2 pistols and the most he has ever fired was when he went in for his CHL. I mentioned practice one time and he looked at me like i was crazy, said if he needs it he'll pull it out and use it. I guess the good thing is there's little chancce of running into him on the range. Great points shootist.

 

[M. Sage]

The responsibility in firearm safety lies not only within the handler of the firearm but also with those that see a violation in safety protocol. So many of us get timid and do not want to get involved that we ourselves become part of the problem by not saying something. If some one sees a violation something should be said to that person or the very least to the management of the range or the RO on duty.

Agreed. I'd like to add that there are "good" ways to approach a person and "bad" ways. Yell to get their attention (not always appropriate), but take a minute to explain what they were doing wrong once everything is safe again. I've had some decent conversations with people after I had to correct them on the range. I've also had idiots get all butthurt about my telling them that it's not cool to fiddle with guns while people are downrange, or that I don't appreciate them flinching so bad that they're liable to put the next round into the (steel or cement) top of the table in front of them, splattering me and the person on the other side of them with pieces of bullet.

Those people can bite me.

I have been to numerous ranges in my life and I have seen various incidents that should not have happened and that is including active firing ranges in the military, and they have at least 3 RO on the line and a control officer. Truth is most people that have weapons are not nearly as familiar with them as they should be and that is always going to leave room for an incident to happen.

Until you use a firearm so much it is second nature there will be a higher propensity for accidental shootings and you are not going to get that shooting one time a month at the range. These same individual take first time shooters to the range to (Teach Them) how to shoot and are in no way remotely qualified to to so.

I think it's safer when it's not second nature. When it's second nature, you stop paying attention, and IMO that's when you start making mistakes.

Don't rely on habit!

If you had never driven a motorcycle before but you wanted one, would you buy one with no experience and try to drive it? Probably not because you know that it would be dangerous. You would probably say; Hey maybe I should take a drivers safety course and learn how to drive one and see how they operate. Why do individuals think a firearm is any different? If you look at yourself honestly should you or a loved one benefit from a firearms safetycourse?

I didn't mean to rant but people seem hell bent to fault ranges for the users safety and that kind of grates me.

I also send my condolences to the family and loved ones that have been touched by this tragedy. May everyone shoot safely.

+1

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Most people do not really pay attention enough with their surroundings to realize just how many accidents they come close to getting into, or possibly even deadly ones. It's no different at the range. For anyone that hasn't worked at a range before, or really been around ranges/firearms for a living, I would invite anyone to just take a step back at the range for just 30 minutes, and just WATCH everyone in extreme detail. You might be surprised. At one point I worked a well known indoor range for just ONE year. In that one year alone, I was almost seriously injured and/or killed more times than I can even remember. I've almost been shot twice by Governor Perry. I've stopped countless numbers of people from negligently killing themselves and/or others. The average shooter at the range is focused on themselves and what they're doing usually a bit too much to notice some seemingly "small" things that are actually pretty serious. When it goes wrong, it goes wrong quick, and it can result in people dying. That's why the rules are strict, and why they should be enforced strictly. 99% of the time nothing goes wrong but.......that 1% of the time it does, people die. It's not something to be taken lightly, and unfortunately too many people do not take it seriously enough, and simply give it lip service or half-assed attention.