range report - kingsbury

[hd96heritage]

So today my girl and i go out to Kingsbury IN DNR range for me to test some loads. it's raining real bad when we get there which sucked, but i just wanted to do my tests real quick and get out of there. I ask the range officer (just to make sure) that it would be alright if i shot 2 rounds of 223 @ 25 yards in the pistol range to verify stability. He said no, it's not allowed. ok, that's fine. grabbed a cart to get my gear from the car and it, as well as others, was kinda falling apart.

we set up in the pistol range first to test my pistol rounds. that went ok. had one fail. the target stand i was using was starting to fall apart. shot my 9mm, took my notes and went to 50 yard line. there i began to notice that he is calling the cease fire very soon. i'm trying to test my loads and can only do 1 test during the active fire time. i'm getting frustrated because this is taking much longer than i planned on being there.

i did have some good news tho when i was there. my second 223 loads did very well suppressed and unsuppressed.

this is a 10 shot group with 1 flyer (probably bad trigger pull) 1st 5 shots were taken without the suppressor. the next 5 shots i used the suppressor. the POI did not change. i need to test this at 100 yards now to see if the POI is still this close.

i get just about done with my testing as my girlfriend is done shooting and packed up. i have only 13 rounds left of each of the two loads i'm working with. i tell her to grab my binoculars to watch the target as i shoot. would you believe that the range officer came up to her and told her that she had to be wearing her eye protection even when using the binoculars and standing beside me??? yeah, he did!

me: are you serious??

dnr: yes:

me: this is the last time i'm coming here. (to my gf) f*** this place.

so i slammed my 1st mag in my rifle and started pulling the trigger as fast as i acquired the target. all in all i shot 36 rounds rather quickly as i didnt care what dnr would say or even ban me at that point. i was really hoping he would have said something but he didn't. maybe he could tell i was a little irritated with him.

(here is my rapid target acquisition firing target. you can plainly see how unsafe and not in control i was. 36 shots.)

in conclusion i'm proud of myself for my loads since i'm still very new to reloading. i will make more of these 223s soon and do more testing on them. as for kingsbury i am done with them. this is not the first time i've had a bad experience with them, not the second either. i'm very done. it's also annoying to be using a target stand that is falling apart or their cart with the wood breaking down the middle (of the carts avail this one was in the best shape). the ONLY reason i went there was to use the pistol area but it's not worth it. i'll test my pistol loads in blythes or figure out something else.

 

[Ericpwp]

I don't mind Kingsbury so much. How many people were there? I don't like it when it is super crowded. Usually if you are there alone, they let you call the cease fire. I watched a guy and his young kid show up on a very crowded weekend, he put his stuff on the table and proceeds to go uprange with everyone firing around him. You should have heard the RO go off on that one.

You do have to time the cease-fires when testing loads.

 

[hd96heritage]

well for something like that i can totally agree with the RO going off, that's totally ignorant, but generally they are just way too strict. having to wear glasses with binoculars?? there were 5 other people there so not crowded at all. my gf even thought the active fires were too short and she wasn't doing any testing, just pulling the trigger. IDK. i'm just done with them

 

[Ericpwp]

That's cool. What RO was it? I've been frustrated there, but never POed. It seems a bit overbearing of him. Maybe he's AR prejudice.

 

[nettinyahoo]

For what it's worth I don't like to rush myself when testing loads, what fun is that? As anoying waiting for ceasefires at kingsbury can be at least it is only 4 bucks and no one-hour time limit.

 

[1DOWN4UP]

Years back,that prixk would not let my wife enter w/o a gun permit. I'm 4 miles from it,and i will never go back.

 

[1DOWN4UP]

Pulaski newton is primitive,but COOL.

 

[hd96heritage]

Older guy with a cane. Last year I was there and he was very friendly and wanted to talk like he was lonely. Today was a little too much. First time I had issues with him. I don't get it. I'm never rude or disrespectful to the range, rules or RO. now I just don't care. Seriously, the binoculars.

 

[CTS]

It sounds like you need to find a private range. It's his job to enforce the DNR rules, if you don't care for them don't go there. I used to work at a place off of Hupp Rd some Saturdays a few years back and would always stop in and pop off a few rounds. Never had an issue.

 

[Ericpwp]

I don't recognize the cane part. There was an RO a few years back that snuck up behind an OCer and unholstered him. That led to some internet ranting, and I believe, some real life discipline by the DNR.

 

[CTS]

I don't recognize the cane part. There was an RO a few years back that snuck up behind an OCer and unholstered him. That led to some internet ranting, and I believe, some real life discipline by the DNR.

Really? You're definitely not supposed to have holstered firearms there, but that seems like a pretty bad way to handle it.

 

[Ericpwp]

Yes, the story is somewhere in the INGO archive.

 

[Ericpwp]

Found it!
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...interesting-encounter-dnr-shooting-range.html

 

[T4rdV4rk]

Obviously you have to wear safety glasses at all times while you're at a public range.

 

[rosejm]

Obviously you have to wear safety glasses at all times while you're at a public range.

Yup. Eyes and ears inside the fence. There's a huge sign at the gate.

I'll mirror what others have said. Really laid back when it's not super busy.
Generally I find there's about 15 minutes of shooting between cease-fires, and they'll last about 5 minutes while people reset targets.

You may have happened on a day when the RO's buddy was there and said buddy wanted to change out targets more quickly than that.

They won't let you shoot rifles on the pistol range, pistols on the rifle ranges or any kind of shot shell outside the trap stations.
Jasper-Pulaski is probably a better choice for all of that activity, though it's not covered and there may not be an 'active' RO on scene. It's also free, just sign-in at the check-in station down the road.

Winamac is a MUCH nicer facility, also free (sign-in) and not as actively controlled. It is a little bit further than either Kingsbury or JP.

 

[ChalupaCabras]

For what its worth:

* I haven't seen that RO back since I posted that story, nor have I had any problems from any of the other ROs

* I keep my carry weapon concealed now, when I visit the range.

* I still shoot there occasionally, and I feel safe doing do.

 

[CTS]

For what its worth:

* I haven't seen that RO back since I posted that story, nor have I had any problems from any of the other ROs

* I keep my carry weapon concealed now, when I visit the range.

* I still shoot there occasionally, and I feel safe doing do.

Wow, crazy story. I almost never go to DNR ranges anymore, but I carry concealed when I do regardless of policy. You never know who's there and what they might decide to do.

 

[LPPOsecurity]

I like going out there, but not a fan of shooting there anymore since I joined a private range, just too many rules

 

[fjw2]

Eye and ear protection is required for anyone on the range. I went there yesterday to zero my red dot. Used my binoculars with my glasses on. Not a problem. There are not many rules there. They provide for a structured , safe environment to shoot. I know the RO you are talking about. He is personable. If you are more concerned about yourself than the range and the people there, there probably will be issues to resolve or deal with.

 

[Ericpwp]

I was there today!