Today I went out to an "illegal" dump site to sight in my new scope. You know what I mean - tires, old Bar-B-Q's, and lawnmowers left on some farmer's property. It's a difficult area to sight in from because, beyond 25 yards, you're seldom at the same elevation as your target. Wind is another problem because it always blows from one of two direction, requiring you to change positions.
When I arrived, some other guy was there ahead of me. He had an expensive setup. His shooting bench had its own seat and, besides a craddle to rest on, the rifle (custom stock) had it's own bipod plus a 40mm scope. It was either a .22 or a .17 by the sound of it. I complimented him on it.
This guy immediately caused me problems because he was shooting cross wise against a steady 20 mph wind. I planned to shoot either into the wind or with it at my back, which put me 90 degrees to him. Rather than fire rounds across the front of him, I moved upwind and fired into the wind so that my rounds were away from him.
I observed him doing three things, all of which I disagreed with and all of which I kept my mouth shut on. This guy had a $ 1,000+ plus set up and yet, IMO, he didn't seem to know what he was doing. Here's what I saw:
1) He was ignoring the cross wind. If he was shooting a .17, this might be no big deal. But, if it was a .22, he was inviting trouble in setting his windage.
2) He was sighting in at only 25 yards. The setup he had would have hit from 300. Perhaps he reduced the range because of the wind or because, if had moved back another 25, it would have increased his elevation. Either way, 25 yards seems too little to me.
3) Although he should have seen his bullet holes in the target at only 25 yards from the target, he had a friend standing 10 yards in front of him and 15 yards from the target to spot his hits. The target was attached to a frigging stove! If the weapon was a .22, this guy was in danger of being hit by a ricochet.
I stood there and watched this circus without a word. Firing into the wind, I set my own windage and, when he left, I set my rest at 50 yards from his target (by using a prone rest versus his seated rest I avoided an elevation change). Firing into the same crosswind, I checked my elevation against his target. I had taped over his holes so that I could spot his shots from mine. He had done OK or even "pretty good" but I equaled or bettered all his shots at 50 yards, snuffing his $ 1000 setup with my $ 80 Marlin. The only reason I could do this was because he didn't know what he was doing, IMHO.
So here's my question.
Should I have opened my mouth and said something to him rather than keep quiet? Keeping my trap shut wasn't easy, especially when he had his friend ahead of him monitoring his hits.
I know that I would have liked the advice but others sometimes don't.
I maybe would of commented on the nice set up he had and maybe that would of opened the door for some repor.
It's possible the guy was new to shooting or was ignorant. Also haveing his friend stand so close to the target kinda tells this guy had no regards for safty and proper gun handling.
Maybe it was best that you said nothing...A.H
I would have at least asked what that other guy is doing so close. Despite how obvious it might have been, at least commented on the situation. Maybe asked him if it was safe or not. Its hard to say. I guess if he would have got a ricochet that didn't hit him, he probably would have moved. Maybe they just lucked out.
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The only thing I can consider he did wrong was to use his buddy as a close-in spotter. I would have simply mentioned the danger his buddy was in and left it at that. You did your part in the warning. His aiming in at 25 yds and through a cross-wind is his choice and I do not find that being uncommon. Perhaps he was practicing shooting with a cross-wind.
Safety is every shooters concern, technique is personal.
Hope you both had the farmer's permission to shoot on his land.
__________________ If ya don't know where I've been and ya don't know where I'm going, your opinions of me don't count.
I'm very new to shooting and while I personally would have appreciated advice, I think you have to approach it gingerly. No one likes being subjected to a lecture from a know-it-all. It's very "thanks dad, yeah, whatever" if it comes across wrong. If you felt that he might have responded amiably to conversation, then saying something like "I don't want to step on your toes, but could I offer a piece of advice on your sighting-in method?" might broach the subject a little more agreeably.
The fact that he even knew about the place in the first place suggests he's been doing it for a while, or at least knows some people who have. He'll get as far as he wants to get, so it's no skin off your nose to ignore him. I do agree with the people above in that if you felt it was a situation where he might just be unwilling to listen then you wouldn't have been wrong to just ignore it altogether. Go with your gut.
well i just joined gun and game but spent many years shooting with my dad and always covered safety while out in the field. when i was a teenager i was shooting my dads .22 comp pistal, it had a very light triger and when i handed the pistol to my friend to shoot, i handed it to him the proper maner but failed to tell him about the light triger and as he took the safty off while the gun was aimed towards the ground just the slightest touch of the triger sent a round into his foot. so since then i always would explane everything and i watch over my guns like a nagging woman. i think i would have complimented him on his outfit and just make small talk and develope a repor with the shooter. after this then i think you would be able to tell if the guy would have had an open mind or not. i would have prob told him about the safety issue at least no one likes to get hit by a stray. lol
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in reality i would have left and let them kill themselves.
toss some chlorine in the ol gene pool.
as long as i dont get hurt.
i dont care what grown men do.
__________________ "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."
If I saw someone doing things that were really endangering someone,I would say something even if it irritated them.From there on out,it's up to them. sam.
i would have mentioned the danger of ricochets with a .22.... .22 rimfires will bounce all over the place and being a combat vet i don't like to see people bleed..... if the guy gave me lip, i'm outta there....... did my part, so to speak.....
Always a problem when using "unofficial ranges". I would probably have said something, but I live in a different world.
Here's the first few of our Range Rules, mostly good old common sense:
RANGE RULES / GUIDELINES
SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
1.IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO INTERVENE SHOULD YOU VIEW WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE AN UNSAFE ACT.
2. THE RANGE OFFICER IS IN CHARGE.
3.ALL FIREARMS BEING TRANSPORTED TO AND FROM THE FIRING POINTS MUST BE CASED, HOLSTERED OR CARRIED IN THE APPROVED SAFE MANNER.
4. ALL GUN HANDLING / DRY FIRING / POINTING, ETC. MUST ONLY OCCUR AT THE FIRING POINTS OR THE DESIGNATED AREA, AND THEN ONLY WITH THE FIREARM POINTING DOWNRANGE.
5. NO HANDLING OF FIREARMS IS PERMITTED AFTER THE " WHISTLE, DOWN GUNS, CHANGE TARGETS CALL"OR WHEN ANY PERSON IS FORWARD OF THE FIRING POINTS.
6. ONLY SHOOTERS AND INSTRUCTORS SHOULD BE AT THE FIRING POINTS, SPECTATORS MUST KEEP BEHIND THE BARRIERS.
My daddy always used to tell me that a fish wouldn't get in trouble if it kept its mouth shut.
I myself might've -MIGHT'VE, mind you-said something which I might've-MIGHT'VE, mind you- ended up regretting. But, given the overall look of things such as you described, I feel in my gut that you did good.
However, if you go back out there in another week or two and find the same dolt, doing the same dolt-ish thing, why then, you might be feeling a bit more confrontational. Watch your six.
Etiquette Question? 
