Dario
Regular Member
With all the negative publicity the feds get lately I thought I'd share a good experience I had on the Peak to Peak a couple of weeks ago. It was just after a big spring snow, my son and I wanted to test out his new Marlin model 60 and cycle through some ammo on the others. Our favorite spot was snowed out so we went to plan B spot which had some tracks we could follow in. We parked near the highway to scout the area and it turned out the tracks were caused by a PR who was just sitting in his truck about 50 yards in.
As we walked up he got out of his truck. I imagine he was thinking we were going hiking or something similar and he was a bit surprised when I asked if we could target shoot this close to the highway due to the conditions. He said it wasn't a problem and asked what kind of targets we had, I explained we had some cardboard and a metal spinner, and a cheap plastic-type swivel that does a poor job of resealing bullet holes. He had an issue with the latter so I said no problem I would leave in the car.
He then asked if we knew the rules and regs (I actually have them printed out but buried under all the gear) and gave us a copy while inquiring about the 4 steps of gun safety which I recited flawlessly... On reflection I should have put my 14 year old on the spot and had HIM recite the steps. He does know them of course but I'm sure he would have turned beet red and stammered, which would have been priceless :lol:
What impressed me was that we were treated with respect the entire time, not once inquiring anything about our motives, running our names or treating us suspiciously. It made me really happy to live here. I regrettably didn't get his name (didn't think about it until after the fact) but he went on his way and we had the next 2 hours to ourselves. It was a beautiful warm day in the snow and the best day at the range in recent memory. As for the Marlin? 300 rounds without a hitch and a great addition to the family.
As we walked up he got out of his truck. I imagine he was thinking we were going hiking or something similar and he was a bit surprised when I asked if we could target shoot this close to the highway due to the conditions. He said it wasn't a problem and asked what kind of targets we had, I explained we had some cardboard and a metal spinner, and a cheap plastic-type swivel that does a poor job of resealing bullet holes. He had an issue with the latter so I said no problem I would leave in the car.
He then asked if we knew the rules and regs (I actually have them printed out but buried under all the gear) and gave us a copy while inquiring about the 4 steps of gun safety which I recited flawlessly... On reflection I should have put my 14 year old on the spot and had HIM recite the steps. He does know them of course but I'm sure he would have turned beet red and stammered, which would have been priceless :lol:
What impressed me was that we were treated with respect the entire time, not once inquiring anything about our motives, running our names or treating us suspiciously. It made me really happy to live here. I regrettably didn't get his name (didn't think about it until after the fact) but he went on his way and we had the next 2 hours to ourselves. It was a beautiful warm day in the snow and the best day at the range in recent memory. As for the Marlin? 300 rounds without a hitch and a great addition to the family.