All of the “primer backing out” testing I did I opted to do at the local indoor gun range. Why? Convenience. The thing is, I don’t like going there because they let anyone and everyone go there. They’re right in town, very obvious, thus it’s where folks go. And they do attract the gamut of gun handlers. So I try to limit my time there to off times, when it should be fairly dead. Still, you can’t avoid people entirely, and here’s some things I’d like to point out.

• If you are going to teach someone how to shoot a gun, teach them the fundamentals at home with a dry, empty, unloaded gun. That is, teaching them the basics of how to rack a slide, how to load a gun (get snap-caps or dummy rounds), how to hold it, and so on. Doing this dry will help build a lot of confidence. As well, it’s loud at the indoor range and you can hear each other a lot better at home. Furthermore, at the indoor range you’re paying by the hour; use that time to do the thing you can do only there: shoot… other stuff can and should be done at home before getting to the range.
• Wear 2 sets of hearing protection: ear insert plugs AND the headset-style covers. It really cuts down on the noise, the “sharp” sounds from the echo, and you’ll jump and flinch a lot less.
• Eye protection is good too.
• Ladies, while we may enjoy looking at your breasts, the gun range is not the place for that… unless you like the feel of hot brass in your cleavage. Wear a close-necked shirt; your boobs will thank you later.
• Children are fine to come to the range, but young children should have 1. copious hearing protection (their ears are better than ours and it’s going to hurt them a lot more), 2. at least one adult per child to monitor them. Parents should not be juggling children. The person shooting shouldn’t also have to watch Junior.
• If you’re having to tend to Junior, please unload the gun and put it on the bench. While I appreciate that you’re at least pointing the gun in a safe direction (downrange), that you’re head is whipping around trying to find Junior while your finger is still on the trigger… that doesn’t make me smile.
• Please get proper training from good instructors. Just because you know how to point-and-click doesn’t mean you’re going to be passing along good knowledge to your girlfriend. Seeing some small woman struggle with the “slingshot” technique and boyfriend/husband chastising her to “try harder” instead of using a better technique, like the over-the-top, just pains me.
  • Furthermore, that tends to lead to a loaded gun being pointed in all manner of direction as girlfriend struggles to rack the slide. That doesn’t make me smile.
• When you have gear that won’t fit in the lane, like your rifle case, please at least line it up neatly along the back wall. Leaving it just strewn on the floor where everyone has to step over it isn’t considerate.
• Please don’t flash your muzzle at me. That doesn’t make my wife smile.