Miscreants and Idiots/I love my MKIII

[rwb1500]

As of late I've been doing all my shooting at a State Game Land range. I'm not currently a member of any club, and my buddy who's place I often shoot at is in Afghanistan. So I'm stuck at the SGL range for now.

I went the other day to shoot my Ruger MKIII. I was getting bored shooting 5 inch targets at 10 and 25 yards so I bought some 3 inch Shoot-n-See targets. They make things interesting at 25 yards. At 10 I like to put a few of them up and try skipping between them rapidly, in a circle, back and forth between two targets, and so on. I had 500 or 600 rounds, so I was there for a while. While if was there the people that stopped by to shoot simply amazed me...

First off, at the SGL range there is a max of 6 rounds in a handgun. Not fun, but its a rule. I follow it. I don't need a fine. I'm shooting by myself for a little and guy #1 shows up and starts ripping through 15 or 16 round mags. "Hey man, I don't wanna ruin your fun, but you can only shoot 6 rounds at a time. I know it sucks, but thems the rules..." He was nice enough, and looked at one of the 20 posted signs that clearly states this. "Oh, I guess you're right." He shoots a few more rounds and leaves. Guy #2 shows up. He whips out a full size Glock and starts emptying full mags down range at the 50 yard mark WITH NO TARGETS. HE WASNT SHOOTING AT ANYTHING. He finishes his first mag and I politely explain the rule to him. "Oh, cool." Before I walk away I notice a can of Busch Light in his cargo pocket. Very nice... He shoots one more mag and leaves. About an hour goes bu without incident. I shoot and talk with some very nice older gentlemen. We chat about the differences between the MKII and III, the red dot I had on mine, blah blah... They leave. A guy shows up with a P22 and a Sigma. He saddles up right next to me. (Mind you the range is empty.) We shoot for a while and he starts picking up his 9mm brass while I'm still shooting. He ducks under and in front of the fucking bench to pick up a cartridge. I stop shooting... To be continued...

[rwb1500]

"Hey! You have got to stay behind the bench man!" "Oh, sorry." He says. I shoot a few more mags and ask if he minds if I switch out my targets. We both walk down range, swap targets, and head back. I start shooting. This fucking guy drops a water bottle under the bench and it rolls down range. He fucking chases it! I unload my gun and pack it up. I told him I was leaving because I really didn't feel like shooting anyone today.

I have got to find another place to shoot.

[NoName011]

Yea I know what your talking about at the sgl ranges.. I almost got clipped at the 50 yard target because the guy before me was shooting birdshot! Right after I walk up with my shotgun the leo comes over and starts checking the casings that the guy had left all over.. I quickly said those aren't mine and he responds back in a way that says he doesn't believe me... I have also seen guys shooting 15 round clips at the rifle range..

[fastfive0]

I have seen some crazy stuff at the SGL also. But I also think alot of people worry too much about the 6 in the mag rule. We all know the rule is 6 but are you actually hurting anyone/anything with more then 6? NO so if someone shows up and shoots 10,6 or 26 I mind my own business and shoot what i have loaded in my gun. If the range officer shows up and wants to be the hero for the day, let him police the rule....its his job. If someone is being unsafe then yes, confrontation is needed.

[Xringshooter]

I have seen some crazy stuff at the SGL also. But I also think alot of people worry too much about the 6 in the mag rule. We all know the rule is 6 but are you actually hurting anyone/anything with more then 6? NO so if someone shows up and shoots 10,6 or 26 I mind my own business and shoot what i have loaded in my gun. If the range officer shows up and wants to be the hero for the day, let him police the rule....its his job. If someone is being unsafe then yes, confrontation is needed.

I understand what you are saying. BUT, if we don't police ourselves then the GC could shut down the SGL ranges. Then your free shooting range is gone.

Here at the Scotia range a few of us PaFOA members have a pretty good relationship with the range officials (I'm pretty sure of this, the one will joke with us and say "Just breath between shots". He doesn't check out how many we have loaded (unless WCO's are around) and tells us (with EBR's), shoot three and then relax a bit then shoot 3 more, etc.) When we go out engroup, we police up the ranges and he notices that. We've even asked what we can do to help keep the range going (I've helped build target holders, cleaned up, etc.) Many times when a group of us are there we designate a RO for our group and he appreciates that as then he can watch the not so safety minded shooters.

If you do this every time you go to the SGL range, you can make some friends with the range operators, which in turn can go a long way keeping the range open. Allowing people to bend or break the rules, especially when you know the rules, is an invitation to getting the range shut down for everyone.

Remember, one rotten apple can ruin the barrel.

[1022]

Last time I was at one of the SGL range, the signs posted all listed 3 rounds as the limit. I've personally seen all kinds of insane behaviour, lots of guys handling guns while folks are down-range. I even remember when an unsupervised kid popped off a round of .22 while everybody was down-range changing targets. (nobody hurt, thank goodness) keep your head on a swivel...

[crlovel]

I have seen some crazy stuff at the SGL also. But I also think alot of people worry too much about the 6 in the mag rule. We all know the rule is 6 but are you actually hurting anyone/anything with more then 6? NO so if someone shows up and shoots 10,6 or 26 I mind my own business and shoot what i have loaded in my gun. If the range officer shows up and wants to be the hero for the day, let him police the rule....its his job. If someone is being unsafe then yes, confrontation is needed.

Could not disagree more. If we don't police ourselves and help each other, the politicians will be more than happy to police and help us themselves. This attitude encourages them to do as such.

[jokusfocus]

Last time I was at one of the SGL range, the signs posted all listed 3 rounds as the limit. I've personally seen all kinds of insane behaviour, lots of guys handling guns while folks are down-range. I even remember when an unsupervised kid popped off a round of .22 while everybody was down-range changing targets. (nobody hurt, thank goodness) keep your head on a swivel...

It's a 3 round limit for rifles and 6 round limit for handguns.

A friend of mine was caught by a WCO with two full 40-round mags clamped together in his gun. Apparently the fine is per round over 3. I forget what it was, but it wasn't insignificant.

[jcabin]

I'm always a little apprehensive when using public ranges. I don't want to -notify- someone of the rules and as a result end up getting perforated. IMO I think we should have alot more WCO coverage at the ranges. I've only seen a WCO one time in 2 years. I've been to the new SGL in tobyhanna, that opened in november, atleast a dozen times. Not once have I seen a WCO.

[rwb1500]

I have seen some crazy stuff at the SGL also. But I also think alot of people worry too much about the 6 in the mag rule. We all know the rule is 6 but are you actually hurting anyone/anything with more then 6? NO so if someone shows up and shoots 10,6 or 26 I mind my own business and shoot what i have loaded in my gun. If the range officer shows up and wants to be the hero for the day, let him police the rule....its his job. If someone is being unsafe then yes, confrontation is needed.

Yes we do need to police ourselves so that no one else does, but this is just idiotic. I was at my local SGL range one time and was shooting with a guy who told me he was there one day and someone stepped across the line and the officer who happened to see it gave them both tickets.

He also told me the first time he'd come to the range he was fined $100 per extra round in his mag.

The SGC isn't gonna show anyone any mercy. I think it's a good idea to let the newbies to the range know the rules. If they know them and don't follow them that's a different story...