Bunch of damn brown nosers! There can only be so many Mods, you do know that, right?

Not brown nosing. My main thought in mentioning this is as a reminder to others to follow an example that works very well.
The difference between a good RSO and a bad RSO can mean a lot more than just a good or bad day shooting...

It can mean the difference between new shooters sticking with shooting and 2A and others walking away in disgust and never coming back. That's huge.

Exactly.

Great, now I can't get that out of my head.

Regarding firearm safety, learning from one's mistakes is an unsustainable strategy.
Steve, please share an RO lesson with us, what have you observed that works? Or something you no longer do?

(Sorry Steve, I gotta do this...)

Steve has been an RSO at a number of our women-only protection and home defense classes, as well as our monthly Ladies Day at the Range events. He has helped us train 12 new female RSOs.

We introduce him to all the ladies as our God of the Range--his word on the range is absolute, because he is here to keep us all safe.

Steve had always struck me as a level-headed fellow in reading all of his comments here. He mentioned that he was an RSO, had a membership at Cascade, and might be willing to help out with our new ladies classes. I invited him to go and shoot with me-it was 100% a vetting process, as I've been inundated with offers to help from those whom I'd never unleash on the ladies. We were very worried about finding someone who would mesh well with our culture: guns are safe, fun, and a useful tool, and we'll support you 100% as you learn a new skill. We tried a couple of RSOs before him and the ladies tolerated them with some eye rolls and "oh, isn't mr. so and so special?" Meaning quite the opposite.

Since then, here's what I've seen of Steve:

• Steve literally threw himself in front of one of our instructors who was running to hang targets, preventing her from crossing the firing line. As it turns out one of our new RSOs hadn't shouted RANGE IS COLD quite loud enough for all on the range to hear it. Steve showed that he was willing to physically intervene to keep our ladies safe--no matter the consequence, either social or physical. That instructor happened to be my daughter. As I'm writing this I'm getting a little teary-eyed that someone would go to such lengths to keep her safe.
• Steve is brilliant. He's a fountain of knowledge, whether it be to firearms, the law, reloading, or safety. He has been invaluable in reviewing some of our instruction on occasion and ensuring that we're 100% accurate in what we teach.
• He is able to offer corrections and suggestions in such a way that you welcome them rather than resent them. He makes you feel like a million bucks, offers a suggestion for improvement, and leaves you wondering what the hell happened that you're grateful to be corrected. That's a very rare skill.
• He genuinely loves the sport, loves sharing his toys, and is excited to see more people join in. He loves sharing his knowledge. I'm surprised at how many people from his work he's taken to the range to introduce them to shooting. He was bummed when all the ladies started buying their own pistols and shooting them at the Ladies Days. So he brought out the rare pistols and shotguns so they'd have something exciting to look forward to.
• Steve is even-tempered, even in the face of mistakes. We tell the ladies that we have layers and layers of safety to protect them. When one of those layers is breached, Steve gently corrects and sets them straight. This is very, very different from so many RSOs (and other gun owners at the range) who seemingly demand to be heard, force everyone to compliance, and yell at you for every minor infraction.

Because of Steve's presence on the range, our ladies feel safe. They feel welcomed. They feel encouraged. They feel empowered when he teaches them how to shoot the biggest-ass revolver and then praises them for stepping up to the challenge and in many cases, drilling the bullseye. The ladies love him. Some of the single ladies have even asked for his contact information.

Steve is an absolute credit to the shooting sport, and an invaluable asset to us.

Yeah, Steve is the God of the Range. And I'm honored to call him my friend.

^^ Oh balls! As true as all that is he's gonna be hell to live with now! Speaking of which, anybody know why he's so quiet lately? MIA? Basking in his Godly glory? Gonna hafta put out an APB on 'ol Cakeface.

He’s embarrassed and in hiding.

Heh heh . . . I saw PMB's original post and the first couple of replies earlier, but since then I've been avoiding the thread, partly because I figured I was getting crucified, and partly because I was waiting 'til I had a few minutes to sit down and write a proper reply.

First, thank you for all of the kind words. I'm a bit embarrassed and horrified, but that's just me, and I do appreciate it. Thank you.

As Curtis (Rutilate) mentioned, he jokingly introduces me to the students as "the god of the range," meaning not that I'm all-knowing or anything, but rather as part of teaching them what an RSO does, and that the RSO is there to keep them safe, and that they need to do what the RSO tells them to do . . . in order to stay safe. That's a fun little thing we do in class, but I guess the beans got spilled when Goddessofcode (no relation, lol) joined recently and referred to "our Range God Steve." When I read that I thought, "oh shit I hope no one picks up on that and runs with it." Damn that PMB.



I have a few key principles. I'd love the hear others' thoughts on this subject, regardless of whether you're an RSO or not.

1) Don't be an asshole, a "range nazi," or whatever you want to call it. I've been on the receiving end of an RSO coming absolutely unhinged, yelling and screaming, and I think it's completely unproductive UNLESS someone has committed a gross safety violation, which is pretty rare. When an RSO acts like that for normal transgressions (or perceived transgressions!), it just pisses off the shooter, and makes him not want to shoot there anymore. It also makes the RSO look like a dick, more than a leader. I find that if you're friendly and helpful, pretty near every shooter will graciously accept correction.

For example, let's say that a shooter takes his gun case to the bench, opens it and removes the gun with the muzzle pointing sideways or back at the shooter. This is absolutely wrong per any organized range's rules, but it's fairly common. Rather than running over to the shooter and yelling, "Jesus Christ, turn that fucking gun around, what the hell do you think you're doing!" I've found that it's better to walk up, smile, and "Hey, cool AR. Would you mind doing me a favor? Next time you uncase, or when you go to case it up after you're done shooting, please turn the case first, so that the muzzle is pointing downrange before you put the gun in or take it out. That way the gun won't be pointing at other shooters while you're casing it. Thanks!" They will always say, "Oh okay, will do." That feels like a win-win to me.

2) Go out of your way to address safety issues if you see them, even if you're not directly responsible for what's happening. Quantsuff, this lesson came directly from the time at RFGC when I was with you and some others in the action bays. I was one of the RSOs there that day, but not *the* RSO. Some things were done that didn't adhere strictly to the rules, but didn't seem THAT bad . . . and I didn't do anything about it because hey, none of the other RSOs seemed to have an issue, so I wasn't going to make waves. We took a ration of shit for what happened that day, and I committed to the range and to myself that I would step up in the future when things weren't being done properly, even if I wasn't directly in charge. I've stuck to that, so if I see something unsafe happening at the next range over, or somewhere that's not directly within my control, I'll go address it.

3) Don't overwhelm people with too many rules. For example, when I do a safety briefing for the Adventure Protection classes, I ask them to remember two of the safety rules: Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire, and keep the muzzle pointed downrange. Yes, I know there are actually three rules, or four rules, or eight rules, or however many rules YOUR particular class taught you . . . but those two are the most important for their time at the range, and they are easy to remember. Keep it simple for the newbies, and set them up for success. You can work more nuances and rules into the discussion later if you need to.

4) Accept that you won't catch everything, but try. Welcome help from others, let every shooter co-RSO in a way. Another lesson from the action bays, I was shooting with a couple of people and one of them had removed his safety glasses to wipe off the rain, and forgot to put them back on. We were sitting there banging steel targets and he wasn't wearing glasses, and none of us noticed. (It wasn't intentional on his part.) Shooting without safety glasses isn't a great idea in general, but it's a pretty horrible idea when you're shooting steel targets. I got chewed on for that one by our favorite shotgun rangemaster , who DID notice it, and the chewing was deserved, I suppose. I make it a point to double-check eyepro now, all the time, but I also know that I was doing the best I could that day, and shit happens. We all need to be looking out for each other.

Thoughts from others? Lessons to share?

Always have enough room on the bench so you can set your gun down rapidly. Simply: No clutter.

Why?

If HOT ASS brass flies down the back of your shirt or otherwise is lodged and burning flesh you may be waving the muzzle around.


Guilty!!!

OK my finger was not on the trigger, but still....it left a mark.

And that is why I'd shoot with Steve anytime, anywhere.
He is man enough to take ownership of a problem (even if it wasn't his), learn from it, and most importantly, teach others by spreading the gospel to all and sundry so there isn't a next time.

We are all human, so mistakes can happen, that's why layers of safety (as pointed out above, by Rutilate) are important.
But that means we ALL have to be aware, and to not be afraid to step up even if you are not the one running things.
Sometimes that means handling it yourself, right then, other times a quick word to the rangemaster, RSO, or whoever so they can sort it out.

Just don't be a dick, (which is something that I had to learn multiple times...)

That's some thoughts from the retired "favorite shotgun rangemaster".

Steve also does an important best practice - positive reinforcement. Especially with new shooters, "catch" them doing it right, and compliment/ thank them. Powerful.

Hmmm. I feel like I've been woefully underinformed in this area.

Probably best for your continued survival.

You guys all through polishing Steve’s knob now?