Indoor Gun Range Rant
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MacEntyre
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All of my Smiths have been "glassed" by a retired W-S police armorer... he even "glassed" my Ruger Redhawk 45 Colt.
DrScaryGuy
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That's the problem. a lot of indoor ranges are trying to attract shooters with groupon 2 for 1 and pistol rental deal and what not.
Be a regular, go when it's not busy, talk to the staff before you go in, and you might be surprised what rules they let you ignore.
Yet another reminder why I avoid indoor ranges. Can't move, can't draw, can't train. What good is slow fire at a target 5 yards away in a bay where you're cramped up against other randos?
While I don't have property to shoot on, there are three unstaffed public ranges within reasonable driving distance of me, and I count myself lucky for that.
While I don't have property to shoot on, there are three unstaffed public ranges within reasonable driving distance of me, and I count myself lucky for that.
I understand your frustration. As a RO, instructor and subsequently manager of a public indoor range, this is the number 1 infraction we watch. Lighting shot up, holes in the ceiling and loaded guns pointed at us give us pause. Yes, it is annoying to experienced shooters but there are far more newbies to contend with.
Become a "regular" and let the staff get to know you. When they learn that you are safe, they will leave you alone.
Become a "regular" and let the staff get to know you. When they learn that you are safe, they will leave you alone.
You are not going to believe this. I went to TSA this morning like I said, and I had a great time. Wondered why I stopped going. Met some nice people. I’ve had a Beretta 92FS Inox for years but never shot it until today. Man, that thing is sweet, looks cool and shoots straight. Of course, it helps that it’s as big as Dirty Harry’s gun and weighs as much as a cinder block.
Anyway, I go into Carolina Ale House afterwards and sat down at the bar. Started having a good conversation with a guy from Boston who moved here about 12 years ago. Just pleasant chit-chat, where we work, etc. Out of the blue, he said something about TSA being right around the corner. I lit up and said, “hey, I just left there!”. The next thing he said was “nobody needs an AK-47”. I told him that many people have only heard one side of the argument, many farmers (we had been talking about all the hogs where I’m from) have them for varmints, etc.
They had just put his meal in front of him. All of a sudden he jumped up and started yelling at me. “Hell, yea, I’m a Democrat” and some more stuff where the F-word was prominent and loud enough to be heard all over the restaurant. I calmly said, “hey, buddy, I’ll just move down here to the other end of the bar”. That wasn’t enough. He got up, told the bartender to box his stuff up because he couldn’t eat there, I ruined his f***ing lunch. Paid his bill and stormed out.
Bartender apologized and cut my bill in half. I finished my meal, gave that guy a few more minutes in case he was outside waiting for me and left.
I have never had an experience like that before in my life.
OP
That’s unfortunate. I think you approached it in the best way possible. You won’t change someone’s opinion on guns with one conversation, and they’ll likely get nasty with you. I’m only saying this because I used to be anti 2A. When I purchased my first handgun, my family, who still is anti 2A, tried to call the police and ask if there was something they can do to take it away. It was that serious for them. That was 4 years ago and I still get heated up thinking about it.
I still have a few friends like that. First time I mentioned it they looked at me like I needed a psych evaluation, asking if I was crazy? To avoid ruining the friendships I just knew from that moment forward, never to mention it again. If they’re that passionate about it, we can stop being friends. Fortunately for me, they’ve yet to bring it up and bust my chops over it.
I was pretty much 2A neutral to positive and several years ago, my wife’s uncle came for a visit and brought his .45. We went to an indoor range, calibers in GSO, and I had a great time and signed up for their carry permit class. That weekend, I took my wife who did the same. Oh, the look on her face the first time the gun fired was like WOW, then the smile and then the, “That’s cool”.
When my mother found out I had a gun (on me, they were at my house) she asked how much it cost. I said ~$400 and got, “what? You spent $400 f-bombing dollars on an f-bombing gun?”
Months later my dad had a run in with some “youths” when he was attending to the house of my mothers recently deceased brother that scared him. After that, they became gun owners and are now pro 2A.
Been pro gun and pro America my whole life. Been shooting since I was 5 and saved up and bought my very first firearm at 14. It's a winchester model 1300 pump 12ga that I still have and love. I saved up the money my aunt physically bought it. Then got the couple my ww2 veteran great grandpa left me in his will. My opinion is to be truly pro America you have to be pro 2A. Even if someone don't like guns there selfs the rights that built this country should be respected by all who loves this country.
The silhouette man in the the CFF logo at top-left above was also from Massachusetts.
Makes you wonder what happened to those folk, to forget the role they played.
It's sad, isn't it?
The incivility of the intolerant has reached mind-numbing levels, and, I see it manifest only from one side of the political divide.
They don't even hide it.
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DrScaryGuy
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being able to shoot was my #1 thing on a list of places we looked at down here. when we first looked at the place, the neighbor across the street came over to introduce himself, talked abut how people shoot a lot in the area, and said if i wanted to shoot, just aim into those woods over there because it's undeveloped and nobody ever goes back there.
then ammo prices shot up. sigh
When I shot the possum that was killing my chickens, I did so just outside of the town limits (Goldston). Nobody cared, nobody called the cops. When I mentioned it to the neighbor several weeks later she said, “good”. Implied, of course, was just don’t be stupid and shoot at our house or anything.
Out at my parents property, we have ~60 acres including a zone with no buildings, downward slope, and about 1 mile of woods before hitting the road. We can shoot freely if we want. Again, nobody cares.
However, my wife did have an occasion where some one nearby was shooting and she said she kept hearing something hitting near our trailer and that made her very nervous, but thankfully nothing seems to have been hit. No idea what they were targeting. Another time we had folks that went at it for upwards of six hours, to where it got excessive and was even pissing off our dogs and cats. This area is NOT a range, but rural and people are OK with shooting as long as you’re not an ass about it (couple of examples of someone being an ass). Being an ass is how you wind up with legislative restrictions.
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You can take the Ahole out of Boston but he's still an Ahole. Glad the people around there in the 1770's were not like him.
Been there twice this week, about 2 miles from my home, yes if you take some of their classes and or they check you out to verify you are safe and proficient, you can draw from holster. I did have one of the older RO's come up and grab my KelTec P50, 'you can't shoot that pistol without sights'!
I said let me put it on safe, then let him take it, showed him the sights were part of the pic rail. He felt bad, I told him I appreciated him looking out for me, he can't know all guns that folks use. I recall an article in G&A, you cover the front sight with tape and shoot.
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