Great post Mr. Western.

Biker

Every sport has its a-holes.  You know the ones...the enthusiasts who think that their level of commitment or money paid on equipment grants them royalty status, whether it be at the gym, bowling alley, in the woods, or at the shooting range.

A lot of public ranges I've shot at have been uncontrolled, and the guys I can't stand are those that set up with a spotting scope worth more than any rifle I own, and a rifle worth more than my first car.  They then make it very clear that they own the range and everyone else exists at their discretion.  Heaven forbid that you should ask for the range to go cold so you can go downrange and change a target.  After dealing with the condescension, eye-rolling, and huffing, he might grant you a boon and allow a peasant like you to proceed.

The worst experience I had with one of these guys was when I was at a range with my son.  After the line had been firing awhile, I sensed that others were as ready to take a break as I was.  So I called up and down the line: "Cold?"  I got confirming yells from both sides on down the line and people benched their weapons.  My son and I were the first ones in front of the line, and had gone maybe 5 yards when the guy with the tricked out M-1A and Swarovski spotting scope on Station 1 sent a round downrange.  We and the other shooters all started yelling, and he responded going off on a red-faced rant about US being unsafe.  It didn't matter what the rest of the line agreed to..HE wasn't ready to stop.

That was the last time I went to that range.

It takes all kinds I guess.  The important thing and only thing I care about with other shooters is that they be safe and act in regard to everyone else around them. I'd have been more than ticked if someone sent a round down range after the line was cold.

I'm betting the same folks that seem to think they own the public range are the same saps that seem to think the public land they hunt is their "private" reserve as well.  Nothing ruins a day faster than some jack*ss getting all fired up about how you walked right through his set up or spoiled his hunt for the day...50 yards from the rig.  And have you ever noticed the hunters you meet several miles from the rig are all about everyone's hunt, not just their own.