I have a confession to make. I had entirely too much fun putting together the thumbnail for our latest Guns Podcast US episode.
The subject was Range Etiquette: The Unwritten Rules Every Shooter Must Know, and I decided the appropriate way to illustrate the topic was to channel my inner Miss Manners.
For those of you who don’t remember her, Miss Manners was the nom de plume of Judith Martin, a widely syndicated newspaper columnist and author who spent decades dispensing advice on how civilized people should behave in an increasingly uncivilized world. Her specialty was answering those awkward social questions most people were either too embarrassed or too annoyed to ask.
I figured the shooting world could use a little of that.
So I took a picture of my head, attached it to the body of a proper dowager, complete with a rather impressive petticoat, and arranged things so I could gaze disapprovingly at the reader. The result was sufficiently ridiculous that I found myself laughing at it long after I should have moved on to something more productive.
But the more I thought about it, the more appropriate the whole thing seemed.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from spending decades around shooters, it’s that some of us could use a refresher course in basic manners.
And I’m not talking about the four fundamental rules of gun safety. Those aren’t etiquette. They’re non-negotiable requirements. Don’t point a gun at someone. Period. As Roy Huntington immediately reminded me when we started recording, people continue to violate this most basic rule with astonishing regularity. Apparently, telling someone a gun is unloaded somehow makes it perfectly acceptable to point it at another human being.
It doesn’t. And if you do that around me, don’t expect an invitation to shoot with me again anytime soon.
But once we’ve established the safety basics, there’s a whole other collection of unwritten rules that separate the people everyone enjoys having on the range from the ones who make everybody quietly pack up and leave.
That’s what Roy and I wanted to talk about.
Peeves, Plural
One of my biggest pet peeves is unsolicited coaching. We’ve all encountered the fellow who can’t resist wandering over to explain how you’re doing everything wrong, regardless of whether you asked for his advice or have any interest in receiving it. He’s often the least qualified person on the range to be offering instruction, which makes the whole experience even more entertaining.
There’s a time and place for helping somebody. If someone asks for advice, by all means, share what you know. But there’s a considerable difference between being helpful and appointing yourself the range’s unpaid director of instruction.
We also discussed the importance of being a good guest. That means cleaning up after yourself, helping when you can, and remembering that the range isn’t your personal playground.
If the firing line goes cold so everyone can retrieve targets, don’t be the guy who turns a five-minute exercise into a half-hour expedition because he needs to measure every bullet hole and conduct a forensic examination of his target. Nobody else is quite as fascinated by your three-shot group as you are.
And while we’re at it, perhaps save the magazine dumps for another occasion. They can be entertaining, but when someone next to you is working on precision shooting, a little consideration goes a long way. Not everybody came to the range to make as much noise as possible.
Personal space also came up. If somebody is shooting, don’t hover over his shoulder, breathe down his neck or decide it’s perfectly acceptable to pick up his firearm for a closer look. Ask first. It’s not complicated.
In fact, that’s probably the theme running through this entire conversation: It’s not complicated.
“That” Guy
Roy and I have both spent enough time around shooting ranges to recognize the different varieties of range personalities. There’s the loud, obnoxious fellow who seems to believe everybody needs to hear about his equipment, his experience and his opinions. There’s the self-appointed expert who treats new shooters as an inconvenience. And then there’s the person who seems to believe that paying his range fee entitles him to ignore everybody else’s needs.
None of these people is doing the shooting community any favors.
That last point is particularly important when it comes to new shooters. Imagine walking into a public range for the first time. You’re probably a little nervous, you’re not entirely sure how everything works, and you’re trying very hard not to do something stupid. The last thing you need is some self-important veteran making you feel unwelcome or embarrassing you in front of everyone.
We’ve both seen it happen, and it’s counterproductive. If we want to encourage people to participate in shooting sports, we need to make them feel welcome. That doesn’t mean compromising safety or ignoring bad behavior. It means treating people with respect while helping them learn.
There’s a difference.
A Real Character
I suppose the bigger lesson here is that range etiquette isn’t really about shooting. It’s about character.
Roy made an observation during our conversation that I particularly liked. You can learn a lot about a person by watching how he treats people who are there to serve him. The person who is rude to the range employee, dismissive of the person cleaning up the facility or impatient with a new shooter isn’t demonstrating expertise. He’s demonstrating a lack of manners.
And that’s true whether you’re at a shooting range, a restaurant or anywhere else.
As we wrapped up the conversation, we came back to a pretty simple conclusion: Be a decent human being. Help people when you can. Clean up after yourself. Respect other people’s space and equipment. Don’t offer advice nobody asked for. And remember that being an experienced shooter doesn’t make you the most important person on the firing line.
If nothing else, treat people the way you’d like them to treat you. I understand this is a fairly radical concept, having only been around for a couple of thousand years, but it might be worth trying.
I’m sure Miss Manners would approve.
Although I suspect she’d have something to say about my petticoat.
Listen to the latest episode of Guns Podcast US:
And while you’re at it, tell us about the worst range-manner offenders you’ve encountered. I’m betting a few of you have some stories.