Our gun club is in the process of setting up an organized set of range rules, in the past it has been guided by common sense and good manners, it is coming to a point where there are enough careless individuals to make a written out set of rules necessary, we have a 30 to 50 yard rimfire/pistol range and 100 and 200 yard rifle ranges. I was wondering what some of the rules are like for your local ranges.

Our gun club is in the process of setting up an organized set of range rules, in the past it has been guided by common sense and good manners, it is coming to a point where there are enough careless individuals to make a written out set of rules necessary, we have a 30 to 50 yard rimfire/pistol range and 100 and 200 yard rifle ranges. I was wondering what some of the rules are like for your local ranges.

This is the general list from the club where I shoot:

GENERAL CLUB RULES

Observe the three fundamental rules of safe gun handling.

"Muzzle Control"-Always point firearms in a safe direction.

Never load a firearm until you are ready to shoot.

Leave your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

No drugs or alcoholic beverages are allowed on club property. The Club officers may allow exceptions for alcoholic beverages to be served at the clubhouse for special events.

Persons under the influence of drugs or alcoholic beverages are NOT allowed on club property.

On firing ranges, a range officer’s instructions must be followed.

Members are asked to notify a club officer of serious rule violations.

On all firearm ranges; ear protection is required by all persons, when firearms are being discharged. "Double Plugging" (plugs and muffs) is recommended

On all firearm ranges eye protection is required by all persons when shooting is underway.

All firearms on club property are to remain unloaded and cased until used on one of the club ranges.

Unloaded firearms with actions open, may be uncased in the clubhouse for training or for display purposes at club events.

Firearms are not to be discharged on club property except on the firing ranges in accordance with range rules. The only exception is hunting with the written permission of the club president.

Firearms are not to be discharged on the archery range.

All persons under 18 years of age are to be under the supervision of an adult.

No glass or metal containers are allowed on the club ranges.

On club grounds, members are required to show their membership card if requested.

At the skeet range, unbroken clay targets are the property of the club.

In the event of a misfire, keep the firearm pointed downrange for 30 seconds before opening the action to clear the defective round. For a blackpowder firearm wait two minutes. Give the defective ammunition to the range officer or dispose of it properly.

In the clubhouse, no one is allowed in the meeting hall area when the indoor shooting range is in use.
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jonas

Keep it simple, worded plain, and short enough to be posted for all to see. Children don't like rules that tell them what "not" to do, but it is more simple and direct to write them that way...are adults, are supose to be able to handle negative orders.

Having done this once, will give a hint that will help. Either mentally or go out and paint it...but think of a painted line directly beind the firing points...and describe what is allowed in front of that line and what is not allowed behind that line.

IDea is to provide a safe enviroment, even for idiots, so long as everyone follows the posted ruled.

I agree with Ribbonstone, keep it as simple as possible. However, policies need to be in place to satisfy safety requirements.

One thing the Rabbit Creek range in Anchorage does is during a cease fire, all firearms are to be unloaded with the actions opened. No one is to handle a firearm during the cease fire (people are down range).

This is an "uncontrolled" range, there are no range officers or official cease fires, it is rare to have more than one person on the firing line at a time

I don't know how many nonmembers from the general public you allow on your range, but my club allows them to shoot on the 100 yd rifle range and the 7, 15, and 25 yd pistol ranges, for a $15 fee. We make nonmembers watch a video about range safety and rules before shooting. Our club also does not allow anyone for any reason to handle, touch or otherwise contact a firearm once the range has been called cold. We also require that shooters place open bolt indicators in all weapons once the range is called cold, and for shooters to step behind a yellow stripe painted on the concrete which is behind the benches, once their weapons are cleared and OBI's are inserted. I have called out some nonmembers who have violated these rules, as members are acting range officers in the absence of an assigned range officer. Nothing makes your back twitch more than having people handle firearms while you're downrange. Just a few suggestions, if your club allows casual nonmember shooters to utilize your facilities.

I stopped going to the range at the C. Webb Wildlife Refuge in Charlotte County Florida. It is un-supervised. There are rules posted and they are ignored.

On one occasion, when several of us were downrange during a cease fire, I noticed someone up at the firing line setting up their rifle on the bench, handling it, and pointing it downrange toward us.

When we returned, I politely asked the guy to not handle firearms when we were downrange. This is one of the posted rules. He immediately flew into a foaming at the mouth rage. We backed off and let things settle down. I then noticed this guy sitting down and firing his rifle. He did not put cartridges in his firearm, it had obviously been loaded when we were down at the targets. That was it! I left and do not intend to use this range again.

If you don't have a range officer you do need to have a telephone number to call to report serious violation of range rules. This would certainly be a reason to suspend someone's membership.