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Thread: Protection From Theft While At The Range

  1. #41
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JodyH View Post
    "BLM land" is too varied to just dismiss shooting on it at all.
    Within an hour or two of me I can be on a salt flat with sight lines only limited by the earths curvature and not a living creature for miles or tucked away in a pit next to a river recreation area full of shifty characters with neck tattoos.

    There are times I won't shoot at the gun club I am president of because I don't like the looks of the people on the firing line (semi-private club, by lease agreement our membership must be open to the general public). I can't toss people for being shady if they're following the rules.
    At other times I will camp, hike and shoot on BLM land for two or three days at a time and not see another person the entire time.

    Only place I absolutely won't go to is a somewhat local indoor range because their air filtration system is shit and I don't want black lung.
    That's a fair counterpoint. I guess I would say "shooting pits" or other locations where the Cletii congregate.

    I am lucky in that the range I belong to has pretty extensive facilities and I tend to go in the early AM on weekdays so I don't often have to share the range with others. Usually I camp out in an action pistol bay and don't have to worry about sharing a firing line at all. Concur that it is better to not share the firing line with sketchballs if it can be avoided, no matter the location.

  2. #42
    Site Supporter JodyH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nephrology View Post
    I am lucky in that the range I belong to has pretty extensive facilities and I tend to go in the early AM on weekdays so I don't often have to share the range with others. Usually I camp out in an action pistol bay and don't have to worry about sharing a firing line at all. Concur that it is better to not share the firing line with sketchballs if it can be avoided, no matter the location.
    As president of the club I have keys to and can lock myself into the action pistol bays as well.
    Nice having several bays to yourself isn't it?
    I really dislike the unwashed masses.
    "For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night."
    -- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --

  3. #43
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JodyH View Post
    As president of the club I have keys to and can lock myself into the action pistol bays as well.
    Nice having several bays to yourself isn't it?
    I really dislike the unwashed masses.
    Jealous. I feel the same way. I spend enough time watching people behave like dangerous idiots on the road. It has given me no reason to trust hoi polloi with guns, either.

  4. #44
    I've had mags come up missing at training classes. Mostly when I was new to classes, I thought the first time was a fluke, when it happened again I started wrapping tape around my mags, writing my last name in Sharpie on the tape and covering it with clear packaging tape.

    As previously mentioned, the story of Platt and Matix killing one and injuring another in two separate incidents and robbing them of their guns while shooting on public land has always stuck with me in the back of my mind. I drive a considerable distance to shoot at a place that not many know about and isn't easy to find so that I can hopefully lessen my chances of finding myself in a bad situation. Even then, my carry gun is holstered and concealed at all times unless I'm shooting it, then I'll have my training gun holstered. If I have to go check targets or leave the bed of my pickup, the rifle is topped off and ready to go. I'll share a couple encounters I've had.

    With the amount of snow we have right now, there's no way to get to my favorite spot, so yesterday the kids were back in school so I decided to go up to the DNR maintained shooting pit that's 10 minutes from my house. On the way in, there were no tire tracks in the snow so I knew no one had been in there since Monday when the snow started dumping. I spent about an hour in the pit shooting and after coming back up the hill, I noticed another set of tracks in the snow. The tracks went to a spot on the upper level that overlooks the pit, and there were some footprints in the snow leading up to the berm that keeps you from being able to drive off the edge. There was plenty of room for more people to shoot if they wanted to, and it was clear someone had been watching me from above. I doubt it was DNR or a Sheriffs deputy, they typically come talk to you, and it wasn't the brass goblin that lives at the bottom of the hill. His vehicle hadn't moved in days. They may not have been up to no good but you never know. I had my ear pro turned up high, and even with the dead quiet atmosphere with all the snow, I never heard a vehicle.

    As I've mentioned on the forum before, I have a nephew that's new to shooting, he made the jump from airsoft a couple years ago. He and I went to what was at the time my go to spot. We'd been there about 30 minutes when a pickup pulls up and parks. The guy got out and asked if we would allow him to setup and shoot, it was kind of a smaller spot but we obliged. He made his way down to where we were shooting with an SKS and a handful of stripper clips and no targets. He didn't bring anything to shoot at but a cardboard box of some kind. I had a bit of a vibe from him, he wasn't trashy or druggie looking, the thing that got me was he was overly friendly and had quite a charming personality. I told my nephew that we needed to leave, I made up an excuse about my wife texting me something about one of the kids being sick or something. As we were packing up, he asks "Where abouts you fellas live at?" My answer would have been the next town over from where I actually live. My nephew though, who is in his early 20's and lived somewhat of a sheltered life, responds by telling the guy the name of the apartment building he and my niece live in. As we were driving past his pickup, I noticed that there was a second person in the back seat of the extended cab, we could not see him when they pulled in and Mr Friendly made no mention of another person being with him. We were a few hundred feet down the road and I saw in the rear view mirror that Mr Friendly had walked out onto the logging road and was watching us drive away. I had a long talk with nephew on the way down off the mountain about persec and learning to pickup on cues that something might not be right about certain people. Nothing about the guy had seemed off to him until I explained the few things that gave me a bad vibe.

    If we do a separate camping/things you've randomly encountered in the woods, I have a few of those to share but they don't really fit here.
    Last edited by Casual Friday; 01-17-2020 at 03:56 PM.

  5. #45
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    We have a very high incarceration rate. Offenders enter and leave the system. In my area with ample rural land, logic dictates that some of these derelicts will roam in familiar settings. And then there are those who are criminals but have not yet been caught. Aware of this, I take zero for granted. Further, we have a large population of immigrant workers who are here today and gone tomorrow. Instead of generalizing, I will say that many are unknown quantities. So when out shooting, I try to have a companion. I am fortunate to have a 13 year friend whose grandfather allows him to accompany me. I enjoy seeing him burn up my ammo. Like others, I always have a second weapon that is concealed. In the past I would venture into places that would have made finding me most difficult had I been injured. I ceased that.

    When I reported to a state training program, we were issued a locker with key and told that not all criminals were incarcerated.
    Last edited by willie; 01-18-2020 at 01:57 AM.

  6. #46
    Gucci gear, Walmart skill Darth_Uno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Casual Friday View Post
    I've had mags come up missing at training classes. Mostly when I was new to classes, I thought the first time was a fluke, when it happened again I started wrapping tape around my mags, writing my last name in Sharpie on the tape and covering it with clear packaging tape.
    I was told before my first class to take a silver or gold sharpie and put my initials on the mags. Been doing that ever since, never had a problem. Of course that’s at classes, where honest mistakes may be made. Public ranges, one never knows.

  7. #47
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    This is only happened three times but I've been at ranges where I got to talking to somebody and they offered to let me shoot their gun. In one case it was a replica 50 caliber Hawken rifle with fiber optic sights. The other two were a Smith & Wesson 4006 and some subcompact Springfield XD.

    I also had one guy that wanted to show off a replica cap and ball revolver to me and one guy that wanted to show off his Kimber in 38 Super and actually he let me shoot it too.

    So my question is has anybody ever asked if they could shoot one of your guns? How do you respond?

    The only time I've ever done something like that was in a training class from my church. I asked the guy who was in the lane next to me if I could try out his Glock 26 because I was considering buying one but that's different. I knew the guy we go to church together I've been in multiple classes with him.
    Last edited by Cypher; 01-18-2020 at 08:21 AM.

  8. #48
    Site Supporter LtDave's Avatar
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    When I was an RSO, several people offered to let me shoot their guns. I almost always declined as it would distract from my primary purpose on the range. I always carry a concealed gun I'm not planning on shooting when at the range. Heck, I'm always carrying a concealed gun when in public. If I have to leave a shooting bay to make a head call, the gun I'm shooting goes into the truck and the doors are locked. I usually only have one gun out at a time. I wouldn't let a stranger handle one of my guns, loaded or not. If I knew the individual making the request, say from our local USPSA matches, no problem.
    The first indication a bad guy should have that I'm dangerous is when his
    disembodied soul is looking down at his own corpse wondering what happened.

  9. #49
    Site Supporter ST911's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cypher View Post
    This is only happened three times but I've been at ranges where I got to talking to somebody and they offered to let me shoot their gun.
    I decline unless it's something pretty special or there's a point to it, and only with someone I know. The response is sometimes curious, kind of like telling someone their wife is fat or declining to hold their baby.

    So my question is has anybody ever asked if they could shoot one of your guns? How do you respond?
    If we've interacted enough that it could come up there's already some assessment done. Maybe.

    Range time isn't social time for me, I'm just really big on doing my thing and minding my business.
    Last edited by ST911; 01-18-2020 at 09:50 AM.
    الدهون القاع الفتيات لك جعل العالم هزاز جولة الذهاب

  10. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by ST911 View Post
    Range time isn't social time for me, I'm just really big on doing my thing and minding my business.
    This. I'm not really interested in what strangers are doing unless they grab my attention in not a good way, and am not interested in their guns either.

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