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sepiid wrote:most ranges i have been to are fine with concealed carry. just check on there policy on drawing. some place you can draw from concealed and fire, others, you can draw and place the weapon down then begin to fire.

Doing a rapid run-up of our post count, are we?

Jumping Frog wrote:Or verbal notice ....

You mean "oral" notice, yes?

In keeping with the language in §30.06(b). Right?

I'm a nerd who actually owns a 16-volume set of The Oxford English Dictionary. They ceased producing the print version years ago. Alas.

TAM and I mourn its demise...

AndyC wrote:I've seen folks drag out a concealed handgun and either want to just slap it down on the bench or unload their carry-ammo from it - after the range has been declared cold and people are downrange.

Alternatively the range is hot, people are shooting... and some clown drags out a pistol from deep concealment while managing to point the muzzle at his own body-parts as well as everyone else around him.

Double yup.

And please always review range rules carefully. If ever in any doubt, ask. Nuthin' wrong with askin'; only if you don't.

For example, some ranges that allow presentation and shooting from concealment will restrict how you can carry and do so. We all know there are ways to safely withdraw a gun from just about any possible concealed position, but some are inherently less safe than others...particularly with people standing beside or behind you. That's why IDPA rules disallow cross draw holsters, shoulder holsters, and small-of-back holsters.

If you step to the line at a range that allows presentation from concealment and you start to withdraw your small-of-back carry without confirming range rules first, you may--rightfully so--have the Wrath of the Rangemaster on you in seconds.

Ranges have the right to establish and enforce their own rules, and by abiding by them we all help ensure that there are no news headlines tomorrow blaring, "Gun Accidentally Goes Off at XYZ Shooting Range, Injuring Customer."

Teamless wrote:

FrogFan wrote: if you have a CHL, then unless the range posts a 30.06 sign (why would they?), they can't stop you from carrying

the 30.06 prohibits you from carrying, however the CHL laws about "intentionally failing to conceal" come in to play.
You intentionally fail to conceal with you pull it from the holster to use it at the range.

Always refer to my tag line, which essentially says I don't know nuthin' so never trust anything I say without independent verification.

But my opinion is that the range is a special situation under the Penal Code, and that it's perfectly legal to draw and use your carry gun at the shooting range.

Legal and Range Rules are two different things, and Range Rules always need to be respected. I'm just talkin' "legal" here.

Ignoring a possible 30.06 sign, which would forbid you from entering the premises carrying your firearm to begin with, the pertinent sections of the Penal Code are PC §46.02 and, critically, §46.15.

PC §46.02 reads, in part:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not: (1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or (2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the person's control...

This is the section that basically says you can't, in general, carry. It is GC §411 that allows us to legally carry in the face of PC §46.02.

However, PC §46.15 contains its own standalone set of nonapplicabilities:

PC §46.15. NONAPPLICABILITY. (a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to:
(b) Section 46.02 does not apply to a person who:
...(3) is engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting activity on the immediate premises where the activity is conducted, or is en route between the premises and the actor's residence, motor vehicle, or watercraft, if the weapon is a type commonly used in the activity...

So my take is that a CHL is not necessary to carry concealed and draw from concealment while at a shooting range if engaged in a sporting activity. PC §46.15 exempts you from that regardless of GC §411 and whether or not you have a CHL.

After all, you couldn't legally draw from concealment and shoot at PSC, or even participate in any IDPA event unless this was the case.

And that's what distinguishes the shooting range situation from going to a friend's house and having him tell you it's okay to unholster and display your gun. That is not a "lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting activity" under PC §46.15.

However, if your friend owns an appreciable amount of land (i.e., enough acreage under statute to allow shooting), like RPB's hunting lease, you can be lawfully hunting or lawfully engaged in target shooting as a sporting activity on those premises by permission of your friend.

Make any sense?