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First, some semantics: It's a very important distinction whether he's a "range master" or "range officer." The former can get away with calling it "his range" while the latter has as many rules to follow as you do, maybe more.
I'm a RO at a local range. Let me say up front that I'm not going to take sides on this one because I wasn't there and I didn't see it happen with my own eyes. Instead I'll point out some of the factors that would be relevant at our range, with the caveat that some of them may differ at other ranges.
Rule #1 is very simple: He's the RO, which means that his word is law. That doesn't mean he's always right, but I'm sure you can see that if it wasn't, if people ignored him at will, then eventually anarchy would ensue and a dangerous situation would probably develop before the night ended. So if you really feel he's wrong, the best course of action is to shut up, pack up, and leave and return another day when someone else is on duty.
If the RO makes a major (as in potentially dangerous) or repeated lesser mistakes, then it's the range masters' job to get him off the line unless or until he can get some better training and learn to use better judgement. I can tell you from watching my counterparts that while they all seem competent, individuals are often better at some things and worse at others. That's why there are always at least two of us present, it tends to balance out and we can back each other up as needed.
Safety briefings are normal but if he was really taking 15 minutes per person then it's overkill. We can usually cover the basics in about a minute, more typically we hand the new person their very own copy of the rules and ask them to read them before shooting. More importantly, if he was the only RO on duty (which I'm assuming since if there was another you presumably would have asked for a second opinion), and if there were other shooters on the line, then that would mean he wasn't watching the other shooters which would be a very serious dereliction of duty.
He shouldn't be judging shooters unless they are a clear danger. His job is safety, not instruction. Occasionally one of us will take a few minutes to help a new shooter IF it's a slow night, one of us is still free to watch the line, and the shooter is open to advice and clearly accepts the offer of help.
If you feel strongly that the guy was out of line, and if he is a RO rather than a range master, then you might wish to find out who the range master is and ask to speak with them. I know we'd want to know if one of our guys was out of line. Of course we'd already know since one of our rules is that even those of us with keys are never, ever out there alone.
I should also note that at another range (in another county) I've seen a range master make careless mistakes that I can only attribute to being out there too many years and getting sloppy or complacent. In a case like that there may be no recourse other than finding another (safer) range. I've also seen RO's and RM's who were very capable but also very opinionated, they were safe but no fun to be around. Shooters are, after all, human.
I'm a RO at a local range. Let me say up front that I'm not going to take sides on this one because I wasn't there and I didn't see it happen with my own eyes. Instead I'll point out some of the factors that would be relevant at our range, with the caveat that some of them may differ at other ranges.
Rule #1 is very simple: He's the RO, which means that his word is law. That doesn't mean he's always right, but I'm sure you can see that if it wasn't, if people ignored him at will, then eventually anarchy would ensue and a dangerous situation would probably develop before the night ended. So if you really feel he's wrong, the best course of action is to shut up, pack up, and leave and return another day when someone else is on duty.
If the RO makes a major (as in potentially dangerous) or repeated lesser mistakes, then it's the range masters' job to get him off the line unless or until he can get some better training and learn to use better judgement. I can tell you from watching my counterparts that while they all seem competent, individuals are often better at some things and worse at others. That's why there are always at least two of us present, it tends to balance out and we can back each other up as needed.
Safety briefings are normal but if he was really taking 15 minutes per person then it's overkill. We can usually cover the basics in about a minute, more typically we hand the new person their very own copy of the rules and ask them to read them before shooting. More importantly, if he was the only RO on duty (which I'm assuming since if there was another you presumably would have asked for a second opinion), and if there were other shooters on the line, then that would mean he wasn't watching the other shooters which would be a very serious dereliction of duty.
He shouldn't be judging shooters unless they are a clear danger. His job is safety, not instruction. Occasionally one of us will take a few minutes to help a new shooter IF it's a slow night, one of us is still free to watch the line, and the shooter is open to advice and clearly accepts the offer of help.
If you feel strongly that the guy was out of line, and if he is a RO rather than a range master, then you might wish to find out who the range master is and ask to speak with them. I know we'd want to know if one of our guys was out of line. Of course we'd already know since one of our rules is that even those of us with keys are never, ever out there alone.
I should also note that at another range (in another county) I've seen a range master make careless mistakes that I can only attribute to being out there too many years and getting sloppy or complacent. In a case like that there may be no recourse other than finding another (safer) range. I've also seen RO's and RM's who were very capable but also very opinionated, they were safe but no fun to be around. Shooters are, after all, human.
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