ogiebb Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 I've a fun story!I was gathering brass near the berm with a buddy once (we had been shooting at seven yards) when suddenly we heard some odd noises. We heard what sounded like a "slaps" hitting the berm near us, followed by what sounded like a small cannon going off in the distance. At first it didn't register what was happening, then we both realized that someone was shooting at us (or at least close enough that we needed to take cover). The rounds were hitting within 6-10 feet of where we were. In the interim between the shock and that realization, we looked up range and saw guy sitting in the shack at the 50 yards line with a long gun pointed at us, smoke rising from the muzzle. When he saw that we saw him, he shouted, "It's okay, you can keep doing that. You won't bother me." Then we looked at each other and hauled A** behind my minivan, which was parked about ten yards from the berm. Eventually he stopped and we drove up range. When we got there, a bad thing got worse. The guy was shooting an old trap door Springfield in .45-70. And he claimed he was "sighting in," but that it was okay that we were down there because it didn't bother him. It gets worse. Instead of a front sight on the rifle, he had an allen wrench attached near the muzzle with a hose clamp. I'm not joking. It gets worse. When I reported the incident to the club president, he knew from the description exactly who it was. The guy was a convicted felon (some violent stuff too). I'm just glad that our presence near the berm didn't disturb his fun. It could have been really bad if we'd been an inconvenience to him. Holy Crap...i would have fired back (reflex action from living in Manila,Phillipines for 20 years) and would have just used the Magic words "i was in fear of my life" after the dumba$$ was done.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewalker Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Our locals we have were never that bad but we always saved a clip or 2 for the .45 for 2 legged snakes .......sometimes i am glad they shut down our public range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Now don't just think that this only happens on public ranges. I was instructing a class on the local POLICE ONLY range at the 25 yard line and suddenly heard the report of a .308. I immediately stopped the firing line, moved my class of 25 students. I turned to see what a--hole had fired the shot and noticed two designated SWAT snipers firing behind the class on at the 200 yard line. I called the range master who came over and told the two brainwaves to move. The range master said the two guys didn't realize that we had the range reserved and thought they were far enough over to the right, so it was okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Ever work on a movie set with firearms? Talk about retards! I was on the set of "Never Talk to Strangers" with Rebecca DeMornay (sp) and Antonio Bandaras. The scene I was hired to help with had Antonios character teaching Rebeccas character how to shoot. The director wanted realism (imagine that in a movie) so he wanted to film real bullets going through a target. So they set the scene up at the local indoor range where I worked and the set wienie was explaining to me what to do. Rebecca was going to fire a blank gun from a shooting stall, I would be in the next stall firing live rounds at her target (they explained initially that they wanted a nice grouping ) He then showed me where the cameraman would be standing at the backstop filming the bullets coming through the target!!!! I quickly told him there was no way that was happening, which sent him into a tizzy because he would have to explain to the director that the 'expert' they had hired for the scene was refusing to let it take place. I said no problem, I would tell him it wasn't happening...this sent him into an even bigger siezure. Apparantly nobody talks to the director, hes in his 'special' place. Eventually I won out and it was filmed from the firing line. Never did find out who the cameraman was that was supposed to be sent down range. In hind site I wish I had at least let them put the camera downrange for a test, a 9mm through the lens might have convinced them of thier folly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Holy Crap...i would have fired back (reflex action from living in Manila,Phillipines for 20 years) and would have just used the Magic words "i was in fear of my life" after the dumba$$ was done.. Now that I'm almost ten years older and a bit more ornery, I might do that too! At the time, I was too busy panicking and seeking cover to worry about return fire. Of course, now I am never, ever at a range by myself (or with just a buddy) without having at least one loaded gun on my person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Let me rephrase............Range stooges get old. As a new shooter I may have fallen into the range stooge catagory for a while. I just could not get enough info and did not know where else to go to get it. However I am tired of having 20 minutes of my hour or two sucked up by people who follow down range to talk after you make it clear you don't want to. I have turned around after a drill to see a guy handling a gun behind me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 I think if we didn't have people like Range Stooges to complain about, we wouldn't realize how much we enjoy what we do and life around here would be much more boring. My $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted September 20, 2004 Author Share Posted September 20, 2004 Ya know, it's not that I'm so egotistical and enamored with my own abilities that I feel I'm too good to mix with the unwashed masses. I like to kibbitz as much as the next guy. (Saturday was the first time the topic the color of my brass has been of any interest.) It's the gross safety violations that really set me off. I've been swept by live guns so many times that I'm just nervous as hell at public ranges. It's crap I can live without - and definitely something I shouldn't have to tolerate at a private range. I can accept dying before I'm 40 in defense of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, my family, friends, neighbors, and the American way. Not because I took a 30-06 to the chest because some yutz felt like shooting his way into the prop trailer............again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasag93 Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 The stooges have cousins in TX also. Some people shouldn't be allowed to own firearms of any kind or even be allowed to observe on a public range. TXAG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 The stooges have never seen someone actually go prone before. For the stunned looks on their faces, I might as well be a pacific islander cannibal in a grass skirt with a bone through my nose. You mean you're NOT? Man, another certainty in the universe founders.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Eric, You should submit this to Dillon as an article for The Blue Press. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 There are several fascinating threads on this forum that would be either frankly informative or freakily funny if printed in The Blue Press..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Yeah...I ***DOUBLE DOG DARE*** Dillon to print the TP thread, in it's entirety, as an article in Blue Press. But seriously...I think EricW shows the makings of a shooter's version of Pat McManus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 hmph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 This very reason is why i practice IPSC alone, at night, when nobody is even at the range. My favorite form of range stooge is the one that presents himself/herself as a concealed handgun instructor. I just got finished doing a 10 yard bill drill in 2.25 seconds, no points down, the unwitty CHL instructor was convinced that i was merely point shooting and at 30 feet, it was normal for any shooter to sling 6 shots into an IPSC A zone with a stock glock 9mm....OK i had enough of his BS and moved to a different range, but i was not safe. His students proceeded to ask me all sorts of questions(mainly about IPSC versus IDPA) then after i was done answering them, one of them spouts off that he wouldnt shoot IPSC because it wasnt as challenging as IDPA...... another one i love to hear. Im shooting my glock, doing one of many drills in practice, shooting fool come up and wonders what im shooting, fair enough....Glock 34, 9mm. Now the question, what do i think is the best production gun(not IPSC, just in general) i say probably Glock 17 or 22, but before i can even finish the sentence, he spouts out that H&K are the best...WTF?? Why ask someone their opinion, if you think you know whats best?? I dont think anything i said could have pleased this idiot. All and all there are times when i would go out to the range and shoot, spend 4 hours out there, and only shoot for 30 minutes or so...the rest of the time im waiting on people to go out and look at a 25 yard target when they are "sighting in" their bersa 380... I have heard folks trash talk glocks for better than a hour at a local steel match, but i step up to the line and clean a 11 yard plate rack in a touch under 3 seconds, for those guys i kindly say, "Yeah, glocks are such pieces of SH!T" some folks need to stay home, others need to change their outlook on how good they are....still more need to be quiet and watch. "its better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalmas Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 The one thing that pisses me off is the lack of respect for weapons and other peoples property. I do a lot of instructions for events (bachelor parties, company outings etc) and I usually have my bag tricks with me because people have seen movies but never held a real gun in their own hands. I have now stoped letting other people handle my guns due to the lack of respect. It hapened more often than not when I sent my revolver around the room that some smart ass would click away at the trigger as fast as he could, and looked surprised when I asked him to stop. I take that A-hole back to earth by asking if I can see his/hers car and tell them that the first thing I'll do when I get behind the wheel is th jerk the shift-lever as fast I can between gears without pressing the clutch.. Some poeple deserve to be made a fool out of in front of others. That's my version of range stooges.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zak Smith Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 asking if I can see his/hers car and tell them that the first thing I'll do when I get behind the wheel is th jerk the shift-lever as fast I can between gears without pressing the clutch Hey, that's how I drive!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalmas Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Hey, that's how I drive!! Battling all those Rams fans I'm not surprised. // dalmas Buff alumni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 My favorite form of range stooge is the one that presents himself/herself as a concealed handgun instructor.I just got finished doing a 10 yard bill drill in 2.25 seconds, no points down, the unwitty CHL instructor was convinced that i was merely point shooting and at 30 feet, it was normal for any shooter to sling 6 shots into an IPSC A zone with a stock glock 9mm. I've said this before on these boards, several years ago, but it's appropriate to repeat here; it's something Master class shooter Tim Bacus said to me once: There seems to be a certain sort of shooter who has an unwillingness, or maybe it's an inability, to understand that good shooters shoot differently than he does. When Mr. Mediocrity tries to shoot fast (which, in the overall scheme of things, isn't very) he carefully aligns the sights on target, then starts whacking on the trigger. At which point, everything in front of his eyes kind of dissolves into this blur of terror, he can't see the sights, the gun's doing a hula dance in recoil, and if he hits anything at all it's by accident. And he assumes that's how IPSC Masters and Grand Masters do it, as well. Only, see, because them there IPSC shooters practice so much, they can whack on the trigger faster, right. And the bullets just sort of magically flinch themselves into the center of the target. Because no one can see the sights when they're shooting that fast. Well-known fact: human eyesight doesn't work that fast. And if you tell him that the reason you can still hit what you're aiming at when firing fast is that you see the sights and you aim the gun for every shot, he simply refuses to believe you. He honest to God believes you're lying to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGator Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 I was at a stage game commision range the other week practicing for an upcoming action pistol match. When I pulled into the range I saw the parking lot was jam packed. I was about to leave but I realized that everyone was in the clubhouse for a hunter safety course. (hunter safety can be an oxymoron in itself, depending on how the course is taught, but i digress) There are other people shooting .22s so I know the range is open. I go to the fartherest pit away from the clubhouse, which is over 400 yards away and I figure no one will bother me. It is getting closer to dusk and I just want to make sure the gun runs and groups at 25 yards. After a short amount of practice I notice "elmer fudd" is watching me. I make eye contact and he assumes this is an invite for conversation. It turns out he brought someone to the hunter safety course but he got bored and wanted to see what I was doing. Of course he doesn't have eyes or ears with him. I wanted to keep practicing but he wouldn't stop talking or leave. I started picking brass and he starts helping. At my home club or at a match I would have appreciated it, but not here, not now. He was picking up everything!!! I told him I was only shooting the .45 brass with a black line across the back. He continued to dump wolf and blazer cases of various calibers into my bag. I was super pissed and went home to sort out the mess. This wasnt the first experience at this range. Before I was practicing classic El Presidente's only to have half the game commision officers park their trucks and watch me for half an hour. I guess they figured I was either totally nuts or not a threat since they didn't get out to talk to me. I find having a timer and pasting targets makes you look much more professional. Hell, actually having targets sets you far and above most others who come to the range and shoot whatever junk is laying around or just bump fire into the backstop. Anywho, over the few years I've been shooting I've learned to always have a loaded spare mag on me and be able to top off the gun whenever neccessary. Oh, that and to frequently look behind you to see who is watching you or messing with your stuff, or handling a loaded gun or being a range stooge. Be safe out there, life is a hot 360 range. -LG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargenv Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 Ok, all this talk about range stooges got me thinking of the one I was dealing with. Nice guy and all, but he just didn't know when to quit. I had been back onto IPSC for about 6 months at the time. I was at the range shooting my limited Para and maybe a revolver and a Sig. At the time I was shooting a modified Weaver stance that I'd shot for years, this was before switching over to an Isos hold. So here I am, shooting just fine, I think I was at the 15 yard line and putting them all where they should be going. Mr Range stooge comes up to me and starts telling me that my grip is all wrong and that the gun is going to start jamming, et al and puking on me if I continue to do that. I simply tell him "I've always shot this way, my very good friend pointed out this stance to me and I'd used it for years for high recoiling revolvers and now with major loaded ammo in my 40 Para". So he goes, yeah but is your friend an nra instructor? I told him no, but I am... He walked away after that, never offered another piece of unwanted advice again. Said person was barely a C limited class shooter. I had already surpassed him in our local classification array. Some people..... Vince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 So he goes, yeah but is your friend an nra instructor? There are certain disciplines in which one can earn an instructor rating only after demonstrating great experience and expertise in the field; underdoing an extensive instructor training program; and teaching with or under the supervision of an experienced instructor before you get your credentials from a recognized national organization to go out an teach on your own. Skydiving; Scuba diving; and Aircraft piloting are examples of this. "NRA Instructor" rating is does not share these characteristics. Even if the training counselor is doing his job properly, there is no test for "expertise" beyond the basics; no observation and evaluation of instruction skills where the applicant is actually teaching a class; and the entire "NRA instructor course" can be completed in a few days. Some NRA instructors are excellent, however, the more you know about the prgram the less inclined you will be jump to the conclusion that every NRA instructor is an "expert." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 Anywho, over the few years I've been shooting I've learned to always have a loaded spare mag on me and be able to top off the gun whenever neccessary. Oh, that and to frequently look behind you to see who is watching you or messing with your stuff, or handling a loaded gun or being a range stooge.Be safe out there, life is a hot 360 range. That's good thinking. When I'm on the range by myself, I always, always, always have at least one loaded gun on my person at all times. Electronic hearing protection pays for itself when you're on the range by yourself and you're able to hear someone approach from behind the very first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinab Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 Take your worst range stooge stories and multiply the annoyance factor by five and now you know what it's like to be a woman shooting at the public range. If you are moderately decent looking and have all your teeth, expect to hear a string of lame pick up lines too. The only thing worse than listening to Larry go on about his super commie blammunition is to hear him ask you to dinner....Once you turn him down, you can't focus on practice 'cause you never know if the stooge is going to take it personal and go Bundy on ya'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 Al Bundy or Ted Bundy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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