[EddieF]

I was going to post a range report, but basically I just was messing around today. Took my wife and she shot the GP100 for the first time. A couple cylinders and that was all she needed, but she hit the paper every time and I'm proud of her for not getting spooked by the recoil. The taret below is just me, mix of .38 and .357, some single action, some double. At this range you can't get your targets till the next cease fire, so that's why I don't have it broken down in any more detail.

BUT, I could not believe what I witnessed today. And my wife saw it too and, even as a beginner, was flabergasted. Woman to my left was shooting some kind of S&W .38, bobbed hammer, small frame. Definitely designed to carry. Which is shocking if she intends to do so, because she had a round not go off. She then proceded to look at the gun from the profile, meaning she's pointing the gun DIRECTLY TO HER LEFT, where there is a guy who I think was with her, but was not paying a lot of attention to her. He was busy wearing gloves and drawing and shooting entire magazines into life-sized Osama bin Laden full body targets. But while she called him over to help her figure out why the gun didn't go bang, she studied the gun further by TURNING IT TOWARD HER FACE AND LOOKING DOWN THE BARREL!

I am not kidding. It is the single most stupid and irresponsible act I've ever seen, and I've seen more than my share. I was this close to diving for cover myself, when the guy finally came over to look at the gun while pointed downrange. She shot a couple more shots, even had a range officer came over and fired a few, and soon she was gone.

I know I should have said or done something, but her companion got involved, then the range officer was involved (though he didn't witness what I witnessed). But soon enough she was gone and I could focus on what I was trying to do.

Terrifying, particularly if she's 'practicing' with a small frame gun for carrying purposes.

 

[gunman42782]

That is why I seldom, if ever, go to a public range. Glad I can go out my back door! Last time I went to a public range, this one idiot just walks downrange while everyone was shooting! Needless to say, he got a talking to. He was one of those Rambo types, and he did not like getting talked to, so he left!

 

[EddieF]

I usually go to the NRA range, which is extremely well managed and supervised. It is as safe as can possibly be. And you have to take a written test, basic safety stuff, before you can get your card. The place I went to today is just a sign-the-waiver kind of place. But the truth is, I thought the environment there would be less intimidating for my wife to go for the first time.

During a cease-fire today, the RO announced on the P/A that he was going to inspect the weapons on the benches, make sure they were unloaded and the action open. No sooner did he put the microphone down and a woman (different woman) started walking out to get her target. He caught her before she took more than a few steps, but still. At the NRA range, safety is first. At this range, I'm not even sure if it's top ten.

 

[ratgunner]

Yep we start a whole new thread on things we saw at public ranges.

 

[Keith Smith]

I have seen people like that too. What's sad about this, is she probably carries that .38 in her purse. Unfortunately I live in Atlanta and don't have the option of not using a public range.

When I am at a public range, I keep a loaded .45 on my hip at all times. If I am shooting this pistol, I make sure something is in its place.

 

[deputy125]

Guess she has never heard of a "hang-fire".
Even more so--don't point at anything you don't want killed or destroyed.

 

[EddieF]

I just couldn't believe how stupid it was. How can that not feel horribly, horribly wrong??

 

[sheepdog]

Well, they let idiots drive cars...why not shoot guns...we have to learn to duck...just like on the road...if we're fortunate to have a strong RO...great....some won't take the chance on loosing a paying customer and won't stop it...we have to speak up---but you did good since her secondary target spoke up......what's the pucker factor on a woman with a gun?????

 

[EddieF]

I almost didn't post this because I later regretted not having said something. But at first I was literally shocked, like, did I just see what I thought I saw??? By the time I processed it she had stopped shooting. Then my wife and I talked about it in the car on the way home and she had seen the same thing I saw. Unbelievable.

 

[deputy125]

Eddie,
You are aware of your surroundings and observant. A vital step in not becoming a victim. With what she was doing, if you "spooked" her--she just might had jerked the trigger!

 

[blade]

Deputy125, I'm with you on that. If she's stupid enough to point gun at herself, who knows...

 

[Ron Honner]

Scary, EddieF. Some day she probably will have an "accident." Hope she does not hurt someone.

On a good note, EddieF, your target looks great! You've come a long way!

 

[wolfsong]

Eddie, I belong to a private shooting club\range, where membership is limited to 300, you must pass muster with one of the several board members by demonstrating your gun handling skills, and you are on the honor system when using the range. You'd think that the knuckleheads would be pretty much weeded out by the time they go through everything. But, noooooo.

Recently, I was there with the president of the club, discussing some work that had to be done for an upcoming event. There, in all his glory replete with his black-tac gear, S.W.A.T. hat, gloves, AND his wife and two young daughters, was one of our local police department's finest. As we walked by the table just behind his shooting lane, he put down one rifle, picked up another, rammed a mag home, and proceeded to sweep both of us AND his family while turning to face his target! A freaking S.W.A.T. cop! Before he could bat an eye, the prez was on him like white on rice. The cop started to get a little mouthy, but then he must have come to his senses, as he apologized profusely, gathered up his gear and his family and left in a hurry. The prez told me he was new to the force, and new to the club. Also said that he'd be talking to the cop privately, and soon, like as soon as he got home.

My initial reaction was to put my hand on my holstered gun, which wouldn't have done any good, because it is strictly forbidden to carry loaded behind the shooting line. My second reaction was to duck into a crouch, and my third reaction was to give this guy a piece of my mind, but the prez was much quicker on the verbal draw.

Just goes to show that even the "higher" levels of shooters can become careless. It's scary out there. You all be safe, and I'll see ya for coffee later.


Peace and God bless, Wolfsong.

 

[EddieF]

Ron, thank you. And thank you for the very cool gift you sent me, by the way. I trust you are back safely from your vacation?

Wolfsong, that's very scary a SWAT cop would do that.

You guys who have kids, you have a good idea but maybe not a total understanding of how much your attention to safety rubs off on your kids. My dad was around guns constantly, and instilled a robust respect for firearms and attention to the details of their safe handling. So even though I put the guns away for decades, when I picked them back up recently, all that is instilled, hopefully, in me. If that SWAT cop handles weapons in that manner around his kids, and is a professional to boot, how can they come away with a proper respect for the accident potential??

 

[sheepdog]

Cops are some of the most careless-treat guns with contempt because they're an ever-present part of their lives...some remain careful for their entire career-some get careless early...I've had experiences with them playing with loaded guns...one night before roll call we were out in the hall and jesting back and forth-I said something particularly embarrassing to a cop 5 years my senior and he jokingly drew his Argentine 1911 and started to point it at me right there in the station...I was on him in a flash and pushed his slide back-dropping the chambered round, thumbing out the clip, and hooked into his trigger guard....before I ever thought about it...the hall got real quiet and I told him if he could be a big boy, he could have his now-empty gun back...he's sitting there tugging on it...and said OK....I let go and went on into roll call...his face was beet-red and mine must have been white-I've never moved so fast before or since...I'm a slow-movin' kinda guy...that's just one time I was scared enough to react...I've seen dropped guns...guys missed their holsters when picking up their gun from the lockbox....kinda like the Dr.s kids have runny noses...just because we know good don't mean we do good...

 

[deputy125]

+1 sheepdog,
Also most of the new generation of officers are not into guns and more into computers and such. They will not get out to the range and practice and the only time that they will fire their handgun is during qualification once a year. The vast majority of pistoleros at any gun club can out-shoot a line officer any day of the week. Ever notice the abscence of officers at civilian contests at your local range?

 

[sheepdog]

That's sad and scary-I was astonished that noone in the big shootout in Ca. could do a headshot across the street....really...I think for their own good they need to qualify quarterly---and that hits the budget and work schedule...so it's up to the individual officer to step up and become good...just like us'ns....I love the police of all kinds, but I consider them mostly to write up the story...I pray that they'll be safe but I've heard the same all my life and from 35 yrs ago, can back it up...many a street officer had his 6 spares green-molded into his loops...you just gotta take it seriously...I drilled it into my rookies with a vengeance...but they're all alive today...that's the bottom line...it ain't about loooooove.....

 

[John H. Fox]

You have to watch the cops and their habits as well as their accuracy. We have a saying in our club that if you are are being chased by a cop and he draws his gun, make sure you're in front of him!

 

[EddieF]

This is all very interesting, I'm glad this discussion took off in this direction. I had no idea. I guess I just figured cops were mostly or all enthusiasts, and took pride in their shooting performance.

Hey it ain't like it is on TV, is it!

 

[jimbo1096]

As said above, some of the worst gun handlers are cops. Most of the holes in the support beams and ceiling at the range is from them. Although I have seen some atrocious behavior by civilians as well. I have walked off the range several times because I didn't trust one or more of the other shooters at the line. I prefer when there are just a few of us and I'm at the end so I can keep an eye on them. We have a RO but they aren't always watching everyone.