Scarry Situation At Local Indoor Shooting Range

[Jasonub]

true story here. guys rented some pistols and when it was time to replace the target/s(i think the range did not have the automatic button thus you have to manually put up the target/s or tape them downrange)

the guy who taped/replaced the target who was the guy in charge for that day got shot and killed. The bad guys stole what they could in the display and fled.

I think the cops captured the bad guys after a while

[DanM]

Looks like my revo ...

7-shot .357" Mag Taurus, with 2" barrel and 6 port holes: load it with 17.4grs of N110 under a soft point 125 grs (basically I fill the brass with a teaspoon and crimp ... )

I call it the "relocator" for a good reason ...

Sounds like I'm going shopping today Perfect!

[JFD]

Almost all ranges scare me.

I've had guns pointed at me so many times I can't begin to count. I've had to help stop a car a gunpoint to retrieve a fellow shooter's benchrest gun that was about to be stolen. I've had to pull my S&W 1006 to keep my own guns from being stolen. I've been in an indoor range where someone decided to rent a gun and kill themselves. Our local private club installed 2X6 baffles on the outdoor pistol range and they are full of bullet holes because members want to see if they can shoot through them. All shots would be over the berm.

The worse was when I was shooting at the club with a father/son combo a few spots down. Kid was maybe 9. I thought to myself "that's nice to see". Changed my mind later when I had 1.5 lbs pressure on the 2 lb trigger of my .38 Super and suddenly the kid's head appeared in my sights. He had shot a group or something and ran downrange to see it. After my heart settled down I remembered NOT hearing anything like a warning from his father. I have no idea why the kid ran in front of me when his target was in front of HIM, but he did. It took me forever to calm back down. His father had no idea what had happened since he wasn't paying attention. Took a lot of effort not to physically attack him.

Thank goodness for the private practice bays I have access to now.

[TonyT]

As a matter of policy I do not shoot at public ranges. There are enough "almost mishaps" at private club ranges>

[azjogol]

Sadly almost anywhere you go, you will run in to people that have no clue regarding basic gun safety.

I go out with friends all the time in to the open deserts out here for a day of shooting and teasing each other. The guys I go with are all former/active military, LE, etc. and much of the shooting we do is with NFA stuff. It seems all too often someone brings a friend that hasn't shot before but wants to come play with high end noise makers or some NFA. All I can say is there is nothing colder than the chill you get being muzzle swept by an MP-5, Glock 18, or M-16.

[Cole]

The public range where I shoot is usually filled with experienced and safe shooters. However, it's located in an industrial park, and some times in the early evenings they have groups of guys stop in from work . . . usually with little to no shooting experience. I usually step out for a coke on those days, and by the time I'm back the yahoos have usually hosed through their ammo.

[bjet]

Fortunately, the only little weirdnesses we've had at our indoor range here are a couple of negligent discharges either in the parking lot (blew a hole in his motorcycle gas tank during that one) and a couple of bangs inside the lounge area or nearby.

We did have a guy fumble with his .45ACP in putting it away one day and the bullet-proof glass between the range area and the shop/lounging area took a hit and proved its worth (spider-webbed all to hell but didn't break). That day, indeed, could've been the day a fatality could've occurred. It was sheer luck the gun was pointed more or less away from all the people surrounding it. He just didn't CLEAR his gun in the shooting booth and brought a live round back to his range bag with him. Bang.

There have been a couple of accidental shootings as well. Someone shot there thigh in the parking lot unloading and someone in the booth shot their hand doing a press check.

"No, really, I don't need to go to the hospital. Can't you just sew it up." He says to his Dr. buddy. "Uh, no" the buddy replies.

Both were police.

The booths have kevlar walls. I see evidence every once in a while that is a very good thing.

--bjet

[Paul B]

I don't go to indoor or outdoor public ranges anymore unless it is absolutely necessary. There are just too many citizens trying to give gun ownership a bad name by shooting themselves, or someone else.

Here is an actual statistic on rental gun suicides. There is one every 2 years for every indoor range in the country.

I used to be the match director at an indoor range but would not venture past the lexan till the range became private for the match.

Gun store employees have a description of what sometimes happens. They laugh among themselves and comment that the mothership must have just landed outside as some of the worst offenders seem to come in clumps.

[Matt Griffin]

Whew, those are some bad stories, and even worse statistics! We're very fortunate at our local indoor shoot, in that there are two bays at the range. One for the regular folks, and one for us IPSC folks. I used to shoot down at Knob Creek, and can fully understand why so many people (myself included) have stopped shooting with the public.

H.

[jrguar]

One from the cheap seats.... maybe 2.

I was shooting on a local outdoor/public range while the guys 2-3 lanes over were playing with their new black powder revolver... After the first 2- 3 shots went something like POP........2 second delay... DING.... one friend says to the other how much powder did you use....shooter responds I used X grains.... buddy suggests 3 X grains...hmmmmm... whats gonna happen next....

Don't know... packed up toys tols RO to stay safe and have a nice day...

Another time at the same range I had the place to myself ... RO looked a little beat ... I started shooting after a few mins, I was warming up a little and I sort of forgot about their rule about "No Rapid Fire" ie no faster then one shot per second......I was doing Bill Drills and dbl taps..& reloads..... when I took a break looked behind me and saw the RO was watching me.....at that point I realized he was going to talk to me about my Bill Drills ....all he did was smile and tell me to keep on doing what I was doing...I was the first person shooting that day who wasn't bouncing shots off the walls, the floor, the ceiling baffles or the sides of the shooting bays!!!!

I have since joined a private club where the only think I have to worry about is the local law enforcement types practicing their SWAT tactics across the road...

[Matt Griffin]

Yikes, don't people even try to follow recommendations? The good thing is that most blackpowder guns can handle any charge you throw in them, revolvers don't have enough room in the chambers to get you in trouble. Of course, there's always the genius who thinks "black podwer" means his Dad's old can of Unique.

H.

[justinwb]

Was the gun an HK USP? Perhaps the shooters had seen this HK catalog cover:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1082670/posts

also quoted in http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=193608

Hahahaha I saw that and thats great.

[half inch groups]

speaking of USP's, I just had a shoot out in my warehouse against a cholo with an xd at about 10 pm last night. I barricaded myself between boxes of nutrients, and some 55 gallon drums. no I didnt load the magazine backwards either like that ridiculous add. their was a table at the entry with a 1 gallon bottle full of bloom stimulant with a pink label on it. it was directly in the path of the entry of the building so after he shot wildly in the building once not knwing at all where I was, I shot the gallon bottle with a 185g 40. I repeated with 2 more shots towards the door. he returned 1 again having no idea where I was, or was a terrible shooter.. I sprayed this guy so bad he ran for it and took off. They put a gun to my customers head outside and then came in to rob my hydroponics store. if I didnt have my expert there, I may not be here today. get this. they steal my customers keys, but the vato I sprayed with bloom stimulants ran so fast he dropped his phone in the street. I got photographs of him and his girlfriend.. his dogs.. this is the third time in 2 months that i had to draw my weapon at work, and I have a pending firearm in vehicle charge thats being exponged. It's really scary, I really didnt hear his gun or mine very loud at all, and i was really calm and quick to act. my shots were dead on, and I kept myself hidden with an escape to a cinderblock wall backed by a fire door from the 1920's. If he wasnt wearing black in the dark outside of the building, and I could actually see him.. I hate to even think about it. I own guns because i like to shoot tight groups and shoot steel as fast as i can. I cant remember when I even shot a silhouette target of a human.. I think I'm going to take some tactical training. I am going to get me a crimson trace laser and and M6 mount for a surefire. Its the only gun i have with a rail on it and the adjustable sites work great for me. I want to shoot tactical with it at the SC w it and se how I do. crazy story huh?

[Bear23]

Uhhhhhh....

Maybe just a little off topic??

Edited October 17, 2006 by Bear23

[NoTenX]

HERE IS ONE ANSWER: If you rent a gun, you have to bring a friend to shoot in same lane. If you want to shoot alone it has to be with your own gun.The range liability insurance carriers will by default end up setting safety requirewments if a range wants coverage or by legislators as it has attempted here in CA. There are less people receiving instructions at camp, boy scouts, gir scouts there are now about 40,000 certified instructors and accidents are on the way down. The problem maybe the instruction received by hollywood by directors spike lee rather than john wayne or roy rogers. I think the attitude is the problem as is lack of knowledge.