Has this ever happened to you before? Copper jacket to the forehead.

Speedway

Speedway

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I went to the range with a friend today, and I was trying out my newly acquired 1972 29-2 N-frame Smith & Wesson 44 magnum.

Since the gun used to belong to my friends dad, my friend wanted to shoot it with me.

Right after I fire the last round of the 2nd cylinder full, my buddy grabs his forehead, and blood is gushing out. Lots of blood running down his face.

Apparently a sliver of the copper jacket ricocheted off of something or blew back and came back and got him dead center of his forehead. I was shooting Winchester white box from wally world. The shot hit the bullseye, so I know I didn't miss and hit the wall or something.


I have gone to the range probably a hundred times or more over the years, and have never seen that happen before. It was at an indoor range.


He was standing off to my right by the booth divider, so it was not like he was standing in a dumb spot.

Only a healthy nick to the skin, no big deal, but we get back to his house and his wife says "you shot my husband?!?". Then she said I should have tried harder.
 
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i've gotten nailed by jackets or small pieces of lead at pin shoots. it happens. glad your friend wasn't hurt though. a few little scratches build character!
 
It happens all the time with pins or plates. That's why eye protection is mandatory. I'm guessing there's some wear / damage to the backstop that you happened to hit.
 
hbar26 said:
Not to the forehead, but I caught a 30.06 jacket to the nads, when shooting WW2 armor piercing at a 1" steel plate set at about 30-40 yards.
Click to expand...

OUCH!!

Yes this seems to happen quite often. I've been hit in the face, hand and neck with jacket fragments and I was cracked in the shin by a .45 FMJ that ricochet of some hard object downrange. I met a guy that had his front tooth knocked out by a bounce back .45 from a pin shoot as well.
 
hbar26 said:
Not to the forehead, but I caught a 30.06 jacket to the nads, when shooting WW2 armor piercing at a 1" steel plate set at about 30-40 yards.
Click to expand...
Not sure I would like that.

When I shoot plates there is usually someone with FMJ ammo and this always spits the jacket material back to the line. Kind of reminds me of the .50 cal. riccochet on Youtube. Glad he's ok.
 
That 29 is a sweet revolver. How far away was the target and what was the taget made of ? Just curious.

Glad no one was seriously hurt
 
Copper happens...The funny thing about the forehead - there a zillion tiny little veins up there. A little nick looks like drain bamage..I remember my older sister getting tagged in the forehead by our cat when I was a kid and it looked like a murder scene. All it turned out to be was a tiny puncture....Funny stuff...
 
Had a jacket fragment from one of my 500s hit and lodge in my cheek. Guy next to me shouted "YOU'RE BLEEDING!" I said "Cool! I just survived a shot to the face from a 500 magnum!" He gave me a funny look and left shortly after.
 
Speedway said:
I went to the range with a friend today, and I was trying out my newly acquired 1972 29-2 N-frame Smith & Wesson 44 magnum.

Since the gun used to belong to my friends dad, my friend wanted to shoot it with me.

Right after I fire the last round of the 2nd cylinder full, my buddy grabs his forehead, and blood is gushing out. Lots of blood running down his face.

Apparently a sliver of the copper jacket ricocheted off of something or blew back and came back and got him dead center of his forehead. I was shooting Winchester white box from wally world. The shot hit the bullseye, so I know I didn't miss and hit the wall or something.


I have gone to the range probably a hundred times or more over the years, and have never seen that happen before. It was at an indoor range.


He was standing off to my right by the booth divider, so it was not like he was standing in a dumb spot.

Only a healthy nick to the skin, no big deal, but we get back to his house and his wife says "you shot my husband?!?". Then she said I should have tried harder.
Click to expand...

This may not have been a case of a ricochet. The revolver may be out of time. If the cylinder isn't aligned with the barrel, some of the bullet may be shaved off as it enters the barrel. When this happens the fragments almost allways hit someone standing next to the shooter.
 
Gammon said:
This may not have been a case of a ricochet. The revolver may be out of time. If the cylinder isn't aligned with the barrel, some of the bullet may be shaved off as it enters the barrel. When this happens the fragments almost allways hit someone standing next to the shooter.
Click to expand...


This is a distinct possibility with an old revolver. You may want to check the timing: http://www.thefiringline.com/Misc/library/Revolver-check.html (Be careful.)
 
Still have the 1/8 X 3/16 piece of brass casing that embedded itself in my cheek from an out of battery detonation in a subgun. Doctor said leave it alone unless it gets infected. Never got infected and took two years to surface and I removed it with a pair of tweezers.[smile]

Had I not been wearing safety glasses, I'd likely be blind in at least one eye today.

Wear your glasses folks.....shit like this happens more than you think.
 
You spend enough time on a range and you will be hit. I have carried first aid gear in my bag for a lot of years. I sow a bullet come back from a piece of steel at a Steel Challenge match and embed in the bicep of the Range Officer. Serious injury. Kotex and kling was a welcome thing that day.

Make sure your eye protection includes side protection and although I don't always wear one, a hat is a good thing
 
There is a reason that my glasses are now, and will be for the rest of my life, made of polycarbonate. Even if I don't have my shooting glasses, nothing's getting through these lenses.

Been there, done that, had the eye surgery. Never again.
 
Round Gun Shooter said:
You spend enough time on a range and you will be hit. I have carried first aid gear in my bag for a lot of years. I sow a bullet come back from a piece of steel at a Steel Challenge match and embed in the bicep of the Range Officer. Serious injury. Kotex and kling was a welcome thing that day.

Make sure your eye protection includes side protection and although I don't always wear one, a hat is a good thing
Click to expand...

Agree......a good first aid kit(not just a couple of bandaids) is something everyone should consider carrying as standard range equipment. I always have one in my vehicle so its always with me at the range.
 
dwarven1 said:
There is a reason that my glasses are now, and will be for the rest of my life, made of polycarbonate. Even if I don't have my shooting glasses, nothing's getting through these lenses.

Been there, done that, had the eye surgery. Never again.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've denied many a person from shooting my guns because they had no eye protection or had cheesey sunglasses that weren't safety glasses made of lexan with Z-87 rating.

Glad you were fixable.[grin]
 
I've seen plenty of lead splashes come back from people shooting pistol at the swinging steel plate at 20 yards. I was sitting at a bench about 15 feet away and a flat piece of lead like a 1/2" ninja throwing star stuck right into the bench next to my arm. I try to stay well away from the pistol area now.
 
Jacket material can will come back, especially if you are shooting at bad steel with it. If the range's bullet trap sucks, it could have come back from the trap, too.

-Mike
 
hminsky said:
I've seen plenty of lead splashes come back from people shooting pistol at the swinging steel plate at 20 yards. I was sitting at a bench about 15 feet away and a flat piece of lead like a 1/2" ninja throwing star stuck right into the bench next to my arm. I try to stay well away from the pistol area now.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a 22 HP bullet bouncing off steel... those tend to get really flat and "razor like" without disintegrating.

-Mike
 

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