Range Vandalism

[hermit5]

A club in Pa had range problems.They raised membership fee 2x and made it a requirement to be a competitor.It cut back the casual shooters but no more range problems. Another club started an orientation with all new members that this is how the range is to be used.Another range that had been open to the public forever finally restricted the range to members only. After having to replace backstops that were just shot to splinters for a target. And nobody ever sees these guys.

[Snake]

My club requires a recommendation for membership, a six hour orientation/safety course, a personal interview and detailed questionnaire, and a separate qualification to shoot beyond 200 yards. After admission to membership one logs in electronically to use any facility and cameras watch.......Stupid has been significantly reduced, but we occasionally have to spank a knuckhead

[hermit5]

Snake,good post.I think thats what it coming down to.Its just seems that knuckleheads tend to breed faster and greater numbers.

[RBriscoe]

My club's range had been open to all club members for many years. It became apparent that we could no longer continue to operate in this manner as it became obvious that not everyone could be trusted to behave as adults. The range is now closed unless a Range Officer is present. We post a schedule on the club web site and have changed the gate combination which is only given to Club Officers, Match Directors and Range Officers. The club has undertaken a major reconstruction project, relocating backstops and firing positions among other things. We have also raised the dues to both deal with the increased costs and encourage people who were only interested in some place to blaze away to look elsewhere.

It is simply something that had to be done to protect the range.

[Jerry G]

The down side to all of this is........... the morons just go out in the country and trash another place which they never clean up.

[chuckjordan2]

So, is there any information gleaned by this thread? Could be, I think:
- cameras are needed (and I hate that intrusion)
- never let people shoot alone (nobody sees them).
- shooters are like anybody else, there are jerks out there.

Do you think there is a certain age for these people? 16-25? 25-35? 35-45? I would bet all are under 50. Just don't allow members in under 50

[Snake]

Our experience revealed that 1)after the electronic gate and 2) the cameras....our issues diminished drastically. We continued to have a few 'housekeeping' type issues....leaving a mess, not signing in guests, etc. Of course those instances were instantly rectified (cameras). We also had an increase in membership directly related to our increased vigilance. The new members were attracted precisely because of our safety protocol and available competitions. Common wisdom would suggest that the intrusiveness of electronic monitoring would be a negative but instead it apparently makes folks feel safer and more willing to go the range and encounter someone they aren't familiar with. Moreover we have an extensive RSO program....so you will probably have a trained RSO somewhere around. There remains a mythology among some shooters that the projectile becomes a liberated creature that goes where it wills free of its owner's bonds once fired, thus its impact is accepted only if it suits the shooter. We still have to repeatedly tell folks that the bullet is yours until it impacts our backstop.... BTW the fools were all ages ....apparently being a jackass transcends age barriers

[Jim Beckley]

Snake, The only down side to all of that was just losing the guy that was just simply marking his territory?

[Snake]

Jim, the secret pisser is still out there some where marking his turf....he just became shy when the cameras showed......you know its hard to pee with folks watching Thankfully he wasn't into solid commentary

[Jim Beckley]

So we're talking stage fright here? Probably the same type of guy that wears his wife's panty hose underneath his Cowboy jammies and blows kisses at a TV screen when it shows Tony Romo during a football game.

[Snake]

Yikes.....is that someone we know? I think of only one guy when you mention panty hose or cowboy jammies.....