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Thread: Protection From Theft While At The Range

  1. #1
    Banned
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    Nov 2016
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    Rocky Mountains

    Protection From Theft While At The Range

    This isn't a topic I've ever seen here possibly because it's a rare occurrence but several years ago a member of THR was murdered and had his guns stolen while shooting alone at a State owned range.

    I've only ever had one instance that really made the hair on my neck stand up. I was shooting a rifle at a private range when two guys started questioning me about how I liked the gun and was I interested in selling it. They may not have had any malicious intent but the whole thing just felt skeezy to me so I packed up and left. I assumed they were members because they were there but I never found out and I never saw them again

    I still shoot at that range. It's a private club and to my knowledge it's fenced in. I usually get a berm to myself but I'm never the only person on the range.

    My biggest concern has always been someone grabbing a gun out of my bag while I'm down range but I've recently decided to take one gun to the range with me to shoot at at time so I'll just have it in the holster loaded while I'm down range. I'm also thinking about taking my Ruger LC9 and keeping it in my pocket as a back up.

    What security measures do the cognoscenti take while shooting alone?

    Any advice would be appreciated

  2. #2
    Site Supporter ST911's Avatar
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    Dec 2012
    Location
    Midwest, USA
    Quote Originally Posted by Cypher View Post
    What security measures do the cognoscenti take while shooting alone?
    Depending on range particulars, some combination of normal personal protection and basic crime prevention measures.

    Only necessary guns and equipment are out of the vehicle, case, or bag.
    Vehicle is locked as much as is practical.
    Armed at all times, discreetly or overtly. Where range rules conflict, concealed.
    Let someone know where I am and when I'm expected to return.
    Phone is on my person and charged.
    Setup at a point with best view and longest path to someone entering.
    At a couple of places (open public areas, large open fields) I set up a few traffic cones to set a boundary and discourage approach. Most comply.
    Well-meaning curious and chatty folks get an appropriate response for my time, mood, and their cues.
    Demonstrate alertness, sincerity, and good manners.
    Pick up and leave at the first indication of trouble.
    Don't look or act like a dirtbag that other dirtbags want to talk to.

    When I need to interact with others (downrange clear, set up/tear-down nearby, cross a sight line, etc), I model behavior I want to see. Hands empty, eye contact, "excuse me, may I please come closer and ask you a question?"
    Last edited by ST911; 01-12-2020 at 10:39 AM.
    الدهون القاع الفتيات لك جعل العالم هزاز جولة الذهاب

  3. #3
    Site Supporter JodyH's Avatar
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    Feb 2011
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    New Mexico
    I always have a loaded handgun on me that I never expose.
    I always have my electronic ears on and turned up so I can hear conversations, cars and footsteps.
    Our range has really good 360 line of sight and a locked gate so it'd be extremely hard to get surprised by someone.
    If I'm not the only person on the range I keep my bag zipped up and everything is kept in the bag.
    I never have a table full of visible guns. I'll only have one rifle at a time on the bench.
    You can park right behind the firing line at our range, so if I'm going downrange past the 25Y line I'll lock any rifle I have in the truck before leaving them unattended.
    I'm always amazed that people will walk out to the 200Y line without ever looking back leaving 6 or 7 guns spread out on the table within arms reach of complete strangers.
    "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 --

  4. #4
    Member Greg's Avatar
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    Jul 2015
    Location
    Utah
    Platt and Matix of the 1986 FBI Shootout infamy shot and robbed people out shooting in the sticks.

    I prefer to shoot in the desert or up in the mountains, mostly to avoid the downright dangerous gun handling so often found at a public range. I always bring an AR, even if I only plan on shooting handguns.
    I have had pickups and ATVs park and watch me from a vantage point that I didn't care for.
    Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for that dumb bastard.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter Totem Polar's Avatar
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    Aug 2013
    Location
    PacNW
    Precautions depend on the range. At my indoor member range, pretty much just a blowout kit and making sure that I always have one of my handguns on me. Purely for a complete outlier event, the range is pretty darn good. I do try to avoid weekends just to avoid the crowd.

    Out in the sticks at remote "shooting hole" places around here? Never less than 3 people in my party, and I bring along a .243 bolt gun with 3x9 glass that doesn’t get shot recreationally. Seriously.
    ”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB

  6. #6
    banana republican blues's Avatar
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    Aug 2016
    Location
    Blue Ridge Mtns
    Quote Originally Posted by Greg View Post
    Platt and Matix of the 1986 FBI Shootout infamy shot and robbed people out shooting in the sticks.
    Did a lot of shooting and UC work in that exact area just after that incident.
    There's nothing civil about this war.

    Read: Harrison Bergeron

  7. #7
    Good thread idea.

    I always maintain a loaded pistol on my person also. Plus, I also never shoot up my last training mag so I can reload on the line before going back to the bench.
    On the rifle range, I either lock up my rifle or take it with me down range to check targets.

  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Western Ohio
    Everyone here's echoed everything that I could add.

    All I can say is take nothing for granted. The only time I have had anything stolen at the gun range was at the place I expected it the least: Monday night practical pistol league at a private club.

    Took off my EDC belt (Ares Aegis) to put on my USPSA rig. Left it on a wall shelf to go shoot and when I came back about 90 min later it was gone.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter
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    Sep 2017
    Location
    South Louisiana
    I was stationed in Germany in the mid-80s and had a membership in the Frankfurt police sport shooting club with 24/7 access to their range (which had a beer machine right behind the line ). At that time, the Baader-Meinhof gang and Red Army Faction (RAF) were at their peak and were known to visit shooting ranges, kill lone shooters and steal their guns. On the advice of a local cop, I kept a Walther PP in .32 ACP - a police trade-in gun - loaded and concealed while on the range. I was primarily shooting UIT Sport Pistol and Centerfire, so my match guns were a Ruger MK II and a 6" S&W M19.

    Presently I belong to a private club that's pretty easy to access. I usually practice from concealment, so when it's time to paste the target or just at the end of the string, I reload and holster. The local LE agencies use our range for training and quals, so that helps dissuade most dirtbags from showing up.

  10. #10
    Member Greg's Avatar
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    Jul 2015
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    Utah
    Quote Originally Posted by blues View Post
    Did a lot of shooting and UC work in that exact area just after that incident.
    If you wrote a book about your career, it'd be interesting as hell. You could also load it with bad puns and inflict those on a wider audience.
    Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for that dumb bastard.

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