fluke accident at the range yesterday

hillman

NES Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
2,632
Likes
3,410
Location
Central Vermont
Feedback: 46 / 0 / 0
I took my brother in law and his buddy, both LTC holders, to the range yesterday. My BIL was shooting a .45 at metal spinners rated for pistols. He was shooting from approximately 15 yards, blazer cheap stuff. His buddy and I were standing on the 25 yard line behind him and to his right.

He fired, I heard that ricochet noise and saw his buddy clutch his face.

I've shot hundreds of steel targets with a .45 and never had anything come back with any serious force but this put a 2 inch slice in the kid's face that warranted stitches. Right above his lip, classic movie villain scar area.

It turned out ok but acted as a good reminder to me not to get too cocky and complacent about range safety.
 
dam that sucks...not even really anyway to protect against that...the odds that it hit him had to have been pretty slim..glad he is okay
 
I was told only lead for spinners, dueling trees, gongs and such, no jacketed.
Any truth?
 
Damn blazer... A ricochet pinged my 9 year old in the cheek a year ago... bounced off the bottom of his cheek bone and left him with a black eye
 
This is why the Extended Rules of Gun Safety, that we teach in Hunter Ed, includes, "Never shoot at a hard, flat surface..."

Eyes and Ears on the line!

How many people are killed at steel challenge matches every year?

I'm sure you teach a great hunter safety course, but the one I took out in North Central Mass two years ago was a complete and total joke. I can see after that course why so many hunters shoot each other or themselves. The instructors were complete morons.

Steel is fine to shoot if setup properly and in good condition. Steel targets that get marked up from shooting either too close or with high powered rounds gets real dangerous real quick
 
Glad hes ok. Went to MFS a couple weeks ago, was on the last lane and caught something on the left side of my face on my cheek bone. Pretty weird with only a wall to the left. Only left a small scratch though
 
How many people are killed at steel challenge matches every year?

I'm sure you teach a great hunter safety course, but the one I took out in North Central Mass two years ago was a complete and total joke. I can see after that course why so many hunters shoot each other or themselves. The instructors were complete morons.

Steel is fine to shoot if setup properly and in good condition. Steel targets that get marked up from shooting either too close or with high powered rounds gets real dangerous real quick

The point was that shooting at stuff that can cause a ricochet, or bounce-back like this, can cause this sort of problem.

It should not be a surprise when it happens once in a while.

Oh, and if you think that the quality of Hunter Ed teachers can be improved, you're eligible to become one, since your course is 2 years old.
 
How many people are killed at steel challenge matches every year?

I'm sure you teach a great hunter safety course, but the one I took out in North Central Mass two years ago was a complete and total joke. I can see after that course why so many hunters shoot each other or themselves. The instructors were complete morons.

Steel is fine to shoot if setup properly and in good condition. Steel targets that get marked up from shooting either too close or with high powered rounds gets real dangerous real quick


What he said: Steel must be in GOOD CONDITION to be safe to shoot from any distance. This is why the asshats who shoot pistol steel with 5.56 are such a problem, because the pock marks lft behind direct what would otherwise be safe pistol rounds back at the shooter.

USPSA minimum distance for steel targets is 20' I believe (its been awhile) which is safe as long as the steel is in good condition and setup correctly.

Any stationary steel target must be setup to direct impacting rounds downwards. As stated above, damage to the steel makes this more difficult.


The example in the OP is a great example of why you should invest in quality eye protection. Is your eye pro going to stop that splash or shatter and lead to severe eye damage?
 
Depending on how wide or narrow your range is. Putting the flat hard target at a small angle and you cut down the chance. This may just transfer the problem down the line at some ranges though.
At Springfield Sportsmanship club you have pits pretty much to yourself.
 
I once had a .45 fmj go rolling by me when I was on a longer range adjacent to a shorter one, with I'm guessing 12ft berms between them. Bullet was completely intact.

A scary reminder is the youtube video of the guy shooting the .50 cal.
 
That's why we wear safety glasses at all times right shooters???

That's one thing I'm 100% with. Often don't bother with ear pro when my son is shooting his .22, but do NOT mess around with eye protection. Guns, lawnmowers, changing the oil in my truck...Had a few good corneal abrasions before PRK, and then the pain from that - that stuff is no joke. Hurts like nothing else. Plus the whole 'could end up blind' thing if you get hit in the eyeball bad enough...


Only ricochet I've ever caught was what I believe was a small rock or something (pebble?) from rimfire exploding targets. Something chucked and hit me square in the forehead. Enough to leave a mark, but not break the skin. Two brands of rimfire stuff I've used with my son - one of them I won't use anymore because it lit the target stand on fire and I don't want to start a forest fire, and the other one seems significantly more powerful than Tannerite. That one is awesome. Forget the brand. Came in a round container, like a taller Kool Aid canister. Little inch and a half or so containers will blow a 2x2 in half.
 
Holy crap, I'm glad that one didn't turn out worse!
Yeah, taught me that eyes and ears still make a gun range a dangerous place. Was a 22, after I knew he was ok, all I could think about was how I was going to tell my wife....
 
The point was that shooting at stuff that can cause a ricochet, or bounce-back like this, can cause this sort of problem.

It should not be a surprise when it happens once in a while.

Oh, and if you think that the quality of Hunter Ed teachers can be improved, you're eligible to become one, since your course is 2 years old.

Your original post insinuates that is is inherinately dangerous to shoot at "any hard flat surface" and you should "never" do it....

That would be incorrect and uniformed.

If what you ment to say is it "could be dangerous or even deadly" if done with damaged steel or improper ammunition / caliber than your absolutely correct.

I wouldn't be suprised by being struck with bullet fragments from steel, but it is very uncommon for someone to need stitches at a distance of 15 yards if they are using good steel and proper caliber ammunition
 
Thanks for sharing. Good reminder never to take anything for granted when dealing with firearms, things can turn ugly really quick. In the overall scheme of things I'm glad the mishap was fairly minor, could've been much worse.
 
As others have said, when crap comes back with that much force, there's usually/invariably something wrong in the setup. Too close, wrong angle, bad metal, or too pitted.

Glad he's ok
 
Back
Top Bottom