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  • Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    ktf.gif
     

    protegeV

    Ready to go
    Apr 3, 2011
    46,880
    TX
    That's pretty strange to stand there and ask without first striking up a conversation.

    I got into a real good conversation with a gentleman at free State who was shooting a suppressed mp5. At the time his wife was shooting it and we talked for a good 5-7 minutes. Just when I thought he was gonna offer to let me shoot it she packed it up and they hit the door. :facepalm:
     

    vector03

    Frustrated Incorporated
    Jan 7, 2009
    2,519
    Columbia
    I think some folks here are forgetting the fact that the OP was there with his daughter. While I agree with most in that I always let others, and sometimes complete strangers, try my guns, I am super weary when it comes to my daughter's(and wife's) security and well being. I think things might have been different had he been there alone or with other friends, shooting each others guns.

    I give the OP a break here and even kudos for his spidey sense. I would have done the same in his place.:thumbsup:


    This exactly.
    If my focus is off my kid and shifted to watching someone I don't know, who's watching my kid?

    It's a gun range, not a Chick-fil a.


    PS: Be more personable and less socially awkward if I don't know you and you want to handle my weapon.

    PSS: No, I did not forget to put quotes around "my weapon"

    PSSS: Damn it :innocent0
     

    zoostation

    , ,
    Moderator
    Jan 28, 2007
    22,857
    Abingdon
    I wonder of the guy sees a car he likes running in a parking lot and asks the owner who has never met him if he could take it for a spin. I mean honestly, what is wrong with some people.

    I will sometimes share at a range but only after I've talked to the guy and gotten to know him a little. And even there I feel more comfortable in a clubbish environment somewhere like AGC. At a commercial range where it could be anyone I would be much more leery.
     

    teawhy

    Member
    Mar 24, 2017
    82
    Southern Maryland
    I think some folks here are forgetting the fact that the OP was there with his daughter. While I agree with most in that I always let others, and sometimes complete strangers, try my guns, I am super weary when it comes to my daughter's(and wife's) security and well being. I think things might have been different had he been there alone or with other friends, shooting each others guns.

    I give the OP a break here and even kudos for his spidey sense. I would have done the same in his place.:thumbsup:

    Bingo! You nailed it Outrider. Being overprotective does not apply here. There is a time and place for everything, and a way to go about it. This stranger missed the mark on all three in my opinion.
     

    Rack&Roll

    R.I.P
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 23, 2013
    22,304
    Bunkerville, MD
    IIRC, On Target has been the scene for a suicide.

    OP: Did the person asking to shoot your revolver have his own firearm and was shooting? Without that circumstance, NEVER. It might turn into a double murder and suicide.

    Also the usual way a stranger gets to shoot your firearm is that they strike up a non-creepy conversation with you at the range and never ASK to shoot your firearm, but you invite them to do so.

    If that circumstance is not there, not happening.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I was once told, "go with your gut, its been with you all your life"
    I think you handled it correctly and would likely have done the same. although I think you handled it better than what I would have thought at the time
    I feel I can figure a person out pretty quickly and if I had already had a polite and positive conversation, I would allow it depending on the situation.
    However, with my daughter present NO, absolutely not! (this is a big part of the equation here)
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    IIRC, On Target has been the scene for a suicide.

    OP: Did the person asking to shoot your revolver have his own firearm and was shooting? Without that circumstance, NEVER. It might turn into a double murder and suicide.

    Also the usual way a stranger gets to shoot your firearm is that they strike up a non-creepy conversation with you at the range and never ASK to shoot your firearm, but you invite them to do so.

    If that circumstance is not there, not happening.

    I did not see who he may have been with, and I did not see him on the line while we were there. He had nothing with him that indicated he was a shooter. No gear bag or eye protection. He may have been with someone and was just hanging in the back while waiting his turn to use their gun.

    I did keep an eye on him until we left which was not long after his inquiry.

    I had heard about the suicide at Select Fire in Glen Burnie and an attempted suicide a few years ago at On Target which was definitely on my mind with the way he approached me.

    I may have totally misjudged the young man. I made a mistake once, but I divorced her in '93! LOL

    Vector03, my daughter is in her 40's(not a kid anymore) but has never before expressed an interest in learning to shoot. She definitely needs more time at the range. At 25' she shot the floor a few times. I told her if it was a bad guy, she may not hit him, but she would surely make him dance!

    Overall, it was a good outing and she is already making plans for the next trip. :)
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,156
    Suggestion for the newbees. If you are interested in what someone is shooting start by asking some intelligent questions such as:
    What kind of gun is that?
    What caliber is it?
    Who makes it?
    Do you like the way it handles?
    What loads are you using?
    If you have been doing your homework and reading all the posts on MDS you should have some intelligent comments.

    Depending on the answers and how the conversation goes you may be invited to try it out. Don't be afraid to admit you are new to shooting and want to learn, shooters will cut more slack for a newbee than a know it all.
     

    cougar70

    Active Member
    Jan 15, 2013
    260
    Glen Burnie
    While I totally agree with others on being willing to share your toys, there is a certain degree of courtesy and respect.
    I would never just walk up to anyone and and say, "Hey, is okay to try out your <fill-in-the-blank>?"
    I would express interest in whatever and maybe even say that I had never tried a <fill-in-the-blank> and then hope he/she said, go ahead an try it.
    The only way I would ever actually ask to try something is after getting to know the other person and they get to know me and we build some level of friendship and then I might ask.

    Per my example, try entering other things that you own in place of your firearm and ask yourself how you would feel to have a perfect stranger ask to try them out, such as your car, your expensive camera, etc.

    I used to shoot pool for fun years ago and bought a cheap 2 piece cue, because I wanted a straight stick with a good tip and most bar sticks were crap. I only spent $15-20 on it but I had a guy pick it up without asking and then asked if it was okay to borrow it and as I was saying no, he put it up on his shoulders like he was a macho dude and pressed on and it broke. Like I said, it was a cheap stick but it was mine & it was straight. Luckily it wasn't a big deal but if it had been an expensive cue I would have been pissed. The guy got real apologetic and gave me $20.
    He didn't have the courtesy to ask first (and wait for an answer) and didn't have respect for what wasn't his.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    That's kind of a weird situation. To have him just standing behind you without starting up a casual conversation and asking to shoot your handgun out of the blue????? I don't know. I'm a firm believer in first impressions. If this guy didn't give you the warm fuzzies, then you did the right thing. I've let a ton of people shoot my firearms, at both indoor and outdoor ranges. But usually after we've talked for a bit. I kinda think of it as getting neighborly first.

    But to have some guy stand behind me while I'm shooting and then to just blurt out a question like that, I'd probably say no too.


    YMMV

    THIS ^^^^^^

    And especially if you have not seen this person shooting in another lane.

    I am all for letting others shoot, and to shoot their firearms, but this was just strange.
     

    vector03

    Frustrated Incorporated
    Jan 7, 2009
    2,519
    Columbia
    Vector03, my daughter is in her 40's(not a kid anymore) but has never before expressed an interest in learning to shoot. She definitely needs more time at the range. At 25' she shot the floor a few times. I told her if it was a bad guy, she may not hit him, but she would surely make him dance!

    Overall, it was a good outing and she is already making plans for the next trip. :)


    Gotcha.
    I have a 6 year old....so kid = little kid to me.

    I was on the line at On Target next to a 14 - 16 year old girl and her (I assume) father.

    Dad was too busy loading magazines with his back turned to notice a misfire in a 10 shot 22 revolver his daughter was using. I was about 3 seconds away from forcing the barrel of the revolver back down range.

    She started rotating the barrel toward her face to look down it after the misfire...dear 'ol dad turned around just in time to do what I was about to do.


    I've only been back 1 other time and really do not care for the place. I try to go to AGC as often as possible.
     

    Alan3413

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 4, 2013
    16,927
    I wonder of the guy sees a car he likes running in a parking lot and asks the owner who has never met him if he could take it for a spin. I mean honestly, what is wrong with some people.

    I will sometimes share at a range but only after I've talked to the guy and gotten to know him a little. And even there I feel more comfortable in a clubbish environment somewhere like AGC. At a commercial range where it could be anyone I would be much more leery.

     

    babalou

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 12, 2013
    16,019
    Glenelg
    ding ding ding

    I think some folks here are forgetting the fact that the OP was there with his daughter. While I agree with most in that I always let others, and sometimes complete strangers, try my guns, I am super weary when it comes to my daughter's(and wife's) security and well being. I think things might have been different had he been there alone or with other friends, shooting each others guns.

    I give the OP a break here and even kudos for his spidey sense. I would have done the same in his place.:thumbsup:


    Winner!
     

    sgt23preston

    USMC LLA. NRA Life Member
    May 19, 2011
    3,995
    Perry Hall
    Let me be clear here...

    In Baltimore County at one of our local ranges, a stranger came in & rented a gun...

    Sounds pretty simple...

    He took the gun a box of ammo & a target out to the range...

    Sounds pretty simple...

    He hung the target & loaded the gun...

    Sounds pretty simple...

    He fired 1 round at the target an then...

    He turned 90 degrees to the firing line & blew his brains out...

    So why am I going to loan my gun to someone that I don't know..?

    We have had 3 suicides at 3 different gun ranges that I know of within the last 8 years...
     

    Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    I don't see how the daughter being there is relevant. You could be by yourself, hand a stranger that you just had a nice talk with your gun, and he could blast you in the face with it and then your wife/daughter go on without you. For that matter, if the dude was that cray he could have shot OP for NOT lending his pistol. If we are afraid of every scenario, we'd never leave the house, let alone go to a gun range.

    Dude asked OP a question, OP declined, and life goes on. No need to go on the internet and vent about it.

    I tend to be a lot more lax at the range. Just a few weeks ago the guy in the lane next to me was giving me a ton of unsolicited advice about how to shoot better as I was working with the crappy trigger in my M&P Shield. After every shot he'd loudly proclaim all the mistakes I was making. My first instinct was to invite him to self fornicate, but instead I let him fire a round, and to my surprise he shot pretty well. I took his advice and it improved my shooting.
     

    ARMERICA

    Active Member
    Feb 23, 2016
    133
    Bel Air, MD
    I likely would have profiled him. I'm not very PC these days. If he looked sketch or anything I would have told him to scat, but had he been as clean cut as a serial killer I probably would have let him have a go. Ooo ooo ooo, you should have slammed one round in the wheel and given it a spin... just making eye contact with him the whole time. When it stopped spinning (never breaking eye contact) close it gently and point it down range and said if it doesn't go off, you go away. If it does go off, you can shoot the remaining bullets.
     

    Erno86

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 27, 2012
    1,814
    Marriottsville, Maryland
    One former SRSO at AGC...ask me if I could lend him my 454 Casull, Ruger Super Redhawk pistol for bear protection, when he headed out West for a hunting trip. I said no --- One year later --- he committed suicide, but the act did not happen on AGC property.
     

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