Walk in shooting range in Dublin

MooseJam

Is there such a thing ? somewhere you can walk into and fire some rounds from a hand gun down a range

IRLConor

I've never heard of one, and I'd be surprised if there was one.

How would the range operator know that you were not a safety risk?

I'd say that you'd be turned away at most ranges unless you fulfill at least one of the following:

• You are a club member.
• You have a prior appointment and are to be directly supervised by a well known member of the club who is willing to vouch for you.
• You have a prior appointment and have been arranged to be directly supervised by a range safety officer/instructor.
• You have been in the range before, are well known to the people running it and are known to be a safe shooter.

Is this for your own firearm?

MooseJam

no I don't own one, was interested in having a go at range though but I guess thats not possible

bullets

MooseJam wrote:

no I don't own one, was interested in having a go at range though but I guess thats not possible

It would be nice to be able to do!
If the correct safety conditions were carried out
I dont see why someone could not potentially "Try" any type
of shooting in Ireland to see if they liked it or not.

~B

Manic Moran

It's very common for US firearms stores to have a selection available for public use. You wouldn't buy a car without test-driving it or one like it (or shouldn't at leasT), why wouldn't you want to test-shoot a pistol?

The main restriction is that you cannot come in on your own if you do not have your own firearm. You must be with a friend. Suicides have been known to happen where someone on his own comes off the street. If you have a friend, you're not likely to off yourself, if you have your own pistol, you probably aren't going to be impolite enough to mess up someone else's place.

NTM

IRLConor

MooseJam wrote:

no I don't own one, was interested in having a go at range though but I guess thats not possible

Well, for shooting rifles pretty much any club that you are eligible to join will let you have a go. Where's convenient for you (and are you a student or graduate of either TCD or UCD)? We may be able to find you a range.

For shooting handguns, I don't know of any range which would suit. Perhaps some of the other posters know of one?

MooseJam

ah no neither of those things, someone has however kindly suggested a club which I'll look into should I get serious on the notion

IRLConor

MooseJam wrote:

ah no neither of those things, someone has however kindly suggested a club which I'll look into should I get serious on the notion

Good to hear. Give it a go and let us know how you get on.

MooseJam

MooseJam wrote:

no I don't own one, was interested in having a go at range though but I guess thats not possible

Go to America. My brothers just back from Orlando and has loads of videos of him and his mates at a shooting range blasting away with desert eagles,
m4 rifles, ak47's ,mp5's , glock pistols, remington m870 shotguns, m1911 pistols. You just turn up pay whatever the range charges for gun rental, buy a few boxes of ammo and off you go.
My brother shot the Desert Eagle, said its like unleashing hell when you pull the trigger but it jams practically every time you fire it.Also the M4 apparently feels like a toy compared to the AK.
I was amazed that it was so easy to get access to such heavy firepower.

Bananaman

The normal way for a non member to use a pistol range is to contact the club and make an appointment.

The Range Office or Club owner will invariably want to "have a look" and see how you act and behave on a range. I know this is a bit vague but safety is of the highest priority. Giddy people on a range will freak every one else out.

Usually what would happen is that you would be given a .22 revolver under very close supervision. Initially you need to get used to how to

a) take a gun out of a box - when, where, etc.
b) pick up a gun
c) clear a gun
d) aim a gun
e) put down a gun
f) load a gun
g) fire a gun

there will be house rules which must be adhered to - you need to get used to the etiquette of the range - listen to the range officer, listen to your instructor etc. when can you change targets, what you must do if you want to go out for a smoke, where the biscuits are, etc.

It is generally best to do that a few times with a .22 revolver prior to attempting a semi automatic or larger calibre.

I have seen guys who were given a .40 SA or a .357 Revolver on their first visit to a range - they weren't ready for it - they hit nothing that they meant to and afterwards their flinch was so bad they couldn't hit a barn door with a shotgun.

Whereas guys who used a .22 revolver a few times until they were able to put all six rounds in the bull - then went on to a .22 SA until they could put the entire clip in the bull - then went to a .38 revolver, then onto a large calibre SA showed steady progress and were well able.

More importantly they learned their safety habits with the smaller calibre which meant they could focus on that rather than being afraid of recoil etc.

Another obvious side effect is that it is far cheaper to use .22 ammo while you are learning as if you try with a large calibre to start you will miss virtually all of the time and it is far more expensive.

B'man

Manic Moran

Deleted User wrote:

My brother shot the Desert Eagle, said its like unleashing hell when you pull the trigger but it jams practically every time you fire it.

Must have had a dodgy one. I found it quite enjoyable to shoot. Firing the same round out of a revolver, however, is painful. Six rounds of .44 Magnum, and I put the revolver down and move to something more reasonable. Ditto .50 cal.

Also the M4 apparently feels like a toy compared to the AK.

It's a lot lighter, but does give the impression of being less ragged. I did find the AK to be surprisingly easy to shoot, though. For all the waffle about it being inaccurate and high-powered, the 7.62 shorts didn't give much more kick than a 5.56mm NATO, it was quite a bit of fun. 7.62x39 rifles are very popular in the US, as they're cheaper than AR-types, the ammunition is cheaper, and they're still a lot of fun to shoot and accurate enough at civilian shooting distances.

I was amazed that it was so easy to get access to such heavy firepower.

Depends on your point of view. My sister (Dublin) and boyfriend (Athlone) went to Vietnam recently. She has photos of themselves shooting full-auto M-16s and AKs, which you can do easily enough in the US, and MMGs/HMGs and RPGs, which are a little harder to do in the US.

Whereas guys who used a .22 revolver a few times until they were able to put all six rounds in the bull - then went on to a .22 SA until they could put the entire clip in the bull

Ahem... :P

then went to a .38 revolver, then onto a large calibre SA

I never understood that form of 'logical progression.' I've generally found it better to start with the semi-auto over the revolver as a lot of the recoil is taken up by the mechanism. See earlier comment about Desert Eagle vs revolver. The 'simplicity' advantages for a revolver are usually more beneficial in 'stress shooting', which is generally not an issue in Ireland: There are no controls to forget about in the heat of the moment, and revolvers can't jam. Otherwise, I don't see the benefit for a new shooter of using a revolver over a semi-auto. I will generally start a new shooter on a 9mm, with only one round in the magazine for the first shot, mainly for the 'comfort' factor of the new shooter. (That, and their tendancy to wave the pistol around immediately after the first shot when they turn to you and say 'wow, that was fun!'). Then two. Then a full magazine. I leave revolvers for later.

NTM

sidneyreilly

Manic Moran wrote:

Ahem... :P



I never understood that form of 'logical progression.' I've generally found it better to start with the semi-auto over the revolver as a lot of the recoil is taken up by the mechanism. See earlier comment about Desert Eagle vs revolver. The 'simplicity' advantages for a revolver are usually more beneficial in 'stress shooting', which is generally not an issue in Ireland: There are no controls to forget about in the heat of the moment, and revolvers can't jam. Otherwise, I don't see the benefit for a new shooter of using a revolver over a semi-auto. I will generally start a new shooter on a 9mm, with only one round in the magazine for the first shot, mainly for the 'comfort' factor of the new shooter. (That, and their tendancy to wave the pistol around immediately after the first shot when they turn to you and say 'wow, that was fun!'). Then two. Then a full magazine. I leave revolvers for later.

NTM

Have you not just made Bananmans point for him? Simplicity..

Manic Moran

sidneyreilly wrote:

Have you not just made Bananmans point for him? Simplicity..

I have never yet had anyone on the range who was incapable of using a semi-auto. At absolute worst, just chamber the round for the new shooter and take off the external safety, if there is one present. (Or use a Glock or SIG which has no external safety). This is no worse than using a revolver.

On the other hand, you have the advantages of increased accuracy due to the generally lighter trigger pull (No need to move a chamber mechanism with a semi-auto) plus the reduced recoil, making it easier for a new shooter.

NTM

Bananaman

Everyone to their own.

I generally find that novices firing a revolver with the hammer cocked are much more likely to be on target which does their confidence the world of good. Then they tend to focus on what they are at rather than what other people on the range are thinking of them.

When they progress onto a full bore I like to give em a 38 revolver - my favourite for static shooting - as again they will more that likely put em on target.

I have found a couple of people who had what could best be described as "shell shock" when they turned up on the range - this was because they had been given large calibre SA pistols for their first shoot on another range (usually in the States or Czech Republic but a few here) and got shocked by the recoil/force involved. A couple of em took a lot of work to help them get rid of their flinch - same guys are now very accurate with a 9mm or .40 but they had to go back to basics and work up from a .22 revolver to regain their confidence.

I agree that many people are well capable of taking a light SA like a Glock 9mm and doing quite well with it on their first outing. I just like to see what their behaviour/handling/etc. is like on the range with a smallbore revolver so they don't fire a clip of 9mm and run off and tell their mates that they were up the range "puttin a cap in it's ass".

As for putting a full clip in the bull.

When we think the newbies are ready we will shoot and a score a timed detail. Everyone else would usually be firing centrefire with the newbies on smallbore revolvers.

With this 25 round (max 250 score) detail.

6 rounds - 10 meteres - 16 seconds
6 rounds - 15 meteres - 16 seconds
6 rounds - 15 meteres - 16 seconds
6 rounds - 20 meteres - 16 seconds
1 rounds - 10 meteres - 6 seconds

One guy will always get 250 - cut the bull out of the target
A good few in the 240's - mostly 10s, couple of 9's
Majority 220 or better - some 8's and 7's

The newbies will generally put em all on the board but they see what where they are and see what the can do - gives em a goal to work for.
Then every night they are back up we will shoot the same detail again so they can see their progress.

B'Man