Last Time At The Rifle Range This Range Cop

[gordy]

Mule Brain! I know how You feel,but You must remember that some of the individuals useing the range would tend to be careless and possibly use dangerous loading practices if not under carefull direction. I think that the shooting lanes are too close to one another to be loading at the line.Because of the possibility of mishaps with many people shooting,range control must be absolute.With all the anti-gun hoopala,one serious misshap could cause the closure of a range.It would also make really bad press for muzzleloading in general.Wether We like it or not,range safety is better too strict than too lax.I usually try to shoot away by myself when possible. :relax: :front: eace:

 

[roundball]

Mule Brain! I know how You feel,but You must remember that some of the individuals useing the range would tend to be careless and possibly use dangerous loading practices if not under carefull direction. I think that the shooting lanes are too close to one another to be loading at the line.Because of the possibility of mishaps with many people shooting,range control must be absolute.With all the anti-gun hoopala,one serious misshap could cause the closure of a range.It would also make really bad press for muzzleloading in general.Wether We like it or not,range safety is better too strict than too lax.I usually try to shoot away by myself when possible. :relax: :front: eace:

Plus, just the practical aspect of needing a lot of space enters into it...when I watched some guys shooting longrifles at a club, I saw many of them wiping and reloading longrifles that were physically too long for their height.

To be able use a ramrod on them, they would put the butt on a square of carpet, then take a couple steps to the side so the long rifle's muzzle was lowered to a 45* angle, allowing them to begin the ramrod action...they wouldn't have been physically able to do that with other people standing close all around them at the firing line, and it would have been bothersome to the shooters as well.

 

[Zonie]

The range I shoot at does allow loading on the line, but I prefer not to.
Because their benches which are suitable for loading from are at one end of the range, if that end is occupied I have no choice but to load from the shooting bench.

A few reasons I prefer to load at a loading bench and then cap/prime at the line:

1st, there isn't a whole lot of room on the shooting benches for my powder flask, powder measure (to transport the powder from the flask to the muzzle), balls, patches, short starter, range rod and telescope.

2nd, when loading one of my guns with a 42 inch barrel, the ceiling height won't permit me to use the range rod without tipping the gun at a 45 degree angle.

3rd, folks standing on the firing line loading their gun seem to attract a fusillade of empty cartridge cases from the semi-auto crowd.

4th, I usually take 3 guns with me and use a home support that clamps onto the "loading" bench to safely store the two guns I'm not shooting.

5th, After walking back and forth from the loading bench to the shooting line 30 or 40 times, plus 50 yards out to the targets several times, when I get home I can justify being too tired to mow the lawn. :: :: ::

I have had several instances of shooters complain about my loading at the back benches but they usually calmed down when I explained that the semi-loaded gun was not much more dangerous than a primerless cartridge. (They seem to identify with modern stuff better than with muzzleloaders.) I also point out that the muzzle is always pointed at the sky while I'm transporting it from the loading bench to the line.