Welcome @Mark542
You got it!
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How often do you think soldiers flag people with their rifles? All the time.
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Hence the term âfriendly fireâ!
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If you see an unsafe act at the range you may call a cease-fire. Everyone on the range is a safety officer when it comes to safety.
That should get their attention. Perhaps that will remedy the situation if enough people start calling cease-fires
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To pack up and leave the range would certainly be your choice for the situation. However to do this without bringing it to the violators attention would be less than proactive for that particular shooter and certainly for everyone else utilizing the range. Sometimes people donât know, until they know. This could have been a very positive moment of instruction for this obviously new shooter. We should all be concerned with our own and everyone elseâs safety, ensuring safe handling of any and all firearms are of utmost importance. Yes, calling a âcease fireâ on the range may be embarrassing for the shooter and an inconvenience for everyone on the range but, everyoneâs safety is of the utmost importance all the time. Most behavior is a learned issue so, try to be positive. Yes, mention the condition to the individual or group but, also report it to the RSO, owner and/or management. This could make you responsible for saving someoneâs life along the way and making the shooting experience more pleasurable for everyone concerned and along the wayâŠ
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I seldom go to the indoor range and never on a weekend. We get a lot of tourists that are firearm restricted but want to shoot a firearm. They rent a pistol and buy some ammo and targets but have no clue what to do except what they saw in the movies. I have stopped a few of them from hurting themselves or others but it leaves me very nervous to be on the range with them. Consequently I only go if I absolutely need to and at off hours. I have a 20 punch card that is 5 years old and still has 8 punches to go. I usually go to the club outdoor range once a week. Being retired I can choose my times. Our shooting club has an outdoor facility with 4 smaller pistol bays and 1 large one. My wife and I usually have a pistol bay to ourselves. There are 12 firing positions on the 50/100 yard rifle range and I believe 8 on the 300 yard range. Major shotgun facility.
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Everyone on the range is a Range Safety Officer.
Never hesitate to call the cease fire and immediately notify the RSO. Once you call the cease fire, the RSO should immediately come over and solve the safety issue. If they donât, find a new range.
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Thatâs how we did it in the Army.
My favorite indoor range is the one managed by my club.
I actually attend the meetings and know about the insurance and how much an accident would affect our dues.
Ours is a private club and members can bring guests, but are responsible.
There are cameras and they do look through them.
I will still speak up to the individuals. They are usually doing unsafe practices out of ignorance.
Guests must watch the safety video. Members are responsible to know the rules.
I do not want to lose my range, so I feel it is my responsibility to speak out.
I am certified as a Range Safety Officer(RSO), but the indoor range is a key card setup and an RSO is not required to be there. The club has been around for since the seventies. My first time shooting was at this range and I was a cub scout.
We have a pretty decent record when it comes to safety.
I want to keep it that way.
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I have seen the literally tens of thousands of holes in the ceiling at our indoor range. It was the bullet imprints I noticed on the ballistic barriers BETWEEN the stalls that gave me willies. As I approached the bench at the back wall, two unsupervised young ladies were handling their 'boyfriendâs weapons while he was on line. When tghey picked them up and were âpew pew pewingâ I got the hell outta there. Thatâs been three years ago. There are NO safe ranges IMO except the ones run by LEO.
Welcome @Jim146 , I often wonder how many holes have been punched in the sky at the outdoor ranges!
I was at the indoor range a couple of days ago and 2 young guys came in and started setting up to share a lane beside me. I casually noticed them taking their guns out at the firing line, 1 of them remained at the firing line and started shooting while the other took their bag to the back table. I honestly didnât get my RADAR up until I heard one of the ROs telling the one at the back table that nothing comes in or out of the bag except at the firing line. The young guy tried to argue he was only loading magazines, but Kris let him know it didnât matter what he was doing, it wasnât happening at the back table. Thatâs why I choose the indoor range I go to - notice I know the ROs by name 
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That situation is very concerning. You were right to step out and inform a Range Officer. I recommend this young woman get remedial training on the absolute importance of gun and range safety. Especially, trigger finger discipline.
Great topic for discussion.
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I respect your comments about this being a teaching opportunity. However, I am NOT about to approach a stranger with their finger on the trigger. My safety comes 1st and with todays âangryâ world Iâll let the RSO handle the confrontation over unsafe actions.
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Itâs the same at our local indoor range. Anyone can call a ceasefire. Sounds like the young lady in question desperately needs some more education.
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I agree: It is up to every shooter on the range to correct anotherâs unsafe behavior. There are ways to do it non confrontationally and in a non-threatening manner. I have spoken up dozens of times at the range. Only once did I have a person get nasty about it. I wrote down his name and turned him in. His membership was revoked the next day. Our range has zero tolerance for unsafe behavior and lots of great members who donât want to get shot. Most of the people I have corrected are thankful because they either didnât know that they were doing something wrong, or didnât know how to do something right in the first place, which led to an unsafe behavior.
I also agree itâs everyoneâs responsibility to intervene because fewer accidents mean fewer opportunities for the anti-gunners to squawk that âguns are dangerous.â In well trained hands, a gun is no more dangerous than a 10-inch chefâs knife in a home kitchen.
We shooters have a choice: either be part of the problem or be part of the solution. Nearly every person can learn to become a safe and responsible firearms owner.
As a certified NRA pistol instructor and a range safety officer, I encourage people to get as much training as possible and to encourage EVERY gun owner to become safe, proficient and responsible with their firearms. There are no bad students; only bad teachersâŠ
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Not up on all the gun language. What is a hot brass dance?
When an ejected case gets inside your clothing and you react suddenly to the burning case. You then learn to put your firearm down first, as that can lead to unsafe handling while you are trying to remove the hot brass from your clothing. Also, for most pistol rounds, the case will only burn for at most 1 or 2 seconds, which is far less time than it takes to remove the case from your clothing.
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Thatâs weird. Strange. I must being going insane nowđ€Ł
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