Submitted by Dale Mullin on 1 October 2009 - 7:41pm
Posted in
As our club grows and we have more shooters on the line, the job of the Range Safety Officer becomes more important than ever. As we get to know our fellow members and become comfortable shooting alongside of them, there is a tendency to relax and trust that everyone will do his or her part to ensure range safety. That is entirely natural, but what it does not take into account is human fallibility; to err is human. As RSO it behooves you to act professionally and do your job regardless of how well you know the other shooters on the line. Multiple people each checking the same thing makes it more difficult for human error to slip through the cracks.
So when on the range, check up and down the line to make certain that everyone has actions open and empty and that detachable magazines have been removed. You may not find it necessary to physically check each and every firearm on the line yourself. You can recruit knowledgeable members farther down the line to help you to physically check that firearms are safely unloaded. Rather than just saying “make the range cold,” it may be helpful to specify that you want your volunteers to check actions open and empty and that detachable magazines are removed. The additional, specific verbiage will help to remind everyone on the line what is expected of them. Only after you have confirmation that each firearm has been physically checked by someone should you make the line cold and allow people to go downrange. Following the range rules “by the numbers” helps to ensure that multiple layers of safety are in place to help us avoid safety incidents. Never take it for granted that the other guy has done what he should. In the words of Ronald Reagan, “Trust, but verify.”
In order to provide additional safety while we have people downrange, the Board of Directors has implemented a rule which requires anyone not going downrange to remain behind the red lines that are painted on the pavilion floors of the 50 yd. and 100 meter ranges while the range is cold. (If the 100-meter line isn’t already painted by the time you read this, it soon will be.) No one should approach shooting tables when the range is cold. When returning from hanging/placing targets, all persons must wait behind the red lines until the range is called hot again by the RSO. This rule is intended to help ensure that no one casually reaches down to reposition a firearm or adjust a scope while people are downrange. Remaining behind the red lines provides an additional buffer against someone momentarily forgetting that handling uncased firearms is not allowed while the range is cold.
In addition to the above, the other major rule that the RSO should be ensuring compliance with is that all rounds impact in the lower half of the back berm. Rounds which impact the floor of the range anywhere other than right at the base of the berm are subject to possible ricochet. We must control where our bullets ultimately come to a stop and the best way to do that is to ensure that the bullets impact in the lower half of the back berm.
