my club is having problems

since people cant seem to keep there rounds going in the right direction. this happens.
Same problems at our club for a while. #1 problem was shooters shooting at target on or low to ground they would bounce over the burm.
or trigger happy muzzle climbing. Club installed a long "eye brow" extended out into the range over head. its actually sad how shot up it is already? Either really bad shooting or nim whits being asses and shooting on purpose? crazy. 20 years ago you could shoot at anything you brought to the club as long as you bring it out with you. Today members cry about full trash barrels, no target stands or shoot up anything that the club puts out there(yardage markers)
I hope you club jumps on this and solves the problems....
 
The club I belong to out here is in the middle of nowhere (fortunately), but the rifle range has an overhead with a few bullet holes through it, as well as a few that go through the bench into the ground.

Mike
 
Oh boy. Strap on your cup because you're going to be in for a wild ride.

That same complaint was lodged against a very well established club here in Connecticut called the "Blue Trail Range". However, the complaint was unfounded because there is a mountain between it and the homes that were supposedly hit by fire. That didn't stop the anti-gun liberals from suing everyone and everything. It was only after many many thousands of dollars and lots of time in a court room that Blue Trail was ultimately vindicated but they still closed down one range. Turns out that someone else was shooting toward the houses from the other side of the mountain and the club was being blamed. Residents were showing the press handful of empty brass and claiming it was bullets hitting their house. That's how ludicrous it can get. In your case, however, it sounds like someone has been missing the backstop (hopefully there is one) and sending rounds out of range. Get on it fast, make the repairs and adjustments or you'll be looking for another place to shoot for sure!

http://www.townofdurhamct.org/content/28562/27588/30990/default.aspx

Rome
 
We had a similar problem at the club I belong to where a bullet hit a house. The police investigation showed that it couldn't have come from our club, but I am sure the owner of the house still blames the club and waiting for the next bullet to hit. Another time the owner said he found several bullets in his front yard. However, the bullets were brand new and had not been shot.... The owner is obviously trying to do anything he can to shut down the range...
We are now in the process of installing baffles and backstops so that the range will no longer be a blue sky range. I don't remember the cost, but it's a few hundred thousand dollars. However, the club felt it was necessary to do this if we were going to keep our range.
The real problem is careless people who doesn't know where their bullets go. Putting targets on the ground so that bullets can skip is a common problem. There are also those who cannot control the recoil and do rapid fires and many clubs don't allow rapid fire.

Just because there is a gun club in the neighborhood doesn't mean that the bullet came from the club. There could be other properties that the bullets could come from. I think it will be hard to get any proof that a aullet came from the club, unless the bullet was matched to a gun and the owner admitted that the shot came from the range.
 
Not recommending this as a solution, but I saw a picture (somewhere) of an European rifle range where the firing points were all through concrete pipes (think 2-foot diameter culvert sections), long enough that there was no possible way that a round could go too low ( skip) or high.

Sometimes, it seems that this is the only way - going one step beyond "idiot-proof".
 
This is not the first time this club has had this issue... last time it cost them 20k+ just in upgrades to their pistol range.
 
The problem is that as more and more people get into the shooting sports (good thing), there are also more untrained, uneducated, no skilled shooters getting into it as well. And it just takes a small select few to ruin the fun for everyone.
 
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I, too, belong to this club and it is really sad to know that people are missing that badly. I mean the rifle range has a pretty decent backstop so missing that would have to mean that thier target wasn't properly setup, or they weren't even aiming at their target to begin with. I understand that some people are horrible shots, but to miss by that much is pretty outrageous.
 
I, too, belong to this club and it is really sad to know that people are missing that badly. I mean the rifle range has a pretty decent backstop so missing that would have to mean that thier target wasn't properly setup, or they weren't even aiming at their target to begin with. I understand that some people are horrible shots, but to miss by that much is pretty outrageous.

Yep, youre aiming downhill at a 30'+ berm with a thousand trees beyond that, and they hit a house up a good size hill about half mile away. Some people just cant hit anything.
 
I, too, belong to this club and it is really sad to know that people are missing that badly. I mean the rifle range has a pretty decent backstop so missing that would have to mean that thier target wasn't properly setup, or they weren't even aiming at their target to begin with. I understand that some people are horrible shots, but to miss by that much is pretty outrageous.

I thought the same thing. Most have been a complete lack of control, understanding, common sense, maturity, and ability. Idiot/Idiots and deserve to pay financially for the shitstorm its causing for the club and the members.
 
The problem is that as more and more people get into the shooting sports (good thing), there are also more untrained, uneducated, no skilled shooters getting into it as well. And it just takes a small select few to ruin the fun for everyone.

. . .

So there is a trade off. For the gun community, it is always good to get more people involved, but at the same time, the skill level seems to go down.


The huge increase in interest has resulted in some "money mills" popping up that crank people thru with certificates but cut corners on real training (safety skills and proper aim/gun-control). It isn't likely to get any better either. MSP has no interest in "policing" instructors to ensure that students are really trained prior to being handed a certificate.

Disclaimer: I am AGAINST mandatory training, but since the state mandated it and the MSP is supposed to ensure that only those "qualified" (have a pulse, a check for $50 clears and some certification as an instructor) are teaching, they should really take steps to police the trainers. Not going to happen, however!
 
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You should suggest to your board of directors to buy the NRA Range Book. ( also on CD) It has tons of idea's and drawing of how to properly update your range.
You can even have some experts from the NRA come of and look at your range and suggest upgrades. It's a few hundred dollars but is money well spent.

Dan Long
Boston, MA
 
Reminds me of Scituate Rod & Gun. Are they positive the "bullets" came from your club?

If you go to google maps and look at the orientation and distance of the rifle range in relation to the street that is experiencing problems, you will see that it is sadly a VERY real possibility that the bullets are indeed coming from the club.
 
I feel the same way. But after seeing the thousands of bullet holes in the ceiling of my gun range, I have to wonder what it would be like without any training.

All of the clubs that I have been to had those kind of bullet holes long before the Obama-driven firearms buying mania. I don't see any evidence that it has gotten any worse (or any better after the MA state training mandate).
 
I feel the same way. But after seeing the thousands of bullet holes in the ceiling of my gun range, I have to wonder what it would be like without any training.

1st of all, if you have an issue, please address it with club leadership before posting it in a public forum.

2nd there are NO holes in the celing. Occasionally holes are made in the BAFFLES which are there to prevent further damage to the steel roof which has a layer of concreter poured atop it to insure no projectiles can ever leave the buliding. We repair these holes as soon as is practical. It would take something larger than a .50 BMG to get a bullet to exit our building.

3rd as far as new shooters not being able to hit paper, just how do you propose those shooters gain experience if they can't go somewhere and practice shooting? We take great pains to test new shooters to insure they are safe. A safety orientation is followed by the perspective member shooting with both a revolver and an semi-auto. Since they fire 12 rounds at a B29 target and have to get a passing score of 90, how do you figure they have trouble hitting the paper? If they do something wrong we take the time to give them additional instruction to make sure they are safe.

4th what rule changes are you refering to? The same rules have been posted on the walls since you joined. I know, I have been a member since 1982 and officer most of that time.
 
People are paying for classes, that include no live fire; Hunter Ed, and NRA Home Firearm Safety are two examples.

The "classes" are not to establish/ teach proficiency with a handgun, but safe handling practices.

Now....if you've never been an instructor, or if you've never been an absolute green-as-grass newcomer....there's a LOT to absorb. IMO, if a student graduates a Basic Pistol class knowing the Three Rules, and how to keep 10/10 on a sheet of paper at 25 feet....that's a success. When you consider a HFS graduate is able to get an LTC without sending downrange....the holes are not a surprise.
 
on one of the ranges the club built a new roof over it, i can't understand

why there are holes in it. you would have to point the muzzle straight

up. the brow in front also has holes in it. what gives.
 
My club had similar problems back a few years. The MSP evaluated the range and made several suggestions which were carried out. It was said earlier that rounds fired at targets on the ground in front of berms are probably the cause of most of these problems. If they were handgun bullets then maybe some idiot is trying some old west trick shooting. Most of the time though homeowners angry over gunfire ruining a Sunday barbecue plant bullets and make wild complaints. In the case of the range I belong to the compaint was made that a homeowner heard bullets wizzing past his head. IIRC at least one bullet he claimed to find was unfired. Those bullets in the wall should be checked for rifling and hammer marks and signs of pre-drilled pilot holes.

I know of at least 2 police headquarters that have had bullet holes in walls and ceilings. Also, some of the worst range ettiquette I have witnessed was by both state and local Leos that use my range. They put targets against target stand posts and blasted them with buckshot til the posts tumbled. They walk downrange at the pistol range while the rifle range is active without telling anyone or stopping all firing.

We also discovered that the selectmen didn't have the authority to shut the range down. A letter from an attorney told them that and that we were reopening once we finished the upgrades recommended by the MSP. We've been open ever since without issue.
 
1st of all, if you have an issue, please address it with club leadership before posting it in a public forum.

2nd there are NO holes in the celing. Occasionally holes are made in the BAFFLES which are there to prevent further damage to the steel roof which has a layer of concreter poured atop it to insure no projectiles can ever leave the buliding. We repair these holes as soon as is practical. It would take something larger than a .50 BMG to get a bullet to exit our building.

3rd as far as new shooters not being able to hit paper, just how do you propose those shooters gain experience if they can't go somewhere and practice shooting? We take great pains to test new shooters to insure they are safe. A safety orientation is followed by the perspective member shooting with both a revolver and an semi-auto. Since they fire 12 rounds at a B29 target and have to get a passing score of 90, how do you figure they have trouble hitting the paper? If they do something wrong we take the time to give them additional instruction to make sure they are safe.

4th what rule changes are you refering to? The same rules have been posted on the walls since you joined. I know, I have been a member since 1982 and officer most of that time.

Not sure you are any less guilty...two wrong do not make it right...you could have PM'd Bob and done your rant in private....put your big boy pants on and make up.
 
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