Anyone been hit with ricochet?

[TimR]

I was at my local indoor range the other day plinking with a .22. A few friends of mine were there as well in other lanes. A friend standing to the side behind me, swares that he got hit by a ricochet from the 22 hitting the metal back stop and bouncing back. He had a little mark on his chest but nothing serious. I said it was most likely spent case that flew down his shirt.

Anyone ever experience a ricochet at a range? Could a round injur you badly after ricocheting from 50 yards out?


Thanks,
Tim

 

[Plinkerton]

A few years ago, at the local 25 yard indoor range, I was plinkin' away with my .22 rifle. All the sudden, something hits me in the chest. I look down, and it's the remnant of a .45 slug. I pick it up, show it to my dad, and say, "this just hit me in the chest".

He looks at me with bewilderment, and not 1 minute later, a slug comes and hits him in the glasses, knocking his lens out onto the floor (he was using glass lensed perscription glasses).

The one that hit me, really had no force at all. I barely felt it. We went and told the rangemaster and he gave us the day of shooting, rentals, ammo, etc. all for free. My dad had to fill out some report, and make a whole deal out of the incident. We went with the rangemaster, over to the "suspect", and the rangemaster figured he was shooting really light loads that were bouncing around. He wasn't. Just some strange fluke.

I still have the slug.

My name is Plinkerton.

I have been hit by a ricochet.

I have lived to tell about it.

 

[Typhoon]

Once in class.

We're shooting on steel and I'm behind the line waiting for my turn. Probably 20-25 feet behind the target.

Zing! Right in the face (left cheek). I put my hand up to the "sting" and wipe away a chunk of lead.

Didn't stop me from getting my "ups" though...

Small crescent shaped scar as a souvenir...

 

[Kodiak AK]

Twice . I pulled a slice of .38 wad cutter out of my left ankle shooting at plates . I was wearing heavy leather hikeing boots at the time and I guess it slowed it down to the point all it did was cut me a little . Second time I caught a few pellets from #7 out of a 12 guage.

 

[MACDEWY]

ONCE SHOOTING MY 22 RIFLE.HAD ONE COME BACK AND HIT MY LEG IT LEFT A RED MARK.

 

[Warren]

As a kid a long time ago playing in an unsafe manner with a Crossman BB gun I was shhoting at some glass jars that sat on a stack of cinderblocks that was right in front of a cinderblock wall.

After the glass had shattered I kept firing and got a BB right in my BBs. I was wearing some thin pants and it hurt like hell.

Learned me a bit about shooting safety.

 

[Kodiak AK]

You're lucky you didn't shoot your eye out .


Drink more ovaltine.

 

[JPM70535]

I always thought that grtting hit by lead fragments when shooting steel. Can't count the number of times I and others shooting falling plates have received minor cuts from errant lead fragments. Good reason to wear eye protection at all times on the range

 

[xdoctor]

I have a buddy who is the techical support guru for a major corporation here in town. About once a month we take all the broken down computers/keyboards etc. out and "dispose of them."

About three months ago we're shooting at an old Acer with 000 buck out of my remington 870. One came back and hit me in the side, went through the winter coat I was wearing and left one hell of a bruise. No blood though.

So now I can say I've taken a 12 guage to the side and lived to tell the tale.

 

[rayra]

twice, by fragments while shooting at steel. lashed across / between two knuckles of my off hand, minor cuts. Second time was a piece of copper jacket metal STUCK in my leather belt. Felt the impact, looked around a bit before noticing it sticking out next to my buckle.
After that, I started standing a bit to one side or the other of the perpendicular midline from the steel. It's that or wear a cup

 

[RGO]

Been hit several times; none were even painful. It happens. Make sure you wear eye protection.

 

[mummac]

I've been hit with copper jacketing coming back at me a couple of times. Eye protection is no joke.

 

[Colt46]

Yup, right in the head.

Was running up the hill to the hilltop where my brother and his friends were shooting .22's. I was below and behind them by at least 50 feet when 'Smack' something hit me on the top of the head. I kinda stood there a second or two and felt around. I had a bump, but it didn't break the skin. I thought maybe it was a ricochet and looked at my feet. There was a spent, deformed slug right there in front of me.

 

[Trebor]

I've been hit multiple times with pieces of jackets or nearly whole slugs. The scary one was one that hit me in the side of the neck really hard. From the angle it hit me, if it would have hit me in the head it would have slipped past my eye protection and could have taken my eye out. Now I try to always wear eye protection that includes full side shields as well.

 

[Typhoon]

Absolute agreement on the eye protection.

I also have a pair of sunglasses that were ruined courtesy of flying brass.

Cheap insurance. I'll take it...

 

[griz]

In SASS almost all of the targets are steel. Splash back is very common but I've only seen blood drawn three times. It proves to people that glasses are a great idea. Twice I've been hit by whole bullets. Once from a bowling pin and the other from a steel target. That one hit me in the throat, it was still hot, and went down my shirt. I'm not much of a dancer but made an exception that time!

 

[KMKeller]

I've been tagged numerous time with all variety of bullet fragments at my local indoor range. Most just left a little welt, save one, which left a small nick. Eye protection is crucial.

 

[entropy]

Once by a jacket off a .357 JHP shot at a cinder block; glad it was winter and I had a thick coat and coveralls on! Pellets out duck hunting numerous times, a .22 in the shin, and I dug about a half-dozen 7 1/2's out of my freinds chin with my Buck knife. Another guy shot at a gopher at the trap range, and didn't follow one of the Four rules!

 

[Black Dragon]

My father-in-law and myself have both been hit by ricochets from indoor
gun ranges. Both of use were using .45 cals FMJ and the copper jacket
come back and hit me in the leg and my FiL in the stomach. We were hit
hard enough to know that something hit us but it didn't leave any marks.
This range has the rep for this happening. We figured that bullet trap
wasn't installed correctly. There are even stories of people having blood
drawn from the ricochets at this range. We haven't been back but the
place is under new management and word on the grape vine is that they
have corrected the problem, whatever it was.

 

[Ktulu]

Yep, all the time. Mostly it's bullet splatter from steel targets but sometimes stuff comes out of the berm. Seems to happen more in the winter when the ground is frozen.

 

[motorep]

Sure, shooting plates and poppers. Not a matter of if you're going to get hit, but how often. A guy standing next to me at a GSSF match took a whole jacket in his upper leg, right to the bone. It looked like a little ninja star when they took it out. A neck hit could have been serious.

 

[iamkris]

All the time in Cowboy Action Shooting. Steel plates at 7 - 15 yards and lead bullets will do that. I typically get hit 1-2x per match. I once shot and my splashback hit a guy in the neck. Drew blood. He was all mad at me and came over and made threatening comments...like there was anything I could do to avoid it?!?!?!? All I could do was apologize profusely.

 

[dleong]

Not too long ago, and the local indoor range, I was shooting one lane over from a guy who was teaching his significant other how to shoot. He had the target out at 3 yards and had her shooting a 22LR pistol.

I was loading a magazine and watching her target out of the corner of my eye, when I felt something impact my right cheek as she was shooting. The impact did not draw any blood, but I immediately stepped back from the firing line. The guy saw this, and motioned his SO to stop shooting and safe the pistol.

We never did ascertain what hit me, but I strongly suspect it was back-splatter from her hitting the target hanger.

DL

 

[JamisJockey]

Dumbass of the century

When I was younger and much less responsible, I was out screwing around with a buddy, doing stupid things with our guns.
The State (AZ) decided to make modifications to our favorite fishing spot, including designated parking spots and handicapped parking. I took offense to this and decided to shoot the sign with my shotgun. I was way too close. The #8 shot came flying back at me with quite a bit of force, giving me a number of welts on my face, neck, and hands.
:banghead:

I've been pelted with shot before while dove hunting in orange groves. As a dove flies over, someone takes a shot, and the extra shot goes over the rows and eventually runs out of steam, landing without much force. More of an annoyance, and not really a ricochet.

 

[Rabbit9]

I was shooting at an indoor range 10-15 years ago. I stopped to reload my revolver, and when I came to my senses, I was sitting against the wall in back of the firing line. I felt something warm on my face, and while wiping it away found that I was bleeding from a wound to my forehead. I realized what had happened and thought that I "didn't have very long". When my shooting partner saw what had happened, he came running over, and asked me If I was all right. I told him that if I didn't have a big hole in me head, that I would be okay. It turned out to be just a flesh wound. The manager saw what was happening and asked me what had happened. When I told him that I'd been struck by a bullet, he told me that it was impossible. I might have agreed with him, if the .357 that struck me had not been lying on my loading block. I've still got that bullet in a crystal jar on my desk; that one had my name on it.


The prick that fired the round was an old man that was trying to show his two sons how fast he could shoot. He was fast all right, but had not put a single round on his B27 target at 7 yards. I explained to him what had happened, and suggested in the strongest of terms that he leave, and find someplace else to shoot.