smf_hi asked:


I was wondering about shooting ranges rules. I have to admit, that I’m not a conasuier of shooting ranges and other than military ranges have only shot at a couple of different ones in Texas, WA, and Illinois.

A previous poster had posted some people had gotten annoyed and started a fight at a shooting range about a dress code. Personally I can’t imagine joining a shooting range that had a dress code. All I’m concerned about when I go to the range is that the safety rules are STRICTLY enforced, I could care less what the guy in the lane next to me is wearing. I also can’t imagine a no smoking policy on the outdoor range which I guess is also a rule there. What about chaw? Heck the range I shoot at has holders for drinks and paper cups above the ashtray for chaw.

Is this becoming the norm? Are shooting ranges becoming trendy with dress codes, smoking bans outside? Has the latte crowd and yuppies invaded the shooting world as well?
Just to be clear I have no problems living with the rules, I just have a problem with the rules being there in the first place. As far as smoking I hazard I don’t buy it. Where I shoot, and most of the ranges that I’ve shot at in the past there is a safety lane about 10-15 feet behind the firing line for smoking between firing sessions while people are replacing their targets. There is no way you will convince me that this is more hazardous than muzzle flashes, hot brass, percussion caps, etc. Indoor ranges of course are an exception to this.

And as far as the dress code, I’ve worn fatigues most of my adult life, both in the military and out of if. Those are what I wear when I go hunting, working on the car, weekends, etc. To say I can’t wear my old fatigues when I go out to the range is ridiculous. But I guess it’s better than the 70s when I didn’t wear my fatigues off base because of the hassles from the anti-war crowd and the anti-military.