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QCRangeMaster wrote:Gentlemen,
Hard to imagine as it may be to safety minded, experienced shooters, almost every day someone (or several someones) will cross the footbridge with a loaded, uncased firearm in their hand. I have had all manner of firearms pointed at me, many with live rounds in them. From pump shotguns to AR15s with the magazine in, a round in the chamber, and the man's finger on the trigger! The most frightening thing is that this young man was carrying the firearm for his disabled father and he didn't even know how to work the action or the safety, which by the way, was on fire. I asked him to allow me to remove the magazine and lock the action open and he pointed the rifle's muzzle straight at me (finger on the trigger) when he handed it to me. His father was incredulous that I would take the firearm from his son until I removed the magazine and pulled the charging handle and flipped a live round out over my shoulder. The father looked at me with deer in the headlights eyes and said "where did that come from?" My point being that I and the other RSOs are human and subject to human emotions. We get nervous from time to time because of incidents like the one I just described. Anyone would! I,for one, have been shot through the chest by the so called "unloaded firearm" and I was looking right at the muzzle when the weapon fired from 15 feet away. Do I get nervous sometimes? You bet I do!! My usual response to customers who say "it's unloaded" is "so was the last one that shot me".

I guess I'm just asking for a little understanding about the stresses and situations this job puts on all of us. Imagine as a customer, walking across the bridge and 30% of the shooters turning and pointing their muzzles directly at you! How long would you stay around a place like that without getting a little stressed? Might you do a little "screaming" yourself after a while? I'm not trying to excuse bad behavior on our part and I try to lead by example when I am on duty. By the way, I believe when you refer to the "old guy" you are probably talking about me. I am the oldest person presently working at the range. (I am not however the "old guy" mentioned on other threads on this forum. He is no longer an RSO for us!)

I get dozens of compliments every week about how safe and well run our range is. People come up and shake my hand and say "thank you" all the time. We have hundreds of "regular" customers who come out and shoot on a regular basis. That is what we are striving for every day. If there is ever an incident in which you feel you were treated incorrectly please look me up and talk to me. While we may not always agree on every situation, I will treat you as fairly as possible.
QCRM