We all think of range safety in terms of safe gun handling, and indeed that is where the main risk lies. But there are other risks. I don’t know whether a range has ever been attacked by crooks to get some free guns, but in the present scenario the risk can’t be dismissed. All it needs is half a dozen gremlins with serious weapons to attack when shooters are at the targets and guns all empty, especially if they are prepared to shoot the RO and SO out of hand which is also not unlikely.
Anyhow, it was discussed at a recent meeting of Somerset West Pistol Club, as part of regular discussion of safety in general. It was agreed that, while we shouldn’t get paranoid about it, the risk exists and we should take reasonable measures to minimise it. When I am on SO duty, I periodically take a look around the outside of the range to see what and who is there, also so that anyone who might be casing the range will see that we are not unaware of it and might not easily be taken by surprise. That is of course a small thing, and is my personal first effort at improving my own performance in that regard. Access control is another thing that is being looked at. We are also considering that shooters should carry their guns to the targets not leave them on the bench for easy taking, but that has not yet been decided. I am considering keeping my loaded SMLE slung over my shoulder while on SO duty, as a more effective weapon against armed attackers.
Our range is enclosed on all four sides. At the back is a high brick wall right up to the roof over the firing line. It is about 4m high. It is parallel to the firing line and about 6m behind. It is about 4m behind my back as I patrol the length of the line watching for problems the RO might not see. It has a couple of openings for ventilation just below roof level. I’d like to close those but I have not considered them a serious enough problem to push it. Imagine my surprise when I arrived for duty yesterday to find a big hole in that wall with a double steel gate through which anyone can backshoot the SO at a range no more than 6m at any point. The reason is to provide direct access from the range to the braai area, and it was apparently agreed upon by all the committee except my buddy Richard Bowman. Lemme tell you it feels real exposed concentrating on the activities on the firing line with my back exposed to that hole, and I have kicked up a big fuss about it. The worst of it is the rank stupidity of people I thought knew better, and whom I will not be able to take seriously in future.
[Originally posted to SATalkGuns -- Admin]