Usery pass/Rio Salado range

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Longhair1957
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Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#1

Post by Longhair1957 »

I haven’t been there in over 35 years.

Question, is this range ran as poorly as Ben Avery (range nazi ) or is it an easy going range?
Looking for good place to instruct some of my grandkids.

I live just a short distance to Ben Avery. But they live in mesa. 40 years ago I did all my shooting in mesa at the old pit that was north of rio salado on usery pass.

But I think that’s all closed now.


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was21
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#2

Post by was21 »

On Rio…. “Poorly run” would be an accolade!

The pit and all the shooting spots around have long been closed.

Sugarloaf up on the beeline is about the closest desert area still available but will be shutting down when they throw fire restrictions on.

Good luck and good outings with the g’kids!
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Longhair1957
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#3

Post by Longhair1957 »

Ok so rio is out.

Joe Foss range???
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#4

Post by QuietM4 »

Everyone craps on Rio, but I’ve never had an issue. I’ve been shooting there for 20 years. They have a few rules that are a little over the top, but they are easy to follow. They run a public range that comes with MASSIVE liability….they are prudent to go above and beyond the normal shooting safety rules. Every person I've witnessed getting a talking to or being yelled at from across the range has deserved it because they couldn't control themselves or chose to break one of the rules. It's usually someone touching something on their range table during a cease fire, or failing to keep their gun pointed down range, etc. Are the some range officers that are assholes? Yes. Are there some some shooters that are assholes back to the range officers? Definitely.

If you want to join a range with no range master present, go join Phoenix Rod & Gun. In some ways it's not as nice as Rio, but it offer a lot more freedom and a few perks that Rio does not have. I live right in the middle, so it's a 30 minute drive for me to either, and I find myself going to both equally.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#5

Post by Winmagbill »

Rio is a range with rules. They have a lot of them. They also have a lot of new shooters so the rules kinda make sense. They don’t make any secrets about the rules and repeat them every single cease fire. Yet someone will always violate one while I visit. It almost defies logic since most of them are just some variation of safe gun handling. Do I wish they didn’t have so many rules, you bet, but it’s 5 minutes away and the convenience is to hard to beat. So I just relax and enjoy the breeze while the RO drones on and wait in anticipation of who will get called out over the PA system.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#6

Post by gunpoorboy1 »

I've been yelled at by the RO's at Rio twice. I deserved it, twice.
Over all it's a good shooting range and while PR&G only has the RO's on the weekends, it's a dirty, unkept public range with most of the shooting tables, gun rests and target stands in terrible shape. Having said that, it doesn't need to be pretty to shoot down range. It's all in what you want.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#7

Post by QuietM4 »

gunpoorboy1 wrote: April 23rd, 2022, 6:21 pm I've been yelled at by the RO's at Rio twice. I deserved it, twice.
Over all it's a good shooting range and while PR&G only has the RO's on the weekends, it's a dirty, unkept public range with most of the shooting tables, gun rests and target stands in terrible shape. Having said that, it doesn't need to be pretty to shoot down range. It's all in what you want.
PR&G is a private range that allows one range to be used by the public during the weekends...and I just don't go on the weekends. I'll go during the week and often times be the only person using a range. I like that they have a 500 yard range I don't have to jump through hoops to use. And their steel range is fun. It's worth the $100 or so per year for me to be a member at PR&G and Rio, as I use either equally.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#8

Post by QuietM4 »

Winmagbill wrote: April 23rd, 2022, 3:39 pm Rio is a range with rules. They have a lot of them. They also have a lot of new shooters so the rules kinda make sense. They don’t make any secrets about the rules and repeat them every single cease fire. Yet someone will always violate one while I visit. It almost defies logic since most of them are just some variation of safe gun handling. Do I wish they didn’t have so many rules, you bet, but it’s 5 minutes away and the convenience is to hard to beat. So I just relax and enjoy the breeze while the RO drones on and wait in anticipation of who will get called out over the PA system.
I'm starting to feel like the speech they give before each cease fire is actually longer than the cease fire, at this point. It is getting a little silly, but they have to say it. I usually avoid Rio on the weekends, as it seemed like last time I was there it was 50% new shooters who were constantly violating rules.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#9

Post by Manitu »

Some older shooters at Rio have given up on 200 yards because it takes geezers way longer for the most part. Golf carts around the perimeter would be nice. First hand geezer knowledge here.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

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Post by QuietM4 »

Manitu wrote: April 24th, 2022, 12:40 am Some older shooters at Rio have given up on 200 yards because it takes geezers way longer for the most part. Golf carts around the perimeter would be nice. First hand geezer knowledge here.
Used to be able to drive your car out to the 200 yard line…until an RO forgot there were people out there, called a hot range, and the guys out there had to duck and cover for a little bit. Good times.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#11

Post by Joe_Blacke »

I’ve seen some really bad behavior by ROs at RIO. So bad I haven’t been there in years.

The last straw for me was their procedure for moving rifles off the table to the racks at the behind the tables. A guy was properly moving his rifle off the table, holding it muzzle up, and the RO screamed at him that muzzle up was unsafe. The RO told him to keep the muzzle down range while he walked back behind the line and muzzle swept a whole bunch of people at the occupied tables in front of the rifle rack. I went up to the RO and complained. I asked him why muzzle up was ok in the rack but not on the way to the rack. Why would he want people to get swept by the rifle? I got the standard response of “if you question an RO, we will kick you out”.

It seems they got so focused on creating rules, and showing they were in control they forgot about being safe. They also assume the proper way of o get compliance was to explode forgetting how to treat people like people first. A guy from 4” over the yellow line during a cease fire doesn’t need 2 RO to come scream at him for 5 min, and threaten to kick him out when a simple conversation would yield better results.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#12

Post by Longhair1957 »

Thanks all,

I think I need to find a good desert spot somewhere.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#13

Post by Quake_Guy »

I miss Rio when the ROs were just assholes and not idiotic assholes... can't remember last time I was there, I go to C2 Tactical. Its a shame because I like shooting rifles at longer ranges.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#14

Post by gunpoorboy1 »

The weirdest thing I've ever seen at Rio.
We were all standing behind the line as instructed during a cease fire.
One of the RO's was walking down the line doing his thing when all of a sudden, he stopped in front of a guy walking towards him. He immediately started screaming, "what the hell are you doing with a pistol on your hip walking towards me during a cease fire? Who the "$uck do you think you are? Get your stuff and leave." The other guy looked at him and said, "Hey Mike, it's me." That's right, he was yelling at another RO walking down the line, doing his thing from the opposite direction. Now I don't care who you are, that there was funny. True story.
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Re: Usery pass/Rio Salado range

#15

Post by Jack Dupp »

gunpoorboy1 wrote: April 26th, 2022, 7:20 pm The weirdest thing I've ever seen at Rio.
We were all standing behind the line as instructed during a cease fire.
One of the RO's was walking down the line doing his thing when all of a sudden, he stopped in front of a guy walking towards him. He immediately started screaming, "what the hell are you doing with a pistol on your hip walking towards me during a cease fire? Who the "$uck do you think you are? Get your stuff and leave." The other guy looked at him and said, "Hey Mike, it's me." That's right, he was yelling at another RO walking down the line, doing his thing from the opposite direction. Now I don't care who you are, that there was funny. True story.
That's great stuff
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