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Based on past holiday seasons, my son and I wondered how busy the range would be yesterday as we headed out for a day of shooting (and a beautiful day it was) to exercise our new goodies just like we were thinking a lot of others would be doing as well.
We weren't disappointed. The range was packed (a great thing to see) and not just with the same faces. Quite a few families (husband/wife/kids) filling lanes as well as more females than we're used to seeing (another great thing to see) which is very encouraging to see compared to what we would normally see at the range. Our wait ended up to be just over an hour to get a lane.
While we were waiting we walked the range to see what people had brought out, easily picking out the new holiday gifts as many brought the cardboard shipping boxes as telltale signs. There were clearly the new shooters, another great thing to see to grow the sport - but also the yellow flag as they are just learning and with so many things to focus on, safety seems to less than the top of the list.
So with new shooters around, our guard was up noticeably more and you could see the same caution/concern from the range officers. The ROs were trying to balance a good first outing with safety without turning someone new off to the sport.
We had a great day. Weather, although a bit cool/breezy, was for the most part beautiful. We enjoyed a full afternoon of shooting and had a great time. Towards the late afternoon when lanes were thinning out, a new group started setting up next to us. They did their thing and we did ours (didn't look like they were new shooters). As we were packing things up, one of the guys next to us brought out a DAO derringer that I hadn't seen at the range before, so it caught my eye. As we were moving things from our bench I was watching him get ready to shoot (wanted to see the kick it had) and he had it open (didn't see the size of the 2 rounds) and then snapped it shut and tried firing. Nothing. He probably pulled the trigger 5 or 6 times in rapid succession and still nothing. So as he begins to turn, I knew what was next. His entire body turns left, with his right hand (gun hand) doing the same thing and says to his group "it's not shooting" as the derringer is pointing now down the lane in our direction (and the other lanes shooting).
I blurted out "hey hey, don't point that at us"...not to be an a**hole, but not to be an accidental statistic either. The look on his face told me he didn't realize what he was doing (too caught up in the moment of his gun not functioning over thinking about safety). He sat down with other member of his group and I could tell he was less than thrilled about being corrected (again, didn't look like a new shooter and probably in his mid/late 40s) based on how he was talking to his group and looking over at us. But, we're here to tell about it and that's what counts.
I'm always amazed at what some people will do when things don't function as they should. For some, safety goes immediately out the window and that was on our minds to a higher degree yesterday due to the newer shooters. Turns out we get swept by maybe not a new shooter, but clearly someone who really didn't know what they were doing and got lost in the moment. One of the reasons we don't like the indoor, "all about the money, we'll rent to anyone" ranges. Know your surroundings and keep safe.
We weren't disappointed. The range was packed (a great thing to see) and not just with the same faces. Quite a few families (husband/wife/kids) filling lanes as well as more females than we're used to seeing (another great thing to see) which is very encouraging to see compared to what we would normally see at the range. Our wait ended up to be just over an hour to get a lane.
While we were waiting we walked the range to see what people had brought out, easily picking out the new holiday gifts as many brought the cardboard shipping boxes as telltale signs. There were clearly the new shooters, another great thing to see to grow the sport - but also the yellow flag as they are just learning and with so many things to focus on, safety seems to less than the top of the list.
So with new shooters around, our guard was up noticeably more and you could see the same caution/concern from the range officers. The ROs were trying to balance a good first outing with safety without turning someone new off to the sport.
We had a great day. Weather, although a bit cool/breezy, was for the most part beautiful. We enjoyed a full afternoon of shooting and had a great time. Towards the late afternoon when lanes were thinning out, a new group started setting up next to us. They did their thing and we did ours (didn't look like they were new shooters). As we were packing things up, one of the guys next to us brought out a DAO derringer that I hadn't seen at the range before, so it caught my eye. As we were moving things from our bench I was watching him get ready to shoot (wanted to see the kick it had) and he had it open (didn't see the size of the 2 rounds) and then snapped it shut and tried firing. Nothing. He probably pulled the trigger 5 or 6 times in rapid succession and still nothing. So as he begins to turn, I knew what was next. His entire body turns left, with his right hand (gun hand) doing the same thing and says to his group "it's not shooting" as the derringer is pointing now down the lane in our direction (and the other lanes shooting).
I blurted out "hey hey, don't point that at us"...not to be an a**hole, but not to be an accidental statistic either. The look on his face told me he didn't realize what he was doing (too caught up in the moment of his gun not functioning over thinking about safety). He sat down with other member of his group and I could tell he was less than thrilled about being corrected (again, didn't look like a new shooter and probably in his mid/late 40s) based on how he was talking to his group and looking over at us. But, we're here to tell about it and that's what counts.
I'm always amazed at what some people will do when things don't function as they should. For some, safety goes immediately out the window and that was on our minds to a higher degree yesterday due to the newer shooters. Turns out we get swept by maybe not a new shooter, but clearly someone who really didn't know what they were doing and got lost in the moment. One of the reasons we don't like the indoor, "all about the money, we'll rent to anyone" ranges. Know your surroundings and keep safe.
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