Garland gun range target of media smear campaign

[kahrfreak]

One can't read this recent article without grimacing in pain at some of the blatant lies that are being perpetuated by the media. Here are some of the more blatantly false quotes that seem to stretch the limits of journalistic integrity:

"On a typical Saturday morning, it sounds like a war zone in Garland.
Gun enthusiasts line up to take a shot at the Garland Public Shooting
Range." [Not quite...I've lived less than 2 miles from the range as
the crow flies for 15 years and have only rarely heard gunfire. The place is
surrounded by dense forest.]

"Domin believes a stray bullet from the range struck him." [Therefore,
it must be true.]

"It was built back in 1969, long before the residential neighborhood
sprouted up all around it." [Let's see...gun range in place for over
40 years, and no one ever bothered to think to themselves if they
really want to live next door to a gun range?]

"Looking at a satellite map, it shows it is almost a straight line
between the firing line and Domin's backyard. The distance is about 1
to 1.2 miles." [Interestingly, one could draw an infinite number of
lines from the range to any other point on the map.]

"It also said there is evidence from photos that 'intentional shooting
at off site targets is taking place such as power lines, guidelines
and birds.'" [I've been shooting at this range for over 10 years now
and this is simply not true.]

"They are shooting up in the air at power lines. If they miss, the
bullets come this way." [Shooting at power lines...really.]

"Another found shell casings in his yard." [Really...I wonder how a
casing can travel over a mile into someone's yard.]

[Thomas]

And it looks like a bunch of second graders are arguing in the comments of that article.

[txjim42]

Well you know, "It sounds like a war-zone..." therefore it must be.... I reckon the Fourth of July and New Years must sound like teotwawki....

One of the comments says they make in excess of $4 mil a year. If that's the case, I'm in the wrong business... That's about 1100 people per day, 365 days/year @ $10 per head. Say we make it $15/head to account for new members, rentals, etc. and that's still 730 shooters/day. They better get a bigger parking lot because if that's the case, it seems there are a few Americans that like the place.

I'm still taken aback by the fact that Rowlett zoned the land down-range for residential development, on top of the fact that people actually moved there and then have the gall to complain about their poor decision making skills... Not quite like dealing with golf-balls on the golf-course. Common sense, isn't so common.

It's not fancy, but love that place. My family has shot there since they opened and without incident. It's convenient and the price is right and definitely love that for $10 you get the whole day. Shoot in the morning, go to lunch and go back to shoot some more... Shotgun, rifle and pistol...

[Purplehood]

I bet the land was cheap for the housing-developers in the first place due to the location near the Gun Range.

[JJVP]

One can't read this recent article without grimacing in pain at some of the blatant lies that are being perpetuated by the media. Here are some of the more blatantly false quotes that seem to stretch the limits of journalistic integrity:

"On a typical Saturday morning, it sounds like a war zone in Garland.
Gun enthusiasts line up to take a shot at the Garland Public Shooting
Range." [Not quite...I've lived less than 2 miles from the range as
the crow flies for 15 years and have only rarely heard gunfire. The place is
surrounded by dense forest.]

"Domin believes a stray bullet from the range struck him." [Therefore,
it must be true.]

"It was built back in 1969, long before the residential neighborhood
sprouted up all around it." [Let's see...gun range in place for over
40 years, and no one ever bothered to think to themselves if they
really want to live next door to a gun range?]

"Looking at a satellite map, it shows it is almost a straight line
between the firing line and Domin's backyard. The distance is about 1
to 1.2 miles." [Interestingly, one could draw an infinite number of
lines from the range to any other point on the map.]

"It also said there is evidence from photos that 'intentional shooting
at off site targets is taking place such as power lines, guidelines
and birds.'" [I've been shooting at this range for over 10 years now
and this is simply not true.]

"They are shooting up in the air at power lines. If they miss, the
bullets come this way." [Shooting at power lines...really.]

"Another found shell casings in his yard." [Really...I wonder how a
casing can travel over a mile into someone's yard.]

Looking at the pictures on their web site, I can see that there is nothing that prevents someone from shooting over the berm. At one of the shooting ranges I go to http://www.clearcreekgunrange.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; the rifle range has wood panels a few yards downstream of the benches that prevents the shooter from being able to shoot over the backstop berm.

It also said there is evidence from photos that 'intentional shooting
at off site targets is taking place such as power lines, guidelines
and birds.'" [I've been shooting at this range for over 10 years now
and this is simply not true.]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but unless you are at the range every day, you cannot possibly know if this is happening or not. There are idiots everywhere. Looks like a nice range and I would probably use it if I lived in the area. Hope clear heads will prevail and that some safety measures could be implemented to keep everyone safe.

[knotquiteawake]

"Another found shell casings in his yard."

I read the same article this morning and that same quote bothered me too. So... in the neighborhood where somebody was hit by a stray bullet one of the neighbors also complains about finding mysterious "shell casings?" Hmmm.... no, nah, nevermind, its nothing, forget I mentioned that.
Although possibly they confused terminology and what they meant was that they found bullets in their backyard?

Also, JJVP has a point there the foolish people could be there when the responsible people are not. A couple of my friends have told me not so great things about the "gun safety" (or lack thereof) at the Garland Public range, I avoid it for that reason. If somebody was horsing around that could explain how that poor guy got shot in the back over a mile away. Also, its pretty incomprehensible that the range was not properly insured. That is some real foolishness on the part of the owners.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Apparently Garland's Mayor doesn't like my bill (SB766). The "no regulation" part of SB766 was written precisely for his ilk, while the rest of it is to make it a lot more expensive to prosecute frivolous lawsuits. If the injured party's allegations are correct, then he'll be able to prove them, but no longer can he do so by simply saying "I think this is what happened."

As someone else noted, perhaps the police need to be doing a little ballistics comparisons on the guns in the guy's home who found "shell casings" in his back yard. But that wouldn't shut down the range, would it?

Chas.

[Rex B]

Things happen. I was shooting at a range some years back with a pistol that was giving me problems. After one misfire (FTF), I stepped back with the muzzle momentarily pointed up at around 30 degrees, and the round went off. I don't know if it cleared the backstop or not, but it could have.

[jimlongley]

Maybe this woman moved to Garland.

It really disgusts me when people move to an area where anything they object to is happening, and then start objecting to it. I am about as anti-golf as anyone could be, having been a golf orphan as a child (my mother actually thought that some day she might break 120) but I would never move in next to a golf course and then try to get it shut down when golf balls entered my yard or hit my house, and I had a boss some time back who did just that, and my pointing out his flawed logic was probably part of why he fired me.

Move in next to a gun range, expect noise.

Collin County Gun Range no longer exists for just this problem.

OTOH, there are a lot of idiots out there, as a telephone man I repaired many bullet holes in telephone cables. I found .30 caliber holes in cables and terminal boxes in areas where there was deer hunting (and of course small game) WITH SHOTGUN or PRIMITIVE RIFLE ONLY!!! A .30 soft nose took out a terminal in the Port of Albany NY, an old fashioned terminal with ceramic insulation, and one soft nose shattered the entire 50 line terminal into pretty much powder. Bird shot pellets do not penetrate cables or power insulators well unless fired at close range, so that kind of damage is also pretty obviously purposeful. In NY State, there is no hunting much of anything with buckshot, but I have found .33 caliber pellets peppering cables and terminals. I can pretty much guarantee that NONE of the gunshot damage I ever investigated came from a nearby range.

I could go on in disgust . . . [/rant]

[sjfcontrol]

Maybe this woman moved to Garland.

Perhaps the people in her part of Iraq are too poor to be able to afford BOTH guns and ammunition. Therefore they are forced to buy just the ammo, and then throw it at the houses, endangering the people. Just a thought...

[Lambda Force]

And it looks like a bunch of second graders are arguing in the comments of that article.

The worst part is they sound smarter than the reporter.

[rugerbd]

One can't read this recent article without grimacing in pain at some of the blatant lies that are being perpetuated by the media. Here are some of the more blatantly false quotes that seem to stretch the limits of journalistic integrity:

"On a typical Saturday morning, it sounds like a war zone in Garland.
Gun enthusiasts line up to take a shot at the Garland Public Shooting
Range." [Not quite...I've lived less than 2 miles from the range as
the crow flies for 15 years and have only rarely heard gunfire. The place is
surrounded by dense forest.]

"Domin believes a stray bullet from the range struck him." [Therefore,
it must be true.]

"It was built back in 1969, long before the residential neighborhood
sprouted up all around it." [Let's see...gun range in place for over
40 years, and no one ever bothered to think to themselves if they
really want to live next door to a gun range?]

"Looking at a satellite map, it shows it is almost a straight line
between the firing line and Domin's backyard. The distance is about 1
to 1.2 miles." [Interestingly, one could draw an infinite number of
lines from the range to any other point on the map.]

"It also said there is evidence from photos that 'intentional shooting
at off site targets is taking place such as power lines, guidelines
and birds.'" [I've been shooting at this range for over 10 years now
and this is simply not true.]

"They are shooting up in the air at power lines. If they miss, the
bullets come this way." [Shooting at power lines...really.]

"Another found shell casings in his yard." [Really...I wonder how a
casing can travel over a mile into someone's yard.]

There are people who go out there and shoot "at off site targets." I was at the shotgun range with my brother and there was a group of idiots out there. A mockingbird had a nest in the tree that is in between the corner of the shotgun range and the rifle range. Not sure why but it decided to fly right across the firing line several times. The idiots out there took a couple of shots at it, missed a few times, and then finally hit it. When my brother went in to the office to tell the employees what happened they just asked in the people were keeping the muzzle of their guns pointed down range and shrugged at the fact that they had intentionally shot the state bird (not to mention the fact that when they finally hit the mockingbird their muzzle was pointed at the chain link fence/street).

Other than that incident it's just an ok place to shoot. They are always extremely busy whenever I go (and I've tried every day of the week and morning, mid day and evening). They also instituted an full range cease fire. When I first started going the pistol range, rifle range, and shotgun range all could do separate cease fires. Kind of a pain now - sucks for the people on the pistol and shotgun ranges to have to wait for rifle people to make the 200 yd round trip.

[goofygrin]

They also instituted an full range cease fire. When I first started going the pistol range, rifle range, and shotgun range all could do separate cease fires. Kind of a pain now - sucks for the people on the pistol and shotgun ranges to have to wait for rifle people to make the 200 yd round trip.

I personally have no problem with this. I don't want to be 100y downrange when there are people firing shotguns or pistols 50y away. Seems like a good way to get shot!

I like this range. $10 and I can go shoot clays, my rifle and then practice with my pistol. It's not the best, but it is a great value. The money saved on the entrance is money I can spend on ammo to actually enjoy shooting :)

[Dave2]

They also instituted an full range cease fire. When I first started going the pistol range, rifle range, and shotgun range all could do separate cease fires. Kind of a pain now - sucks for the people on the pistol and shotgun ranges to have to wait for rifle people to make the 200 yd round trip.

Sounds like I've got an excuse to get a motorcycle now...

[duns]

With any open air range, it's possible that idiots will sometimes shoot over the backstop. It appears that the range was there before the houses therefore the problem was created by whoever decided to build houses within the potential range of a stray bullet. The people who create a problem should be the ones to pay to have it rectified and that would not be the Garland range if the reports are correct that the range was there first.