I’m with you there. There have been occasions where I needed to function fire a gun and I would try to let anyone around me know “I’m going to get REALLY REALLY LOUD for about five rounds, you might want to take a break for a minute.” Normally that works well and goes off without a hitch. Every now and then I will get the “What the F&*K was THAT?!” A braked 416AI CheyTac is really good at making a rifle line go quiet, or so I’ve heard 
Cheers,
Craig6
@JayK - I see you are listed for Minneapolis and there are many good indoor and outdoor ranges around. Bill’s Gun Shop is closest to me so I use one of their ranges the most. They also have a gun of the month you can rent for free to try other firearms. The danger with their gun of the month is that I have purchased three of their guns after trying them. I need to stop doing that.
On YouTube you can see dozens of videos where someone has a negligent discharge, or some other problem that is not safe. It makes you wonder about going to an indoor range. Those types of people I hope are not common. Sort of like airline crashes; when you see one on the news you might worry about flying, but with all the flights every day it is actually pretty safe to fly.
I think we just need to watch the people around us for a few minutes to see if they seem to know what they are doing, or maybe you need to move or come back later. If I was uncomfortable with someone on the range, I would go talk to the range officer and ask them to keep an eye on the person or group. Maybe a good test of our situational awareness training would be to watch the people in the next stall and see if you feel comfortable staying there to shoot.
Yep… one suburb… due north.
This happened when I was in Cali. I was at Bills yesterday around 4pm so if you were there I saw you! If not, maybe we can hook up and go?
For outdoor I go down to Hutch there is a nice outdoor range that is hardly used. For indoor I prefer here https://stockandbarrel.com/
It’s not like @TexasEskimo range, but it’s a nice one. I want to join but I don’t know if I’ll still be living here in a year.
I never knew this was an issue at indoor ranges and in fact had heard more horror stories about outdoor ranges and people not being safe or RSOs not being on top of things (or even present).
Never had a bad experience at any indoor or outdoor ranges I’ve ever been to, guess I’m just lucky I picked the right ones. I’m an RSO at an outdoor range so that’s where I normally shoot, but I tell you what, come Jan/Feb…I’m ready to shoot inside.
I figured indoor ranges (particularly with all the licensing, insuring and regulations) would just be more secure. I guess not. Thanks for opening my eyes a little.
To be honest… having chandeliers in a gun range is a bit over-the-top. But, this is Texas.
actually @OldGnome THAT is a very good point!
I would prefer an outdoor experience myself. I found myself agreeing with most everything folks above said. For outdoors, I need to go early morning or late evening here in Georgia. Indoors it’s early in the week, early morn and I’m happiest if not alone, with an old-timer or two. Many times I’ve seen lead splatter on my target - even when it’s right in front of my face from the next lane. Acoustic tiles are hopping in their hangers and brick walls, sparking as bullets rub halfway down the journey to the torus at the end.
Most of the time, at an outdoor gun club, the flyovers are rare, and most folk on the rifle range default to cooperative group rule, and anyone has a veto if it’s safety. I feel concerned about the land we play on, all the lead-based products scattered thereabout, but it’s inescapable. Hopefully, the membership is setting some aside for the day it’s no longer a welcoming place to use the tools our forefathers and mothers bled for us to own.
I recently took my ccw course at an indoor range it was my first indoor range. I have shot thousands of rounds with many firearms when I was in the military. I personally liked the indoor range because it added some adrenaline i.e. loud shooting on either side brass bouncing off the wall and onto my head (I recommend wearing a baseball hat). As far as safety I think the safety standards are religiously followed…I believe they have to be because any shooting injury may well get the place shut down. As long as you follow the safety guidelines to the letter just enjoy your shooting
Also for me I would go to the indoor range when it’s fairly busy. My thinking is that the more chaotic it is i.e. lots of noise brass and such the more you are forced to sort of focus under pressure…might make for better training…just my opinion
The indoor range I frequent is used by the police officers frequently. I really enjoy talking to them. Others come in and I keep my situational awareness going. If I feel as though there is a danger, which has only happened once, I leave and talk to the R.O. They know I am a Chief weapons Instructor and they take care of it immediately. Since I am a customer I refrain from approaching people at the range. I have seen a range master screaming at the outdoor range in Azusa canyon range in California. Two guys were handling their rifles while the range was suppose to be cold and people were down range too. So, it happens.
Not following rules…good way to get permanent ban
Good lord that made my heart drop between my toes.
I learned to shoot indoors, and have shot outdoors only once, on private property, not a “range”. I’ve only felt uncomfortable at 1 indoor range (there are several around here), because people using it were total idiots. They had no RSO at this range, and other shooters would pretty much do as they please.
Once, while I was waiting for a lane to open, a shooter carried his firearm out of the range and into the store. The slide was in battery, finger was in the trigger guard, and with no regard for where the muzzle was pointing. He swept the muzzle across half the store to scratch his left arm with the front sight. No one said a word to him.
Apparently his daughter(?) was loading magazines for him in the store so he came out from the range to get a couple mags.
I had already paid for my range time, but I simply left; my safety is worth a whole lot more than what I was out in range fees. I still watch their store ads, they do have some pretty decent sales once in a while, but I haven’t been back.
Other than that, I feel fairly comfortable shooting indoors; the range I frequent most often has a full-time dedicated RSO who “patrols” the firing lines almost constantly. I tend to go in the morning hours when they open, so they aren’t at their busiest. This way there’s no wait and I can usually have an end lane with a wall on 1 side of me and 1 or 2 empty lanes on my other side. There’s been a couple of times that I was the only shooter on the range.
Gosh darn! That is super terrible.
I’m going to the range on Sunday with a buddy. I feel better when I have someone I know there.
This. 100%
Honestly, I’ve never had a situation like you described. The indoor range where I shoot, only allows their instructors to work with students, and it sounds like the RSO’s handled the situation the right way. As a suggestion you can ultimately save money by buying a SIRT(Shot Indicating Resetting Trigger) Pistol and a Laser Target system. I use the Laser Hit system and the SIRT Pistol several times a week to practice trigger control, sigh picture, sight alignment, movement drills, all in my garage.
I have been to indoor ranges a few times and I def prefer outdoor. The ranges around me are not large at all… In fact, the 2 that i’ve been to only had 5 lanes each… They are extremely small and cramped and no room to the rear for staging or anything. I would like to get some time during private training for indoor self-defense in that regard. I am EXTREMELY grateful that our local Law Enforcement Training Center is used by pretty much all of our county’s sheriff staff, and city police officers as well as members of our local Air National Guard base. The facilities are fantastic, super nice staff, which are Sheriff Deputies but the use of it is put on by our DNR? Not sure how that works… haha but its open to the public every weekend and $10 ALL DAY! They obviously request that if you are hogging space and people are waiting they at least ask you rotate out. There is a deputy acting as a RO always for both the handgun and rifle ranges which adds a sense of “someone’s got your back” at least while on a range where there are multiple people shooting at once and you never know who is shooting. As other people have said though, I just love being outside, and even at the range it is almost a zen-like experience for me. The outdoors and focusing on one thing at a time. Sorry, long post.
This is a really cool service and source of revenue (they should charge more.) I wish more localities would do this!
Right?! Every other place around me is $25 AN HOUR! I’d be willing to pay the $10 for the hour!