do you ever give unsolicited advise at the range?

[Inkman]

Curious how many of you, when shooting at the range, offer unsolicited advice to other shooters?

Let me preface this by saying that i am in no form or way an accomplished shooter. I struggle with bad form everytime i go out. If it's not trigger pull, it's breathing or stance or something else. It can be very frustrating sometimes, but when a bud or two reminds me of one thing or another and i can correct it, it greatly enhances the enjoyment of a day at the range. The more i go, the easier it is, like they say "practice, practice and when you're done, practice some more. Problem is when i don't go for a few weeks, i seem to forget all the little things and need to start anew. The one thing that helps is having somebody give me a few pointers that i forgot about.

So............when you see a person or people doing all the wrong things at the range, do the majority of you simply walk up and offer some tips? Or do you shake your head and go back to your own shooting thinking "Some people just shouldn't own a gun!"?

FWIW, those unsolicited tips broke the ice for me the first time and made the range a much more enjoyable place to go shooting.

Al

[TonyM]

If they are being safe I leave them alone, I don't want to seem like some know-it-all A-Hole.

I've met so many self proclaimed "marksmen" at indoor ranges that have a hard time hitting a target 15 feet out. About 10 years ago, I had gotten into a conversation with one of these types, then every time I go back to that range, there they are and I'm in for another 20 minutes of B.S. So much so that I quit going to Target Masters all together, I was there to shoot, not B.S. with an armchair sniper..

I'm all for talking with people at the range though, but usually keep my opinions to myself, unless the conversation develops into a Q&A session.

[50ae]

Ditto the above. Unless they are being dangerous the only talking I do is BS'ing with people and swaping guns so I can shoot something new.

[delloro]

I will for safety reasons, and if I see something that looks illegal and it looks like the person would care, I will politely, quietly explain what it is I am thinking and let them go from there. if they tell me I am wrong I will tell them that's fine, and I might be wrong, we have to look out for each other, and have a nice day.

I have never had a person react poorly; I just treat others the way I would want to be treated.

I will strike up conversations, to give compliments or ask questions sometimes, but not to give advice.

[Colonel Klink]

It pains me to see someone working hard at missing. Last trip to the range I had two people I was helping. One, Matt, came with my weekly shooting buddy and the other I had never seen before. Matt was a good shot so I didn't offer to help him. The other guy is an Oakland Housing Dept cop. He had holes all over the paper. I also don't want to appear an a-hole so I never walk up to people and assume they want help. With this guy I asked him which sight he was focusing on. He said the rear one. I explained he should focus on the front sight. He did and improved dramatically.

He was shooting a G17. I asked if he would like to shoot my G26 and he said "Sure!", so I let him try it. He shot that better as well.

Matt was shooting so well that I decided I wasn't about to tell him anything even though I saw him push the gun down when a round didn't fire. Peter, my shooting partner, told Matt I am a NRA Certified Instructor and asked if he wanted help. Matt said yes so I explained that it looked like he was anticipation recoil and thus forcing the gun as he pulled the trigger. The cure was to pull the trigger so slowly that you don't know when it will fire. If you don't know when it will fire you can't anticipate the shot and force the gun. He also improved his shot pattern and said he ejoyed shooting more.

I am very carefull when considering helping anyone. If, when I speak to them, I get any hint they would rather be left alone than I leave them alone. I suppose it doesn't hurt that I am a good shot and others can see my ability before I approach them.

Back when I went shooting once or twice a year, it always took me half a box of ammo before I concentrated on the front sight. Shooting once a week has made a world of difference in my ability. I also have Peter to tell me things I might forget and not see myself.

[50BMGBOB]

I shoot at an out door range and if some one is breaking a rule I will say something. If you are polite and tell them "the range rules say to do it this way" or "If the range master see's that he will yell at you" then most don't get upset. Usally they are beginers that don't know better. The other day I had one decide that sence I was on the other end of the line that they could just go set up their targets while I was shooting! Even the range master was shocked and they did get a lecture from him. As far as someones shooting, If they are have mechanical troubles and I know the gun, I my ask about how they like it. If they have questions they will ask if not as long as it is safe yet it be. I usally bring several guns with me so I get a lot of interest from beginners anyways. The only exception is if I see a kid with a parent. I like to see the kids shoot and will usally loan the a 22 so the kid can shoot too. When I do, I'll stop shooting until I'm sure the kid and his/her parent are safe and comfortable with it and stay close in case they have any problems. I know my guns are safe and sighted in and any kid that has fun may grow up to be an shooter or at least not antigun!

[gose]

If I see someone having problems with their gun I usually ask them if they would like a helping hand, when it comes to giving advice it was a bit the other way around for me. My face and name is pretty well-known in the city where I used to live, so people would come up to me when I was practicing, asking for help and advice.
I usually didnt mind, but once I had a guy (whom I first thought was a RO) walk up to me on the line just when I was in the middle of shooting in the Swedish PPC Championship asking me about techniques, handloadning and crap. I kindly asked the ROs to remove him from the range
If someone asks me for help I'm more than willing to give them any help I can, but I'm not running around helping random people with their trigger technique.

[Brass Balls]

I've asked people that are struggling if they'd like a couple of pointers. The answer has always been yes, come to think of it. I guess when they see that I'm shooting faster and grouping better they figure I must know something. Now don't get me wrong I don't think I'm an expert and I don't go around butting in on everybody's range time. I'm not going to offer to assist someone that's already competent, but if people are all over the place at 5-7 yards they typically appreciate the help.

It's also very rewarding to me to give a couple of pointers and see substantial improvement. Once I helped two nice ladies who later thanked me and said they just bought that pistol because there have been a couple of break ins near their home. Another older gentleman of 70+ told me afterwards that just bought his handgun because someone had broken into his home and beat him severely the previous month.

Both true stories, scout's honor.

I've also found that if folks can improve to the point that they can generally hit what they are aiming at then shooting becomes much more enjoyable and they are likely to shoot more often and also have some confidence in defending their home. The opposite is true as well. If you really suck at something most people don't find it rewarding to continue it.

[Gnote]

If I see someone I think is doing something incorrect or unsafe, I usually nudge my boyfriend. He takes a looks and usually waits for a line break to talk with the person. He is always nice and offers the person a chance to shoot what we brought too to smooth things. If the person is with a friend, then he talks nicely to the friend right away. I haven't seen one person get mad at him yet.

He also pays attention to his surroundings more than me. A couple of times, he would let someone shoot what I had or what he had. When I used to ask him, he said he noticed the person constantly eyeing our toys so wanted to give them a chance to shoot. He would put just one round in the mag first and if the person was good about it then he would let them shoot a magazine (or two or three).

Me personally, I'm a little more reserve.

[saki302]

I've offered to take a look at a few malfunctioning firearms at the range, and have fixed more than one.

Most of the ranges here are pretty strict about safety, so I haven't had many problems.
I stopped going to L.A. gun club mainly because of piss-poor weapin handling by foreign tourists (YAY, let's sweep the WHOLE F'in range with the weapon today), and the high level of range-Nazi'ism towards vet shooters 2 years ago.

I've been known to swap pistols with a few nice guys and let them take a test run.

-Dave

[anotherted]

I usually tell the gangsta types not to sweep others on the line with their AK's, and that every target on the range is not theirs.

It never does any good.

[bu-bye]

I never help others unless they ask for it. Every so often someone next to me will ask a question. My fav one was a guy who asked why their gun shoot so badly and mine shoots fine LOL . It was a glock rental so I say "I'm not sure but I'll take a look if you'd like." I shoot a few shots with their gun into a small group and said "well, it looks fine. Let me see you shoot it." thats when the 1 hour leason began. By the end he had a nice 3 inch group and both he and I were happy. I love helping shooter if they are willing to learn. I have tried to help others who did not ask but get the "piss-off, I know what I'm doing" look so I stopped. The more bad shooters out there, the better I look

[Inkman]

Boy what a circle of answers here. Reason i asked was that today when i was finishing up, there were a couple of fellows near the end of the range just spraying the hell out of the targets. Not just low/left, that was me with the .45, but i mean all over the target!! I'm saying that it looked like rain drops on a windshield. I thought about saying something, but figured best not to, since i was having enough trouble hitting the black myself with the .45. The .9mm was a piece of cake after shooting the .45, but the .45 was giving me fits. Plus it was my first time with it. I almost went over and said something about taking their time and concentrating, but i was tired and just wanted to get going. Maybe next time when i see that i'll strike up a conversation like others and if the opportunity arises, offer some tips. I just hate seeing people spray a target, get frustrated and leave within 30 minutes, when just 1 or 2 tips could help them have as much fun with the sport as we all do.

Al

[bwiese]

Like I try to here, I help debug ARs and courteously but firmly point out any AW legal issues I encounter (like the guy 2 mos ago at Los Altos Rod & Gun with a Beretta Storm carbine - he was just on vacation and had no idea of our laws).

[NwG]

I ask for help much more then I give it... You can always learn something new. If I do see someone who looks like they need a hand I will usually just start out with some friendly gun talk.. BS about this and that until they are comfortable and then maybe drop some hint.. I have found that the younger crowd (like myself) don't like it when it looks like somebody has to "teach" them how to shoot.. If it just looks like two guys shootin the chit it is no problem...