0133 – A Different Take on Safety

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Last night I went to the range to do a bit of training.  This time instead of witnessing a safety violation, I was the safety violation, at least in the minds of the insurance company and the attorneys.  I don’t know why I was surprised, but I was asked (very nicely) to refrain from drawing from my holster.  This is an incredibly common rule at ranges, and it bugs me.

The rule is in place because:

  • ranges don’t want to get sued
  • people of all different skill levels come to ranges
  • having people shoot themselves or others at your range is bad for business

This bugs me because:

  • it keeps me from training as realistically as possible
  • when we trust people with a tool of lethal force it is tough to draw lines
  • the most critical portion of dealing with a violent encounter with a handgun is getting the gun into action

Solutions:

  • find a different range
  • take courses
  • compete
  • dry training
2 replies
  1. If It Hits The Fan
    If It Hits The Fan says:

    This is a rediculous rule. The outdoor range where I used to be a member had a rule against “rapid fire.” Once I was shooting a 9mm AR15 off the bench at 50 yds and was pulling the trigger about once a second drilling the bullseye. I was warned about my rapid fire. Another time I was doing the Mozambique Drill on the pistol range on paper sillouettes at about 8 yards and got the same warning. While they didn’t have a rule about drawing from the holster, you had to shoot from behind the firing line tables which were belly high, effectively restricting a shooter from using a holster. I’m no longer a member of that range.

    I agree wholeheartedly with your suggested solutions.

    Donald

    Reply
    • PaulCarlson
      PaulCarlson says:

      I’m lucky Donald in that my outdoor range gives me the freedom to do everything I could possibly want to do. Sometimes I find it hard to not push the limits in my training every time I train. The rules at the range should be pretty simple in my opinion. Make sure your bullets hit the backstop without passing through anything you shouldn’t be shooting and have a good day, should just about cover it.

      Thanks for the comment and the compliment.

      Have a great day!

      Reply

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