Little Kids and Range Safety

[Chewy65]

Am I getting crochety? I was at a public indoor range shooting my 9mm at range that requires no shooting at targets closer than 7 yards. It has a white line painted for 7 yards. There is also a blue one marked 5 and a red one marked 3. The nearer than 7 lines are there for use during classes; not gerneral shooting. There were two men to my immediate left that may have been a 50+ year son with his 80ish Dad.

Their target was only 3 yards out These are paper hanging from cable. There were plenty of range officers that should have been observing. When I asked one they said they didn't see it. My concern was at such a short distant one of the men may shoot the steel hanger causing a ricochet to nail me.

At the same time there was a Japanese family on my immediate right. Father, Mother, and two small children. There is very little space behind he firing line and a wall. The two little boys were running about as little kids will. At times the eldest, aroung 10, would get right up behind my station and sometimes would grab the separating wall so that his hand was in my space. His father had him trying to shoot a rifle and to do so they both stool in their lane. I just felt the whole thing was creating an unsafe situation. The same range officer didn't see anyting and had no concerns. (Before they came on, another RO had to ask the Mother to wait for the inner door to close before exiting the outer door. She may not have had any English. I beive these were Japanese nationals here for a visit; not Japanese-Americans. The second time I asked the father to control his son, he told me that they weren't breaking any rules.

When I talked to the RO, she told me that you only had to be 4-1/2 to shoot the range and she didn't see anything improper with the family on my right.

So was I being a dick? I recently paid for an annual membership there and am wondering about a problem with safety.

[Russian Bot]

Kids running around in the range is bad, and parents too wrapped up in their activities to control them is worse. The ricochet thing may be a little overthinking, but if you don't feel safe let them know and leave. Oddly enough a lot of RSOs at public ranges seem more worried about "Assault features" and "High capacity magazines" than they are about safety.

[CBR_rider]

I can see if they are kind of running around haphazardly/could bump into people shooting/things of that sort that could be an issue. But the kids hand on the wall is a safety issue??

Shooting at 3 yards is unsafe “normally” but “safe” during a class? What kind of target hangers are these?

In reality, this all sounds like why I prefer to shoot outside and away from other people… both the unsafe ones and the grouchy ones

[M60A1Rise]

No you were not being a richardhead. Kids cause and are distractions throw in you're at a shooting range it's pretty obvious no matter what the rules are your children should be on a short leash. One adult should be supervising while the other shoots , no excuses. A kid playing tag or some other running game inside of a shooting range is just way stupid.

A good bump into you or others while firing or a slip beyond the table into live fire area ? It's just dumb by the parents.

[rodralig]

No you were not being a richardhead. Kids cause and are distractions throw in you're at a shooting range it's pretty obvious no matter what the rules are your children should be on a short leash. One adult should be supervising while the other shoots , no excuses. A kid playing tag or some other running game inside of a shooting range is just way stupid.

A good bump into you or others while firing or a slip beyond the table into live fire area ? It's just dumb by the parents.

So was I being a dick? I recently paid for an annual membership there and am wondering about a problem with safety.

Agreed. My home range has 12 as the minimum age... But then again, I can got membership to a private outside club, so, there is that...

If the parents had kids uncontrolled like that in a shooting range, my lines of escalation -

1. I'd notify the parents
2. I'd notify the RO
3. I'd leave the range
4. I'd leave a review on Yelp (it gets documented somewhere)
5. In your case, you can talk to range management to get a refund on you dues or not


_

[randomBytes]

So was I being a dick? I recently paid for an annual membership there and am wondering about a problem with safety.

Not at all. You can bet they'd be complaining if something bad happened to their kids. ROs sound lame.

I help run a pistol league - under 15, we require adult to be within arms reach at all times.

[IVC]

It's a tough call. You're not responsible for the rules or the enforcement of the rules at the range.

Close targets that are shot during a class (paper, not steel) are not any more of a safety hazard just because it's not the class. The range could've easily allowed closer targets during public sessions. And if you bring it to their attention and they choose not to enforce the rules, it's mostly a liability for them, not so much a safety concern for you. I understand that there are *some* safety concerns you might have, but overall it's less than worrying about, e.g., that someone will have an ND next to you and in your general directions, or that they'll shoot the ceiling right above their stall (look at the holes at any range for the proof of this).

As for the kids, it's the same thing. If they stay behind and don't encroach on your space, it's for parents and the range to decide what is and isn't appropriate. Having hand on the wall where fingers cross to your side is sort of nitpicking and the best you can do is to see what the range officials will say about it. If they don't see it as an issue, it's up to them. The same is with kids running around. The range should not allow it, but if they do, it's not your kids.

Overall this is the case of deciding on your own safety and limits, then leaving if it doesn't seem right or crosses your personal lines. And if you notify the officials at the range and they decide no policy is being violated, you don't have much of a choice - stay and accept the conditions, or leave because you won't accept the conditions.

[IVC]

1. I'd notify the parents
2. I'd notify the RO
3. I'd leave the range
4. I'd leave a review on Yelp (it gets documented somewhere)
5. In your case, you can talk to range management to get a refund on you dues or not

This about summarizes it. I might skip (4), but I see where having a record of conditions can be quite useful if something bad happens.

[Skip_Dog]

Nothing wrong with shooting a paper target at 3 yards.

Had to be there to see how the kids really were.
You may be a bit on the grouchy side. But if you ever feel unsafe, you should leave and let the RO's no why.

[CheapBloke]

I wouldn't care if kids at range, as long as they ain't crossing into line of fire.

It probably would help me stay more vigilant, alert, aware of my surroundings. Thus, training better for any or odd situations.

[L84CABO]

I've never been to an indoor range that had a 7 yard minimum. I've also seen a good number of hangers hit and never saw anything come back. The hangers are usually not ballistic steel so the bullets tend to go through it...although I'm sure anything is possible. But this one seems a bit excessive to me.

Kids running and squirreling around behind the firing line should not be allowed. We've all seen kids doing this kind of thing and they inadvertently run into things, people, knock stuff over, etc. The firing line and the area immediately behind it is not a playground. The range should have put a stop to this immediately.

[TrailerparkTrash]

This is why I hate private ranges. The only thing I love about California: the wide open and desolate Mojave desert (gun range).

[Barang]

i'd be annoyed too but if they're not bumping you or too close to you then i'll endure the distraction. they should have a rule that kids must stay in their parents lane/s when the range is hot.

[67Cuda]

Training with distractions. Should of taken full advantage.

[tabascoz28]

Talking to a dad and 2 pre-teens at an outdoor blm range, no RO. He said his kids were brought up with guns and know exactly what they're doing, safety and otherwise, very proud. As soon as he turned around to talk to another person in a different table the kids proceeded to pick up unloaded weapons and make pew pew sounds and point them at each other. Good thing I was leaving, it's why I show up first if I can. I've seen plenty of dads teaching their toddlers how to shoot but not controlling the muzzle at all times too. I'm seriously considering building a sitting position ar500 shield between me and others.

In CCW that was one of the courses of fire, 5 or 3 yards but at a full size target, you had to draw and shoot close to your body without aiming then continue shooting and extend and mag dump as fast as possible. Not sure if it was safe for everyone else but I did it right the first time. This was year 1, I think it's all different now in my county with kneeling and other stuff.