Apparently, at this place I've been shooting at, they have a rule that you may have only one gun at a time on your shooting table at a time. I've never heard of this before. I've always had two or three out at a time, with the down guns with actions open with a chamber flag. Apparently at this range that doesn't work for them.

Have you heard this before ? What is, or would be, the real or imagined purpose of such a rule ?

Colonial shooting range in richmond va has this assinine rule also.

Never heard of it either??

Yes, a couple indoor ranges around here have that rule in place. Some of the folks I've seen shooting have difficulty walking and chewing gum at the same time, so for safety's sake I don't have an issue with it.

Not applicable at my range.

Seen some stupid rules at ranges but never this one

Yes my range has that rule also but I can't blame them. Some people have a really hard time keeping track of which pistol is loaded, which caliber a pistol shoots, etc.

I quit my gun club over oppressive rules. They wanted a chamber flag in each weapon, and weapons not in use had to be hung on a peg board behind the line. You had to take a test for each type of weapon-handgun, rifle, shotgun. I wasn't about to hang a two thousand dollar handgun on a pegboard behind me. And, they charged several hundred dollars a year for this nonsense, and it was a 40 mile drive. Not for me.

You can't shoot 2 or 3 guns at a time, so what's your beef?

The guy in the next lane will appreciate it.

Bob

I hadn't heard of a gun range making it a literal rule, but the one I shoot at is pretty mellow, too. However, it is my rule to put out only one gun and/or type of ammunition at a time, to prevent mixups. If your range only instituted it recently, then somebody probably screwed up somehow.

The range I go to has this rule. I get around it by keeping each pistol in one of those zip-up pistol wallets. When I'm done with one, I put it back in the wallet, zip it up, and put it to the side. I haven't been yelled at yet.

I haven't been to an indoor range in 20 years.

My range is set up like Hickok 45's and its all mine. That said I usually only have one gun at a time out anyway. I shoot too much to bring out several.

If a buddy is out to shoot he can set everything over on a side table and swap guns as he feels.

With some of the various customers I have seen at various ranges, I can't really disagree with this rule.

Tne first and only time my wife went with me to the range, the idiot in the shooting bay next to ours had a "malfunction." Gun range clerk came in to help him, and turns out he was mismatching ammunition calibers into the wrong gun!

Wife hasnt been interested in ever going back to a range since.

I have seen enough klutzes knock and drop stuff off benches over the years to think this is probably not a bad rule

quote:

Originally posted by Nframe:
I haven't been to an indoor range in 20 years.

What a helpful comment for this thread.

What advice do you have for those who don’t have access to their own private ranges?

I’m a member of that tiny, tiny minority of shooters who have their own private range that they can use (almost) any time, but for decades I had to put up with shooting by someone else’s rules and couldn’t even dream of having my own facility.

I'm OK with that rule though my indoor ranges do not have it. I shoot at indoor ranges regularly and while it would be annoyimg to only have one gun on the table at a time, I am often standing next to folks whom I wished only had one gun out on the table.

Yup.
For every restrictive range rule you see, there is a klutz out there who suddenly makes it sensible.

This is a timely thread.

I went to my local indoor range last week. I was the first one on the range, went to my lane and noticed that the hanger was missing. There was just a simple hook. OK, maybe they're doing maintenance on this lane. I went to the next lane, same deal. I walked back out and the clerk gave me a cardboard hanger that attaches to the hook. You attach your target to the cardboard hanger. There's a horizontal line drawn near the bottom of the hanger. When you return the hanger to the clerk, every bullet hole above that line costs you 5 bucks.

The hangers they used to have up had bullet deflection shields over them and I guess the range guys got tired of having to repair these hangers. Man, I've been shooting at indoor ranges for 40 years, and I have never shot the wall, ceiling, floor or a ding dang target hanger.

I was at the range a few months back and there were a group of twenty-somethings on the rifle range who had rented a Draco AK pistol. They kept hitting the concrete with rounds, sparks flying up, concrete dust all in the air. What a trip. I finished up PDQ and left.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Watson:
Yup.
For every restrictive range rule you see, there is a klutz out there who suddenly makes it sensible.

Agreed.

But, here's the thing. Safety is one thing, and I will not shortcut safety. But, the indoor range near me has got exactly ZERO dollars from me in the two years that they have been open. Why? Because of rules that are directed at the "klutz". Can't draw from a holster? Not interested. Can't do emergency reloads? Not interested. Can't multiple shots in less than one second splits? Not interested. And each thing I listed is because of a "klutz". How about SO's just holding people responsible?

It's a private business so it is their rules. I get that. But, they will continue to struggle financially because no actual shooters partake in their services. When the next owner decides to strike a balance, maybe people that actually shoot will start to show up.

Well, that and when their reject SO's learn some people skills, instead of spending all of their time telling war stories and trying to flirt with girls that aren't remotely interested.

Regarding drawing/shooting from a holster, Scottsdale Gun Club had a good rule. You could do so if an employee did an evaluation and gave you a "holster qualified" certificate. This then went with your lane assignment badge. I didn't personally avail myself of this, however.