You meet so many interesting people at a public range. You will see anything from a father taking his son out for his first time to extremely scary people clad in all camo. You will see everything from crack shots to nearsighted tyros. Two winters ago , I saw a fellow shooting a .380 acp at the 25 yd station. His bullets were impacting on the frozen snow 10 yds in front of the target. When a clear was called to change targets, I went and dug the bullets out of the ice. After my friend dared me I went over to the shooter, handed him the spent bullets, and told him that he was shooting "a little low". True Story.
I have met a lot of nice people at public ranges and I have made some good friends.
Most folks there are more interested in busting caps than shooting for precision -
that allows for a little more fun. I do my serious work at my club, but when I want
to relax and shoot a Muzzleloader or a .22 for a few hours, I usually head to the
public range. The trip is fun and the crowd is usually interesting. Besides, the
distractions there make for a convenient excuse if I donŐt do good that day.