has anyone ever been hit by a bullet ricochet?

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Was shooting my .357 at a tree in the woods long ago from about 15 feet away. On about the third cylinder full, one of the shots dislodged one of the previous slugs which sailed up and over in a long slow motion arc and plopped right square on the top of my head. It was only moving at maybe BB gun velocity, but that 158 grains of lead rung my bell pretty good.

I also wasn't wearing ear protection and have permanent hearing loss as a result. I couldn't hear at all for a couple of days so I'm just thankful any hearing came back. I tell this as often as I can, to everyone I can. Don't let this happen to you. Use eyes and ears!
 
I got hit by fragments and maybe even a complete bullet let's say a dozen times in my years of shooting. Most scary was when a .22 came back from an old tire and clipped a branchlet off a tree next to me --even though I wasn't actually hit.

Felt "flaps," on my pants legs, sleeves, etc at various times, but nothing to really hurt.

You couldn't call it smart luck, so it must have been just plain old dumb luck.

By the way, never fire anything at a railroad track. They act like retroreflecting bullet mirrors.

Ask not why I know. But truly, as someone said, it's a wonder we survive our youth, sometimes.
 
Dozens of times! Lead splatter from pepper poppers and steel plates, sometimes my own, sometimes others. It only broke skin maybe twice.
 
Shotgun with buck shot at steel plates about 15 yds away left some lead fragments imbeded in my forehead. Dug them out with a pocket knife. Healed up just fine, but it sure did sting. Good thing I was wearing safety glasses.
 
SAM1911 - "A few times. Spend enough time at the range, especially with pistols, and it's likely to eventually happen."
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Yep! Especially if you're an instructor and there are upward of 45/50 cadets on the line firing at one time. :uhoh:

L.W.
 
Sure have many times. The one I remember most was during my CCW safety course. Guy next to me needed some shooting glass because he was looking through the bottom of his bifocals to see the front sight. Anyway, he was holding the gun (G17) so high he hit the target holder @ ~20ft:eek: Bullet ricocheted back part hit my right thumb and part the range officer beside me in the neck. He was bleeding a little bit and my thumb was numb for an hour.:mad: Needless to say I was a little shaken and p!$$ed. :cuss: RO worked with this guy for a long time getting him to hit the target.
 
I got hit in the thumb with a fragment. It stung, and I was afraid to look, but it didn't do anything but leave a small red mark.
 
Not me, but my buddy.

A group of us took a self defense handgun class at an outdoor range. Next door were some LEOs practicing with their nice full autos. When our instructor gave us the cease fire, everyone decided to take a 5 minute break. It was hot, and everyone brought water, hats, shorts, etc. My buddy, who was 3-4 feet away from me felt a bump on the side of his hat...I saw it, and I was like, "Hey you O.K.?" He was surprised, "What the heck was that?" while checking his head for any injuries.

A richochet from the LEOs came over. SCARY. It was inches from his face. After that, I always wear hats at the outdoor range.
 
A friend of mine opened up unexpectedly on a steel target with a full auto AR-15 that was 50 feet away. Suddenly something struck me in the forehead. It was a piece of copper jacket from a FMJ round. It didn't break skin but shocked the hell out of me.
:banghead:
 
Had a 44 round ball bounce off a target and hit me dead square in the chest.
Also had my 44 Mag bounce an old 38 out of my backstop (squared off logs stacked behind my shop) that also hit me in the chest.
CF
 
Once. I learned real quick not to shoot a bowling ball with .38 spl "Popcorn" loads. A 158gr SWC bounced back and caught me about 3" above the navel. It didn't break the skin, but my screaming like a little girl did my reputation no good :p
 
When I was about 14 my neighbor took his dads .22 revolver and a bunch of us neighborhood kids went off to the creek to watch him shoot. After an hour or so of relatively harmless fun my neighbor pulls a young idiot move and shot a good sized rock from about three feet away. The lead turned around and stung him good in the thigh. He was wearing shorts. Just broke the skin but the splattered lead brushed off.

He didn't do that again:cuss:
 
I once caught a richocet from a .44 cal black powder pistol on my right thumb. Hurt like a bitch but didn't break the skin. I also had a .357 Magnum round bounce off a steel plate and hit me square in the nose. That drew a fair amount of blood. I'll never shoot without eye protection ever again, an inch either way and I'd be a cyclops.
 
Been hit by jackets at an indoor range bouncing off steel. One came back fast enough to bury itself just under my lip - another one cut the shirt/arm of the guy in front of me.
 
Yep.

A couple of times.

Most tend to be at CAS matches where the ranges to the steel targets are short. I tend to stand at the back of the line so as to avoid being hit.

What I hate most are the 4 yard swinging shotgun targets. We tend to get a LOT of splashback from those.

Another time was at the range where these idiots weren't being careful where they were aiming. They had a shot bounce off of the target holder shield and it slamed into my right shin. No blood, no bruise, just one very surprised and annoyed shooter (me) who said a few things that were limited to four words, the ancestry and parentage of the shooters, and likely lack of future descendants. I never left my station and that was the initial reaction to being hit. A few minutes later, I came over to their station and apologized for my comments as it really was a freak hit / ricochet. I was just reacting out of instinct and wanted a chance to cool down prior to possibly initiating something that could get out of control. Everything was cool, they were just glad I didn't try to get them thrown out of the range.
 
I was RO'ing an indoor bowling pin match. Shooter's ultralight popcorn burp loads bounced right off the pin.......back into my defenseless crotch. Dropped me like a rock. Gallery is howling with laughter, I'm in a fetal position, and this poor guy is practically in tears apologizing. I saved the slug.
 
At weekly IPSC matches

Many, many times. Drew blood twice, very minor abrasions but still, stung like a sombitch. Harmless really as long as you wear eye protection.
 
No, he had it right. A rickashay is one of those carts they use in China, like a human powered taxi. The bullet rickashay is just the new Japanese version; much faster.
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I think you're both wrong. A Rick O'Shay is a drink made with four jiggers of Irish whiskey, three of Tequila, two of scots whiskey, and a teaspoon of lime juice. It's shaken over crushed ice and served as cold as Nancy Pelosi's heart. (That's the recipe, not a political comment.)

I was hit by three or four of those some years ago and it took several days to recover from the injuries, one of which was the unfortunate tendency of my right eyeball to look into my left ear as if something important was going on inside there.

That incident contributed to the deal I made with my higher power, in which I promised never to do anything wrong ever again if only my life were spared and my eyeball restored to its proper place.
 
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