I’m Thankful For a Good Shooting Range

At the moment, I feel blessed to have a great range near where I live. The facilities are basic, but that's just fine with me - and the ranges themselves are generously sized, allowing me to shoot while moving if I so desire. The longest rifle range is just 200 yards, but if I feel the need to shoot farther than that, another nearby range offers 1000 yard shooting.

While the personnel at these ranges are extremely safety-conscious, and I don't want to give any other impression, they are unlikely to "get in your business" unless you give them a reason to. In addition, the range rules relate to safety and not damaging range property - basic stuff I would expect to find at any range.

I'm in California at the moment, and wow, do these people have it bad. After slogging through traffic for over two hours, I made it to the "Oak Tree Gun Club," which offers an impressive array of facilities, including a restaurant (My grilled ham and cheese sandwich was excellent). The name is not hypothetical - the setting was idyllic.

The shotgun ranges were quite large, and microphones at each firing station enabled shooters to say "Pull" to a machine which would then launch clays for them. Fancy! While the pistol ranges were more basic, there were a variety of steel targets that entertained me for several hours as I waited for some friends to slog their way through traffic.

There was a large selection of rental firearms - one of the largest I've seen outside a place like Scottsdale Gun Club - although one of the two firearms I examined was in need of some qualified gunsmithing, and the other was well on its way to that same point.

So, what was so bad about this range? It sounds pretty good, right?

Before I go any further, I should say that my interactions with range personnel (Rangemaster and RSOs) were as follows:

- Being reminded by the rangemaster to not shoot at the closest row of steel targets with rimfire, when I had not done so even once in nearly an hour of continuous shooting on that range.
- Being politely reminded to slide my eye pro down onto my face. I truly appreciated this, because I like my eyes, and want to keep them.
- Being told (also politely) that I couldn't fire "any more" steel cased ammo. I had yet to fire any, but I did have a box of steel cased .45 with a few rounds left in it that I had intended to shoot at some point. I did read the range rules carefully, but failed to understand that the "no steel case" rule did not only apply to the steel target pistol range.

I generally avoid breaking range rules, even if I don't like them, but especially when I'm the guest of someone who I like and respect and is a regular patron of the "gun club."

I want to point out these interactions so as not to give the impression that I was reprimanded, cajoled, yelled at, etc. for some gross safety violation, and that this post is just sour grapes. Also, I want to highlight the fact that almost all of the personnel who were out and about on the range were polite and professional.

I did, however, witness a few questionable actions, have issues with some rules, and safety concerns about their firearms and ammunition.

First, the rangemaster. He would constantly interrupt conversations between people at the range, ostensibly to correct behavior or to remind them of the rules, when in fact no violations of the rules had been made or were apparent. This occurred to the point of annoyance. It also seemed to occur most often when groups including one or more women were speaking to one another.

Second, the rules. They were legion, but the ones that irked me most include a ban on steel-cased ammo and that picking up your own brass was against range rules.

My brass is my property. I paid for it, and I intend to keep it. For the purposes of yesterday's trip, I was willing to sacrifice any brass I fired. However, this alone would prevent me from ever returning.

In an ironic twist, the "pro shop" sold, among other things, reloading supplies and components. Exactly what am I supposed to reload with? Factory new brass? I didn't see used brass for sale, but that would be hilarious. Oh, boy! I get to pay for my own brass TWICE!

Banning steel cased ammo, regardless of bullet construction, is just plain silly. I do suppose that it would be a pain for them to sort out the steel cases, since they're keeping everything that's fired on the range. However, that would make these mutually correcting issues - fix one, and the other goes away.

Finally, their firearms and ammunition. I'm well aware that rental firearms see heavy use - and abuse - and cannot be kept in like-new condition. However, it's not a stretch to imagine that they would be kept in serviceable condition. Also, the store-brand reloaded ammunition they sell - which is, by the way, priced the same as brand new ammunition anywhere else - was made to no standards whatsoever.

Fully half of the .357 Magnum rounds I tried would not seat in any chamber of the rental S&W 686+. The ammunition components were clearly selected for the lowest possible production cost. Powder charges varied significantly. I don't mind being required to shoot range-bought ammo in range-owned firearms, but I do not like being sold poor quality, unsafe ammunition. Given their hyper-vigilance regarding safety, I found this very odd.

The range personnel behind the counter were responsive to these issues, and, like the vast majority of personnel outside, friendly, polite, and professional. Although I think the locals have it bad, they hold a different opinion. The range was busy all day, and they're clearly not going to be hurting without my presence and money.

However, I won't be going back at any point in the future, and I can't wait to get back to "my" range.