I Hate Indoor Ranges
Yesterday The Sweety and I went shooting. It had been three years since the last time we'd done so, due to lack of access, distractions, ennui, and just plain slackitude. She brought her S&W 442, I, my S&W 25-5. We drove to the county seat, where there is a gunshop with indoor range just off the Courthouse Square. We filled out the silly forms, donned ear &eye protection, and proceeded down stairs and through the doors.
That's "doors", plural! Had those doors been airtight, we'd have gone through at least three airlocks. I think they were mostly to stop the noise, but not for safety, as we could look through a window to the street once we were actually in the range and see the Sweety's car parked at the curb 6 feet away.
Weel, there was lots of brass on the floor, but we didn't trip, and there *was * a broom to sweep it with. We picked a lane, and had our first problem. Sweety, being 4'x", could barely see over the counter-like thingy they had there. What is it about pistol ranges, anyway? Do they assume that everybody is of the same tallth, and always shoots from the standing position, or what? Anyway, I poked around among the shot-up bowling pins and target standards, and mirabile dictu, there was a folding stepstool! I proudly brought it over to the firing position and Sweety mounted it and commenced firing.
We took turns shooting from then on, but she retired to the upstairs after only about 40 shots, complaining about the noise (her ears are as small as the rest of her, and she has a hard time finding good-fitting earplugs) and the pain between thumb and indexer of her shootin' hand. I think she understands that the latter is a consequence of her choice of weapons, but we'll try to fix the former.
Oh, the range itself: Well, I reckon it's not bad as indoor ranges go, but that's not saying much.
E.G.:
The light is very bad in there.
The noise is very bad in there.
The togetherness is very bad in there. (You have to be close to others, like them or not.)
The awkwardness is very bad in there. (You're allowed exactly one position, (standing) one size fits all.
The creepiness is very bad in there. I noticed bullet holes in places where there shouldn't really be bullet holes, if the people who made those holes had had half of a set of brains. Made me wonder about some of the folks there when I was there. (Made me be more careful, too! :-) )
The unknown distance is very bad in there. Now this is not a fault of all indoor ranges, just the one I shot at. They had no distances marked except for 10 feet; I had to estimate the rest. They did have the fun-to-play-with electric target trams. I had fun playing with them.
Oh, and did I say the light was bad? Yah, that's realistic, and I prolly need better sights, and better (younger) eyeballs, but would it be too much to ask to have variable lighting in these facilities? Ya' know, bright for sighting-in and target shooting, dim for realism?
Owhell, glad we got to practice, and not 100 yards from the place where Larry Flynt got shot!
Snork.
That's "doors", plural! Had those doors been airtight, we'd have gone through at least three airlocks. I think they were mostly to stop the noise, but not for safety, as we could look through a window to the street once we were actually in the range and see the Sweety's car parked at the curb 6 feet away.
Weel, there was lots of brass on the floor, but we didn't trip, and there *was * a broom to sweep it with. We picked a lane, and had our first problem. Sweety, being 4'x", could barely see over the counter-like thingy they had there. What is it about pistol ranges, anyway? Do they assume that everybody is of the same tallth, and always shoots from the standing position, or what? Anyway, I poked around among the shot-up bowling pins and target standards, and mirabile dictu, there was a folding stepstool! I proudly brought it over to the firing position and Sweety mounted it and commenced firing.
We took turns shooting from then on, but she retired to the upstairs after only about 40 shots, complaining about the noise (her ears are as small as the rest of her, and she has a hard time finding good-fitting earplugs) and the pain between thumb and indexer of her shootin' hand. I think she understands that the latter is a consequence of her choice of weapons, but we'll try to fix the former.
Oh, the range itself: Well, I reckon it's not bad as indoor ranges go, but that's not saying much.
E.G.:
The light is very bad in there.
The noise is very bad in there.
The togetherness is very bad in there. (You have to be close to others, like them or not.)
The awkwardness is very bad in there. (You're allowed exactly one position, (standing) one size fits all.
The creepiness is very bad in there. I noticed bullet holes in places where there shouldn't really be bullet holes, if the people who made those holes had had half of a set of brains. Made me wonder about some of the folks there when I was there. (Made me be more careful, too! :-) )
The unknown distance is very bad in there. Now this is not a fault of all indoor ranges, just the one I shot at. They had no distances marked except for 10 feet; I had to estimate the rest. They did have the fun-to-play-with electric target trams. I had fun playing with them.
Oh, and did I say the light was bad? Yah, that's realistic, and I prolly need better sights, and better (younger) eyeballs, but would it be too much to ask to have variable lighting in these facilities? Ya' know, bright for sighting-in and target shooting, dim for realism?
Owhell, glad we got to practice, and not 100 yards from the place where Larry Flynt got shot!
Snork.
posted by Justthisguy at 12/13/2005 06:22:00 AM
5 Comments:
Hi,
Autism Diva wouldn't like the ambience in your indoor range.
:-) Are the earphone things really expensive? Seems like a better option for sweety than earplugs.
Hey, gal, it's not *my* indoor range!
Actually it's not bad as such facilities go, but I'd still much rather go shooting outdoors out in the country somewhere, on my land or a friend's, nobody here but us chickens, etc.
On the earplugs: Steve H. who keeps a blog at http://www.Hogonice.com, speaks well of earplugs which go by the name "Etymotic." People posting on A.S.A have also had good things to say about Etymotic's products.
Dittos to what the Armorer said ;-)
I like ear muff style protection. Maybe you could look at ear plugs covered by ear muff types *OR* headset comm gear. Just a thought.
Ohh, yeah ... about time you started blogging. Try not to take all the bolts outa the template, though. It does funny things when you try ... trust me.
Oh, Barb: I bought her a set of over-the-head-and-ears protectors for Xmas.
That's Some Catch, That Catch-22!
I have discovered that there is no way that a private citizen can buy a used car from another private citizen in the state of Georgia, and lawfully drive said car into the state of Florida, if said buyer is a lawful resident of Florida, with a Florida driver's licence.
Georgia law appears to be arranged for the convenience of car dealers, and private sellers and buyers go to the wall. When you buy a used car in Georgia, from a private person, you don't get a tag- it stays with the previous owner, not with the vehicle.
You are allowed one month after that to drive around with no tag, which seems crazy to me.
If you do not have a GA driver's licence, and residence, and you buy a car from a GA person, the state of GA allows you to drive around for up to a month with no tag on yer wheels.
The State of Florida cuts no slack for people who just bought cars in Georgia; if you drive there with no tag you're subject to arrest!
If you try to drive yer new wheels home to FL you are subject to citation and/or arrest at the State Line, because GA will not issue a temporary or transit tag to anyone who is not an official Car Dealer or who has not bought his car from an official Car Dealer.
I smell a fix, and I think it's IN!
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