OC Report

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This morning I decided to OC at Winco in Federal Way for a little over an hour while I picked up groceries for the next few weeks. I rated hardly a glance from any of the customers and only one disapproving look from one of the stockers. I walkedthrough a group of 6 or 7 employees talking over by the deli area, and I didn't even turn any heads. I know that Winco is on our do not patronize list, but I had to see for myself.

Next it was off to the Kenmore Shooting Range with a couple of friends. I was instructed that if I wanted to shoot my rifle, that I needed to leave my handgun in the car. I found that kind of odd, but complied anyways. I had just driven up from Auburn and already paid after all. The only thing I left in the car was the 1911, so the holster got a few glances, and one shooter noticed the Gun Rights pamphlets sticking out of my back pocket and asked for one. He and a couple of his buddies were reading that for a little while while waiting for a lane. I really don't like the rangerule of one round in the weapon, and I probably won't be back, but that's a discussion for another time and probably already been had.

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My parents handed me a check for $100 to help buy a membership there for my birthday back in December. I asked them to void it and let me use the money to buy ammo because of the draconian rules they have at Kenmore. I will NEVER give them my money if they're going to run a business/range like that.

I mean, I can't even use my 5 round stripper clips for my mosin to load up the internal fixed magazine unless I get approved by the range officer to do a "magazine functional test"... STUPID! :banghead:

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I know. Completely retarded. I actually had to remove rounds from stripper clips to use them in my SKS. After spending time loading them into stripper clips beforehand. Not to mention that traffic was absolutely awful this morning, and on the way back we had some woman (I think) stop all lanes of traffic for a family of ducks waddling across 405 (I think, might have been 522). Was absolutely not my best day at the range. But that's what I get for trying something that a friend wanted to check out. Ever been to the Renton Fish and Game Club? I haven't heard anything about it.

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I haven't. I used to go to Sam's (was a member), but now that my membership expired I kind of feel like just going out to the mountains and rural areas to shoot where I can shoot without stupid restrictions and at longer ranges than just 25 yards for even my rifles. Now, of course, even without rules or a rangemaster, I shoot safely and if I'm with a group, unless there's someone that's more experienced than I am (even though I'm 26), I'll make myself rangemaster for the day and make sure everyone's following general safe-handling techniques.

My new motto is "I don't pay to play."

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I kind of feel like just going out to the mountains and rural areas to shoot where I can shoot without stupid restrictions and at longer ranges than just 25 yards for even my rifles.

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Ok, you're gonna have to tell me about a few of these, the only ones that I used to know of are now posted "NO SHOOTING." PM me if you don't want to share publicly, but please share.

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Unfortunately, you won't be getting a PM from me soon...

The last time I went out with my friends out passed North Bend, the King County Sheriff showed up and told us that it was a no shooting area (there were no signs to say as much on the way there).

We were very cooperative with him as my friend and I had just finished shooting handguns (his a Beretta 92FS and mine a GLOCK 27) with the slides in the locked-back position when he started to walk up to us. He asked us to holster the weapons, which we did and they stayed in the holsters while we talked to him. He told us it had been no-shooting there for a while (which my friend said he'd had no problems last year with the sheriff waving as he drove by them) and asked us to pack it up saying he gets nervous whenever he has to come out here to a report of gunfire and then said "obviously I'm out-gunned", indicating my AES-10 (long-barreled AK-variant) that was in the trunk of the car in the open without a magazine inserted. We then wished him a good day, packed up and left. What's amusing is that he didn't see the CETME, M4, Mosin Nagant 91/59, Arsenal SLR-101, 12ga shotgun, and AR-15 that were in the car and ammo to go with all of the above... I don't think he realized just how "out-gunned" he really was. *chuckle*

He did tell us, though, that we could go online and find safe-shoot areas to go shooting. I wasn't aware there was a resource for this, but haven't checked since then, as I haven't had the time.

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That was my last experience as well, I didn't have as many firearms as you, but we got just about the same reaction. And this was after I had been told by State Patrol that the area I was in was open to shooters year round. That was over a year ago now. I have not found any sort of resource to find shooting areas either, FYI. That's why I'm paying to go to ranges and putting up with their BS rules.

Edit: I spend ten minutes on the web wondering what I can find, and I come across this. Go ahead and have a look at the third paragraph from the bottom.

Edit 2: And now I find this. It seems that they can declare any area they please a no shooting area simply by posting a sign.

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Be a cold day in hell before I ever went to that range. I shoot an M-14 and I would be so annoyed having to change magazines every single shot. What a stupid pointless policy. What purpose do they think it serves? Those of you who continue to shoot there due to lack of other options should seriously think about joining the board and changing the stupid rule.

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Derka wrote:

....
Next it was off to the Kenmore Shooting Range with a couple of friends. I was instructed that if I wanted to shoot my rifle, that I needed to leave my handgun in the car. I found that kind of odd, but complied anyways. I had just driven up from Auburn and already paid after all. The only thing I left in the car was the 1911, so the holster got a few glances, and one shooter noticed the Gun Rights pamphlets sticking out of my back pocket and asked for one. He and a couple of his buddies were reading that for a little while while waiting for a lane. I really don't like the rangerule of one round in the weapon, and I probably won't be back, but that's a discussion for another time and probably already been had.

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That was discussed a little while ago here:
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum55/3340.html

I really wanted to go there sometime, but have lost the stomach for it. That one-round-at-a-time policy stinks to high heaven. I hear they're pretty stingy about allowing you to shoot with snubbies, too.

I've been hoping to hear an update on the new range that is supposed to go in/around Sultan Basin Road. The most recent stuff I can find are some council minutes that say there was some sort of public meeting on the subject on March 15, 2008.