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Range Rules Quick Reference
Emergency Numbers:
911 for injuries
206-684-7461 for the Range Office
Safety Rules
Safety is the responsibility of every member and their guests. Do follow all range rules. Do not hesitate to correct unsafe situations caused by you or by others. Do get range staff involved immediately if an unsafe situation develops that cannot be immediately corrected (call from the firing line if necessary: 206-684-7461, or use the range intercom system).
An unsafe situation caused by you, your guest, or by someone else that is not immediately corrected is your personal responsibility as a member. Failure to take appropriate action to correct the situation can result in suspension or revocation of membership privileges, even when you are not the cause of the unsafe condition. An unsafe situation is a link in a chain of events that can lead to tragedy; do not ignore it.
Read the complete SPAA Range Rules before using any range. There are more rules than are listed here.
Everyone must wear eye and ear protection at all times while on any range. Put on your eye and ear protection before you walk from your vehicle into a live-fire range facility, even if there appears to be no shooting in progress. Do not remove your eye or ear protection during Cease Fires. Members must ensure that they and all guests have appropriate eye and ear protection. SPAA does not provide eye or ear protection, but such items are normally available for purchase in the Pro Shop.
The Rifle and Pistol ranges have Warning Lights that flash when activated, accompanied by a loud buzzer. Warning Lights must always be used when people are downrange, even when there is only one shooter. Warning Lights, when activated, indicate that it may be safe to proceed downrange to affix or check targets. It is each person’s responsibility, before proceeding downrange, to confirm there are no unsafe situations (e.g. nobody seated at a bench, nobody handling an uncased firearm, no firearm with a closed action or seated magazine in the firearm). Briefly turning on (“blipping”) the Warning Lights is permitted to request that shooters prepare for a Cease Fire and Target Check, or to get the attention of shooters in the event of an unsafe situation. However, do not activate the Warning Lights continuously until all uncased firearms are unloaded, with actions open and chamber flags inserted, and everyone has stepped away from the benches.
A range is “hot” when its Warning Lights are turned off. No person is permitted forward of the Red Zone firing line while the Warning Lights are off. Live fire is permitted only when each shooter has confirmed that the Warning Lights are off and there are no people downrange and there are no unsafe situations. The person turning off the Warning Lights shall also announce “Range is hot!”.
A Cease Fire precedes but is not the same thing as Target Check. Some situations require cessation of fire without allowing people downrange.
Immediately upon observing an unsafe situation while the range is hot, regardless of who caused it or whether it is in front of or behind the firing line, call “Cease Fire!”. If necessary, blip the Warning Lights to get the attention of all shooters. All shooters must respond by calling “Cease Fire!”, opening the actions of their firearms, unloading, setting the firearm down on the bench with the muzzle pointed downrange, and stepping away from the bench. Examples of unsafe conditions: someone not wearing eye or ear protection; a person downrange; an animal downrange; an uncased firearm that is not on a bench with its muzzle pointed downrange; a dangerous firearm failure; a dropped firearm or a firearm falling off a bench; a firearm explosion; a serious injury. If no person is downrange, do not activate the Warning Lights until the firing line is rendered safe, as it may not be safe for people to proceed downrange. All shooters must coordinate to understand and correct an unsafe situation before returning to their firearms and resuming fire. Complex situations shall require the involvement of range staff to resolve the unsafe situation and direct the safe return to firing, or the unloading and casing of firearms and shutdown of the range in the event of a sustained Cease Fire. Call the range office from the firing line (206-684-7461), or use the range intercom system.
Immediately upon observing an unsafe situation during a Cease Fire/Target Check, call it out and take action to correct it. Examples: someone seated at a bench; someone reaching to touch a firearm or other object on a bench; a firearm with its action closed or a loaded firearm (Do not touch the firearm! Call back any downrange shooters, turn off the Warning Lights per #5 above once all shooters have returned, then unload the firearm, remove the magazine, open the action, and insert a chamber flag before proceeding again with the Target Check).
Always perform a thorough scan down range to be sure everyone has returned from their targets before turning off the Warning Lights. Turning off the Warning Lights while someone is downrange is an unsafe, extremely dangerous situation.
Case and uncase firearms only on the shooting bench. Muzzles must be pointed downrange before cases are opened.
Any movement of a firearm away from a bench is prohibited unless it is unloaded and cased, or holstered on your person, except that a firearm may be moved from one bench to a neighboring bench if the firearm is unloaded, the muzzle is kept pointing downrange, and the firearm is not lifted over or past another person. Uncased firearms are not permitted on the shelving behind the benches. You may move a firearm without a case from your vehicle directly to a bench, or from a bench directly to your vehicle, only if it is unloaded, with the action open, and the muzzle pointing at the ground.
All firearms must be unloaded with chamber flags inserted and magazines removed during Cease Fires and Target Checks.
No person may be at or near a shooting position during a Cease Fire or Target Check. Stand back from the benches, out of the red area. Do not touch a firearm or other object on a bench during a Cease Fire or Target Check. Putting a firearm in a case during these periods is prohibited - firearms may be cased only while the range is hot, and always with the muzzle pointed downrange until the case is fastened shut.
Loaded firearms may not be brought onto or removed from a range unless they are holstered on your person. Load/ chamber/ unload on the firing line may be done only while the range is hot, only at the bench, with muzzles pointed downrange, when there are no individuals downrange, and there are no unsafe situations. You may also load and unload holstered firearms at the designated loading barrels located around the ranges and in front of the Pro Shop. Loading or unloading at other locations on the property is prohibited.
General Range Rules
All ranges are video monitored and recorded. These videos may be used to ascertain violations of range rules, theft, or property damage. Violations of range rules may result in membership termination. Criminal activities will result in membership termination and legal prosecution.
Members must sign in at the Pro Shop, in person, before proceeding to a range. Guests, including non-shooting guests, must sign in at the Pro Shop, in person, with their sponsoring Member, sign a Guest Agreement Waiver, and pay the Guest fee. Guests must depart the facility with their sponsoring member. Children are permitted only at the discretion of the Range Officer and must remain under close, continuous supervision.
Members must wear their identification card visibly. Members are forbidden from loaning their identification card to any other individual, including family members.
Uncased firearms must have the action open with magazines removed and a chamber flag inserted during Cease Fires and at any other time when not in use. Muzzleloaders will have no primer on the nipple and will have a chamber flag between the hammer and nipple.
Approved paper targets only, and only down the center of the provided backers on the target stands. No portable stands.
Shoot only at the target in line with your shooting position - no cross-firing, no shooting at anything other than your target.
No rapid fire. All shots must be aimed, with a minimum of 3 second between shots. You may load your firearm with as many rounds as is legal and within design capacity, so long as the unloading process can be completed safely and quickly when a Cease Fire is called.
No armor piercing, explosive, incendiary, or tracer ammunition. No full automatic weapons or firearms classfied as Destructive Devices on the civilian ranges.
Black powder shooting is allowed, but all containers of black powder must be closed while shooting, to prevent the possibility of ignition.
Misfired or misdirected rounds must be reported immediately to the range office.
Smoking is prohibited on the ranges.
Food is prohibited on the ranges.
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the ranges. Non-alcoholic beverages are permitted, but they must be covered, and they must be kept away from the benches/firing line.
Illegal drugs are prohibited on the property.
Any individual who impaired by alcohol or drugs (legal and illegal) is prohibited on SPAA property.
End of day Cease Fire time is 1630 (4:30 PM). No gun sales after 1600 (4:00 PM).
Members will be held accountable for violations by their guests.
ALL AMMUNITION AND FIREARM SALES ARE FINAL.
THE RANGE OFFICE DECISION IS FINAL.
Pistol Range Additional Rules
Pistols are permitted, with the exception of Thompson Contender and other pistols firing rifle calibers.
Some pistol-caliber rifles firing pistol ammunition under 2000 fps are permitted, including .22, .22LR, .22 Win Mag, 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45, and .45 Long Colt. High velocity rifles, even if rimfire or small caliber, including but not limited to .17 HMR, .17 WSM, .17 Hornet, .218 BEE, .22 Hornet, and 5.7x28, are not permitted on the pistol range.
Ask range staff before using a pistol-caliber rifle not listed above on the pistol range.
Holster work is prohibited on the civilian pistol range.
Rifle Range Additional Rules
Rifles are permitted.
Thompson Contender pistols in rifle calibers are permitted. Ask range staff before using other rifle-caliber pistols.
Shotguns firing rifled slugs are permitted. Birdshot, buckshot, and unrifled slugs are not permitted.
Position shooting (kneeling, sitting, prone) is permitted only with range staff permission and only when firing from pre-approved firing positions. Shooters shall place a traffic cone on top of the bench for their position in order to alert other shooters of their status.
Holster work is prohibited on the civilian rifle range.
