Black Gun "Shooter" Rant

[dig]

Ok, so took a friends kid I have been trying to mentor to the range yesterday. Its a private range and normally not a lot of traffic except the "old timers" which are great. After about 45 minutes of instruction and getting the kid on the 200 yard gong prone and then sitting the AR crowd shows up. Now look I own and shoot several ARs and love the platform; however, the last couple times at the range the idiots show up blazing (and hitting nothing) with ARs.
The AR guy next to us is spewing hot brass as quickly as he can pull the trigger after asking him to do it, to no avail, I put up a target board to deflect the brass. Of course the kid is mesmerized by the rate of fire so after a couple minutes I suggest we watch. Two guys, decked out black guns shooting at two hundred yard gongs. They did not bother to site in. So I stood well behind them and started calling the shots much to there displeasure. The first fellow was hitting a 16 inch gong about 1 out of 4 times with a scoped AR. The other fellow was slightly better. So they were not real pleased with me calling the shots for the kid but it was after all a great lesson for him, I put him back prone and made sure to call his five for five hits.

I call this video game mode! It seems a lot of grow ups (40 something) are caught in the same mode, to much modern war or whatever they are playing.

I know we need to stay together as gun owners and shooters but how do you deal with these guys. When I shoot an AR I use a brass catcher and certainly watch considerately for those around me (I also hit the target a hell of a lot more).

 

[HARPERC]

One of my favorite memories is taking a kid to the range and watching him get caught up in the carnival. Drag his attention back to our bench and his #3 single shot. I Don't even give him ammo until he's dry fired and focussed. Puts his first 3 in the x. Once he's looked at his group through the spotter, I have him check the other targets, and see the light come on.
Those guys haven't hit "!&)" that's just noise. Not a black gun on the line though just a variety of noise makers.

 

[RDM416]

Your experience is why I feel so blessed to live on a large block of property where I have my own range set up.

I can play and spray with the ARs, make some real noise with the .50 or get serious out to 1200 yards and there is no one for me to bother....... and most importantly no one to bother me!

I understand your rant and agree totally. When shooting on a range where other people are shooting, one should always be considerate of others. I am a member of a local gun range, but the only time I show up is to shoot trap. For my rifle and pistol shooting I will stay home and leave the public/private range to the "OI's" (outdoor idiots)

 

[lazylabs]

I just call them the "tacti-cool" crowd. I own, build and like the AR's. I also see of guys that call our LRH rifles "sniper rifles" and really want one. I try to talk to those guys and the kids about how blazing away can be fun as long as your SAFE and respectful(they obviously were not) of others. I do think that's it's very important to keep hunting and letting people see our LRH weapons AND black guns out in the public where they are behaving and not randomly going around killing kids on thier own........

 

[dig]

RD416 - Your very fortunate to live on that much space and have that playground. I live in the city so use the range a lot and its great for sight in chrono etc. . I have a place on 20 acres I get away to whenever I can and thats where most of my long range work is done, its much nicer!

Tacticool, great explanation! These guys have nice rifles they just need some explanation/help using them but they make it hard to approach. I would think getting out shot by an 11 year old would open the eyes a bit but who knows.

 

[HARPERC]

Tacticool, great explanation! These guys have nice rifles they just need some explanation/help using them but they make it hard to approach. I would think getting out shot by an 11 year old would open the eyes a bit but who knows.[/QUOTE]

Mostly they're decent folks just enjoying different things, in different ways. Mostly I wish for them to develop some situational awareness, so they notice when others show up it may be the better part of safety manners etc. to tone down the party. or at least so they notice they were just outshot by a kid with grandad's sporterized 303 British.

 

[startslow]

After gun control fails and everyone in the USA owns a gun, the vocal bolt action crowd will vote for a ban of "black" rifles. This won't happen for safety reasons, it will happen out of distaste for them. Then once all "black" rifles are banned, 1911 owners will go after the vulnerable Glock types. After all is said and done, only Mosin-Nagant owners will remain and God will weep.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Ok, so took a friends kid I have been trying to mentor to the range yesterday. Its a private range and normally not a lot of traffic except the "old timers" which are great. After about 45 minutes of instruction and getting the kid on the 200 yard gong prone and then sitting the AR crowd shows up. Now look I own and shoot several ARs and love the platform; however, the last couple times at the range the idiots show up blazing (and hitting nothing) with ARs.
The AR guy next to us is spewing hot brass as quickly as he can pull the trigger after asking him to do it, to no avail, I put up a target board to deflect the brass. Of course the kid is mesmerized by the rate of fire so after a couple minutes I suggest we watch. Two guys, decked out black guns shooting at two hundred yard gongs. They did not bother to site in. So I stood well behind them and started calling the shots much to there displeasure. The first fellow was hitting a 16 inch gong about 1 out of 4 times with a scoped AR. The other fellow was slightly better. So they were not real pleased with me calling the shots for the kid but it was after all a great lesson for him, I put him back prone and made sure to call his five for five hits.

I call this video game mode! It seems a lot of grow ups (40 something) are caught in the same mode, to much modern war or whatever they are playing.

I know we need to stay together as gun owners and shooters but how do you deal with these guys. When I shoot an AR I use a brass catcher and certainly watch considerately for those around me (I also hit the target a hell of a lot more).

I usually cure that problem by dragging out my 44 mag or .445 Supermag with brakes on them. The blast will usually clean out anything close by. After about three rounds you can watch them relocate to the other end of the range.
gary

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Just be happy you can own them and chalk the experience up
To bad timming. Every one has the right to do as they please unless
Range rules dictate otherwise.

 

[FAL Shot]

My "tacti-cool" rifle is an FAL that shoots sub-MOA. I can assure you I will outshoot 90% of the bolt action crowd that shows up at the range. I embarassed a Weatherby owner one day.

I don't mind the ammo-spewing idiots with their black rifles. They generally leave behind their brass for me to pick up. Plus, the game animal population is generally in very little danger from them. I picked up a few thousand brass this past summer, well over 500 .223 Rem brass in one location in less than an hour.

One day I picked up over 100 .223 Rem brass that was littered all over a county backroad. What the black rifle idiots also left behind was the Cabelas dry storage box with a rubber sealed lid that the ammo came in that they had shot up at about 25 yards for "target practice".

I filled up several 3# coffee cans this past summer with their spent brass.

I wish somebody would release a black rifle in 7x57mm Mauser so I could get a large brass collection for my main hunting rifle. But I have about 400 brass already. For .223 Rem, I have thousands of brass, thanks to the black rifle crowd. And quite a few brass 7.62x39mm as well thanks to the AK crowd.