It seems every time I go there I manage to run into some real winners. And every time I swear I won't go back, but the convenience seems to win out every time (it's less than a mile from my parents' house...I grew up shooting there when there was nothing more than a picnic table for a bench).
It seems that every time I'm there somebody goes downrange without even checking to make sure the range is safe. I don't know whether they assume my flintlock is not loaded or that I will see them. Or maybe they think it's not a real gun? I just don't get it.
This morning was no different. I had been there about an hour and a half when 2 cars pulled in. Three adults and a teenager got out and one of the adults immediately headed downrange without even acknowledging that I was there. Fortunately, I was finishing up and just running a couple of patches down the bore. However, my son was at the bench right alongside me with his .22 rifle. He was just about to insert a loaded magazine when he saw the guy walking downrange. My son put his gun down and stepped away from the bench.
I noticed that the guy downrange was placing 2 spinner-type targets on top of the 25-yard berm. I politely pointed out to the others in the group that those targets are only supposed to be placed at the BASE of the 25-yard berm. They called out to the guy downrange to put the targets at the base of the berm. Since it was POURING, he couldn't hear them, so he came back to the bench. I pointed out that spinner targets need to be placed only at the base of the 25-yard berm to help prevent ricochets. I went on to explain that bullets can be heard whistling over the office, and are often found on the shore of the reservoir. He started giving me a hard time saying that the back berm is high enough to catch any ricochets. Rather than get into an argument, I pointed him to the LARGE sign with the rules for target placement. As I was loading up, I noticed that he had placed one of the targets at the base of the 25-yard berm, but the other was halfway between the 25- and 50-yard berms on the hard-packed shale.
I thought about making a call to the CO, but I really didn't want to be a prick. However, I wish people would learn that the rules are in place for a reason. The last thing I want is for someone to get hurt because somebody else wasn't following the rules. And I'd sure hate to be the guy out fishing who happens to catch one of those ricochets.
It seems that every time I'm there somebody goes downrange without even checking to make sure the range is safe. I don't know whether they assume my flintlock is not loaded or that I will see them. Or maybe they think it's not a real gun? I just don't get it.
This morning was no different. I had been there about an hour and a half when 2 cars pulled in. Three adults and a teenager got out and one of the adults immediately headed downrange without even acknowledging that I was there. Fortunately, I was finishing up and just running a couple of patches down the bore. However, my son was at the bench right alongside me with his .22 rifle. He was just about to insert a loaded magazine when he saw the guy walking downrange. My son put his gun down and stepped away from the bench.
I noticed that the guy downrange was placing 2 spinner-type targets on top of the 25-yard berm. I politely pointed out to the others in the group that those targets are only supposed to be placed at the BASE of the 25-yard berm. They called out to the guy downrange to put the targets at the base of the berm. Since it was POURING, he couldn't hear them, so he came back to the bench. I pointed out that spinner targets need to be placed only at the base of the 25-yard berm to help prevent ricochets. I went on to explain that bullets can be heard whistling over the office, and are often found on the shore of the reservoir. He started giving me a hard time saying that the back berm is high enough to catch any ricochets. Rather than get into an argument, I pointed him to the LARGE sign with the rules for target placement. As I was loading up, I noticed that he had placed one of the targets at the base of the 25-yard berm, but the other was halfway between the 25- and 50-yard berms on the hard-packed shale.
I thought about making a call to the CO, but I really didn't want to be a prick. However, I wish people would learn that the rules are in place for a reason. The last thing I want is for someone to get hurt because somebody else wasn't following the rules. And I'd sure hate to be the guy out fishing who happens to catch one of those ricochets.
