First time RSO duty today at OGC

[hard h2o]

I was assigned the 100 yard range.

Learned a couple of things today through observation of others on the range. When buying a used rifle look at the stamping on the barrel to confirm the cartridge the firearm is chambered in. Do not trust the seller even if they are a reputable LGS.

A LGS might sell a .300 Weatherby (WBY) as a .300 WSM. A .300 WSM will not chamber in a .300 Weatherby and I assume the reverse is true. The .300 WSM is too fat for the .300 Weatherby and the .300 Weatherby would be too long for the .300 WSM.

If someone shows up and there are screws falling off there firearm right out of the case and the screw on covers inadvertently fly off their optic then they may have other issues such as malfunctions, bad ammo.. leading up to a stuck case and an out of battery discharge on a pimped out AK.

Great time on range duty. Every shooter acted in a safe manner. No firearm was pointed in a direction other than down range (that I saw or heard about). When the range was cold shooters respected the safe line and did not approach benches nor handle firearms while others were down range. Everyone heard and understood the range commands. I can't wait to get out and actually shoot on Wednesday. Also looking forward to my next RSO day in October. Today was not a very busy day. I assume that, getting closer to deer hunting opener, it will be busier next time.

[OldmanFCSA]

I was assigned the 100 yard range.

Learned a couple of things today through observation of others on the range. When buying a used rifle look at the stamping on the barrel to confirm the cartridge the firearm is chambered in. Do not trust the seller even if they are a reputable LGS.

.

Glad you are learning, but this is not always the case.
I have 4 rifles that do not have stampings that matches any headstamp of cartridges loaded for it.
I load all my own, and manufacture some from casings that are unmarked or marked in NATO markings only.
Several combinations of these exist with my 50BMG Target rifles, as I use Bosnian, Israeli, Singapore, Dutch, German, USA, French, or Argentine brass casings for base cartridge which is then totally modified for my Match-Chambered actions.

Be observant, Learn, Don't be afraid to ask, feel free to contact your lead RSO, but understand not all circumstances can be covered by one basic rule.

I will gladly train anyone that expresses a true interest in learning.

[hard h2o]

There are always exceptions.

The guy was shooting a .300 WSM. Put that one away and pulled out another bolt gun. I was standing nearby and was curious when he was working the action and not pulling the trigger. He said the tags spelled it out as a .300 WSM. The sales guy sold it as a .300 WSM. The ammo he bought would not chamber and the roll stamp on the barrel stated .300 WBY. He was a bit annoyed.

The other guys with the stuck case. Man and 2 sons. Taking an AK and an AR out of the cases. Gentleman with a thick Eastern European asks me for an "alien" wrench. I had him repeat it a few times before I realized he wanted an Allen wrench. I did not have one for him. A bolt had fallen out of the hand grip. One son tried monopolizing the two firearms while the other son (a lefty) tried to operate them when he could catch a break when dad and the other son were not shooting. Little attention paid by the dad to the youngest son while he shot. He obviously had little experience operating the AK and the AR and his left handedness did not lend itself to the controls on either. I tried to keep a close watch on the trio because I was a bit concerned with the vibe they emitted. Saw a puff of smoke come from the action area of the AK. Stuck case and it could not be budged. I do not know if it was their crappy choice in ammo, the excessive amount of oil they were using, or poor maintenance. That was the end. They packed up and went home.

[OldmanFCSA]

You did well.

The point I have difficulty remembering is - your are a RSO, not a gunsmith or an ammo specialist.
You are not to repair anyone's difficult firearm.
You are to send them packing to a gunsmith somewhere.

I've got several pieces of brass stamped 300WinMag that were shot in a 300 Weatherby, how do I tell= the rounded shoulder and neck junctures and resultant very short neck length.

With the quantity of public shooters that are being trained by the "specialists" at Gander Mountain and other places, its a wonder we don't have more issues at the range. But maybe I'm isolated from most of those shooters because I always request my RSO duty to be served on the 200 meter range. (Wish we had a longer range.) I personally have fired more shells at the 200 meter range than all other ranges put together. My loss. I need to shoot some pistol and revolver cartridges again to re-train myself at that sport. I'm a piss-poor pistol shot. I've requested at our annual OGC meeting that our OGC Long Range Planning Director do Planning on a Long Range at OGC.

Hope to meet you at the range sometime. I need to come more often than just serving my work time which I normally do during WI hunting sight-in times in November. I used to live 5 miles from the range, now that I live east of Osceola WI, its more like 45 miles, but I can shoot out my backdoor here. That may, along with others, be the reason I may stop being a OGC member.

[photogpat]

OGC during deer rifle sight in is one of my favorite times to RSO. Outrageously entertaining to watch.

I've had scopes mounted with the cross hairs forming an "X" instead of a "t", a 7mm Rem Mag pointed at my face (biggest black hole you've ever seen), .223 chambered in a 7.62x39 SKS (yes! It fires), guys having their kids shoot slugs out of a 28" bird barrel with the bead then berating them for not hitting a bullseye at 100yds, folks shooting through $200 worth of deer loads (then leaving and coming back 30 min later with $200 more) and not hitting anything because they're too proud to take any advice, women and young children who's experienced companions think its wildly entertaining to watch them shoot a heavy recoiling firearm without warning them first....

Actually, I take that back...I hate deer rifle sight in RSO duty...



The politics among the board members at OGC is another matter completely....they seem to forget its 2014 and not everyone shoots Trap, Bench rest or Bullseye anymore.

[bstrawse]

The politics among the board members at OGC is another matter completely....they seem to forget its 2014 and not everyone shoots Trap, Bench rest or Bullseye anymore.

Ahhhh, the board.

At least Seismic Sam has it figured out - I couldn't handle a second year
b

[LePetomane]

Thanks for the report. I have shot at OCG a few times during public hours and found it to be very enjoyable. The RSO's were very helpful.

[xd9]

I think this is key (for me at least).

your are a RSO, not a gunsmith or an ammo specialist.
You are not to repair anyone's difficult firearm.
You are to send them packing to a gunsmith somewhere.

I am no expert on firearms, but enjoy and know the ones I shoot. Don't expect me to know how to fix something I have never seen or used before.

[hard h2o]

Hope to see you guys there sometime. I will be there this Wednesday evening.

I have helped a few shooters there before I was a member. I bring a bit more gear when I am shooting. It seems strange to spend the money on a rifle, ammunition, and range fees so you can try out and sight in a new rifle and show up unprepared to at least tighten scope mounts and such.

I always at least have the Leatherman Juice CS4 in my pocket.

It should be entertaining in October when it is closer to the opener. Kind of like the fishing opener and watching the new boat owners launching for the first time.

Keeping the range running safe and smooth and keeping shooters safe is what we are there for.

I am very grateful that the issue with the incorrect ammo was not one that would cause an unsafe issue. It could not even be chambered.

I offered advice and made sure the firearm never painted anyone. With the three of them working on it I was glad they chose to pack up and go home.

After we had finished and were in the club house we were talking about issues that came up. our group mentioned the .300 WSM/.300WBY issue and the issue with the trio and the AK. It was asked if anyone suffered any injuries. Someone working the 50 yard range mentioned a Russian with a cut palm. That was our guy. They took the AR and instead of heading home they went over to the 50. The dad had been trying to remove the stuck case. One of the boys got his meathooks in there and hit the bolt release. Dad's hand was in the way and took a hit. I guess our problem became the problem at the 50 yard range.

[mc762x54R]

I saw a kid shooting .270 out of a 30.06...as he was cursing the poor accuracy of his Savage rifle.
Saw several people with ARs that barely knew how to use them..didnt know how to lock the bolt open...
One guy picked up his 10/22 when I was still downrange..I gave my other range offixers sone crap for BSing and not watching people as we came back from downrange.
I've also seen people shoot hundreds of rounds of Hornady 30.06...on the 50y range??

[gunsmith]

I carry the Leatherman Juice KF4...now discontinued.

juice kf4 600.jpeg (6.57 KB) Viewed 6552 times

The sleeper tool is the saw, Personally I think the corkscrew is the most useless tool they include.

The Juice models just disappear into the pocket...If Weight / Size isn't an issue I go with the Wave (original) the blade is wickedly sharp and the scissors actually wind up being very useful.

Great gifts...'Leatherman' is actually the founders name....Tim Leatherman.

Juice and Wave side by side...note Juice line does not have locking blades.

[Rodentman]

I had my first day as RSO on July 5. I was on the 25yd range with 2 other folks. It went pretty well. I have my 2nd day in Oct so at least it will be cool.

I shot at OGC today and had the inestimable pleasure of meeting Wrench and Sawgrass. I had the 50GI so Sawgrass got to shoot it and she let me fire a couple of her nice pistols. It was a fun time. Then I went to BPR for awhile. Now I have enough resizing and tumbling work for the weekend. Didn't lose any 50 GI brass either!

Was a better way to spend a Friday than working. Call it rehearsal for retirement.

[sawgrass]

Rodentman it was nice meeting you and playing with our 1911's.
Your GC model 4 was a pleasant surprise! I'm trying to not think about it actually.
I know where there is a model 3 for a nice price....
If I'm there tomorrow I'm going to see if I can find some of your bullets.
I have one from Alex and it is as cool as can be.

As far as range duty, I absolutely hate it and will do just about anything to avoid it.
Thankfully I've been able to continue the gardening gig

[Seismic Sam]

Yes, RSO duty is "interesting". If something doesn't feel right, go with that feeling and find out WTF is going on. During hunting season it gets nuts, but I think the people are a little more experienced, particularly if they are just checking to make sure the zero on the rifle hasn't changed. You can always ask in a non-intimidating way if they are just making sure Old Betsy didn't move while she was in the gun cabinet all year. Two people (father and son, brothers) are pretty much an automatic red flag if they start trading guns, and you can see it coming. One guy with multiple rifles is also a red flag, and the worst I saw was a guy with two identical gun cases, holding identical Winchester rifles in 7mm and 300 WSM, and ONE Gouger Mountain bag full of ammo. (Guy must have been freaking rich....) Yup, got a 300 WSM jammed in the 7mm chamber. If I had to do it all over again, I would have been a lot stricter and made the guy put the ammo in each gun case that went with it.

The worst story I ever heard was some shooters with no idea of what they were doing, and couldn't hit a dam thing. They were caught a short time later trying to BEND THE BARREL of the gun in the crotch of a tree to alter the point of aim. In the words of a famous boxing referee, "be fair but be firm". I got nothin' to say about the Board anymore...

[jdege]

OGC during deer rifle sight in is one of my favorite times to RSO. Outrageously entertaining

Saw a guy and his teenaged kid show up at the 200 and a new-in-box AR.

I suggested that they might want to zero on the 50. The guy said they'd see how they could do.

They went through three boxes and never put a round on paper. But it wasn't their zero. I could see the dust - they had an impact area about 12 feet across. On the fifty, they'd still have been off paper.