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Having spent some time as an RSO, I found these amusing. The memories of my days as a newbie-wrangler made me reach for the Maalox. Every day without an accident felt like winning the lottery!

You can add your own experiences in the "comments" section at the site and please do so.

Irons in the Fire: I found some of the Range Safety Officer memories

A shooting range is the perfect place to point a pistol at a boyfriend's face and make "pew, pew" noises - everyone will think you're really cute and laugh.

Texans are born with expert gun-handling in their DNA, so they "don't need no darned help, dummy" - tsk

Spray-painted jeans, 4-inch heels and a top which reveals a tattoo reading "I do it for $$$" is totally appropriate fashion for a shooting lesson.

A double-tap from a 50-cal Desert Eagle which sends the second bullet through the ceiling is totally understandable if you simply tell the range officer "Dude, I'm the best in my clan online using a Deagle, so like, chill out, I know what I'm doing". Like, who wouldn't fail to admire a guy such as that?

3 people can totally fit into a 2-person space - as long as the person in the middle shoots at both targets so as to hit the walls on both sides of the range.

If the pistol won't fire, it's totally natural to turn it sideways and peer at the lettering on the slide - the guys yelling at you about "flagging" are just worry-warts who are too tense and shouldn't even be allowed near a shooting range.

It's perfectly all right to allow a child to carry your firearms and even shoot them while you run off to the bathroom - everyone else at the range will keep an eye on your child for you because they really have nothing better to do. Also, any person who points that it's a crime for you to allow your child to handle a firearm without you being present is obviously an idiot.

It's perfectly acceptable to offer your girlfriend's "favors" in exchange for more ammunition once you've shot your lone box of 25. Similarly, it's the done thing to offer this same honour when the owner of a range asks you to leave because you exited your vehicle with a beer in your hand - he'll definitely change his mind at that offer.

Safety rules are for old farts and sissies - nobody ever died at a shooting range.

It's ok to walk up to the firing line with a concealed and fully-loaded firearm - everyone will admire the fact that you can conceal a full-size cocked 'n' locked 1911 under your shirt when you casually whip it out and plunk it down on the table while they're downrange changing targets during a ceasefire. Range officers love surprises such as that and will want to learn more from you.

Wearing a tac-vest to the range means you're a real operator - everybody knows that. Bonus points if it's a real "Blackhawk!" vest, and double-bonus points if you also have a sheathed knife tied to your thigh.

The police officer's badge on your belt means that you can over-ride the range officers any time you want, because you're a trained professional. Threatening to arrest them when they won't bow to your authority will earn the respect of everyone present and ensure the immediate cooperation of the range officer (HA!).

And some more here (read the comments!)

Irons in the Fire: Someone had a post on 'Things a Range Safety Officer sees'
 
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Telling the fella who was shooting his T/C Hawken Muzzleloader , while smoking :eek: , to desist ... Was told by him to go have sexual relations with myself ...
( He also pointed out the he was shooting with Pyrodex and that wasn't as "flammable" as true black powder ...:confused::eek:)
Yep .. that was the answer , I was wanting to hear...:rolleyes:
Andy
 
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Castro Valley Gun Club was just closed down. It was the best and safest range for the Bay area public. I worked as RSO for a while.

Okay, let's get this over up front. These are mostly culture related incidents. This IS Oakland.

Extended traditional Chinese family swarms the shooting bench, I dig through my minimal Mandarin to try to tell them to stay behind the red line. They smile, nod their heads and swarm the shooting bench.

A group of Eastern Europeans pile modern sports rifles on a table, begin sweeping everyone. Only one speaks English.

Japanese tourists. Even the young men giggle, one grabs two semi-autos stands well behind the red line, both hands raised, fingers on triggers, shouting "Rambo!".

Cantankerous fool from another local club intentionally puts revolver sideways on bench rather than pointing down range. Didn't like that the RSO for the day was a lady. The Park Ranger helped us escort him out. I thought the Range Officer's prejudice against members of that other club were dumb. Turns out I was wrong.
 
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Well the media is always telling me that guns are responsible for everything that happens, so what's the point of making me follow some set of rules if the gun is going to do whatever it feels like anyway? /sarcasm

:s0010:
 
I had a RO at Clark Rifles, walked up and started chatting, no worries normal for the old fellow. Then he picked up a loaded
.40 Firestar mag, let it slip through his butterfingers and dropped it feed lips down onto the concrete! I never could fix it and spares were rare then! Not all idiots are the plain folks! :)
 
Ranges and gunstores should be utter bloodbaths according to their logic.
Yeah? Well blood was spilled one time I went to the range. :cool: Got my finger caught in the action of a PSL I was shooting that day. :oops: Got a blood blister the size of the tip of my tongue, popped it with my teeth, covered it (gotta keep blood off the rifle), then went on shooting.
 
I go to the range in camo, so I'm a good'ol boy and need minimal supervision.


I got a lot of ink done over a large part of my body in the summer and only wanted to wear the least amount of clothes I could get away with. Turns out wearing a wife beater and shorts while sporting a sleeve and chest of tattoos equates to getting micro managed by half the RSO's on duty; or at the very least watched constantly.

I've gone with camo on since then and thanks to my 6'5" or something buddy they recognize me now and it's all good.:rolleyes:
 
Yeah, I got that kind of attention at first too--college boy in polos and slacks. Then after they saw the cops I was sharing the range with take me under their mentorship and I started showing up in suits... well, the RO's took it well, some of the Bubbas at the other end of the line not so much. (Though I must say it was fun watching the ex curbstomp 'em...)
 

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