What to take to the range.

[jethunter]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

As satisfying as it would be, leave the pictures of our premier and our prime minister at home, or shoot them elsewhere.

... nothing wrong with it, unless your club expressly forbids it. Otherwise just remember to remove and dispose of this and all targets when you leave.

[kayaker]

Gun manners and muzzle control - by far the 2 most important things to remember on the range.

Bag and un-bag your rifle on the shooting bench with the muzzle pointing downrange. In the years I have shot at SPFGA (frequently) I have found it to be a safe range but I have on occasion seen guys un-bag rifles on the equipment benches behind the line. They remove the rifle from the bag with a closed action, in so doing they sweep the whole firing line when they transfer it to the shooting bench in order to 'be safe'. I refer you to the recent AD where a car got shot. If that person had followed the advice above (and practiced even an iota of firearm safety fundamentals that would not have happened). There is NO room for that level of negligence.

If the rifle isn't pointed downrange it should be pointed up, action open.

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I think that's being a tad paranoid .
In that way if thinking you had better watch out for someone tailing you home com the gun shop, jewellery store , etc........
Cat

I don't think your examples are valid in this situation cat, these are very different valuables we are talking about due to the fact that the example you used doesn't half to go through any red tape to acquire and are not very predictable to determine the location of where they are at.

Example; you and your wife go out for dinner, slim chance you are packing your rare $3500 firearm with you but I would bet the Mrs has got that nice rock on her finger

A firearm to a criminal is great leverage to obtain what he wants and easy to shop for and steal if you know where to look, call it window shopping if you will. If I wanted to get my hands on a nice handgun I planned on clucking someone with the range would be the best and easiest place to look.

I would be interested to know where the constable came from before he had his colt c8 stolen. Could have been just random, after all he was at a pub but on the other hand you never know.

I don't think paranoia will destroy ya in this case and possibly why more thefts are occurring.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by ^v^Tinda wolf^v^

I don't think your examples are valid in this situation cat, these are very different valuables we are talking about due to the fact that the example you used doesn't half to go through any red tape to acquire and are not very predictable to determine the location of where they are at.

Example; you and your wife go out for dinner, slim chance you are packing your rare $3500 firearm with you but I would bet the Mrs has got that nice rock on her finger

A firearm to a criminal is great leverage to obtain what he wants and easy to shop for and steal if you know where to look, call it window shopping if you will. If I wanted to get my hands on a nice handgun I planned on clucking someone with the range would be the best and easiest place to look.

I would be interested to know where the constable came from before he had his colt c8 stolen. Could have been just random, after all he was at a pub but on the other hand you never know.

I don't think paranoia will destroy ya in this case and possibly why more thefts are occurring.

My firearms would hardly be the type to be fenced or used in a robbery of any kind, my wife's jewellery o the other hand is valuable, as are my tools,etc. which are a lot easier to sell.
Besides that, there are a lot easier ways to find out what kinds of guns a person owns than following them home.
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

My firearms would hardly be the type to be fenced or used in a robbery of any kind, my wife's jewellery o the other hand is valuable, as are my tools,etc. which are a lot easier to sell.
Besides that, there are a lot easier ways to find out what kinds of guns a person owns than following them home.
Cat

I for one am not paranoid enough to be concerned that some criminal is going to follow me home to scout my home for a robbery.

[Zuludog]

Originally Posted by kayaker

Gun manners and muzzle control - by far the 2 most important things to remember on the range.

I totally agree, and more manners everywhere would make the world a much nicer place to live in.

Bag and un-bag your rifle on the shooting bench with the muzzle pointing downrange. In the years I have shot at SPFGA (frequently) I have found it to be a safe range but I have on occasion seen guys un-bag rifles on the equipment benches behind the line. They remove the rifle from the bag with a closed action, in so doing they sweep the whole firing line when they transfer it to the shooting bench in order to 'be safe'. I refer you to the recent AD where a car got shot. If that person had followed the advice above (and practiced even an iota of firearm safety fundamentals that would not have happened). There is NO room for that level of negligence.

If the rifle isn't pointed downrange it should be pointed up, action open.
Isn't pointing towards the ground safe too? When I pull my rifles out of their case/bag I make sure that the muzzle is pointed down, now I'm worried if I've been doing it incorrectly all these years?

.

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

My firearms would hardly be the type to be fenced or used in a robbery of any kind, my wife's jewellery o the other hand is valuable, as are my tools,etc. which are a lot easier to sell.
Besides that, there are a lot easier ways to find out what kinds of guns a person owns than following them home.
Cat

It's off topic but how would it be any easier ?
My address isn't listed, rarely give my real name to anyone and I ordered my firearms through the mail
My safe was brought into my house through the garage using an inclosed trailer
If I never used them, which I do, no one besides the authorities and the place you purchased them from would know you have them that is unless you display them in public places such as a shooting range.

Some folks are easy plucking, my good friend owns some real nice hand guns and has no security system. It doesn't get any easier for those dirt bags

[catnthehat]

professional thieves do not need your name .
It is far easier than you can imagine but I will not divulge it here.
Also., our firearms are not the number one target of thieves even though many of us would like to think they are invaluable, they are.
There are many things that are easier to steal and sell than guns.
Cat

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by Zuludog

Isn't pointing towards the ground safe too? When I pull my rifles out of their case/bag I make sure that the muzzle is pointed down, now I'm worried if I've been doing it incorrectly all these years?

This is a good question and at times it may well be the case (there are many ways to safely skin a cat!). In the context of a rifle range like SPFGA you will be sharing a hard floored space with other shooters and if there was a discharge into the cement floor the risk of ricochet/shrapnel would be very high.

Good practice also dictates that you don't do anything that would allow you to shoot upwards and send the bullet over the backstops/ out of the range (some ranges are so strict that all rifles have to be shot through ports that limit barrel angle to physically prevent this risk).

In short, if you are done shooting you can case/bag the unloaded rifle with it on the bench pointing downrange and then carry the bag to your car, the back bench etc. If you want to use another rifle you transfer the one on the bench to the rack pointing upwards (to avoid covering anyone with the muzzle), action open (or a with a chamber flag) to demonstrate visible mechanical safety. You also don't handle firearms during cease fires.

Your range orientation will show you the rules, don't sweat it. Essentially it always comes down to muzzle control and keeping fingers off triggers unless you are willing to discharge the firearm where it is pointed.

I am often astounded at the poor gun handling I seeing the field and have many muzzles pointed at my guts, actions closed. In my humble opinion I think that many hunters would benefit from participating in sports like 3-gun or IPSC etc. which are so muzzle direction conscious.

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

professional thieves do not need your name .
It is far easier than you can imagine but I will not divulge it here.
Also., our firearms are not the number one target of thieves even though many of us would like to think they are invaluable, they are.
There are many things that are easier to steal and sell than guns.
Cat

I know what you mean now, and yes I agree with you.

Sorry mods


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSiFXhrxE3Y&sns=em

[260 Rem]

Zulu - At SPFGA when an uncased firearm is being moved, the action must be open with the muzzle up. An accidental discharge with the muzzle down could result in a ricochet off the ground/concrete floor.
Also, at SPFGA Orientation, members are advised "attitude" must be parked outside the gate because once on-site, civility is required. Lack thereof, could get (and has got) the offender punted from the club.
The incident referred to by Kayaker had nothing to do with casing or uncasing a gun.

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I carry my rest , bags and targets in a lugger bin.
All the rest of my stuff I will ever need minus ammo and rifles is in a wheeled tool box

HOWEVER, my log book is one thing I have to consciously remember , as well as dies and loading tools as they are not part of my standard equipment!
Cat

I too use a wheeled tool box cat, don't feel bad. Mine contains pretty well everything mentioned in previous posts and then some. I like to have a good assortment of tools to strip down a rifle, need be. Besides my own personal electronic ear muffs, I also have a bag full of ear plugs for people who forgot theirs. I carry my Bullseye camera and signal booster separately as it won't fit in. And for that, my smart phone is no longer a phone, but becomes a viewer for the Bullseye. And, it has my Strelock ballistic app installed. I don't use the Bullseye at public ranges as I don't know the rules in regards to that. I use it at my own range on my property.

[Zuludog]

I've been swept more than once at a gun counter and I guess one time I involuntarily flinched, I think I actually ducked. The guy that did it laughed and said something like don't worry, I won't shoot you, it's not even loaded. I wasn't impressed not only by his lack of safe gun handling skills but his attitude about it but I guess I was raised around guns differently than he was.

[purgatory.sv]

http://www.spfga.org/rangerules.html


Uncased firearms:
All uncased firearms must be carried unloaded with actions open and muzzle pointed in a safe “up” position when transferred between a vehicle and the shooting shed. Once in a shooting shed, all uncased firearms must be placed in the racks provided or on a shooting bench with the muzzle pointed down range.
NOTE:
The handling of any uncased firearm requires the Safety Curtain to be in the UP position.

Cased Firearms:
Cased firearms must be unloaded and placed on an equipment bench, and the case must not be opened until the Safety Curtain is in the UP position. Only at that time, may the action be opened and the firearm moved to the rack or directly to a shooting bench. NOTE: Firearms must always be carried unloaded with the action open and the barrel in a safe UP position.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by purgatory.sv

http://www.spfga.org/rangerules.html


Uncased firearms:
All uncased firearms must be carried unloaded with actions open and muzzle pointed in a safe “up” position when transferred between a vehicle and the shooting shed. Once in a shooting shed, all uncased firearms must be placed in the racks provided or on a shooting bench with the muzzle pointed down range.
NOTE:
The handling of any uncased firearm requires the Safety Curtain to be in the UP position.

Cased Firearms:
Cased firearms must be unloaded and placed on an equipment bench, and the case must not be opened until the Safety Curtain is in the UP position. Only at that time, may the action be opened and the firearm moved to the rack or directly to a shooting bench. NOTE: Firearms must always be carried unloaded with the action open and the barrel in a safe UP position.

The one difference between SPFGA and my former range is that at SPFGA, people are allowed to go downrange in front of rifles that are pointed downrange. I have just never been comfortable with having firearms pointed at me, even if nobody is supposed to handle the firearm with the curtain down. As such, I personally look at every rifle facing downrange to verify that the action is open, before I go downrange, and I am constantly glancing back at the firing line to make sure that nobody touches the firearms pointed downrange. I much preferred having every rifle racked before anyone went downrange.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

The one difference between SPFGA and my former range is that at SPFGA, people are allowed to go downrange in front of rifles that are pointed downrange. I have just never been comfortable with having firearms pointed at me, even if nobody is supposed to handle the firearm with the curtain down. As such, I personally look at every rifle facing downrange to verify that the action is open, before I go downrange, and I am constantly glancing back at the firing line to make sure that nobody touches the firearms pointed downrange. I much preferred having every rifle racked before anyone went downrange.

CHAS is the same, but no safety curtain that I recall. Maybe they have one now. You can only do so much to fight stupid.

I never get too paranoid. If I gotta go, getting a 30-06 in the back of the head ain't a bad way to exit this twisted ball of dirt. Better than cancer. Just think, your wife would get the $5k range insurance money.