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txcharvel wrote: When I bring friends to shoot I always give them a briefing on what to do and how to act at the range. At first they think I'm crazy with all the rules, but they quickly get it. It's also a good reminder for me.

I do this with my daughters, every time we go, usually in the car on the way. The Four Rules are now accompanied with a great deal of eye-rolling and "Seriously? We're going to do this again?" But they know them, and I have yet to have to correct one of them at the range.

AlaskanInTexas wrote: Grabbing the gun presented enormous risks. First, two hands on one gun (especially when one hand is obviously untrained) is just asking for an accidental/negligent discharge. Too easy for someone's fingers to get tripped up in the trigger guard. Second, ask yourself how you might react if a complete stranger grabbed your gun and you weren't aware that you were doing anything wrong.

My initial response was to simply tell the other guy he needed to return the gun to the firing line. I did not touch the gun until he started to wave it in my direction. At that point, because I had positioned my hands to prevent just such an occurrence, he moved it right into my open hands. I simply closed my hands around it to keep him from pointing it at me. I then restated (a little stronger this time) that he needed to return it to the firing line and his friend could take the picture there. He then simply let it go and said "OK".

If his finger had been inside the trigger guard, or if he had started to struggle and/or taken a belligerent tone, I may have acted differently. Luckily, and possibly in part because I was very respectful in my approach, it didn't come to that.

Abraham wrote:Any idea about the range officer follow up with the oblivious gun novice?

I didn't see her interact with them after that, but I don't think she left the shooting area again.

Taypo wrote:Which range was this?

Shoot Smart in Grand Prairie

AlaskanInTexas wrote:Not sure I would have handled it that way. Putting your hand on another person's gun without their permission while they are holding it is a recipe for disaster. I would have taken the kids away from the firing line and got a range officer to handle it.

That would have required me to walk away from a guy holding a gun, not sure what he was doing with it and not knowing if it was loaded. I didn't touch it until he was starting to literally "wave it around"; at that point, I felt immediate action was needed.

Took the family to the gun range on Memorial Day and enjoyed watching my daughters shoot about as well as I did. I noticed that the guys in the two stalls next to us had probably never held a gun before, much less fired one. They seemed to have a guy alternating between the two stalls, teaching them the basics. At one point, I had stepped back from my stall, watching my daughter shoot, and noticed that their "teacher" was in the second stall over. While he was at the other stall, a guy in the stall immediately next to us stepped away from the firing line with a pistol in his hand, looking at it. It was more or less pointed at the backs of his friends who were still at the firing line, although his finger wasn't on trigger at the time.

I stepped up to him, placing my hands palms-out next to the gun and said "Excuse me sir, you need to keep the guns at the firing line, pointed at the target at all times." He replied "Oh, I'm just holding it so my friend can take a picture." At the same time, he started to point behind him to his friend holding a camera - using the same hand that was currently holding the gun and turning between us. Since my hands were already right next to the gun, palms-out (I sort of expected this), he basically moved it right into my hands. I said "Whoa!" rather loudly, immediately took the gun from his hands, and placed it back on the firing line next to his buddy (who just finished shooting another gun). I then told the gun range observer (who had also stepped away briefly) what had just happened and to keep on eye on them.

Situational awareness applies everywhere and anywhere guns are involved, even (especially?) at the gun range.