Have you considered the idea that the reason the man was leaving in such a hurry when you arrived, is that HE KNEW what he was doing is unsafe, and wanted to get out of there before someone called him on it? If it was also a violation of range rules, he might have wanted to leave before someone reported him to the club owners to have his membership canceled.
This is not just about keeping other shooters safe. Its about keeping that knucklehead safe too. Shooting Ranges are Big TARGETS( pardon the pun) for lawsuits, and no Range carries enough insurance to be able to pay the kind of claims arising out of firearm accidents on a range. That is why most ranges either have paid Range Officers present, or their rules require that when 2 or more shooters are present, One of them MUST act as the Range officer for the others.
My brother belongs to a club that requires all members to take training in Range Officer duties, before they can shoot on the range alone. They all rotate the duty of range officer, so that everyone gets to shoot during the day, some time.
I have seen several UNSAFE shooters leave clubs over the years, when they have been admonished or sanctioned for their unsafe practices. We lost members from my club when we imposed a " NO Drinking of Alcoholic Beverages during shooting times", and we lost a smoker who didn't like being told he couldn't smoke at the loading benches, or on the firing line. We lost others for dangerous loading and shooting practices, with the usual--" I have done this all my life and you can't tell me what to do!--blah--blah--blah.
SUGGESTED RESPONSE: No, but we can tell you not to shoot at our club range! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!
The reason for tight safety rules is to protect everyone, and to protect the club from lawsuits, so that everyone has a place to shoot. Its pretty obvious to members here, from the questions we get on the forum from new members, every month, that finding a place to shoot is a serious problem these days. :hmm: