The Annoyed Man wrote:[*]FMJ ammunition: You seriously need to take steps to accommodate FMJ rifle ammo. Elm Fork is a good model of how to do that. If you haven't already, you should go on over there and see what they've done with their 50 yard range. As you must well know, the AR15 platform is the single highest selling rifle platform in the nation. AKs are also selling like hotcakes, as are all other AR/AK variants. You need to serve that market, and people are NOT going to go buy expensive hunting ammo to zero a carbine they are going to use for a Something Arises gun. Elm Fork's 50 yard range is on a poured concrete slab, has overhead baffles to keep the shots low, and the target frames are backed by a tall, framed-in earthen berm. You can choose to shoot at either 25 or 50 yards, and they require the targets at the 50 yard to be mounted even with the bottom edge of the hanging cardboard backer so that all rounds will impact lower in the berm. Is it a major expense to build a feature like this? Yes it is, but it is ALSO an investment in the long term future your range, because this particular market segment is only going to grow larger, not smaller. If you don't serve it, those shooters are not going to give up shooting. They're going to take their shooting business to the facility that can serve all of their shooting needs. I understand why you cannot accept FMJ on the 100 yard rifle line, and Elm Fork doesn't accept it on their 100 yard line for the same reason. But they have made the intelligent (and profitable) decision to accommodate this market, and it is paying off for them.[/list]
I'll chime in a bit here too...
I would shoot at QC pretty regularly in 2009-2010. On several occasions I witnessed RO's literally yelling at other shooters for what I would consider etiquette violations. Yes, if unchecked these things could lead to accidents, but at the time my impression was that these "offenses" could have been handled with far more diplomacy and achieved a more effective result.
The last time I was at QC (November 2010, I believe) I was the ONLY shooter on the pistol range on a cold morning. The two RO's were chatting together down at the end of the rifle range. I tried to flag them down to let them know I was going to change a target, and finally just decided to change the target, since I couldn't get their attention and I was still the only shooter. I got yelled at for 5 minutes. I get it... I broke a rule. Don't make me walk down and interrupt your chatting and I won't have to waste your time to yell at me. Clearly a customer service issue. I stopped shooting at QC after that.
Fast forward to last Friday. I'm a member at ShootSmart. As much as I prefer shooting outside, ShootSmart has automatic target handling systems (no waiting for a cold range or "step away from the firing line and show me your slide locked open" to change a target) and RO's that are both professional and friendly. I have a new AR that I wanted to sight in, and at 15 yards ShootSmart is at a disadvantage when it comes to working with rifles. After reading some good things in this thread, I decided I'd give QC another try. I showed up at the range, paid my fee and starting toting my stuff to the line. I saw the "No FMJ" signs and was immediately deflated. Sure enough, the Federal FMJ's I bought at WalMart for $4.79/box-20 were not allowed. The range store had an identical box ("identical" looking box, same weight loads, but not FMJ) of Federal's, for $11.99/box-20. I went to ShootSmart, calculated the offset and sighted in at 15 yards using my FMJ's. At least your RO was friendly about checking my ammo and your guy in the store was friendly enough about returning my range fee (I got the impression the refund was given a bit reluctantly, as he initially offered me a voucher for a return date. I had to press him for a cash refund).
One other observation....
When you replied to TAM's note, your tone, IMO, was very accusatory. Almost demanding to know who the offending RO was and somewhat incredulous that such an accusation could still be made, given the changes at the range. Honestly, while I felt your written reply indicated a sincere interest in finding out the details to TAM's problem, the tone of what you wrote reflected, IN MY OPINION, the same over-the-top tone that I saw your RO's take with customers (including me) on some of my visits to your range. Just my observation. I could certainly be wrong about your intended tone.
Personally, I would like to see QC be successful. I would much prefer to shoot outside and I'm willing to travel the extra distance to shoot with you, but... I'm still hesitant. And not being able to shoot rifle FMJ's (and not having more reasonably priced approved ammo on hand) took away an opportunity for you to win back a former client last week.
Thanks for your participation here. I believe you'll find folks here very open to listening and sharing opinions in a positive, constructive way. I think we ALL want you to be successful, but we (a forum of responsible CHL holders) have expectations as customers that, it seems, QC is not yet meeting.
Best Regards
RGB