Scary experience at gun shop

[CaptBuzz]

I was in the last lane with a buddy, he was up at the line (very narrow room). The guy next to use had a trainer with him yet still managed to be holding a locked and loaded pistol at his side nonchalantly with one finger on the trigger and his thumb supporting the back which kicked the nose out towards my thighs/knees/private region. I had nowhere to go so I stepped up to him sideways and tapped him gently and told him to get his pistol off of me. He looked down and said oh, sorry... his coach ripped him for a few minutes. His trainer kept having to remind him by yelling "FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER" so we packed up early along with a couple other people in the room.
It took me about an hour for the severity of the situation to really sink in... on the drive home we were kind of joking about almost getting my &$*# blown off. Now I'm worried that a shooting coach would allow anyone to insert a mag into a pistol AND drop the slide behind the line while not paying enough attention to where/how he's holding it to boot.

[hellraiser]

Bet you a dollar you were at Target Masters in Milpitas

Easy money.


I hate what that place has become. They seem to cater to the "date crowd" and Friday night warriors who rent guns .

[RandyD]

The 2 ranges in the SF south bay that rent guns will not rent to people who don't have someone with them for this reason.

Of course that's not going to help a pair of people who make a suicide pact but it will stop the solo "I'm going to rent a gun and shoot myself" folks.

Still, I don't know why people who don't own guns would opt for that method, I guess they don't realize so much could go wrong.

If suicide was a legal option it would help with some of this, no one should have to walk into a room and see someone with their brains blown out, or swinging from a light fixture, dead in a car from CO poisoning, at the bottom of a pool chained to some weights or drug overdosing, or a splat stain under a bridge, etc...

Your comment is interesting. It points out how a person can circumvent the 10 day wait to acquire a firearm and commit suicide.

[calif 15-22]

I will not go back to indoor ranges after shooting outdoors. While at Metcalf I feel much safer with the live fire sessions followed by cease fires and stepping back from the firing bench. Sure it's a bit of a pain but what is unnerving at the indoor ranges is everyone is always firing. There is no downtime so you need to be ultra aware all the time. That and the rental factor has me shooting elsewhere

[RandyD]

a pellet ricochet and got him in the shin he was able to pick it off his skin, he was bleeding but not to bad. two days later he realized he had 3 more pellets inside him one in the thigh and two on the side of his knee we used a dissecto knife to get them out. LESSON LEARNED we no longer drink while we shoot.

Did your parents have any children that lived?

[wash]

It's the wannabe gang bangers that ruin Targetmasters.

The real thugs go shooting in Richmond (not rod and gun club, the city).

What you get at targetmasters are guys who just stole their first gun or want to show off on date night.

When I went there the guys in the next lane kept shooting a cruiser even though the range attendants told them they were in the wrong lane for shotgun.

I couldn't believe how inaccurate they could be at 5 yards with the handguns they shot also. I'm an OK shot, nothing too special but I've never shot anywhere near as bad, not even when I try off hand shooting.

The range is just far too big for the staff watching it and most of the shooters have very little experience.

Reeds seems to attract a better crowd and it's smaller which let's their staff control things better.

The San Jose municipal range by Logitec Ice is probably the best, very friendly and the tactical shoots combine good training with reasonable pricing and some fun competition. It might not be up to the standards of a Magpul course but the price doesn't compare either.

I won't say I'll never go back to Targetmasters but I'm never going to think to myself "I should go to Targetmasters today".

[aGunForEachHand]

It is for this reason that I do not shoot at ranges that "rent" firearms.

[Merc1138]

It's the wannabe gang bangers that ruin Targetmasters.

Nope. They're part of the problem, but not the only problem.

90 minutes from "I'll take it" to walking out the door with a receipt for a purchase of a firearm is insane, that's thanks to the owner. 45 minutes for pick up is even more ridiculous, again due to the owner.

The idiot employees who pay zero attention to anyone on the range.

The horrible ventilation in the shooting bays(Makes Reed's seem like a cleanroom).

The idiot employee that when I asked if I could dryfire a gun told me to aim at a pillar that someone was standing on the opposite side of(I declined his preference of "safe direction" and chose the floor towards the wall).

The employees who spread FUD like it's about to go out of style.

The EBR fear(the owner again).

The 30 minutes to get the attention of an employee because the owner is having a meeting in their little corral(the area surrounded by all of the gun display cases) complaining about being recognized in a tv commercial.

The horrible selection and pricing of accessories(although a few months ago they started stocking a bunch of holsters and stuff, I guess the owner finally realized how close he is to the police station?).

I could keep going on and on about the various reasons that targetmasters is a horrible range/shop, but I think most of us already know it.

[alfred1222]

I was just thinking the exact same thing!

ME TWO!!!

That was easy money . . .

I was at Target Masters DROSing (is that a word?) my XD9 which if you've been there know it's a good hour. All paper based system and their computer is a 20 year old IBM machine running DOS.

Anyway . . . There is a guy and gal in the range taking pics. The gal was a hottie dressed in a very short dress, 6" heels and hair and makeup the whole package. She was holding what appreard to be some brand of 1911 with both hands and the barrel pointed toward her mouth in a very suggestive pose. Who knows if it was loaded, but was really stupid.

I would pay twice as much to shoot at range that does not rent guns. I mean we have to at least pass a HSC AND a hands on check to buy one, but to rent one all you need is cash and off you go.

I also wonder how many guns have "walked away" from there, as it's a very busy place and it would be easy to walk out with one.

I will never shoot there or Jackson Arms in South City for the same reason.

I dont think people can walk away with guns because they take your car keys or something important as collateral. along with your license. but with that said, as a rule, i dont go shooting at targetmasters, and i generally dont go to anywhere that rents guns to randoms off the street. there are so many people who dont understand the basics of firearm safety, and im not willing to sacrifice my health and well being by going to an unsafe range.

i went shooting in the desert with brother and two friends. i had just watched a new show called duck dynasty so while shooting and after a few beer i realized i had my golf set in my trunk, so we tried the shooting the golf ball out of the air with a shotgun and sure enough its harder then it looks. my brother had a 12 gauge mossberg and walks up to one of the ball that was laying on the floor and shoots it, he then picks it up and the bird shot did not penetrate the ball, my bother got mad so he gets supper close and shoots it almost by his foot, a pellet ricochet and got him in the shin he was able to pick it off his skin, he was bleeding but not to bad. two days later he realized he had 3 more pellets inside him one in the thigh and two on the side of his knee we used a dissecto knife to get them out. LESSON LEARNED we no longer drink while we shoot.

Alcohol and guns should never mix, regardless of where you are shooting. I dont mean to call you out, but you should shoot first and drink after.

[wash]

Well I guess I have more tolerance of bad gun stores because if it wasn't for their range I would be more likely to shop there than Sportsman Supply.

I'm more worried about getting shot than waiting a long time to fill out a DROS.

Some people worry about people shooting and drinking at the same time. I would feel far more comfortable shooting with my friends even if they are totally wasted than shooting with the idiots that show up at Targetmasters.

But in my opinion, I would rather have five bad gun stores in town instead of no gun stores at all and I'll support bad shops just to have them there.

What I won't do is intentionally patronize a place that I feel is unsafe.

[lilro]

you need better situational awareness. If you are in an area you expect loaded firearms, dont expect others know how to handle them safely, this goes for all ranges. remember that ultimately you alone are responsible for your safety. In that situation I would have a few words for the dry fire lady

This. If I see someone in a shop even handling a firearm I do a quick glance every few seconds for about a minute or so until I can determine they might be safe. Especially if I'm within earshot of "can I see that one".

[johnny1290]

I went to a range off the 91? freeway in orange county a couple three years ago and they helped me out since I knew zero about guns. Totally cool about it.

Some other guys came in that brought their own guns and violated range policy, bam! they were all over them. It was nice to see they kept the lanes safe.

Aside from slight annoyance at amateur night when six guys split a lane and get rowdy, I haven't seen anything too crazy.

I haven't been to the LAX range in a long time, but it was too freewheeling for me. I've never been back.

[taloft]

I was standing in the back office of a LGS, talking to the manager, when what sounded like a .22 shot rang out. Sphincters suddenly slammed shut, and employee hands started moving towards holsters. After a pregnant pause the manager and I walk out of the back office to where we can see the whole sales counter.

There stood some idiot looking shame faced and holding a high end air rifle. He had dry-fired the rifle into a ceiling tile, damaging it. The manager politely took the rifle back from the guy and escorted him to the door. I was astonished that it was an air rifle. I would have sworn it was a .22lr by the sound it made.

[mbaerg]

I was standing in the back office of a LGS, talking to the manager, when what sounded like a .22 shot rang out. Sphincters suddenly slammed shut, and employee hands started moving towards holsters. After a pregnant pause the manager and I walk out of the back office to where we can see the whole sales counter.

There stood some idiot looking shame faced and holding a high end air rifle. He had dry-fired the rifle into a ceiling tile, damaging it. The manager politely took the rifle back from the guy and escorted him to the door. I was astonished that it was an air rifle. I would have sworn it was a .22lr by the sound it made.

Holy smokes.. 1 of the few stories I've heard where the gun actually was fired. Scary how careless some people are.

-Matt

[checkenbach]

I was doing a transfer in a P. H. fun store and two guys came in from the local range(they had been doing a range test of an AR one of them had for sale) the guy liked it, so the deal was on.
I was filling out my paperwork when the guys took the rifle out of its case(I always pay attention when someone removes a weapon from a case in a gun store), and the counterman asked to examine the rifle and found a
LIVE ROUND chambered in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luckily it was pointed safely away from me and my party. The rifle owner was VERY embarrassed, as he WAS a local in the store. The counterman removed the round and went on with the transfer. I finished my transfer and got the hell out of there.