at close range

at close range

In close proximity to a person or thing. Typically used to describe a nearby target in shooting. Be careful when firing at close range! At close range, I could see that the scary insect was just a harmless June bug.
See also: close, range
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

at close range

very near; in close proximity. (Usually used in regard to shooting.) The hunter fired at the deer at close range. The powder burns tell us that the gun was fired at close range.
See also: close, range
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

at close range

Very nearby, as in At close range, the rock band was unbearably loud. Derived from shooting- range denotes the distance that missile or projectile can be made to travel-this expression soon came to mean anything in close proximity.
See also: close, range
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • range
  • close by
  • be close to the mark
  • be close to/near the mark
  • too close for comfort
  • too close to call
  • close to the mark
  • close to your heart
  • close to (one's) heart
  • close at hand
References in periodicals archive
But instead of shooting each at close range with a lightweight handheld camera in pursuit of highly dramatic, compositionally arresting, and instantly legible fragments of larger situations--the photojournalistic norm--he employs large-format, frequently panoramic cameras in order to include vastly more of the scene before him in terms both of lateral extension and of sheer quantity of visual information.
World mergers: Michael Fried on Luc Delahaye
Mr Scott was told at Feldon's veterinary centre, in Guy Street, Leamington, that Watson could have been shot at close range.
"The vet told us it could have been at close range, or, because of the angle, from someone leaning out of a window.
VICIOUS AIRGUN ATTACK ON CAT; Vets say pet was lucky to survive being shot in the face after deliberate close-range attack
He never expected such a close-range shot to present itself, but because he'd practiced at close range he knew where to aim to make a deadly shot.
Practicing at close range and at steep downward and upward angles is one obvious preparation.
Close Enough To Miss
Stallard looped home a header at close range after some impeccable build up.
Sale takes wind out of Wycombe; Colchester 2 Wycombe 1
Two minutes into stoppage time sub Brian Quailey squeezed the ball in from close range for an equaliser, before Flack fired home the winner at close range after Darren Rowbotham's cross.
Football: Grecians earn from late Flack; EXETER 2 HARTLEPOOL 1
The striker was completely unmarked after he was picked out by Challis but was denied by Bayes at close range.
Football: Derby deadlock keeps Fox's men in the hunt
But when a hunter becomes stressed or fatigued, the loads can become a bit hard to hit birds with at close ranges, due to those very tight patterns.
Closing the range gap: Federal puts the focus on gunning over decoys