Hap Baker Disappointment

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  • Jul 13, 2014
    78
    I just want to vent my less than pleasant experience at Hap Baker last Sunday. Just want to mention for the record that I am a huge fan of the place and this is a first time i ever had an issue with RSO there.
    I had 5 guys with me, but the line to get in was so big that we only took one lane since we felt bad for all other people. Some of us were there and some went to the pistol range.
    A little more that 1h into shooting my body wanted to shoot his AK standing. As he was shooting (1.5 steps behind a red line) the RSO came and told him to stand closer. He did. 10 minutes into that, he accidentally stepped on the red line (never crossed it though) and fired a few shots rapidly. I guess he just remembered his good old days in the Soviet military. Next thing we know, the RSO running to us yelling to "get the hell out of there". As we were leaving I saw RSO already processing someone else on that lane. I understand RSO wanted to make a comment on rapid firing but his aggression was totally unnecessary and uncalled for.
    If he wanted the lane for someone else, he could of politely ask us to give others opportunity to shoot. We would understand and accommodate.
    I will definitely go there again, but it did left a bad taste in my mouth.
     

    Swaim13

    Active Member
    Jun 11, 2017
    327
    I was at the range and watched all of this happen. I am guessing you were on lane 1? If so, I would like to clarify why he was kicked out.

    First, he repeatedly ignored the RSOs coming up to him and telling him to slow down his rate of fire. The first time he was told, he seemed happy and had no problem. He did go back to rapid firing on one of his following magazines.

    He was behind the line by a couple of feet for one of his magazines. The another time that the RSO came up to him, he was straddling the line. I was at the firing line and could see the line on the wall behind him. He appeared to be shooting a pistol AK so I understand that it can be harder to keep the muzzle over the line but have your body behind it due to its short length. After this, he received his final warning.

    Finally, he went to the pistol range. I overheard the RSOs saying he shot one of the straps holding the target backer up and he was kicked out.

    I agree the range was busy and appreciate you and your friends were sharing a lane. I do not mean this as a diss to your friend but rather as an accurate accounting of what happened. I hope to see you at the range again soon.
     

    Name Taken

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 23, 2010
    11,891
    Central
    I just want to vent my less than pleasant experience at Hap Baker last Sunday. Just want to mention for the record that I am a huge fan of the place and this is a first time i ever had an issue with RSO there.
    I had 5 guys with me, but the line to get in was so big that we only took one lane since we felt bad for all other people. Some of us were there and some went to the pistol range.
    A little more that 1h into shooting my body wanted to shoot his AK standing. As he was shooting (1.5 steps behind a red line) the RSO came and told him to stand closer. He did. 10 minutes into that, he accidentally stepped on the red line (never crossed it though) and fired a few shots rapidly. I guess he just remembered his good old days in the Soviet military. Next thing we know, the RSO running to us yelling to "get the hell out of there". As we were leaving I saw RSO already processing someone else on that lane. I understand RSO wanted to make a comment on rapid firing but his aggression was totally unnecessary and uncalled for.
    If he wanted the lane for someone else, he could of politely ask us to give others opportunity to shoot. We would understand and accommodate.
    I will definitely go there again, but it did left a bad taste in my mouth.


    Quoted before the rebuttal.
     

    MaxVO2

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Theres always more to the story....i think we just got a big part of what was left out.

    *****I'm an RSO at a different range, am a certified NRA instructor and teach at least once a month if not more. I've had to kick people off of our ranges for not following our rules similar to what is described above, or have them challenge me on rules regarding rapid fire while not being able to hit a target 7 yards in front of them, or a crazy guy drawing from a holster and doing "El Presidente", where he is facing 180 degrees away from the firing line, *facing* people maybe 30 feet away from him that are behind a plywood wall at some picnic tables, and drawing while turning around to shoot at three targets in front of the firing line. Absolute unconscious incompetence.

    Thankfully, most people have some modicum of sense with respect to safety, and I do my best to use patience, respect, and courtesy to help those who just make honest mistakes. There are those folks however, who are clearly morons and shouldn't be on any range with a firearm in their hands. We kicked a guy out of our range some time back for throwing tennis balls up in the air and trying to shoot them in mid air on an outdoor range....a range with other ranges adjacent to it over our safety berms, along with buildings, etc.. :crazy:

    You can never make everyone happy, but some people just have something wrong with them, and they either can't or won't follow rules, AND have a persecution complex to boot...
     

    FatTony

    Member
    Aug 2, 2015
    70
    Carroll County
    As the OP correctly stated, it was a crowded morning at the range and I as well as a couple dozen people can say the individual that was booted was called out more than once for rapid firing. The RSO having to call a cease-fire and clear the pistols range to do repairs as busy as the day was didn't help his case.
     

    madmantrapper

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 6, 2009
    1,528
    Carroll County
    I believe at hap baker, you are suppose to leave 3 or 5 seconds between shots. This doesn't make sense to me because there a lot of firing lanes where folks could be firing in rapid succession.


    Sorry for late response, phone rang.
     

    jonnyl

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 23, 2009
    5,969
    Frederick
    I've only been there once. Wasn't thrilled about the slow rate of fire, but it's their house. One of the RO's noticed the length of pull on my old .22 pump was a little too long for my daughter. He went to his car and got a youth model and loaned it to us. Nice guy. I haven't been back, but the experience was good.

    Side note, took me a little too long to figure out why my 100 yd groups were twice as wide as I expected. I was shooting @ 200.
     

    Racer Doug14

    Thread killer
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Feb 22, 2013
    8,003
    Millers Maryland
    Hap, like all public ranges, safety is #1. This is top priority at any range. But, public ranges liability is looming with every shooter. People shouldn't get the impression that they can get their inner Jerry Miculek out. Especially when they are there with a bunch of friends. I don't have a problem with the "2 second " rule. I only go there to zero long guns anyway.
     

    boothdoc

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 23, 2008
    5,133
    Frederick county
    Sorry you were disappointed.
    Safety first is the moto.

    Everyone has an opinion about how safe is safe. The difference is the RSO has the authority.

    I am glad everyone went home safe today. The rest is feelings
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    Hap, like all public ranges, safety is #1. This is top priority at any range. But, public ranges liability is looming with every shooter. People shouldn't get the impression that they can get their inner Jerry Miculek out. Especially when they are there with a bunch of friends. I don't have a problem with the "2 second " rule. I only go there to zero long guns anyway.

    Me too now. I am a member at Damascus IWLA and their rate of fire rules is it must be controllable. I’be heard a guy or two where I am positive it wasn’t. Or wasn’t as controllable as it SHOULD be. Someone emptied about 25 rounds in about 6-7 seconds yesterday. If my son wasn’t with me I would have ambled over to the other pistol range so I could report who it was. Best I could see was someone shooting a 10/22 at a target about 7yds away. I am pretty sure only about half the rounds were on target. 22lr or not and 7 yards away or not.

    They immediately packed up and left. So I suspect they knew they weren’t following the rules.

    I don’t blame Hap for wanting 2 seconds between shots. I’ve seen one total power tripping idiot RSO in the last 4 years of owning guns and going to ranges. I’ve seen at least a dozen idiot gun owners at ranges in that time. Public or private ranges.
     

    AlBeight

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 30, 2017
    4,371
    Hampstead
    I shoot almost exclusively at the Hap. I’ve never personally had a bad experience with the RSO’s there. A few years back there was ZERO standing shooting allowed. With the exception of the middle two lanes which allowed prone 100 & 200 yd shooting only, all shooting had to be bench-seated muzzle inside plywood box only. They’ve only allowed standing shooting in recent years (tho not sure when they added it).

    I also don’t like the slow fire rate, FOR MYSELF, but I’ve seen enough knuckleheads there that I suppose I’m glad they limit it. As it is there’s bullet holes in the approx 12 ft overhead timbers / sound baffles. That’s not poor shooting or ricochets, that’s blatant ass-baggery. I’d like to get into competition shooting but there’s absolutely no way to train for it there with the slow-fire rule unfortunately. But as others have pointed out I can always go somewhere else. The Hap is just so damn convenient for me.

    The only true complaint I have is they’re closed Mondays and Tuesdays. It gets too crowded there sometimes, I suspect being closed Mon-Tues has much to do with that.
     

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