Free Advice

It always has puzzled me why some competitors race through the process of unloading and showing clear at the end of stages. This process is not on the clock and is an important step to ensure the firearm is unloaded, so why the rush?

[Read more…] about Time stops with the last shot

As with any skill, practice makes perfect…or at least better. Same goes for being a Range Officer. The RO seminar is just the first step, it’s sort of like your learner’s permit for driving. To become a skilled RO, it takes practice.

[Read more…] about Gaining the certification is just the first step

One of the things you should always do after cleaning or any other disassembly of your firearm is to perform a safety check once it’s back together. We put a lot of rounds through our firearms and over time pieces wear or break. One of the things you should always check is if the primary safety, if your firearm came from the factory with one, is working properly.

[Read more…] about Did you do your function check?

Here at NROI, we all too frequently have complaints about ROs come our way; generally they are not formal RO Incident Form type complaints but more along the lines of “I had a bad RO at xyz match last weekend.” There is usually an implied “NROI needs to do something!”

[Read more…] about The Cultured Club

In the RO seminar we stress that working major matches is a great way to get experience as a new RO. You not only get to see all the competitors in the match shoot the stage you are working (which can be interesting), but you also get teamed up with experienced match staff who can mentor you and help refine your RO skills. But how do you get on the staff list for a major match?

[Read more…] about Getting your foot in the door

While this topic is more of a club and competitor culture topic, it often gets brought up in seminars and at matches and occasionally to the rules email. There are a lot of clubs out there that are struggling to find help when it comes to running matches. Which is why I am asking: are you a consumer of matches, or do you help produce matches?

[Read more…] about Are you a consumer or a producer?

Being a Range Officer has a responsibility associated with it, namely enforcing the rules. Which not only requires knowledge of the rules, but also the guts to apply the rules. Applying the rules is often what some ROs struggle with so let’s discuss why that is and why we should not be afraid to apply the rules when needed.

[Read more…] about But I don’t want to be the bad guy