Shooting is the new bowling.
I thought of something about people at the gun range who aren’t experienced shooters, people who rent, not own, guns:
“Shooting is the new bowling.”
Going to a range, renting a gun and firing off some shots to blow off some steam is kind of the new “hip” thing for youngsters to do. I fairly frequently see people, usually between 21 and 25, at the range, renting a gun. I don’t like shooting around them. They don’t always practice gun safety as much as I do. I especially don’t trust someone to know gun safety when I see them picking out a gun to rent and they’re asking questions like “What’s the difference between a 9mm and a .45?” Or worse yet, “What’s the difference between one of those cowboy guns (they point at a revolver) and that other kind?” (They point at a semi-auto.)
And in California, you have to pass a criminal/mental background check, take a written safety test, and wait ten days to buy a gun. But any murderous felon or suicidal psycho can rent a gun at a range, on the spot, as long as he’s 21 and not visibly drunk or high. (In fact, a gun range two towns over from me, not the range I go to, but this one, is closing for good, partially because they’ve had a total of eight suicides there over the years. Mostly gun renters.)
DJ and I are thinking of joining a gun club. We’ll have to drive twice as far to shoot, and pay more, but we will be shooting next to gun owners only, not gun renters. I haven’t been shooting that long, but have been shooting long enough to recognize incompetence in the next lane when I see it.
I don’t mind bowling three lanes down from a careless bowler, but I do mind shooting three lanes down from a careless shooter.
Also, I think I need to be around better shooters to get better myself. DJ and I are getting good quickly, and we are often the best shots on the lanes on a given day at the range. I wanna be somewhere where everyone is a better shot than us. That’s part of how I learn anything: hang out with experts and ask questions, and watch them work. That’s how I learned music, filmmaking, writing, podcasting and more.
As for gun safety, it’s not just citizens who don’t know and/or practice the rules. Here’s one of my favorite YouTube videos, Cop Shoots himself in the leg. Not that I don’t like cops, I kinda do like cops, but this guy is bragging about gun safety, to school kids, as he does it.
Here’s the basic rules, in case you don’t know. There are more, but these are paramount:
RULE I: ASSUME EVERY GUN IS LOADED, EVEN IF YOU ARE TOLD IT IS NOT. CHECK IT YOURSELF.
RULE II: ALWAYS POINT A FIREARM IN A SAFE DIRECTION
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET, AND WHAT’S BEHIND IT, AND WHAT’S BEYOND IT.
Here are more good gun safety rules, (from the NRA site.)
September 24th, 2008 at 3:15 am
I wanted and came close to buying a range that was going out of business. Thought it would be my dream job. Luckily, I had wiser friends to counsel against it and saw how expensive insurance was because hopeless people used the range to commit suicide. I had never heard of that before until I was in the business.
Hal Lindsey said, “a man can live 40 days without food, about 3 days without water and about 8 minutes without air, but only 1 second without hope.”
I went in the “hope” business instead. I am my brothers keeper but I will still “bust a cap” if pushed. (smile)
Thanks Michael.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I didn’t know that people used ranges to kill themselves. That’s fucked up. And I didn’t even realize that ranges rented guns to just anyone. That’s a bit disturbing. Definitely sounds like the gun club is the way to go.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Im all for the right to commit suicide, …
and learning how to handle the gun properly should definitely be a prerequisite.
S0, Thanks to the NRA, suicide is much easier now. Well done.!
NOW I might consider joining…..
kidding.
I will probably choose a quieter method involving pharmaceuticals, thanks.
Is there a club I can join to get an ounce of Ketamine, with no waiting period?
September 25th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Sick, Skip.
And I think it would be incredibly selfish for someone to kill themselves at a range where people are. Fuck their heads, and help put an honest business out of business.
If you must, do it at home. Six ounces of antifreeze in a glass of orange juice should work. No waiting period either.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:32 am
I think your point is well-taken.
[any murderous felon or suicidal psycho can rent a gun at a range, on the spot]
So People shoot themselves at gun rental type ranges;
and you are right that that wouldnt happen as much if at all at a gun-ownership club. They can blow their heads off at home, [ some do].
Since acquiring the deadly device and shooting oneself is so easy, …
I wonder how many “suicide-victims” would live if they didnt rent guns so freely? Or do we even care?
So Maybe tightening up the laws on rentals would be a good thing.
Whats the NRA think about that issue? They want no waiting period , right?
September 25th, 2008 at 2:36 am
Your article should read : ” Suicide is the New Bowling”!
September 25th, 2008 at 2:37 am
I think people who want to take themselves out of the gene pool should be able to do it. Far from me…..
NRA is against all waiting periods. They’re against all gun regulation, except background checks, which they want on the spot. (Gov is balking on that….whole issue with gun show sales…but as someone pointed out, you can get anything in the parking lot of a gun show.)
We found a nice range, in the mountains past Burbank. Doesn’t rent guns. Is outdoors. About 20 minutes further drive than the ghetto scary rental range we have been going to. Gonna go this weekend:
http://www.angelesranges.com/Pictures/picture.html
http://www.angelesranges.com/
September 25th, 2008 at 2:40 am
I bet the current weather In SO Cal is real nice for that.
Looks like fun!
September 25th, 2008 at 2:50 am
>I bet the current weather In SO Cal is real nice for that.
>Looks like fun!
I know. It’s down to about 80, and a nice breeze up in the hills. Shooting in the range is claustrophobic, and there’s no ventilation. I choke from the gun smoke. And the idiots who’ve never shot before all around me, endangering my life. This range we’re going to does not do gun rentals, so it’s gonna be all serious shooters who understand safety. They even require a written safety test to shoot there. Yay!
September 25th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I recently attended the NRA Range Development and Operations Conference. Anyone who is thinking of purchasing a range must attend this. Owning and operating a successful range is doable. I went for other reasons and came back with a wealth of information.
Another good, safe shooting range is the Winchester Canyon Gun Club in Santa Barbara. http://www.wcgc.org You can borrow the shotguns and play trap, skeet, or sporting clays. The rifle and pistol range is all bring your own firearms and ammunition.
Unfortunately, it is currently closed due to the hydromulching program. It may be closed for as long as a month.