I completed the NRA RSO course over the weekend and the following "what do you do" scenario was asked which generated quite a discussion.
Your working late one Sunday evening as RSO at the shooting range and on the last round of shooting one of the shooters firearm has a misfire and jams. Your shooter can't clear it, you can't clear it and their is no gunsmith available at that hour. Its getting late, you want to go home.
What do you do? As the RSO you are responsible that no loaded firearms leave the range. You can't physically detain the shooter because you be holding him against his will, but you don't want to be held liable in the event something happens because you let him leave your premise with a loaded gun.
I'll let you know the out come of our discussion later.
Does your range have a safe room that's lockable? We have that at our range.
This is what I feel would be the outcome, or at least a darn good answer. I will say I would be a little nervous opening the safe though!
It depends on how you set it up. On the range, we have a police storage container (the big ones) and the local gun club has one the size of a railroad car. The ideal setup is a bench where you can secure the weapon so it's pointing into a barrel filled with sand or some other media that will trap and contain the bullet. You also have to display a sign saying the weapon is loaded and jammed and preferably have a means for locking the weapon up so some dummy can't play howdy doody. It's doable and just takes a little planning on the part of your club.
__________________
Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Shoot the guest, take his firearm, go home, crack a beer.
The problem with such a comment tard, is that you come across as a gun-toting extremist advocating shooting people. Even when meant in a humorous way, shouldn"™t we all consider not making comments that give the anti"™s more to go on?
As for a solution to the problem, I would suggest contacting LEO. Let them know the situation, and request them to transport the firearm to a gunsmith for you. It most likely will end up with LEO recording the serial number and owner, but my experience is that most LEOs are very co-operative if they know the situation beforehand.
__________________
There's no such thing as truth, only perception
You should keep a set of 'gunsmith' type screwdrivers on hand along with a plastic/brass hammer and a set of brass or plastic drifts and pin punches in your truck. You can get all the tools you need for about $30 which come in handy when you least expect. Also throw in a cheap set of hex wrenches as well.
I can't imagine a jam that cannot be cleared and I've seen some really interesting ones in the past. The worst ones are usually with mauser or true CRF bolt actions and especially if they have a weak magazine spring or improper feed rail geometry- when they jam up on a cartridge that won't feed, they really jam up bad, you need to remove the floorplate or possibly the entire trigger guard if they don't have a floor plate.
A failure to feed usually can be cleared, at worst, by disassembly.
If possible, I would have the firearm field stripped if possible, have the frame/receiver cased up, and have the bolt/slide/cylinder stored in a seperate compartment from the rest of the firearm, and send the shooter home with it.
The firearms that have an enclosed receiver and/or a tubular magazien may be more difficult to clear in an event of a severe malfunction. A revolver cylinder can lock up if its blown or has gone severely out of timing and has been fired- in that case, in either case, the gun is malfunctioning or damaged too badly to be fired, so I wouldn't worry too much and send the shooter on their merry way.
*Note I am not a RSO, but I have litterally seen thousands of rifles, shotguns, and pistols brought to my range by people of all experience levels during sight in clinics, and have seen a lot of weird things, but I've never seen a gun that couldn't be unloaded or other wise made safe*
__________________
Obamanfreude - 1. taking pleasure from the misfortunes of an Obama supporter as he or she is adversely affected by the policies of their Dear Leader.
Most of you had the right idea, lockup the firearm on site until a gunsmith can repair it.
An event did occur where someone had a high dollar custom gun had a round jammed in the chamber and it would not fire. The shooter did not want to leave gun and after a heated discussion packed it up and left. The RO had no choice but to call the law and advised them of the events. Don't know what happened after that.
We were told that unless we are certified gunsmiths, we're not to attempt any repairs to a firearm.
The RO had no choice but to call the law and advised them of the events.
So the RO acted as a quisling turning in a fellow shooter after a failed attempt at confiscating a legally owned firearm? I'm glad I don't shoot at that range. What next, a RO confiscating a person's vehicle because of broken tailight or speedometer because it would be illeagal for the person to drive it home in that condition?There is something to be said about discretion and common sense.[:@]
__________________
Obamanfreude - 1. taking pleasure from the misfortunes of an Obama supporter as he or she is adversely affected by the policies of their Dear Leader.
Question for Range Safety Officers
