TexasCHLforum.com

Dragonfighter wrote:The girls and I all went to Targetmaster and it was my eldest girl's turn. I gave her what I thought were the best muff and we went in. There was a yahoo in the next stall had a Model 500 and decided to step back from the divider to shoot while we were briefing. The blast caused my daughter to scream from the pain and her ear actually bled.

I jumped in the middle of this guy and then reported him to the management which had him removed but damage done. Any sharp noise on her right causes pain and IF I can get her to a range, it is small caliber and outside. The term I would use for this tool would definitely get me censored.

Someone was shooting Taurus Raging Bull in 500 S&W Magnum that same Sunday. I was several lanes away but I could still feel the concussive blast every time he pulled the trigger. I'm sorry someone was such an idiot and DB to do that while people are receiving a safety briefing. Ear pro or not, those guns are too loud at an indoor range.

CEOofEVIL wrote:
When you have 8 people shooting on different lanes? Not so much of a big deal. When the range is packed to capacity with at least two shooters on each of the 16 lanes? It got downright impossible to keep up with. [...]

So when it's busy, the RSO simply can't be everywhere at once.

I completely agree, which is why I'm not naming the range, even though they had about 6-8 ROs at any point for 24 lanes. Impossible to keep up? No, but definitely very hectic and lots of activity to keep up with.

BStacks wrote:So you are not going to name the range?

No. The purpose of the post was to call out the fact that we are all responsible for our safety when at the range, not to call out the range. The ROs all reacted immediately, but with so many people there and so many ROs on the line, there was no continuity when the person had to be talked to several times.

Unless I see that happen more often in future visits - I don't intend to crucify the range.

I thought about asking for a partial refund, but my Dad and I were starting to get tired and would have probably packed up within the next 30-45 minutes anyway and we had almost 2 hours worth of shooting as it was.

I did inform the manager in front and he said he would go in and talk with the ROs and the shooter in question. Not sure if he did. I think the fact that they were so busy added to the issue. They had at least 5 or 6 ROs between the two shooting lines and it was a different RO to talk to the irresponsible shooter each of the 3 times even though I had notified them another RO had spoken with him previously.

I will probably continue to go back to that range, but will probably avoid weekends during the day. I usually go after work during the week when only half of the lanes are open. As it was on Sunday there was a 30-45 minute wait for a lane, and that is if you were a single shooter or willing to share a lane.

I think for me the experience just reinforced that no one is truly responsible for my safety except me. Even when you have good attentive ROs, they can't catch everything.

I think this post is more appropriate for this forum than the Shooting Range forum since it deals with safety issues in general and what I will never do again.

My father came into town this weekend and we decided to hit up the range on Sunday to spend some time together. We visited an indoor range in the north central part of the DFW metroplex. I have been to this range several times and the facilities and the staff have always been great. This particular Sunday they were PACKED.

Whenever I go to a range, especially when it is crowded, I will usually place my stuff on the bench and stand back a watch people for a little bit. With so many people in such tight quarters, all it takes is one reckless person or new shooter to cause a dangerous situation. This particular Sunday everyone seemed to be practicing safe shooting so my Dad and I stepped up to the line and proceeded to shoot.

About an hour and a half in, the shooters directly to the left of us left and a few younger guys took their place. By this time I had become complacent and was not paying attention to other shooters. As I stepped back to watch my Dad work on his revolver skills I noticed one of the shooters to the left was having a little trouble with his M&P. With a loaded pistol, and his finger ON THE TRIGGER he proceeded to turn the pistol so it was pointing directly at the person in the stall to his left and tried to figure out what was going on. I immediately grabbed the RO next to me who was sweeping brass. He intervened and had stern words with the gentleman and showed him some basics about his pistol.

Unfortunately after the RO left the unsafe behaviors started up again. He kept moving the take down lever in the down position and tried to fire the pistol. When it wouldn't work he proceeded again to sweep people multiple times with a loaded pistol. I decided I had had enough (after two more RO visits) and told my dad to pack up quickly but safely and we left for the day.

On the way out I told my Dad about the unsafe behavior and why I felt it was time to leave. To my surprise he said he had seen them sweep people with his pistol and his rifle multiple times but wasn't sure what he should do. We had a discussion that it isn't rude but is everyone’s responsibility to grab an RO immediately and inform them of the unsafe behavior.

I am very surprised the ROs didn't eject the person, especially after 3 visits to the shooter and observing the unsafe behavior first-hand. Going forward I will probably call it a day after the FIRST RO visit doesn't correct the behavior. I'd rather be out a $20 range fee instead of leaving in an ambulance or a body bag.

Lesson learned - safety is EVERYONE'S responsibility. If someone is being unsafe and a single RO visit isn't enough to correct the issue, then call it a day. Better safe than dead.