Are you getting complacent? Two of us were

[Drail]

One day at the range after teaching an NRA class I turned from the line to see a guy walking towards me stuffing rounds into a Ruger SA and muzzling everybody on the range AND in the parking lot. As he approached me with his gun pointing at me he snapped the loading gate shut and the gun fired a round right between my feet. And this guy was a County Sheriff's Deputy. He just laughed. 3 or 4 times a years their entire department would use our range for qualification and those guys were the scariest people I have ever seen on a range. No muzzle discipline at all. After that as soon as they all pulled in I would pack and leave. Keep your eyes peeled around people you don't know well. Especially if they're "highly trained professionals".

 

[wtburnette]

The only problem I have is when an event like this causes a range to implement a blanket rule to stop it, instead of just banning the idiots causing the problem. A range I belong to but won't mention did just that and has gone a long way to ruining the reason you have shooting bays. There are already rules in place to keep the muzzle downrange. Making even harsher rules instead of doing something about violators of the existing rule seems kinda silly to me.

This is why I wear a vest at Point Plank range. Any moron off the street can pay $3, watch a video for 4 minutes, and get turned loose on the range with a rental gun. I have had more than a few verbal 'issues' with idiots that swept me.

PB, at least the Greenwood location, has gotten much better at catching the idiots. They can't catch everyone, because they only have one RO wandering back and forth on the line, but they're catching a lot of them. Since they implemented the rule that guns had to be in cases/range bags unless in the stall, it has eliminated a lot of the people going back and forth from the back tables with guns in their hands.

 

[NHT3]

These experiences are the "tip of the iceberg". Until you have spent hours on a public range as RSO you can't imagine how inept 90% of the shooters are. I've been threatening to chronicle my experiences for everyone's amusement. Many of the issues are safety but the most amusing are just lack of knowledge. On Tuesday I found a guy wrestling with a revolver and just checked to make sure he wasn't doing something unsafe. He was struggling to get an empty out so instructed him on how the ejector rod worked. He had no idea what that "little rod" was for.. Like I said, tip of the iceberg. Don't assume anyone you see at a range has what you would consider the most basic knowledge about a firearm.
[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member / [/FONT]Basic Pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] / RSO[/FONT][FONT=&amp]

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard" [/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Unnamed Navy Seal[/FONT][FONT=&amp]
“Ego is the reason many men do not shoot competition. They don't want to suck in public”

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Aron Bright[/FONT]

 

[KellyinAvon]

These experiences are the "tip of the iceberg". Until you have spent hours on a public range as RSO you can't imagine how inept 90% of the shooters are. I've been threatening to chronicle my experiences for everyone's amusement. Many of the issues are safety but the most amusing are just lack of knowledge. On Tuesday I found a guy wrestling with a revolver and just checked to make sure he wasn't doing something unsafe. He was struggling to get an empty out so instructed him on how the ejector rod worked. He had no idea what that "little rod" was for.. Like I said, tip of the iceberg. Don't assume anyone you see at a range has what you would consider the most basic knowledge about a firearm.
[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member / [/FONT]Basic Pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] / RSO[/FONT][FONT=&amp]

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard" [/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Unnamed Navy Seal[/FONT][FONT=&amp]
“Ego is the reason many men do not shoot competition. They don't want to suck in public”

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Aron Bright[/FONT]

Sam Colt called. He said, "That little rod has been there since 1873!"

To recap this thread, keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and having knowledge of your weapon and it's condition/status will eliminate most safety problems.

 

[churchmouse]

Is there a disconnect between counter staff and customer with all this on line sales.
I see the guys in the LGS I go to explaining any and every function of the gun if they do not think the customer already knows. Ar least they understand what the little rod is for.

 

[Leadeye]

The nicest thing about my new home range? Solitude. I'm usually the only one there.

A day doesn't go by that I don't give thanks for being able to shoot in my back yard.

 

[Drail]

Me too. I will never set foot on a public range again.

 

[GIJEW]

Being vigilant is well and good but safe gun handling needs to be made into a HABIT, precisely because it's when you're distracted, under stress, or just complacent, that you'll need those safety rules.

A class doesn't get that done, they just provide a template of what to practice

 

[LarryC]

SWFA's shop in Midlothian, Tx has a mason jar full of ammunition from "unloaded" trade in firearms. It was actually pretty impactful. I'm becoming more and more a fan of chamber flags. I try to buy one from every range and most of my firearms have them in them when stored or when traveling. It gives me a warm fuzzy at the range when I see someone else open a case to a firearm with a flag already installed.

I really like the chamber flags. When the range goes cold at the conservation club where I belong, everyone on the line is required to install the flags. The flags not only insure the bolt is open but also insure no cartridge is still in the chamber. I once saw my adult Nephew clear a 22 semi-auto in his parents house, point the gun toward the floor and fire it into the floor! He had a dumb look on his face!

Often I transport my guns to the range with the flags installed, otherwise I install them prior to removal from the vehicle.

There are times however that there is no way to inspect a rifle in a shop without pointing the muzzle in an unwanted direction. When I inspect a rifle prior to purchase, I want to inspect the chamber, bore, finish, stock etc.. My procedure is to verify the bolt is open and locked if possible, magazine if so equipped removed, and chamber is clear. Then I rotate the rifle as required to inspect all areas, I often carry a bore light for inspection.

I do "try" to not point the firearm toward any individual, but sometimes this is unavoidable. However if you visit any Gun shop, you will see many muzzles of firearms in the case pointed at you!

A few years ago I was entering a Pawn shop and was somewhat distressed to see a sign "No loaded firearms allowed". So I went in and asked the owner why the sign as I normally carried a loaded firearm. He stated he had Many people bring in firearms into the shop to pawn that were loaded. Several had been pointed at him. He then installed the sign though he said many did not abide by it and he still had a lot of problems. After a discussion and looking through his stock I purchased a rifle.

After we had talked for a while he told me I did not have to worry, that I could carry in the shop. We spent about an hour talking about his and my private collections, he did have some interesting firearms at home and one in the back room of the shop (not for sale).

 

[chemteach]

A day doesn't go by that I don't give thanks for being able to shoot in my back yard.

Amen to that

 

[rosejm]

To recap this thread, keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and treating every firearm as if it IS loaded will eliminate most safety problems.

Fixed that for ya!

 

[JettaKnight]

Fixed that for ya!

IBATM.