Plate Carrier at the Range

[Baer1911]

I wear IIIa Point blank every time when I am at range/blm/shoot/train/class/unsafe area.
1) You spent $$$ for an armor and put it in a closet?
2) You are at the place with loaded guns handled by God knows who.
3) Shooting with vest on is totally different than shooting without. I am not saying you should train with it every time but at least put on your gears and try it.
4) Its your safety, regardless what others might think. Its your life not theirs. they can laugh all they want!! None of them will take a bullet for you, but your armor will.

Maybe a IIIa soft armor!

[CMBrowning]

Yes it would be ridiculous. My friends and I would make fun of you mall ninja.

If you get hit my a ND at the range odds are it won't be center mass on your back or chest. You'll probably get hit in the side.

Talk to your RSO, if your range doesn't require casing and uncasing at the firing line they should. It will cut down on this problem.

Is rather have some sort of armor when at a firing line with 20 or so people shooting in the same direction. I don't know how many times I have been swept by a barrel at ranges/ classes.
Heck, even Manteca sportsman has a crowds with little attention to safe gun handling...

Manteca; where the men are men and the women are too.

[stix213]

If you're going to do that I'd go with a concealable option rather than go full on mall ninja.

[Red-Osier]

Did I say it wouldn't be life threatening? Any gunshot wound is life threatening in terms of shock/infection, or hitting an artery etc.

It's just that a plate carrier likely wouldn't do him any good. When was the last time someone was hit center mass of the chest or back from a ND at the range?

If you don't feel safe on a public range talk to the RSO to correct the violation, if they don't work with you find somewhere else to shoot. I don't shoot at Barnwood in Ripon anymore for this reason.

Good to know that I'm not the only one who feels Barnwood is not GTG.

[Black Majik]

If I saw anyone at the range wearing a plate carrier I would have to resist the urge to do John Woo rolls in front of them.

[GraveTPO]

Ridiculous. Besides, it's a shooting range. Being "swept" and taking a bullet from someone who doesn't know what they are doing is all part of the "range experience". Much like being pelted by brass from a thoughtless shooter.

Grow a pair and shrug it off.

[omgwtfbbq]

If you're looking at armor just for protection while at a range casually shooting, then you might be better served with a concealable soft-armor carrier worn under your outer layer of clothing.

If what you are wanting to do is get a carrier to train with and/or take classes in, then by all means, jock the F up.

At the end of the day, if it's cool with you, do it.

[Awesomesauce]

Do what you feel comfortable with doing.
Indoors... Meh.
If you are on a square range outdoors or on BLM then it makes sense, especially if others are shooting nearby (not on the same range) and you cant confirm their line of fire.
If you are doing more "dynamic" shooting, then hell yes.

[ChuckDizzle]

Is rather have some sort of armor when at a firing line with 20 or so people shooting in the same direction. I don't know how many times I have been swept by a barrel at ranges/ classes.
Heck, even Manteca sportsman has a crowds with little attention to safe gun handling...

Manteca; where the men are men and the women are too.

Lol, your description of Manteca kills me. And yeah MSI is pretty bad when it gets crowded. I'm usually taking the time to go to Linden if it is a weekend, or TRAP for indoors.

[ChuckDizzle]

Good to know that I'm not the only one who feels Barnwood is not GTG.

Asside from getting flagged consistently on every visit I once had a ricochet draw blood on the guy in the next stall. They first said it was from brass, then one came right back at my head. When I told them what was up they said they forgot to clean the traps out after the weekend and it happens sometimes...no thanks.

[Red-Osier]

Asside from getting flagged consistently on every visit I once had a ricochet draw blood on the guy in the next stall. They first said it was from brass, then one came right back at my head. When I told them what was up they said they forgot to clean the traps out after the weekend and it happens sometimes...no thanks.

Yep, It's been awhile since I've been there. I shoot on private land or BLM now. I found that it is way more fun to shoot without having to be always on gaurd constantly.

[pting]

In 25+ years of skiing I've yet to suffer a traumatic brain injury. I know how I ski, I know my range of experience, I know the risks I take and I pay attention to what I'm doing.

You may be in full control but not everyone is, just like the OP at the range. Just because you ride responsibly doesn't prevent someone from running you over. It's happened to me several times, usually by drunk riders going way too fast on beginner slopes. I wouldn't compare it to tripping on the sidewalk. If I walked at 30 mph I'd probably wear a helmet too. It's not that difficult break 50 mph on a snowboard, and it's even easier on skis (a buddy was a cop and would bring his radar gun, and one of the guys broke out his ski racer gear and was breaking 75mph, this was when we were all instructors and could get on the mountain before it opened to the public).

Arguments about injuries aside, helmets are just way more comfortable than the typical hat. When I started wearing a helmet, it was relatively rare and I looked like a goofball, but it's no fun hiking uphill in waist deep powder to retrieve a hat that got hooked by a branch.

I also like riding when it's storming so a helmet is warmer and dryer than hats/hoods.

My wife was fervently against helmets until our kids started skiing and she didn't want to set a bad example. When she finally got one she realized what a pain the hat, ear warmers, glasses, etc were while still not being warm enough. She then had to keep track of all of it during breaks or on the lift while I could hook everything together and not have to worry about it.

Nowadays it's relatively rare to see anyone without a helmet even when it's not proscribed by law. Imagine that.

[NapalmCheese]

If I walked at 30 mph I'd probably wear a helmet too.

Here is the problem with that line of thinking. As a skiier, a motorcycle rider, a climber, a mountain biker, a road biker, a dirt biker and so many other things I've got lots of helmets and have looked into how to keep myself from receiving traumatic head injuries.

The studies I've seen pretty well equate traumatic head injury with the vertical distance your head travels, not the speed at which you impact. In short, the vector component that is crucial is the normal (technically nadir) vector, the speed at which you impact has very little to do with head trauma.

Ultimately the amount of trauma you're likely to see from a head impact because you suddenly fell over while walking on the sidewalk and didn't stick your hands out is the same as the amount of trauma you would get while putting your bike down at 50 mph. What it comes down to is just because your'e going 50 mph, your head still only falls 6 feet.

It is because of the above that I keep equating riding, skiing, whatevering with walking down the street. Suddenly falling while walking is effectively the same as falling while skiing so far as your head is concerned; and no matter what, if you head falls from 6 feet up completely unchecked and unshielded, brain damage will occur.

[spfabrication]

Here is the problem with that line of thinking. As a skiier, a motorcycle rider, a climber, a mountain biker, a road biker, a dirt biker and so many other things I've got lots of helmets and have looked into how to keep myself from receiving traumatic head injuries.

The studies I've seen pretty well equate traumatic head injury with the vertical distance your head travels, not the speed at which you impact. In short, the vector component that is crucial is the normal (technically nadir) vector, the speed at which you impact has very little to do with head trauma.

Ultimately the amount of trauma you're likely to see from a head impact because you suddenly fell over while walking on the sidewalk and didn't stick your hands out is the same as the amount of trauma you would get while putting your bike down at 50 mph. What it comes down to is just because your'e going 50 mph, your head still only falls 6 feet.

It is because of the above that I keep equating riding, skiing, whatevering with walking down the street. Suddenly falling while walking is effectively the same as falling while skiing so far as your head is concerned; and no matter what, if you head falls from 6 feet up completely unchecked and unshielded, brain damage will occur.

Crashing a motorcycle @50 is nothing at all like falling down on the sidewalk.

[MontClaire]

I suppose you can wear your plates but you'd get tired fast. Besides the ND can land in a head shot so you'd just die tired.
I suppose you can find a ballistic helmet as well and wear it too so if it's happening please take a selfie and post it here. I gotta see this.