Flying brass is somewhat analagous to being seated next to a tantrum child on an airplane: you tolerate the annoyance even more if there is a conscious effort to stop the child. Shooters are at different stages of experience with each having different level of financial resources. We all know, having been there and done that, that it takes time to acquire equipment. Having gadgets like fancy brass catchers, nets, stands etc. takes money and even time to fabricate. Being conscious of the problem in the first place commonly results in the eventual acquisition of brass catching equipment. In the meantime, shooters are left to their own devices. Shooters, therefore, should not be faulted for not having proper brass catching equipment; they should be faulted for not attempting to deflect their brass.  I laud the efforts of novice shooters who are conscious of the annoyance that hot, flying brass creates and try to use what they have at their disposal to  minimize it like ammo cans, back packs, gun cases and wood frame targets. The RO's are also instrumental in teaching range etiquette and in bringing consciousness to the sometimes unconscious minds.

they should be faulted for not attempting to deflect their brass.

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I am going to have to disagree with this statement. If a shooter wants to pack "lite" to the range, that is perfectly acceptable. I have often gone to the range with nothing more than a pistol and a box of ammo in a small bag. No catcher, no deflector.

It is not a range requirement. Therefore no person should be "faulted" for ejecting brass on the next person.

as long as the brass/steel are not hitting me in my face or constantly landing in my lap im fine..muzzle brakes dont bother me either.its a public shooting range with 100's of shooters,its loud get used to it

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I am going to have to disagree with this statement. If a shooter wants to pack "lite" to the range, that is perfectly acceptable. I have often gone to the range with nothing more than a pistol and a box of ammo in a small bag. No catcher, no deflector.

It is not a range requirement. Therefore no person should be "faulted" for ejecting brass on the next person.

I could list all kinds of examples, but what you basically stated is, as long as the range, state, city, or county doesn't make a rule about something, it's okay to do, and the person should not be criticized?

I guess common sense, common courtesy, and other societal behaviors have to be regulated by some authority before I'm allowed to fault someone for being too self-centered to care about, or learn, established rules of etiquette regardless of setting?

And to think I've been holding doors open for people and treating people with courtesies like "please" and "thank you" everywhere I go my whole life even though no legal authority mandated it! 

What a fool I am!!

I agree that ejecting brass is just part of the experience.  What I do not agree with is the notion that there has to be a rule for everything that every shooter should try to incorporate so everyone has an enjoyable time at the range.

Many ranges (private, mostly) install dividers between shooters to, among other things, deflect ejected brass from your neighbors.  Maybe we should do a "self-help" project and either help install permanent ones, or at least a net and collection trough between stations.

It's silly to make every one of 10 shooters at the same station over the course of a day provide their own brass catcher.

Lol this topic is starting to sound like an episode of the Kirdashians

Lol this topic is starting to sound like an episode of the Kirdashians

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I agree.
The original post was about brass thieves.
If anyone wants to rant about getting hit by brass, then start a new thread.
 

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I am going to have to disagree with this statement. If a shooter wants to pack "lite" to the range, that is perfectly acceptable. I have often gone to the range with nothing more than a pistol and a box of ammo in a small bag. No catcher, no deflector.

It is not a range requirement. Therefore no person should be "faulted" for ejecting brass on the next person.

Well, following that same train of thought, saying "Please" "Thank you" or "Excuse me" are not required by law, but they're general human niceties.  We should strive to be that community that is respectful and considerate of everyone else.

.

Has anyone had a stranger touch their gun? I've had people come real close to look at them, but noone's ever laid a hand on any of my guns without permission.

Has anyone had a stranger touch their gun? I've had people come real close to look at them, but noone's ever laid a hand on any of my guns without permission.

I always hold out for dinner and drinks first.

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Has anyone had a stranger touch their gun? I've had people come real close to look at them, but noone's ever laid a hand on any of my guns without permission.

Twice

That's only because I was flexing.
 

This is why the "once a year pimp slap" needs to be instituted.

A law which allows you to pimp slap some shithead who desperately deserves it.

The police show up, because invariably the shithead is a whiny bitch that will call the police.

They check your record and you haven't used your annual pimp slap, so you're free to go about your business.

Ah.......this used to be the jade ring to the head before.........and it was issued several times a year.

At the pistol side the people who reload that have brass catcher
Dont cry about your brass GET A BRASS CATCHER!!!!  It hit the ground ITS FREE GAME you cant tell whos is whos unless you paint your brass orange
WTF about the  dust pan, swep it up take your brass out then PUT THE DUST PAN BACK ITS NOT YOUR !!!!

I reload and I don't have a brass catcher.  While you may not know exactly which is all of your brass, you know you just shot X amount of cartridges.  I pick up X amount of casings.  The guy sweeping up everyone else's brass with the intent on reselling them is doing nothing other than stealing.  They know how much they did/didn't shoot.

On the issue of brass, its a common courtesy to not take someone's brass. But not all people have that mind set, so its your responsibility to ensure that you can account for and protect your brass.

If you know people are going to take your brass, and you do nothing to counteract that after the first or second incident, then you are at fault as well.

I disagree.  It's not common courtesy.  When people take your property without your permission it's called theft.  It's just like dropping quarters on the ground.  People take them it's theft.

maybe there should be a net or a piece of plywood attached to the right side of the bench separating each stall... something like the silhouette side.... damn 22lr cases burn like hell...

I wonder if Range etiquette is taught at hunter education or firearms safety classes?  I doubt it...but might be a good topic to add to the course, since it is part of shooting or safety....like you don't want to shoot when somebody is shooting their .50 cal rifle, or hot brass hitting a shooter right next to you, etc.   A lot of these new shooters do not really know range etiquette, so maybe we need to teach these guys, instead of kicking their asses (ok, some might deserve it ;)We want to promote our sport  in a positive manner, so that our sport with survive and thrive in the future.   We already have all these negative stuff about guns and gun owners, so we do not more fuel for that fire.  We want to promote a positive, safe, fun, and friendly gun culture...just my 2 cents

I use brass catchers.  I also reload, so if I see that the guy next to me isn't saving his brass, I'll ask to pick up his brass and there's usually no problems--either he wants it or he doesn't.  If the brass is on the ground in front of the benches I'll usually wait until the person leaves, and then pick up what's there, if it's something I want.

There's a guy at the silhouette side that  acts like all the brass on the ground belongs to him--he's one of the range rats and I'm pretty sure he sells the brass to the recyclers.  He's an ass, plain and simple.  I've taken to marking my pistol brass with a sharpie if I'm going to shoot silhouette.  Guys like him degrade the shooting experience for all, particularly newbies.

At the pistol side you'll see that almost every one of the old timers or serious target shooters have those large range boxes--in addition to making it easier to transport all of your stuff  it serves as a pretty good barricade against flying brass.

I accept the risk going to the range of having occasional hot brass flung at me. It happens. Adapt, Darwin,  iChing
I've had my share of burns - burns that bubble into a blister later. I don't get mad at the shooter responsible for shooting but some people are obviously out there to do just that. For example, the few times that I got burned with hot brass (back of my neck, in my sleeves - both blistered up) was on the left side; prone, where there are no benches. I'm shooting sitting and a guy shows up with a bionic ninja KAC rifle to my left and unloads a 30 rounder into the berm. As a result of his awesome mimicry of Travis Haley, hot brass is raining on me and one is lodged in my jacket during a 10 round string (5 and 5). I fish it out. The guy does his drills, gets scoldings from an RO and leaves. This is one example of not just range etiquette but being a Piers Morgan obnoxious arse.
Again, I accept the risk and I never scolded the guy (the RO did for loading more than 5 and rapid firing) but if your actions are repeatedly affecting your neighbor in a negative way then either an apology or some corrective action is in order.

silhouette side a few months ago was a little crowded so i had to wait.  no big deal.  i'm the next in line for a bench.
so i see this guy cleaning up his stuff getting ready to leave.
so i think this will be my bench.
low and behold his buddy just parks and walks up with his gf and gets the bench from his buddy that leaves, and snakes my spot.
RO doesn't say anything.  and really no big deal, i just wait another 5 minutes for the bench right next to dude with the gf.
so he brings out a 44 and he's all smiles.
so i just stand back and watch as he shoots the 1st 3 shots 10 meters short of the target into the dirt.
I literally LOL as i see him totally miss bc he's flinching.
karma gave me some payback that day watching that dude flinch in front of his gf he was trying to impress.