channel12 wrote:bobbob wrote:
I have been biting my tongue on the topic of this group for some months.
Towards the end of last year our club were booked in for a whole day on 300 yards at Century. Due to mobility issues, once we are on the range we don't move, we cater for ourselves and happily look after other club members stuff while they go off for lunch. (Obviously they take their firearms away with them.) On this day we were in a little way from the gate, with belongings of three other people. Someone from the range office came along and started to put the "Danger Live Firing Ahead" boards out. We were puzzled as they were blocking off the entrance and exit from our position to the gate. The chap putting the boards out said he was just doing as he was told.
The problem I have is one group giving the impression that they are more important at the detriment to other range users.
Can I ask if it had been TR shooters who's range your members had tried to walk across would your comments be any different? And how would your club react if they were shooting a 400yds and somebody walked out out the 300yd car park passed the danger boards? The real issue here is that on more than one occasion to my knowledge people have ignored the the danger signs walked on the range while shooting is taking place at 400/500yds. It's not a matter of one group thinking they are more important than another, if the hooter has sounded then the shooters of whatever discipline are in possession of their allocated range are entitled to carry on shooting.
CSR is shot in the Winter on Butt 19 because it is shot from 100yds back to 500yds and Century isn't that busy. In February 2012 there was heavy snow on match day and we were the only shooters on Century.
I am only replying as I have been asked a direct question.
At no time did any of our club members try to walk across a live range. While we were shooting the route to the car park was not live. When this incident occurred, the range was not live as it was lunch time, so no shooting regardless of whether signs were in place or not.
The day in question was the 13th of October 2012. Our club secretary booked our club dates for the whole year as soon as the NRA opened the booking system, as he has done for many years. We arrived before the hooter was sounded for the morning session. We shot up to the hooter for lunch. Most of the members then left the range leaving their belongings as they were returning for the afternoon.
During lunch a vehicle arrived and started putting signs out, see below.
At this point we realised our access to and from the firing points was about to be shut off once the hooter went for the afternoon. The range office was contacted but they weren't really interested and said they would send someone down. Our club secretary was also called to tell him and the other members what was happening so they could come and pick up their belongings and leave or to get to the firing point before the hooter while it was safe.
An NRA member arrived and basically told us that if we didn't like the situation, leave, as the other club would be using the range and if we wanted to leave once they started we would have to wait, he then walked off.
We decided, due to physical problems that we had no choice but to leave. We couldn't leave the other members belongings so they were moved over towards the gate.
It was still lunch time so we were not walking across anyone else’s range and it was not live! By then the other members had returned and were trying to get across the car park to get to the gate where their belongings were. Their way was blocked. I don't know what was said as I was still trying to gather up our equipment. We were then told by our secretary that we had been moved to another range.
Maybe the problem lies with poor communication. When a club makes an advanced booking for Century that clashes with the use of longer distances to the right hand side, maybe they should be warned of the restricted access so a change can be made.
It happened, nobody was hurt just bad feelings. If I had know airing this incident would have caused so much bad feeling I wouldn't have bothered mentioning it.
