Should shooting ranges be separated by firearms?

Rifle shooters here and handgun shooters over there.

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Okeechobee Shooting in Okeechobee Florida is.

The indoor range and the other outdoor range I go to is just like that. First section is for pistols and the second is for rifles. YES, it should be that way! The outdoor range also has a shotgun range!

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I went to a segregated range. It makes a certain amount of sense, but rifle shooting was restricted to long distances from a bench. Completely not what I need in a rifle range. Rifles were strictly forbidden at the pistol ranges.

Also, the kid with a .22 bolt action hated being close to my AR and left not long after getting there. Maybe we need to also segregate semi-autos?

Good shooters here and dangerous buttheads over there.

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How about people who shoot well?

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Most ranges I’ve been at are already segregated. The rifle shooters don’t want 25m targets, and the pistol shooters don’t want 100m+ targets. Heck, even the indoor ranges I’ve been at will separate the pistol shooters from the rifle shooters (if they allow rifles).

What’s the problem with separating by firearm type?

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What did Well do you you?

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My club doesn’t allow handguns on the 100 yard range, which is the longest we have. It pre-dates my membership, but I think the reason for it is probably that most nincompoops will just shoot the target stands to pieces or possibly even go over the berm. However, I feel like I should be able to shoot a scoped handgun from a rest at 100 yards, especially if my groups are under 6 inches at 50 yards. C’est la vie. I spend a lot of time with handguns and rifles both at the 50 yard range. Everything is too easy to hit with a rifle at 25 yards, but I sometimes practice snap shots and pulverize the sporting clay fragments on the 25 yard berm before packing it in.

Short answer is no. If you haven’t mastered the fundamentals well enough to shoot handguns at long ranges, stick to the short range. Other than that, let the rest of us practice.

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I wish my Range could separate riffle shooters from handgun
but usually it’s not possible.
The way I’m managing it is - attending handgun classes and using Range lines early morning or late evening when chances of meeting rifles are closed to zero.

I’m ok with mixing all level shooters.
That’s the way to be better - observation is the key.

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To me, it helps my focus to have someone with a AR ripping off shots as fast as they can pull the trigger or someone firing off 6 rounds of 12 gauge. Although it certainly does test your hearing protection.

What range? Pictures of the setup with distance and a list of any/all range rules for context could help the question be answered better

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Was it the brass raining on his head or the noise from the muzzle break?

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Depends on the range
Couple lanes, what are ya’ going to do? In general though, I’d say yes. Never had weapon variation be an issue though, it was more the “having an idiot next to me” back when I used the state range that was a concern. I recall tube dumping my mossy 500 indoors, and the only other customers, a family, backed up against the wall staring at me :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Now spoiled, paper target pistol, falling plates pistol, rifle are seperated, though you can shoot .22lr rifle at the 50 yard pistol range, or a pcc, and you can shoot pistol at the rifle range, 25 yard minimum. Rifle range allows standing, bench, prone. Pistol standing or sitting. That works well if you just want to run a pistol a little, and don’t feel like setting and cleaning up twice.
I do like shooting steel at 100 with my 1911
slow round helps see my misses and correct.

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That is how my local indoor range is set up. You come in through the pistol area but if you have a long gun, you go through another door. On the rifle ranges, you are allowed to shoot pistols too, but you can not shoot rifles on the pistol range.

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I suspect it was the brass shooting out. Once I realized it was a problem, I set up my gear to try and block it, but I guess it didn’t work well enough.

I do try not to be a sociopath. :flushed:

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I sometimes do it for fun. It’s humbling. I’m no competitive pistol shooter. But it’s good to know my limits.

On the flip side, I don’t bother with 5m targets. If you have to aim at sometime that close, you’re probably going to lose.

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People miss at 5 meters. People miss at 5 feet. It happens. Seemingly quite a bit.

Here is a good 5 yard drill. If you can ace it without aiming, you’re doing something right for sure

To clarify, I sometimes shoot at close range, and my annual qualification requires it, but I can’t relate to the folks that only shoot 5m.

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“Only”? Certainly not a good idea to only shoot at any given distance, for defensive purposes. IMO one should be able to perform to a certain level of proficiency/the appropriate metrics from contact distance to 25 yards, which is based on real world self defense gun use facts/stats. And of course when I say should, I mean it’s entirely up to them as an individual, no ‘requirements’ from anybody
when talking private citizens carrying.

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