Safety & Etiquette: What to Do at a Shooting Range

Here's what everyone else is doing at the shooting range, why they're doing it, and how to blend right in.

posted on August 12, 2021
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **

Smith & Wesson's Ken Scott has been shooting and training shooters for a long time, and he knows as well as anyone that one of the most intimidating things for beginners is that first trip to the shooting range. We can read all of the articles and fully understand how gun safety works, but we still walk onto that public range for the first time and realize that we don't really know what to do next. 

In this video from S&W's GUNSMARTS series, which was created specifically to support new shooters in their journeys, Scott will walk you through the sequence of events that should take place when you arrive on the range. From when to put on your eye and ear protection, to how to set your gun down correctly, to how to communicate with your fellow shooters, this video has the step-by-step order of activity that will have you blending right in with the rest of the range in no time flat. 

Latest

NRA Women The Armed Citizen Drawing A Pistol
NRA Women The Armed Citizen Drawing A Pistol

The Armed Citizen® Reload May 1, 2026

It almost ended differently for a woman being violently abused by her spouse—until she was able to retrieve a handgun.

New Guns 2026: Davidson’s Exclusive Colt Python and Anaconda

The newest two Davidson’s Exclusive Colt revolvers are introducing the first round-butt grip frame and the only 2½” barrels in the Anaconda and Python lines.

Benelli Pro Staff Shooters Make Team USA for IPSC World Shoot

Heather Eckhardt and Ashlynne Thomas will head to the competition, which will take place in Corinth, Greece, September 20 to October 4. 

My Top Pet Peeves as a Female Hunter

These are the (mostly little) things that have bugged me over the years as a woman who hunts.

Coming Soon: Muddy’s Women's Camouflage Layering System

Designed around women's biomechanics, the systems are designed to deliver unrestricted mobility, lasting comfort and superior concealment in the field.

Houston, We Have NRA Members!

More than 73,000 members gathered in the country’s fourth most-populous city to celebrate their Second Amendment freedoms.

Women's Interests



Get the best of NRA Women delivered to your inbox.