Had a little bit of an issue at my local range this morning that's got me quite pissed off.

It's another snow day from school, so I take my son to the range this morning for a little shooting and firearm break in. We get there and the Pistol, 25 yard, 50 yard ranges are closed and the only thing open is the 100 yard range. Well not ideal, but at least its something.

I head into the shop to sign us in while my son loads up our stuff into our range cart. I show the old man that runs the place BOTH membership cards. He looks at BOTH membership cards and hands them back to me. I go over to the roster and sign us BOTH in putting checks in the boxes for 100 yard range, rifle, pistol and shotgun. I then ask the old man if it's ok to shoot my shotgun on the 100 yard range as I know he is very particular about what type of firearm is used on what range and usually only allows shotguns on the very left hand side of the 25 yard range. He says ok.

I go back outside and my boy has the cart packed up and we head over to the 100 yard range. First up is my new Mossberg 930 spx that Santa left under the tree. Fired a couple dozen random birdshot shells and put it back in the case (nice shooting shotgun, by the way, only had one failure to eject that was with some crappy ammo I had lying around that even jams my Beretta 1301).

Next up was my P320. Got that back a few months ago from the recall and wanted to run a mag through it before I put it back in my carry rotation. No issues, of course.

Next up was my new Kel-Tec Sub 2000. Had about 10 rounds through it and was getting ready to let my son try it out when the old man comes over and proceeds to lecture me about not telling him I had another person shooting with me. Excuse me, I handed you BOTH membership cards and signed us BOTH in on the roster. He proceeds to say he doesn't remember that. It was 10 minutes ago! Next he goes on to say that my son (10 almost 11, been shooting since he was 7 and competes with me in our local competitions) shouldn't be shooting on the 100 yard range because he might shoot over the berm. Um, no, he is a big 10 year old almost as tall as his mom and a really good shot. He is not shooting over the berm. Then he goes on to say I didn't tell him I was shooting rifles and that I was only shooting shotguns. No, that's not what I said, I said can I shoot my shotgun on the 100 yard range because I know how picky you are about what is shot were and this IS a rifle range and I am shooting a rifle.

Then he proceeds to kick me and my son off the range. WTF! We did nothing wrong, the old man is a real pain the ass. I've been a member of the range for going to 12 ish years and putting up with his bullshit. The downside is the membership is relatively cheap compared to the indoor ranges in town and it's only 10 minutes from the house and with the membership, I get discounts on the local matches there, but after today, I'm really second guessing my membership at the place. He really likes to make up rules on the fly and then rudely and absurdly enforce them without any consistency. SO VERY ANNOYING!

So now, I have a CZ Scorpion that I need to sight in before Saturday's match so I guess I'll be visiting one of the indoor ranges this week. What a pain in the ass!

I definitely wouldn't be going back, I know it's close but that kind of behavior is absurd. I would file a complaint with BBB and also tell all my friends about it.

Sounds like he's getting senile.

I would have at least walked back to where you signed in to show both of your names and then show him both of your membership cards. Seeing your names listed could have jogged his memory of seeing your membership cards.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Sounds like he's getting senile.

I would have at least walked back to where you signed in to show both of your names and then show him both of your membership cards. Seeing your names listed could have jogged his memory of seeing your membership cards.

Funny you mention this, I forgot and left that part out. I did go back and show him both cards again and the roster. He didn't say anything only lectured me again about my son potentially shooting over the berm and how he doesn't want any trouble with the neighbors, blah, blah, blah. Again, my son is a good shot and would not be shooting over the berm.

You pay dues, so I assume it’s a private range. File a complaint with the board of directors or the chairperson that manages the range officers. You may not be the first to do so regarding this range officer.
Most ranges have volunteers for range officers. Needless to say, some of them are there for reasons other than range safety.

quote:

Originally posted by gasche:
You pay dues, so I assume it’s a private range. File a complaint with the board of directors or the chairperson that manages the range officers. You may not be the first to do so regarding this range officer.
Most ranges have volunteers for range officers. Needless to say, some of them are there for reasons other than range safety.

Yes, you are correct, it is a private range. The range is on the old man's property. There once was a board of directors that governed the range, but they didn't get a long with him so they parted ways a few years ago. The old man is the sole owner and top dog. There are no range officers on any of the ranges.

This, of course, puts me in quite a predicament with no recourse. Can't even complain to his wife, she is worse then he is.

I've already paid my dues for this year, and I can only imagine there are no refunds. I guess next year I'll have to suck it up and pay the top $$$ for membership to one of the indoor ranges.

If he denied you use of the range you paid a fee to use, I'd fight for every penny of that refund. Document everything, and warn others about it.

It just isn't safe to have a senile person running a shooting range. That guy needs to be replaced ASAP!

It sounds like you have to weigh one scenario against another. You could use the piss out of this range for the rest of the year and then look for something else. Maybe between now and the end of the year you will become a regular face and things will get better.
You could stop going now and call the lost dues “tuition”.
Depending on the value of the loss you may want to pursue a refund.
Being that it’s a one man show you’re pretty much at the mercy of his bowel rhythm as to how you’ll be received in the future.
If I were in your position I would finish out the year, play his game, keep a low profile, and move on to a better situation when the year is over.
I have a life membership to a range less than ten minutes from my house that I don’t use due to the intrusive paradigm of range officer authority that developed by the egos that took over after I joined.
The education I received after I paid my “tuition” was to do some research and visit the range I was considering more than a few times to get a general feeling of the prevailing atmosphere.

Sorry, I missed the part where you’ve been a member for over a decade. I would now say that conditions aren’t going to get better with face recognition or more time. It sounds like the old guy is in a state of decline. If you go within the next year consider it “paying him a visit” due to the uncertain duration of your visit. You may consider investing in another range as a back up or use the cheaper range as your back up for the rest of the year.
Sorry to hear this.

quote:

That guy needs to be replaced ASAP!

As the range is owned by that person, it means shutting down.

quote:

Originally posted by cmparrish:
I've already paid my dues for this year, and I can only imagine there are no refunds. I guess next year I'll have to suck it up and pay the top $$$ for membership to one of the indoor ranges.

I would still ask for a refund just to make the point.

I agree with HRH.

Try taking a box of donuts the next time to soften him up.

Ya take doughnuts....he’ll prolly tell you it’s absurd, doughnuts already have a hole in them. Why would anyone wan to shoot doughnuts... get out.

let me guess,,


KC at Black Creek range??


he has been a known curmudgeon for many many years,

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
let me guess,,


KC at Black Creek range??


he has been a known curmudgeon for many many years,

Yep, I take it you've been there

Beach VA, I bet you live near my Dad. He is about mile or so past Pocahontas state park on Beach Road.

quote:

Originally posted by cmparrish:

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
let me guess,,


KC at Black Creek range??


he has been a known curmudgeon for many many years,

Yep, I take it you've been there

Beach VA, I bet you live near my Dad. He is about mile or so past Pocahontas state park on Beach Road.

yep, been many many years tho, and know a few folks that still do,

I've been a member of Rivanna for about 24 yrs so I travel to Cville, but like the range better (RRPC.org)

and yes, I am about 1.5 miles off Beach, and the park is one lot away from my house

We have a "range tyrant" here, too. I dropped my membership some years ago because of him.

quote:

There once was a board of directors that governed the range, but they didn't get a long with him so they parted ways a few years ago.

Sounds like there may have been a good reason for this. Our local DNR run range used to be a nice, laid back place. It started getting really busy, so they brought in some old guys to act as range officers. At least one of these guys was really pissy, would make up rules and enforce them on people, even though they weren't posted anywhere or communicated. I finally got fed up with it (along with the truly dangerous stuff like getting muzzle-swept by the fudd in the next lane, which the RO failed to do anything about), paid for a membership at a local club, and have been much happier.