People at the shooting range

[Mikeg1005]

Alright... tell me if its just me and because I live in/around a large city.

Went shooting this past weekend... indoor range, 25yds... I typically shoot my GP100 and my buckmark hope to add a 1911 soon

But I always seem to study people at the range.

Heres is what I always notice... EVERYONE buys shilouttes, I know that certain people train for self defense and you can tell when they shoot more rapidly and aim for the center of mass on the person... but the rest, always buy shilouettes and aim for headshots... do people have this inner wanna-be video game lifestyle that if its not a headshot its not proper shooting?

One of the two ranges that I go to allows rifles... its a max distance of 50ft.... I have seen guys bring, decked out ARs, mosin nagants, 308s etc. to this place, half w/ scopes and shoot a TON of ammo... for starters they make a 5" group at 50 ft w/ the thing and I always wonder why they don't drive an hr north of the place and go to a place that has a 200yd rifle range... I mean, if you aren't just testing your rifle, why wouldn't you go shoot somewhere w/ the thing thats actually fun.

My personal favorite is the group of hardcore badasses that come to the range, shoot at shiloutte at 15 ft away, semi rapid two mags into it out of a full size 9mm, 40, 45acp, and lay down a 24" group with the majority of rounds missing the target... then they turn to their friends and say something very manly such as "damn, I wouldn't want to be that guy walking into my house trying to kill me"... It always makes me laugh because in an ideal/well lit surrounding you are completely failing at hitting vitals but are confident that you will be able to do it in the dark, while having your house invaded... Don't get me wrong, I like to rapid fire at close range too, but its not my primarly method of practicing, I rather slow fire at the 25yd line and see how well of a group I can put down(Getting 12 round groups with about 75% of the rounds within a 3" diameter, trying to tigthen it up haha)

But ya, anyone ever notice this? I get a good laugh out of it always.

MIke.

[RamAford]

Ive never been to a fancy indoor range. But i can see what your talking about. Some people just have no common sense when it comes to guns. I would almost bet that they are just wanting to show off their guns and how much money they can waste at the range.

We always shoot at the farm in the country with some walmart targets or old cans/bottles, etc. The best is using for sale signs (borrowed from the neighborhood) and tape the targets to it. Definitely cheap and readily available. But i like to shoot from certain distances and see how well i can group with each gun and different types of ammo. See what works best with each gun.

[Mikeg1005]

I agree... I much rather shoot outdoors.... we do up in WI by our cabin. Closest outdoor range to where I live is in Kenosha WI, a little over an hour drive if you drive fast(but then again average traffic on I94 to Milwuakee is like 75-80mph)

I never looked into city ordenances as far as discharging firearms, but I'm pretty sure someone would call the cops...Arlington Hts, has 75k people last time I checked.

MIke.

[Jason]

I was always taught accuracy first, speed later. I think one well-placed bullet can do more damage than 10 or 15 random shots fired into the drywall. But if I was practicing for home invasion/self defense, why the f*ck would you shoot a rifle? That would be my last choice. A shotgun or hollow point-equipped handgun would be my peace maker.

[RamAford]

(03-08-2010 12:28 AM)Jason Wrote:  I was always taught accuracy first, speed later. I think one well-placed bullet can do more damage than 10 or 15 random shots fired into the drywall. But if I was practicing for home invasion/self defense, why the f*ck would you shoot a rifle? That would be my last choice. A shotgun or hollow point-equipped handgun would be my peace maker.

I definitely agree. a rifle is just way overkill and will do more harm than damage. Plus your gonna possibly kill your neighbors as well if you do shoot at anyone, will the bullet going through everthing.

I personally keep a .45 hanging on the bed post and a .357 in my vehicles. I would think a shotgun would be good for home as well. I know alot of guys who use buckshot, but thats pointless. its gonna go throughthe walls and possibly into your neighbors homes as well. If i had to keep a shotgun, some birdshot would be plenty, and wont go through more than 2-3 walls at most.

[Dodge4x4Texan]

I personally like the home defense slugs for my shot gun. Keep it posted right next to my bed but hopefully I will never have to use them.

[Crawford]

Lol, I feel for the poor folks that use shotguns for home protection, sure racking a pump action is usually enough to scare somebody away, but all those pellets flying through walls striking wires, gas lines, copper water pipes. etc...

If you want a real scare, put on a bullet proof vest and head into the range when the local security guards are qualifying with their pistols... If you don't die from a ricochet or the roof collapsing, you'll die of laughter.....


we get a lot of bangers in the local range trying to shoot their gun sideways with their hand on their balls. Or the retarded young swat guy w/ his MP5 doing 3 round bursts and full auto @ 7 yards... causing chain reactions of less frightening but equally stupid behavior.

[CJW]

(03-08-2010 12:56 AM)RamAford Wrote:  If i had to keep a shotgun, some birdshot would be plenty, and wont go through more than 2-3 walls at most.

I've heard that birdshot on the upper torso of a human is actually quite inaffective as far as killing or putting the intruder down permanently. I was reading some articles one day about cops, EMT's, etc. reporting what they've seen from birdshot wounds and it was quite eye opening. The general consensus was that when the birdshot hit the ribcage at close range it just peeled the skin away from the bone all across the chest. While the attacker was probably in all kinds of pain and may have been knocked down, it most cases they were able to get back up and run. One case the guy was able to run out of the house and sit on the front step on the house he had just broken into and just waited on the cops because he knew he was screwed.

It will definitley put the hurting on them, but if you're plan to make sure they can do you no more harm, bigger shot or solids would be a better bet. The smallest bird shot I would use for home defense would be BBB. #4 buck would be optimal.

To the OT, yes, ammo waisting dumb asses like that are always amusing.

[Jason]

Not sure about 1 round, but if that's all it does (peels the skin away), I'll [censored] it again and fire another one. Maybe that will peel the bone away from the organs. Then you can grab their heart and say, "Do I have your f*cking attention now?!"

I personally keep a gallon of drain-o below all the sinks. Just in case some meth addict breaks in, I can point him to something he wants more than money and end the confrontation peacefully.

[Sparty]

"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." ~ Wyatt Earp