The facility is nice and all, but the employees do not make you feel welcome. That being said that was only the beginning. I had an unpleasant experience with the RSO.
Look, I'm a beginner gun owner. I've only ever went shooting with friends and family before and this is the first time I went shooting with my own gun. I made sure to do my due diligence and read the rules before I went, and I know how serious firearms should be handled. Like I said this is the first time I've shot my own gun but certainly not the first time I've shot a gun. In fact I've shot my friends gun at this facility before and had a fine experience. Because of this I said I had been here before. That was two years ago.
Keep in mind now that the "rule" I broke is not listed on the "range rules" section of the website. So, I walk in and see everyone shooting and a bunch of bags lined up against the back wall on a long bench that spans the entire room. I put my bag down and take out my semi auto handgun which is unloaded with the slide locked back, and the safety on. (I understand that all of that is not noticeable right off the bat, but I wanted anyone reading to have all the context) I walk with it pointed down to the bench and am immediately met by the RSO. He says "are you the one who's shot here before!?" I then said "yes" and he says "you're not allowed to take your fire arm from those benches to the booth. If you've been here you should know better. How dare you?!" I apologized and was respectful of course, but the interaction rubbed me the wrong way. He was friendly afterwards and gave me and the people I was with some tips and I really appreciated that.
Cause look, I understand their job is very important because I know that absolute fools come into these places and put the lives of everyone in there at risk. It's an important job and I know he was just trying to defuse a situation that he thought was dangerous.
The thing I have a problem with is that the rules online clearly don't reflect the rules he was told to enforce. I've read and reread the online rules multiple times to make sure I'm not "in the wrong" but I don't see anything referencing what I did. The closest thing I can find is a rule stating that you're not allowed to enter or exit the range with the gun out but I didn't do that. I was already in the range when this took place. The term firing line is used elsewhere on the website so I figured that meant once you're on the range you can move about with your firearm as long as it's unloaded as stated in the rules. I think management needs to go over the rules with their employees and with the website manager to make sure everyone's on the same page, so no one else is embarrassed in front of their friends and family.
Edit: It crossed my mind that maybe that was considered common sense/obvious or even basic gun safety, but even rules such as "keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire" or "treat every gun as if it's loaded" are posted on the website so I figured nothing was left out. At that point am I expected to be a mind reader? read more