One of the main goals of the gun range is to improve your skills. You want to get in there, fully being safe and responsible, to obtain your objective of practice, practice, practice with your firearm. Clearly following all the rules and regulations is not only important, but can prevent anything catastrophically horrible from happening. The gun range is not the place to be careless.
Unfortunately, there are some people that don’t always follow the best practices at the shooting range. Here are the five types of annoying people that you should avoid at all costs.
The Show-Off
This is the guy who shows up to the range decked out in the latest tactical gear. He’s head-to-toe dressed and has a badass pair of Oakleys on his face. He wants to desperately look like he’s ready to fight off an army of Terminator robots, even though he’s not. Coming to the shooting range on a weekly basis, you would think his skills would improve, but he’s more interested in the social aspect of coming there because he says hi to practically everyone at the place. When Mr. Show-off actually goes to shoot at the target, his groupings are way off the mark. Your ten-year-old son shoots way better than this yahoo.
The Borrower
One of the most annoying people at the shooting range is the Borrower. This is the fella who comes to the range and only shoots for a little bit with a limited amount of ammo. Then he’s trolling along the stalls to see if another guy will let him shoot his gun. He’s friendly enough, but will just go through your ammo in a snap, if you let him. And it’s not like he’ll shoot a couple of polite rounds — he’s going to empty that entire full magazine you just handed him like he owns it. Does he understand that bullets aren’t free? The Borrower is the ultimate cheapskate.
The Aspiring Influencer
More than likely this person is a millennial that just wants to be a star on social media, so the Aspiring Influencer is going to document every single thing he does at the shooting range for TikTok, his Insta, or a YouTube channel that he’s never going to create. Getting all the right selfies is his main goal and not learning how to become a better shooter. They just want to look cool holding the latest guns and gears to Snapchat all their buddies.
The Renter
This person doesn’t really know much about guns, but is just interested in the experience of going to the range. They might be a first-timer and will be a little nervous about actually shooting. The Renter thinks that the people there and everything going on at the range is interesting, so if they get your attention, they are going to pepper you with a bunch of questions. They don’t realize what a huge distraction they are. Fortunately, this is the only person on this list that can be redeemed with time. Many of us have been there.
The Safety Rule Breaker
The dumbest and most dangerous person at the range is the Safety Rule Breaker. If you see this guy steer clear because he’s the one with his hand on the weapon without any trigger discipline at all. Plus, he’s waving his gun around like it’s an extension of his hand, pointing it in all the wrong places. Report this loser immediately.
The safety rule breaker is the only one I have had the displeasure of encountering and it has been infrequently…but bad enough all the same. Just recently had one guy “teaching” his friend to shoot. I and another couple of guys were utilizing the same range and had to constantly remind them to call clear prior to walking down range to check their target. We tried to explain “Why” but it was an effort into futility.
Upon arriving at the gun range we were given a document to sign releasing the range of all liability however, I think the range should before allowing new entries to the range, they should have the ability to protect their earing before others continue to fire their weapons. Upon arriving at the shooting station, there were people shooting while we were entering and the noise was unbearably loud, and while there the continuing noise caused damage to y hearing, so bad that I lost the ability to hear music and to play music because of this and even with hearing aids which I had to buy to even have a conversation (at a great expense) Music which was a very large part of my life is gone forever unless someone invents a product to restore my hearing.,I will probably have to sell all my musical equipment! All ranges should be more protective of the people that use their facilities to prevent the loss of hearing !
Doh! Go to a SHOOTING RANGE, PUT ON YOUR HEARING PRO BEFORE YOU ENTER, remember, ONLY YOU CAN FIX YOUR OWN STUPID!
Being retired military I firmly believe the way they handle the firing range ( At least when I went through basic training) was likely the safest and tightly controlled I’ve ever seen. That doesn’t mean bad things can’t happen after all, people with guns in their hands are people and still susceptible to doing stupid things.
All firing ranges civilian or military have a monstrous responsibility in the safety of any and all users of their facility. Not a simple task to be sure. When those individuals above are identified they should be removed from the range area and firmly but politely informed their actions are endangering themselves and others and will not be tolerated. Other range users should adapt an awareness of these individuals and report them to range officials immediately remembering it is for every ones safety. On site classes should be made available and offered to these folks for a reasonable fee with the understanding these classes are required to reinstate access to the firing area. Repeat offenders should be permanently banned from the firing area, offered additional training for a reasonable fee and welcomed into the store area at any time during normal operating hours.
To Mr. Vincent Sabatino—-Very sorry for your hearing loss but it is important that individuals going to a firing range take some personal responsibility for protecting their hearing before entering the shooting area or any high noise area. Most places will have signs posted letting patrons know “Hearing Protection Required” Before Entering. The key word here sir is BEFORE. When signs are posted businesses are automatically relieved of responsibility and individuals automatically incur that responsibility. Look for the signs sir. I wish you well. Live long and prosper.