steveinaz i have a question for ya, right up your alley

faster100

Hey, i know the forum doesnt want us talking guns and this isnt per sey about guns themselves...

Steve,
i know your our resident gun ethusiest (sp) so i have a question for ya..

me and my wifes birthdays were a week apart and during the week at that.. so today we are having my mother watch our girls while we have a night out to celebrate our birthdays/. dinner, movie maybe... and was thinking for the first time going to a shooting range..

I know in left field, but ive had some guns off and on for years.. couple ruger rifles and a 22 handgun.. which i still have..

I called a large indoor gun range nearby and the guy sounded real cool.. and its pretty cheap.

what's the deal with these places? any unwritten rules.. have you gone to one.. (stupid question)

My wife even wants to try it out. i figure we start with my gun and maybe rent a 9mm later after she gets used to it..

so any tips, i have ear protection.. gonna buy eye protection and her some ear muffs before we go and several boxes of ammo to start..

lemme know what ya think, i would be going tomorrow morning when they open and before i'll have to get my kids.. LOL they are welcome to though which is cool.. the guy said

Demiurge

I'm not Steve, but I have NRA Pistol Instructor certification.

I'm assuming you already know how to safely handle firearms. If none of you have any experince take a course that's sponsored by a reputable organization instead. If you do know how to handle them make sure you know the rules of the range. They vary from range to range, so read them carefully. One thing to make sure you do is clean up your brass when you're done.

The obvious things you will need are eye and ear protection for all parties, as you mentioned. Most ranges sell all that, including targets.

You mention you have a couple of .22s, but 9mm and beyond is a different animal all together. I'd stick with a CZ-75 or something similar for a rental.

The long and short of it is that if you don't know what the hell you're doing stay out of the range. Not only are you a danger to you and your family, but to everyone else as well.

Good luck.

I-SIG

faster100 wrote:

Hey, i know the forum doesnt want us talking guns and this isnt per sey about guns themselves...

Steve,
i know your our resident gun ethusiest (sp) so i have a question for ya..

<SNIP>

I know in left field, but ive had some guns off and on for years.. couple ruger rifles and a 22 handgun.. which i still have..

I called a large indoor gun range nearby and the guy sounded real cool.. and its pretty cheap.

what's the deal with these places? any unwritten rules.. have you gone to one.. (stupid question)

My wife even wants to try it out. i figure we start with my gun and maybe rent a 9mm later after she gets used to it..

so any tips, i have ear protection.. gonna buy eye protection and her some ear muffs before we go and several boxes of ammo to start..

lemme know what ya think, i would be going tomorrow morning when they open and before i'll have to get my kids.. LOL they are welcome to though which is cool.. the guy said

Well, beware of the kudzu/chairborne commando! Thes eguys are so full of BS and range rumors that it is sickening to listen to these guys, especially if they trying to rain down on a newbie. Talk about a bad first impression! He's visible from a mile away! Big gut, wearing BDU's, proabably has DI wire-frame glasses, going bald, etc...

Anyway, I'd wear double-hearing protection. Get the highest NRR plugs you can find and put your muffs on over them. While you may be shooting your 22, the asshat next to you will be shooting his 500S&W Mag and beg for your wife to try it out, which is a BAD idea if you want any hope of her going shooting with you again.

Having eyes and ears and your own ammo is good as range ammo can be pricey sometimes and lord knows who wore those rental muffs before you! :eek:

Be aware of your four rules for guns. ({1}always loaded {2}know your target and what's behind {3}be willing to destroy anything you point at {4}finger off trigger till ready to fire) You can usually violate one of these and be okay. Violate 2 and you are probably ****. Depending on the range, it will either be a free-for-all or have a rangemaster. Just becasue you are a newbie, doesn't mean you can let someone violate these rules, ESPECIALLY on you, so speak up!

If your pistol ejects brass to kingdom-come, see if you can swap lanes so you won't bother other shooters as badly.

Be mindful of the height of your target so that you aren't skipping rounds off the floor if your target is too close.

If it's not too busy, be sure to police your brass.

Travel light as some ranges don't have a bench or shelf to keep your extra gear on.

Wash up quickly afterwards to get rid of any lead residue and possible nitrates in the primers.

Shooting is a lot more fun outdoors, FWIW. Being in the hot, rainy South, an outdoor range is probably an hour's drive or closer.

Wes

Beekyman

I like to use disposable foam earplugs topped with external hearing protection muffs. Good eyeprotection is always good and be sure that your Mrs. wears a blouse/shirt that will not allow hot ejected brass from going inside the clothing and causing burning. This incident happend to a girl I was seeing several years ago and she wasnt very happy when that happened!
Most good ranges have rental guns that you can use and choose a gun that you or your Mrs. is comfortable with. Some guns fit your hand better than others and certain guns with certain loads can have a sharper report, flash and recoil than the same gun with a different loading. Try the .38 Special,
.380 ACP or 9mm for the Mrs. as most of these chamberings seem to be well suited and liked by the ladies. If the Mrs. feels adventurous you can always step up to larger calibers when the mood strikes.
Mostly, be safe and have fun!

faster100

Hey thanks for the responses,

yes Demi i know how to shoot and handle a gun.. Ive had a gun since i was 19 and im now 33.. mostly .22's but ive fired my friends S&W 9mm also.. also had a nice ruger 10/22 pre-ban with a bunch of 30 and 50 round clips.. boy those were fun when we lived more in the country before we moved to tampa bay area..

I really just wanted to know range etiquette and insider things and you also answered that so thanks a bunch.. I now feel alittle intimidated to go :eek:

I was worried the place would be full of militia wanna be's and gun nuts.. I did hear the local police department now uses this place for practice.

They said they have a package deal that's 33 bucks, ya get ear and eye protection, 50 rounds and gun choice for an hour, or its 12 bucks if i bring my own stuff for an hour and 6 bucks for my wife to share the lane with me.. seems pretty cheap.. I have foamies and ear muffs but no eye protection.. think i'll swing by walmart and get glasses and muffs for my wife and some 22 shells..

again thanks and anything else you can think of let me know.. IF we go it will be in the morning as he said its less busy then..

plus all the militia tough guy gun toters will be worn out from saturday night drinking and shooting Kidding

ESavinon

You guys have all the fun. I can't even look at a range without a permit or a license.
It's one of those cons of living in a large city like ny.

brettw22

I can't even make my smartass comment because it would come out as over the top.......but I just wanted to let y'all know I had a happy moment......:D

faster100

brett, we all know you would like to have a "big gun" one day, so don't be jealous and keep your comments to yourself..

george daniel

Happiness is a warm,,yes it is,Gun

dkg999

Ask if the range has, or knows of, a female instructor or an experienced female shooter who will help your wife learn to shoot. I've found that most of the time this works better when teaching a women to shoot, as the female instructor is more aware of what fears your wife has with the whole deal. I have taught several of my female friend to shoot, both handguns and rifle/shotgun, and I could get them started, and get the basic safety rules ingrained in them, however it wasn't until they worked with another female that they really took off, and now most of them can kick my butt in a shooting contest Most of all, have fun!

steveinaz

Looks like I'm a litte late...Demi & I-Sig can hook you up. First off explain the safety rules and the operation of all of the controls on the firearm. I always start new shooters with a .22. No need in scaring the hell out of someone right off the bat. Also, don't start a new shooter off with a snub-nosed revolver; these are difficult to shoot for even seasoned veterans due to short sight radius and heavy recoil/muzzle flip. Absolutely get good hearing protection and polycarbonate glasses.

faster100

Thanks steve for the chime in, i knew you were into guns and hence why i called on you.. we didnt go today, turned out to be rainey and a crappy day and we just didnt feel like going for that reason.. we will go soon though,

mrbigbluelight

brettw22 wrote:

I can't even make my smartass comment because it would come out as over the top.......but I just wanted to let y'all know I had a happy moment......:D

http://www.moviewavs.com/0085934086/WAVS/Movies/Full_Metal_Jacket/myrifle.wav

....insert your own jokes or comments.


A local community, Wellsville, has a reservoir and shooting range. It's an hour drive, but we drive it because you can shoot all day and not run across anyone else.
We bring safety glasses, ear protection, and plenty of targets.

......and 12-packs of soda.
Nothing quite as entertaining as hitting a can of diet Pepsi at 100 yards with a solid copper slug from the Mossberg 500.
We've also used cantelopes, they make excellent instructive tools:

"See that ? THAT'S why you always point the gun in a safe direction"

Make sure you have ear and eye protection. A definite must have.