RE: What are your range experiences like?
Up until recently there was a public range in Memphis, TN that I used to go to on a regular basis. It was operated by the County and was very well regulated I thought. At all times there was at least one Range Master on duty and sometimes more. They ran a tight ship and didn't put up with any nonsense. You shot when they said the line was hot and backed away from the bench (behind a yellow line) when they said the line was clear. If you were a regular shooter there was never any confusion about that and if you were a novice, you learned quickly how things operated. I really enjoyed shooting there exceptfor the crappy way the benches were designed. But it seems all good things come to an end, so recent budget cuts and liability concerns forced it out of operation.
For one year I was a member of a local private shooting club, Memphis Sport Shooting Assn. The shooting ranges were self regulated by the shooters themselves, a method I was not particularly fond of.On one occassion some guys at the range almost came to blows because there was some confusion about whether the line had been hot or not. Some guys on my left had started down to inspect their targets while a guy on my right still thought the line was hot and almost fired a shot. Things got pretty heated and after that event, I decided I didn't want to belong any more. Besides, it was a much longer drive for me anyway and in the year I was a member I only visited 2 or 3 times. It wasn't worth the money.
So now I don't shoot quite as much, but when I do I either drive about 45 minutes to my cousin's hunting lease or a couple of hours to my hunting club. I prefer the hunting club simply because it's further away from civilization and when I go I usually go for the whole weekend.