FIVE OVERLOOKED RANGE DAY ITEMS

I've noticed two kinds of shooters showing up at our club's rifle range. I call them The Minimalist and The Prepared. As the names suggest, The Prepared brings enough gear to cover any eventuality, while The Minimalist has only enough to get by if everything goes smoothly. I'm definitely in the Prepared category, as I'm always bailing Minimalists out when they show up and the shooting life deals them a problem they are unequipped to cope with. Of course, I can't help everyone, like the guy who left his rifle's bolt at home, or the key to his gun case, or forgot to pack his ammo. Oh, wait, that last one was me. Yes, I mess up regularly, too. However, during a lifetime of range trips, I've noticed the following are things people commonly don't bring to the range. None of them are essential, like ammo, but they sure make range days a lot more comfortable and productive.

Notebook

A firmly positioned item in the Prepared category is a notebook. Unless a person has a photographic memory, all the data and information a good range session generates will be lost by the time the shooter gets home. When doing load development, this includes not just chronograph data but also notes about pressure signs and even shot plotting. My last range trip serves as a great example: I was printing five-shot groups with a .22-250, allowing the barrel to cool completely between groups. By plotting the location of each shot in my notebook, it became clear the rifle's slim sporter barrel was heating up enough to toss shots four and five out of the group. While that's not a huge deal for a hunting rifle, I would never have picked up the trend if I hadn't been plotting my shots in a notebook. A notebook is also the place to record environmental conditions, training drill results, split times, and a dozen other items that help us hit at long distances.

Cleaning Rod

Bring a cleaning rod to the range? Yes, it's a good idea. But it's not necessary to bring an expensive one-piece, coated rod with a ball-bearing handle unless a person is really planning to do a lot of cleaning. I keep a couple of inexpensive multi-section rods in my shooting bag "just in case." While those rods, in .22 and .30 caliber, don't normally see much use in my custom rifles, I also work with used rifles, as well as military surplus guns and ammo, and it's there where they get most of their use, particularly in knocking out empty cases that aren't being extracted. And, of course, there is often a Minimalist at the range who gets a live round or an expended cartridge case stuck in a chamber. And any time I can help a fellow shooter, it's a good day at the range.

Towel

Keeping a small towel in the range bag is good for both productivity and comfort. Of course, it can be used on hot days to wipe away sweat, but it can also help to dry things on cool, rainy days. I've used my ELEY branded range towel as elbow padding when shooting prone, and as a pad to insulate my shoulder from a steel buttplate. It'll wipe excess lube off a gun or protect the back of my neck from sunburn. And there's more, but you get the idea. A small towel is an incredibly useful item to have in your range bag.

Bug Repellant

Okay, this one's in the comfort category, and maybe not everyone needs it, especially if there are places without bugs. I live in an area with long winters, so repellent isn't required then, but the rest of the year sees no shortage of bugs, making a good repellent a valuable item in the range bag. Precision shooting requires precision, which is hard to achieve when biting insects are stabbing our bodies.

Cleaning Wipes

While we often obsess about cleaning our guns, in this case, I'm talking about cleaning ourselves, and I'm referring specifically to lead contamination. When a day of load testing, plinking, or training is finished, it's a safe bet that we are contaminated with lead residue. This arrives courtesy of the lead styphnate, which is a principal compound in rifle primers. It isn't normally visible, making it easy to ignore, but we shouldn't do that any more than we ignore wearing hearing protection. Before eating anything or even heading home, it's a really good idea to use a cleaning agent on your hands. There are purpose-built cleaners, like Hygenall, for removing lead residue, and while they are the best, anything is better than ignoring the lead. So, even if you consider yourself one of The Prepared, these are a few items you may be missing in your range kit. Consider adding them to make those range trips more productive and more comfortable.

About The Author

Al Voth calls himself a "student of the gun." Retired from a 35-year career in law enforcement, including nine years on an Emergency Response Team, he now works as an editor, freelance writer, and photographer, in addition to keeping active as a consultant in the field he most recently left behind—forensic firearm examination. He is a court-qualified expert in that forensic discipline, having worked in that capacity in three countries. These days, when he's not working, you'll likely find him hunting varmints and predators (the 4-legged variety).