I was at the indoor range today and someone was shooting 308 next to me

[rugertoter]

One time, at an indoor range, some guy two lanes down was shooting a Desert Eagle in .50 AE....I was like damn! It was loud and concussive. I dealt with it.

 

[hopper68]

One time, at an indoor range, some guy two lanes down was shooting a Desert Eagle in .50 AE....I was like damn! It was loud and concussive. I dealt with it.

A guy shot a gun in .50 AE next to me at an outdoor range, I could feel it in the concrete pad we were standing on when he fired.

 

[frenchiectfd2203]

One day at Parabellum some dude in the first lane (against the wall) was shooting an AR-15 SBR with a muzzle brake. The fireball and concussion made me laugh like a little kid. I'm like "Hell yeah, baby! Let freedom ring!".

I sorta spit my beer out of my mouth there..

 

[frenchiectfd2203]

Is it not en vogue to acknowledge that shooting beside weapons with lots of concussion is uncomfortable and even *gasp* obnoxious?

Asking somebody to stop shooting because their bang stick is blasty would be a whiny snowflake response; continuing what you're doing and later getting on an internet forum and saying "that sucked" is perfectly fine. Guns are loud and we all know that; some guns are louder (others MUCH louder). Guns have muzzle blast and we all know that; some guns have more muzzle blast (others MUCH more).

I might have been sandwiched between two braked 338 Lapuas that sandblasted me with every shot, which did indeed suck, but each shooter was super cool and tried to minimize their impact on me (ie. if I was down on my rifle, they wouldn't touch one off).

Why did they do that? Because they KNEW their big-bore braked rifle sucked to shoot beside due to blast and were courteous to their fellow shooters. I appreciated that.

Calling a spade a spade isn't whining, its acknowledging the reality of a situation...

Well said sir... well said!!

 

[blue2golf]

Some of the annoyance level on indoor ranges depends on the size of the range. A range with only a half-dozen or less narrow lanes and a low ceiling doesn't allow the concussion from the higher powered long guns to dissipate. I didn't realize how contained this could be until a guy showed up in the lane next to me with some hot 5.56 loads in a Bushmaster. I could feel a concussion from every round he fired that I had never felt on countless military small arms ranges outdoors. It's understandable how the pressure wave can be disconcerting to some. I just made note of the phenomenon and went about obliterating the center of a quarter-size silhouette with a M1911 .45 ACP running full loads. I am mindful now when I fire 2-3/4 inch 12 gauge 1 oz slug rounds of the likely concussion it creates. If I can leave an open lane to buffer it between anyone else there and me, I will.

The Bushmaster was nowhere near the pressure wave concussions I had experienced during 21 years with Uncle Sam. When it shakes the ground and rattles the building, then I'll get concerned and might pack up to wait until another day. However, I don't believe there are any indoor ranges that allow M2 BMGs, recoilless rifles, 40mm grenade launchers or 8-inch howitzers. Asked if I could bring this in and the answer was, "Uhhhh, no, our backstop might not be able to handle it."

That's OK, it would have required taking out the range's back wall to get it in. Easy enough to do but I don't think they'd have cared for that much and the diesel fumes can be noxious.

John

Yup. M1A1 Abrams 120mm main gun blast felt like being inside a bass drum, and that was while standing behind the tank.

 

[Dean C.]

That's why I keep extra ear plugs in my range bag, if someone shows up with something loud and compensated I just step out put the plugs under my Sordins and go about my business .

That being said having been "that guy" a few times it is kinda fun touching off full house 357 mag in my little Airweight J-Frame at an indoor range. It always shocks people that a small gun like that can produce such a loud fireball.

 

[GIJEW]

One time, at an indoor range, some guy two lanes down was shooting a Desert Eagle in .50 AE....I was like damn! It was loud and concussive. I dealt with it.

.50 AE is impressive. I saw some one use at a bowling pin match once. Aside from the visible-at-noon fireball that reached the pins at 20', the blast was flattening the grass on the berm 50' away!

The only time the blast from small arms made a bigger impression on me was during some confusion in a night drill (overcast, no moon or stars visible) when the machine gunner set up 10' behind me with the MAG/M240. The pressure wave tipped my helmet down on the bridge of my nose.

 

[Beowulf]

Why would someone shoot a 30 caliber rifle at pistol distances? Kind of like delivering pizza in a semi truck.

Plenty of reasons. You could be making sure the scope you are sighting in is in correctable distance at longer ranges. If you sight in about an inch or so low at 25 or so yards, you should be close to right on at 100 yards (caliber depending of course).

Also, another reason people shoot .308 at an indoor range (and the main reason I do it) is to function check a gun. I live about 15 minutes from Point Blank in Carmel and about an hour and 20 minutes from the outdoor range I normally shoot at. I don't always have time to take an entire afternoon trip to just test something, but I can usually squeeze an hour range visit after work to check something.

I will say that you would have been a sad panda if you had been at Point Blank with me a couple weeks ago when I finally got my HK21 working. We put 3 50 round belts through it that day. Of course, everyone else there thought it was great and spent time taking pictures and video, so I guess you might be in the minority opinion on that.

Still, I do try to be cognizant of other shooters and I always ask to be positioned away from everyone else, if possible, and make sure that the RO knows what I'm going to be shooting, so they don't try to put someone who is handling a gun for the very first time right next to me, when I'm working on one of my machine guns. Whoever is teaching them has enough to worry about without a novice shooter getting rattled or distracted by full auto fire in the next stall over.

 

[Daggy]

This is why I wear earplugs under my earmuffs, I just never know when the guy in the next lane decides to break out his big boomstick.

 

[Leo]

I might have been sandwiched between two braked 338 Lapuas that sandblasted me with every shot, which did indeed suck, but each shooter was super cool and tried to minimize their impact on me (ie. if I was down on my rifle, they wouldn't touch one off).

I draw the line on letting people blow their tactikool muzzle brakes on me.

 

[frenchiectfd2203]

I had my wife lay prone on a 50 BMG before me knowing her reaction had I shot first... she went through another 6 rounds after... so I kept her!!

 

[oldpink]

I have two most intense shooting experiences with muzzle blast.
The first one was at Wilbur Wright when a guy there brought his S&W model 500 out to the handgun lanes.
I mean to tell you, each shot was like the apocalypse, and I had good Peltor muffs on at the time.
He even offered (and I accepted, of course!) to let me shoot a cylinder full of the Hornady softpoints that he was shooting, and it was surprisingly controllable, but the blast was right at the limit, significantly louder than even the .300 H&H and .220 Swift that were my previous record-holders for loudest guns.
The blast could be felt as much as heard, over 20 feet away.

The other was a whole different category, though.
I was a Gunner's Mate (Guns) whose NEC was for the 5"/54 caliber MK42 gun system, a system that I only once was outside of the gun house for during a firing exercise.
It was then that I found out what the Signalmen and the guys in the pilot house experienced whenever we did a gun shoot.
I was on the signal bridge at the time, with two or three midshipmen a short distance from me and I had a hunch that this would require both plugs and muffs.
The midshipmen were looking at me quizzically watching me first insert the plugs, then put on the muffs.
Well, they all only had plugs in at the time the first shot went out, but they were scrambling to grab muffs right after that, making me laugh a bit.
Where we were standing on the signal bridge was well over 100 feet from the gun, but each shot made my chest cavity feel as if it were a drum, a different experience from how it feels inside the gun house.
That was intense, with us lobbing 70 pound projectiles out as far as 15 miles, but just imagine the guys on the Iowa-class battleships, launching 1920-pounders or the 2700-pounders out 25 miles!

 

[two70]

I have two most intense shooting experiences with muzzle blast.
The first one was at Wilbur Wright when a guy there brought his S&W model 500 out to the handgun lanes.
I mean to tell you, each shot was like the apocalypse, and I had good Peltor muffs on at the time.
He even offered (and I accepted, of course!) to let me shoot a cylinder full of the Hornady softpoints that he was shooting, and it was surprisingly controllable, but the blast was right at the limit, significantly louder than even the .300 H&H and .220 Swift that were my previous record-holders for loudest guns.
The blast could be felt as much as heard, over 20 feet away.

Was it one of the short barreled .500s? A friend of mine has one with 8.5" barrel which I shot once. The muzzle blast wasn't quite as intense as you described but still pretty impressive. Recoil was surprisingly mild but it wasn't firing one of the heavy loads either. I imagine the fun would quickly disappear at an indoor range though.

 

[STEEL CORE]

Has happened to me before, back in the day serving my country, not as bad as my Dad a Korean war vet, he is almost totally deaf by 30.06.
When it happens to you I can only describe it as mega hurt like this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD2FG9-U-CA

 

[oldpink]

Was it one of the short barreled .500s? A friend of mine has one with 8.5" barrel which I shot once. The muzzle blast wasn't quite as intense as you described but still pretty impressive. Recoil was surprisingly mild but it wasn't firing one of the heavy loads either. I imagine the fun would quickly disappear at an indoor range though.

It was definitely the 8.5" version with the big muzzle brake.
It didn't hurt at all, but I'm well aware that the Hornady loads -- while very powerful -- were nowhere near the likes of what Garrett and Underwood load for the purpose of stopping dangerous game, especially Ursus arctos horribilis.
I honestly don't see how even double hearing protection would make it possible to shoot without jeopardizing ears at an indoor range, especially with the dragon-slayer loads.

 

[Dimitrivich]

One day at Parabellum some dude in the first lane (against the wall) was shooting an AR-15 SBR with a muzzle brake. The fireball and concussion made me laugh like a little kid. I'm like "Hell yeah, baby! Let freedom ring!".

This is hands down, the best thing I have read on a forum in years.
Let Freedom ring!

 

[JDG]

Time is precious and we shoot when we can. If you get the itch to fire the big guns in the middle of winter and your local neighborhood indoor range allows it. Good for you. We all know that guns are loud. The range is for practice. When it comes time for the real thing, whether it be for self-defense or hunting, the conditions are never perfect. There are always distractions. SO learning to focus on what you are doing and tuning out what is happening a few stalls down can make you a better shooter all around.

 

[Notalentbum]

Why would someone shoot a 30 caliber rifle at pistol distances? Kind of like delivering pizza in a semi truck.

I have function checked many rifles at indoor range. Usually 2 short mags worth. Indoor range is only 6-8 miles away. Suitable outdoor center fire rifle range is 45-50 miles away with limited hours. I usually ask for some lane separation from other shooters.

Matt

 

[88E30M50]

Why would someone shoot a 30 caliber rifle at pistol distances? Kind of like delivering pizza in a semi truck.

Last year, I went shooting with my nephew and he was shooting his AR-10 at 10 yards. I thought it was funny and gave him grief. He's a Green Beret that has done multiple tours in Afghanistan and has been awarded the Bronze Star with V device. His reply was simply that 10 yards is about the range he's most often had to use a .308 when deployed.

 

[Sling10mm]

I was shooting my suppressed subsonics in my 300 Blackout at Point Blank in Carmel. For some reason, I assume to make it easier for the RSO to keep an eye on everyone, the put two youngs guys in the lane next to me. They were shooting a Mosin-Nagant carbine. The concussion and fireball were impressive, especially compared to the Blackout.