OT- Any range officers here???

[Mainehunter]

My local gun club has doubled their membership in 3 years and are in short supply in range officers. They are holding a one day training course to became NRA certified range officers. I'm interested in joining and to get more involved in the gun club. How has the experience been for you? The good and the bad?

Thanks,
Mainehunter

[Blaine]

Many moons ago in the Military. Not the same at all, but a hard job, especially if you have a 2Lt standing over your shoulder

[Mainehunter]

Many moons ago in the Military. Not the same at all, but a hard job, especially if you have a 2Lt standing over your shoulder

I could relate to that! My 1Lt was the same way!

Mainehunter

[Chas.]

I'm a range officer, but only recently so I can't relay any experience. I've worked 3 days and it was a piece of cake.

See this thread http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=33324

[KirkD]

Our club encourages all members to go through our range officer training. It is well worth taking.

[damienph]

I took the RO training several years ago. I found that it made me more aware of what was going on at the range even when I was just there as a shooter. I moved a couple of years later; not close to any ranges, but the one day spent in training was well worth the time.

[jdad]

I did it for 3 years and go tired of being a cop, babysitter, and just plain scared by what I saw....totally thankless job IMO. Necessary yes, but thankless. I have a lot of respect, for those that still are.

We have over 3000 members and the worst safety offenders/most dangerous were the over 60 crowd and tactical wannabes. The safest seemed to be those that had recent military experience or were current BSA members. I saw too many "close encounters" and "muzzle control" experiences, on the General Purpose range. I nicknamed it the "Wild West". Our club has finally gotten smart and has required all members to sign a liability waiver or lose their membership. Any guests must also sign one.

Imagine trying to politely remind a parent that the club rules require that their minor child needs to be wearing safety glasses and getting a MYOB response.

[M. M. Wright]

SASS has ROl and ROll training levels available (I'm an ROll). We are available to help run the matches. May end up doing more work than others but it's rewarding just helping everyone have a SAFE good time. The insights into safety make the training worthwhile.
M. M.

[rbertalotto]

I've been a range officer at a public range for over 20 years. I love to give back to the shooting community. But as another poster said, with the aging of America, you got to watch the old folks. They will just walk down a live range. They handle their guns when folks are down range. And when you suggest that they just might be creating an unsafe situation, they look at you like you are suggesting they shouldn't be driving any longer............

The "Young Guns" are actually no issues at all. Extremely respectful (because here in Massachusetts they know a simple phone call could pull their LTC). As it has been said before...."An Armed society is a polite society!"

The Ex Military are easily the best..........Period!

Do it, if you like people and dealing with the public, you'll love it!

[Jayhawker]

I've been a volunteer range officer for about 15 years at a fairly large private range and have seen quite a spectrum of patrons. Most are good, some are scary while others are downright baffling.

It's satisfying to be able to help out a young shooter get on target and feed that enthusiasm. I'm not a coach by any means, but sometimes simple advice about stance, breath control, or proper target alignment will dramatically improve some shooters scores and their appreciation is worth the effort.

There are some shooters that I don't trust with a rubber band. All you can do is keep your eye on them and hope they finish quickly.

Overall, it's been quite an enjoyable experience. I've seen and shot a greater variety of firearms than I could imagine otherwise and met a lot of good people.

[Mainehunter]

Thanks for the replies! If you guys don't mind me asking what was the fee you had to pay and how long was your certificate good for? Here they are asking $75.00 to cover the course and $25.00 for the NRA (what ever that means?) They aren't quite sure how long the certificate is good for 2 or 3 years. The club is thinking of reimbursing half of the cost but that's yet to be determined.

Mainehunter

[CaptainFinn]

When I was certified as a range officer, the range I worked for picked up the tab. The NRA RO course was great, it reinforced a lot of the safety rules I already knew, and it really brings up your 'situational awareness' factor. Especially at a public range, you really have to be aware of everything going on around you--not everyone is experienced and safe--like previous posters have said, sometimes long-time shooters can be the worst-either they have ingrained bad habits or (like I have noticed with some police officers I've worked with) familiarity and longtime usage has bred complacentcy--not trying to insult anyone, it's just that after years of constant usage, a firearm becomes 'just another tool' to some folks. When you have five or six RO's working a busy firing line of 50+ people, you'd be amazed at how many muzzle sweeps, unsafe handling, etc may occur, even with well-trained shooters.

I think my certification card was for one year, then I received a renewal form in the mail each year thereafter. Once I left the job, I moved and didn't get the renewal form the following year. Called the NRA about renewing but could never get a live person on the phone so I let it expire.

Is the RO job a paying job or a volunteer thing ? When I took the course, my supervisor at the county said that the county paid for the RO class, and if I wanted to take any others I would have to pay myself, but since they were job-related I could write them off on my taxes.

[Jayhawker]

When I first volunteered to be an RO, there was no formal training program at my club. You just familiarized yourself with the rules and committed to showing up once a month. Later, they did set up a formal program through the NRA, the club picking up the cost for the initial training and renewal became the responsibility of the member. The NRA doesn't charge much to renew its qualifications ($15 for 3 years, I believe, assuming your are already an NRA member).

[Chuck 100 yd]

I am a RO (NRA certified). All officers in our gun club are. I have been a club officer or director for almost 40 years now. We have an open to the public day each second Sunday. A certified RO has to be there to satisfy our insurance. Hardly ever have any problem, mostly just explaining the rules to those who don't know.
Rarely does anyone have to invite someone to go elsewhere.

The NRA will send renewal papers before your papers expire. It`s just a pay to get renewed thing. $15.00 for 3 years IIRC.

[cas]

I worked for about 5 years as a weekend range officer at a busy public range.

Some days it was like kindergarden with guns.

I will no doubt be accused of being a basher, but as a group I found LEO's to be the worst offenders as far as safety goes. They tended to think the rules (of the range and the state) didn't apply to them. (older ones especially) Also very poor muzzle discipline for some reason (younger ones especially). Didn't take it very well when their transgressions were pointed out either.

I started shooting IPSC, IDPA and multi-gun and don't have the free weekends like I used to. Can't say I really miss it, other than the free brass.