Scoundrel
10-01-2011, 10:04 PM
I think indoor shooting ranges are a great idea. I am really grateful that we have several in our area. But, every rose has its thorns.
One thorn often found at indoor ranges is this:
Nearly every time I go to the range, there is someone there who feels compelled to compensate for the size of his manhood by shooting the biggest F-ing gun the place has for rent.
At NorPoint today, that was the Smith and Wesson 500 - a .50 caliber magnum revolver. That sucker is HUGE, the bullets it fires are HUGE, and the noise it makes is HUGE. It's not just the noise that is huge, it's also the shockwave that hits you, 4 lanes over, through the dividers. Also, the muzzle flash lights up the whole range for an instant, adding a visual element to the shock factor. That gun gets you three ways - audio, visual, tactile.
Fortunately, I was warned by the range master - so in addition to my earplugs, I also rented a set of mufflers, and doubled up.
When I first entered the range, the guy shooting the 500 was in his 50s, and he was taking his time between shots. He probably didn't want to deplete his bank account - those suckers go for $1.50/round when you buy them online. I expect they're more like $2 each if you buy them at the range. Of course, the fact that he was taking his time between shots meant that I never knew when the next one was going to happen.
Here is a portion of a target I was shooting at with a .22 rifle, four lanes to the left of the guy with the hand cannon. See if you can guess which shot I fired at the same moment the guy with the 500 cracked one off:
http://teamfrogdrelotep.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Group.jpg
After a while, I noticed that it had been a long time since the last big boom, so I looked over and observed that he had left. Whew! But I was relieved too soon. Not 10 minutes went by before I overheard some 20-somethings a few lanes over (one lane closer than before) getting ready to fire the 500. One of them had the decency (or the vanity) to warn people, saying loudly "We're about to fire a 50 caliber!". I paused and braced myself. A few moments passed. One of them said "Nothing happened." The first one said "Put it down and let me see." A few more moments passed. Then "OK, you're good to go now." A few more moments.
BOOM!
Mad giggling broke out three lanes over, overlaid with "Dude, did you even hit the target?" (the target was only out to about 15 feet)
Sigh.
The good news is that their bank accounts didn't seem to be as deep as their desire to prove their manhood by firing a small cannon, and they didn't stick around long.
Now, remember how I compared the range with a rose? Well, we've just talked about the thorns. Let's talk about the petals now.
The lane to my left was occupied by two good looking women in blue jeans and caps. I am not sure if they were mother and daughter, friends, sisters, or what. I was unobtrusive, and therefore did not get a close look. But I know that they were firing .45 ACP. I know this because I was smitten, both figuratively and literally. A few of their casings vaulted the divider and impacted my shoulder on the way to the floor.
I also noticed that they had affixed a medium-sized spring clamp to the bottom of their paper target.
http://teamfrogdrelotep.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SpringClamp.jpg
NorPoint has a great ventilation system that keeps the smoke and lead dust out of your face really well, but the down side is that the targets tend to sway in the breeze. Theirs was not swaying. I leaned over and told one of them that the clamp was an AWESOME idea, and I was going to have to do that next time. She was genuinely appreciative of the comment.
All in all, it was a good range visit. The S&W 500 Magnum wasn't optimal, but it could have been worse. There could have been someone in the lane to my right firing a .44 Magnum rapid fire the entire time.
One thorn often found at indoor ranges is this:
Nearly every time I go to the range, there is someone there who feels compelled to compensate for the size of his manhood by shooting the biggest F-ing gun the place has for rent.
At NorPoint today, that was the Smith and Wesson 500 - a .50 caliber magnum revolver. That sucker is HUGE, the bullets it fires are HUGE, and the noise it makes is HUGE. It's not just the noise that is huge, it's also the shockwave that hits you, 4 lanes over, through the dividers. Also, the muzzle flash lights up the whole range for an instant, adding a visual element to the shock factor. That gun gets you three ways - audio, visual, tactile.
Fortunately, I was warned by the range master - so in addition to my earplugs, I also rented a set of mufflers, and doubled up.
When I first entered the range, the guy shooting the 500 was in his 50s, and he was taking his time between shots. He probably didn't want to deplete his bank account - those suckers go for $1.50/round when you buy them online. I expect they're more like $2 each if you buy them at the range. Of course, the fact that he was taking his time between shots meant that I never knew when the next one was going to happen.
Here is a portion of a target I was shooting at with a .22 rifle, four lanes to the left of the guy with the hand cannon. See if you can guess which shot I fired at the same moment the guy with the 500 cracked one off:
http://teamfrogdrelotep.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Group.jpg
After a while, I noticed that it had been a long time since the last big boom, so I looked over and observed that he had left. Whew! But I was relieved too soon. Not 10 minutes went by before I overheard some 20-somethings a few lanes over (one lane closer than before) getting ready to fire the 500. One of them had the decency (or the vanity) to warn people, saying loudly "We're about to fire a 50 caliber!". I paused and braced myself. A few moments passed. One of them said "Nothing happened." The first one said "Put it down and let me see." A few more moments passed. Then "OK, you're good to go now." A few more moments.
BOOM!
Mad giggling broke out three lanes over, overlaid with "Dude, did you even hit the target?" (the target was only out to about 15 feet)
Sigh.
The good news is that their bank accounts didn't seem to be as deep as their desire to prove their manhood by firing a small cannon, and they didn't stick around long.
Now, remember how I compared the range with a rose? Well, we've just talked about the thorns. Let's talk about the petals now.
The lane to my left was occupied by two good looking women in blue jeans and caps. I am not sure if they were mother and daughter, friends, sisters, or what. I was unobtrusive, and therefore did not get a close look. But I know that they were firing .45 ACP. I know this because I was smitten, both figuratively and literally. A few of their casings vaulted the divider and impacted my shoulder on the way to the floor.
I also noticed that they had affixed a medium-sized spring clamp to the bottom of their paper target.
http://teamfrogdrelotep.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SpringClamp.jpg
NorPoint has a great ventilation system that keeps the smoke and lead dust out of your face really well, but the down side is that the targets tend to sway in the breeze. Theirs was not swaying. I leaned over and told one of them that the clamp was an AWESOME idea, and I was going to have to do that next time. She was genuinely appreciative of the comment.
All in all, it was a good range visit. The S&W 500 Magnum wasn't optimal, but it could have been worse. There could have been someone in the lane to my right firing a .44 Magnum rapid fire the entire time.