Touring through various gun range web sites in search of a local hunter ed class* for my wife has evoked some thoughts on gun ranges and their rules I have developed over the years.
FWIW, I have shot at everything from unimproved gravel pits to .mil training ranges and experienced the full range of rules from "free-for-all" to "do nothing until told and nothing more"
Here are a few of the more
annoying range rule mind sets I have encountered. Save the, "It's their range, so leave if you don;t like their rules." I understand that. This is not a discussion of property rights, but of attitudes.
Our Rules Are the Most Sensible RulesEvery range that is not completely open and free-for-all has a personality that develops the rules. If the range, environment, or personalities change over time, so do the rules. Whatever their current state, the general attitude by those responsible for their codification is that
their rules, at that time, are the most sensible rules possible...and all others are either control freaks or wildly unsafe shooters.
Everyone Else Is An Idiot, Agent of Chaos, Lazy, And Unwilling To Follow InstructionsSo stay the hell off my range!
I will only comment so far as to direct you to the following website and ask you to do as I did: examine it for hunter ed data.
http://www.dentoncountysports.com/I can understand frustration when folk appear on my doorstep and are not prepared to my level of satisfaction. BTDT. Deliberately obfuscating requisite data is counter-productive to folk who don't meet the lazy/crazy/stupid assumption. I seek information to accomplish a task, thank you. Frankly, it would be a cold day in Hades before I ever took my wife to such a place.
Deliberate condescension is not something I look for in prospective trainers of my wife.
In all fairness, the man responsible for that (
http://www.dentoncountysports.com/) is reportedly a fine, friendly fellow. I suspect that most he meets have gone though his website filter and he rarely comes across patience-trying types.
We Don't Like Those Kinds of Shooters and FTLoG Use Only Bullseye TargetsI gleaned the following from another local range:
NO full camo (We are a sportsmen's club not a paramilitary organization)
NO full automatic fire is allowed
NO targets that depict a human form or outline of a human form
I wonder, when they say "full camo," do they mean a coordinated set? I don't think I own a complete set of camo, but could likely come up with a BDU Field Jacket and some chocolate chip 5.11 pants.
I suspect these folks might not be as vociferous in their protest of, say, a new AWB as they might be of a "Sniper Rifle" ban or a "Large, Smoothbore, Man-Killing Weapon" ban.
There are other annoying attitudes, but I must stop here, as I grow weary. I am sure y'all can describe some others I have missed, such as the evergreen "Range Nazi."
Anyways, seeing that ^^^ sort of mess makes me appreciate all the more the ranges with positive attitudes.
My own attitude:
I prefer "Big Boy Rules" ranges. Meaning, act in a safe manner, be responsible, and train how you will. Failure to stay safe and responsible is an invitation to leave. Some few private ranges allow for this. No public range that I know of operates in this manner. I understand that some ranges can not operate in this manner.
When I approach a new range, I try to figure out their attitude in addition to their written rules. I especially try to key on what might set them off into a tizzy. I assiduously follow their rules, both written & otherwise.
* Not interested in rushing her through hunter ed and getting her hunting this year. Mid-DEC to Mid-JAN just happens to be the only occasion she has had free time for such in quite a while. The next time I call someone making a hunter ed inquiry and they respond with something akin to, "Cutting it close, aren't you? You shoulda planned this out and done it in the summer," I might take a contract out on the *&%!wad.