Stay Alert — Don’t Drill a Range Worker at Your Next Match
Here is a video every shooter should watch. It reminds us that our sport demands 100% attention. Lose track of individuals down-range and the results could be tragic. This video will give you chills (starting at about the 0:25 mark). We need to remember to follow all the firearms safety rules, and apply them all the time. At the range, all it takes is one brief moment of inattention to create a life-threatening situation. Never assume the downrange area is safe. Use your own eyes and ears.
This video shows a competitor shooting a stage at an action pistol match. He starts when instructed by the Range Safety Officer (RSO). But unbeknownst to both RS0 and competitor, a volunteer is downrange working on targets. Watch carefully. At 0:27 the shooter sweeps left to right, engaging a paper silhouette target to his right. Then, at 0:30, as he begins a mag change, his head turns downrange. A few yards away is a white-shirted range worker! The shooter yells “Hey what’s going on?!”
What’s going on indeed… The RSO should have ensured that nobody was downrange before the shooter even stepped up to the firing line. If other competitors standing to the side had been alert, they might have seen the worker changing targets and called for a halt. And the target-worker himself — even if he was wearing earmuffs, he should have noticed that live fire had commenced just yards away…
We also have to wonder about the stage design. This set-up made it very difficult to see downrange. The white panels (see 0:10-0:20) definitely hid the target worker from view. In hindsight, given the way the stage was laid out, this was truly an “accident waiting to happen”. It’s fortunate that no one got injured in this incident. But this chilling video provides a lesson to all shooters — “Safety First”.
How could this “near-fatality” have been averted? Post your comments below.
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Tags: Range Safety, Safety Rules, Video
Every chief range officer should count ALL of his staff before calling a shooter to ready. After working USPSA national level matches for years, it’s given that the CRO is ultimately responsible for safety on their stage, but all officers and shooters are involved in safety.
Wow. That has to be a case study for range safety design and breaches.
a. Vision. CoF is designed so down range action is obscured from the start line.
b. Colour: Range helper is dressed in the same colour as the targets.
Actions on: Range specific officer and worker needed to be buddied. Suggest personal radio link and visual confirmation of each person’s location before start of practice.
Holy shit! The guy fired over 30 shots before the problem was noticed.
No problem, guys, the shooter was John Wyck.
Volunteers allowed beyond the firing line, orange vested only! Numbered 1- a given number max of 6 easily counted and range officer reported to behind the firing line before each shooter, or in a high station where he can have a high wave from that person to count as clear! All 6 clears means a go signal! After working safety for confined space areas there is no such thing as a little bit safe it’s all or nothing! Bright Orange is our friend!
Paul Seaman
There are no words …
The orange vest is not likely to work with the orange snow fence. Defiantly some bright and contrasting colored shirts and maybe an aerosol air horn
Since it was an action match, maybe they should have let the guy down range return fire! Sarcasm!