Funny Until it Actually Happens

[230RN]

BRANDED

In my very first first high-power military match, I kind of wondered how come so many shooters were wearing campaign hats. The term "wannabe" had not yet been invented, but that's what I was thinking --that they all wanted to emulate "real soajers."

I hate anything around my neck, so I did not fasten the collar of my shooting jacket, and sure enough, a hot .30-06 case from the Garand on my left went down back there. I was wearing a baseball cap.

I am pleased to say that I did not wave the gun around, but tried to use my trigger hand to try to fish it out -- a bootless and fruitless attempt, since the action of reaching for it only opened the space between my jacket and my skin back there and it went down even further.

It sure teaches you the value of discipline under adverse conditions.

But as it went down further and stopped on the way three times, it got progressively cooler and it finally ended up just below my shoulder blades.

Kind of distracting to have it sticking me in the back through the rest of the stage.

Well, I'm not that good a shot anyhow.

Cases have gone down various openings since then, even while just "fun shooting," and over the years I have determined that there must be some kind of flesh-seeking guidance system cleverly built into about every hundredth round, just so the manufacturers can "brand" you.

I've yet to find it, but I'm sure it's there.

 

[El Tejon]

Anyone else had an empty stick to the skin?

 

[Steve499]

My best hot brass burn story happened when I was hunkered down in calf high weeds to get a shot angle on a rattler that was breathing my wife's air. I didn't particularly have anything against it but was forced into the job to preserve domestic tranquility. Anyway, I was receiving instruction from her as she watched from what she considered a less than minimally safe distance away, about 30 feet. She wanted it DEAD DEAD DEAD but didn't want me close enough to kill it, then didn't want me to bend down where I could see to shoot it, "Don't do that! There's always another one!!" I had sort of ducked my head down to see the sights and when I fired the .22 brass hit the back of my neck and funneled down my collar. It burned. I jumped up, transferred the pistol to my left hand and started doing the wet dog dance, pulling at my collar with my right hand. My wife thought I had found snake number two with my backside and freaked out. Her behavior was so funny I cracked up and couldn't immediately tell her I wasn't snakebit which made her behavior worse which was funnier still which went on until her reasoning kicked in and she realised a snakebite doesn't paralyse you with laughter. I wound up with a blister on the back of my neck and a couple of hours of the silent treatment. (There's NOTHING funny relating to SNAKES...) We can both laugh about it now but it took a while.

Steve

 

[Lupinus]

Yeah, I now use my middle finger for the trigger...Not quite sure, to this day how I did it, but managed to amputate the tip of my index finger in a table saw (and cut the rest down to the bone.) Wrapped it in a shop rag, and calmly walked to the house (was working in the barn), told my kid to call 911. I didn't look at it right away, but finally did before the paramedics got there, and my first thought was " OK, now how the heck am I gonna shoot?" (actually there were a few expletives in there as well.)

Mines still there I just got a groovy scar The scar from the slipped wrench o nthe knuckle is better though, has a half moon shape

 

[Chad]

I think the little scar at the base of my neck is a good thing...it's one thing to think I'll handle a situation properly, but more comforting to know I set the pistol down pointed down-range before I removed the hot 10mm brass from the neck of my t-shirt.

As for fingers...my lesson in proper tool handling resulted in my left index finger being 3/8" shorter. Took out the top joint with a router...the Dr. did a good job re-attaching the rest.
I'll never clamp a router upside down in a work bench again!!!

 

[Fun2Shoot]

I got burned. I had on all the regular safety stuff though. Safety glasses over my regular ones, hat and ear protection, BUT I neglected to keep my big mouth shut while shooting a new Ruger 345 at an indoor range and when a hot shell casing bounced off the right side partition and right in between my front lower lip and front teeth and stuck there, I found out that hot brass is just that, HOT!

I spit it out and just kept shooting.

 

[Lupinus]

we need a thread with pictures of our power tool trials and errors

 

[CornCod]

I am hardly a devotee of the Stoic philosophers, but a brass case down your shirt dosen't hurt that much.

 

[230RN]

CornCod

I am hardly a devotee of the Stoic philosophers, but a brass case down your shirt dosen't hurt that much.

And you, sir, have not yet lived a full life.

(As pointed out previously, a case from a semiauto is much much much hotter than one from a manually operated arm. And a .30-06 case suuuure holds a lot of heat!)

 

[ripcurlksm]

This just happened to my sister when I was shooting with her the other day, good thing I was there to keep the gun down range Shes a novice, good thing I kept a good eye on her.

 

[Hardware]

I am hardly a devotee of the Stoic philosophers, but a brass case down your shirt dosen't hurt that much.

Well, if you're like me and have the good fortune to have ancestors hailing from northern Europe, then probably not. A nice, thick carpet of upper body hair does offer some insulation from hot brass. However, people who picked their ancestors poorly and the ladies probably disagree with you.