Worst experience at the range: Equipment version

[improperlyaged]

Share your worst experience at the range that was equipment related.

Me first, I once picked up a Taurus TCP on a whim at a local pawnshop. It was in pretty rough shape and had clearly been someones pocket carry gun. No bluing was left and it was full of pocket lint. I didn't need another pocket gun but I decided to buy it because the price was right. I immediately, without cleaning or lubing it, took it shooting. IT FAILED EVERY DABLUM ROUND!!! Then 12 horrible rounds in it got locked up with a live round in the chamber and about 1/4" out of battery. I had kept shooting the thing thinking that it may be the steel case ammo but it really got stuck on the brass round. It hadn't been a good day at all and so after I finally beat the slide open with a mallet and get the live round out I chunked the thing as far as I could down the dirt road. I could have cared less about the gun at this point and it went up on armslist as a parts gun. A buddy of mine told me he wanted it and I gave it to him for free. He took it home, lubed it, cleaned it, and has put around 500 trouble free rounds through it since I gave it to him :banghead: That was probably the maddest I have ever been at the range because of my equipment.
What is yours?

P.S. I got the round out by putting the slide of the gun up against a 2x4 barrel pointed down at the ground and then beat the grip till it came open.

 

[1911 guy]

I have two. Both my own fault.

I had just gotten a pistol back from a gunsmith after a complete rebuild, including a Yost rear sight. I never checked the set screw and got a handful of dovetail when doing a malfunction drill. Amazing how much blood can run down your hands from a small but deep cut.

The other one was chasing zero for 20 rounds, cussing at a previously accurate rifle. That's when I started using loctite on bases.

The only one worse was induced by Mother Nature. I was shooting with my off hand and felt sweat running down my back. I wiped it away, but it wasn't sweat. The wasp nailed me in my lower back. As I said "Ouch" a little louder than the surrounding gunfire, I crushed it in my right hand. Whereupon it stung me in the hand, through my shirt. Others watched in amusement as i did my not-so-happy dance on the line, dead wasp in one hand, loaded 1911 in the other.

 

[Redstate]

I brought my brand new Cimarron Frontier 7.5" .357 cal. SA to the range and tried my handloaded .38 spl rounds (I was new reloader)

I fired three times (yes 3 times) before I realized the bullets were all squib loads!

Stupid, stupid... I thought it was odd I saw no holes in paper... But I keep firing... Attributed the lack of holes to new sight picture

And didn't think to wonder why I saw nothing hit the dirt backstop

VERY LUCKY I didn't hurt myself! (No one else was at the range- could have hurt them)

Lots and lots of lessons learned
- stop firing when squib is even suspected
- pay attention to detail (I loaded too light of a charge because I was trying to be overly careful, which was in itself dangerous)
- pay attention to detail (I should have stopped when I didn't see evidence of round not leaving the barrel... No hole in target and/or no "puff of dust" in backstop)
- pay attention to detail


I had to buy a new barrel and send gun to gunsmith for repair

 

[Twiki357]

Mine was when I bought a used Ruger Mini-30. Before going to the range, I also bought and mounted a cheap scope. Zeroed the scope with a laser bore sight. First ten rounds never put a hole in the paper regardless of aiming point. I removed the scope and fired a ten shot group the size of a half dollar. The rifle scope is now a hand held spotting scope.

 

[guyfromohio]

On one trip, my new Russian SKS went full auto and then died completel. The RO expressed his concern.

On another, my friend brought his Chinese copy of an 870. "Just as good, half the price". First shot , it essentially field stripped itself into the range floor. He stood there holding the stock only, while pieces skidded down range.

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

I took a new-to-me Romanian M44 to the range without knowing it had a burr in the chamber. It would load fine and shoot okay but the brass would always get stuck in the chamber 100% of the time. I had to use a rod to eject the brass because it would hang up on the burr. Deep scratches on the brass and very, very annoying time at the range.

 

[Sam1911]

Not mine, but I was part of it and it still brings a belly laugh to this day:

I was on Staff at one of the PA State IDPA matches back around 2008 or 2009 when they were held out at Ontelaunee. That year it rained SIDEWAYS for two days. So wet fish were swimming by at eye level! (I swear, honest! ) There was calf-deep mud on many of the ranges where the staff had to trudge off the gravel paths to reset targets hundreds of times. Fun, fun, fun!

One of my friends was another Staff member who hadn't had the opportunity to shoot all the stages himself yet, and asked me to take him out and run him on one of ours during a lull. We sloshed out down a gravel path in our ponchos and carrying the score sheets inside a trash bag. Probably 30 yards out from the range cover, the shooting point stood on a little gravel island in a sea of mud with targets scattered around it in an arc.

I gave John the "Load and Make Ready" command. He drew his Glock, slapped in his magazine, and the floorplate completely gave up the ghost. His floor plate, spring, follower, and all his ammo sprayed out into a seeming slow motion rainbow of glittery objects, all plopping into the muck surrounding us with a staccato "plurp"-ing sound, never to be seen again!

Sometimes you just laugh and laugh until tears come over the silliest things, especially when you're soaked, freezing, mud-caked, and exhausted and just need some cathartic release.

 

[bannockburn]

Not so much me directly but every time I took my son to the range with his Remington 597 and Walther P22 it was nothing but one problem after another. The 597 couldn't make it past a couple of rounds without a failure to feed or a failure to eject. I tried everything to fix that gun to get it to run even just 50% of the time but nothing worked. At least the P22 would work for awhile, that is until it got so dirty that it started to jam up too. Use to spray it down with WD40 every 100 rounds of so just to let him have one gun that sort of worked part of the time.

 

[herrwalther]

Me first, I once picked up a Taurus TCP on a whim at a local pawnshop. It was in pretty rough shape and had clearly been someones pocket carry gun. No bluing was left and it was full of pocket lint. I didn't need another pocket gun but I decided to buy it because the price was right. I immediately, without cleaning or lubing it, took it shooting. IT FAILED EVERY DABLUM ROUND!!!

Isn't that your own fault? Any firearm I buy, used or new, doesn't see ammo until I have gone over and cleaned it properly.

But in any case. I only had one outrageous mechanical failure at the range. And it was with the supposedly famous reliability of a Glock. Our campus police had acquired some brand new Glock 22 Gen 3 and I was the RO training the officers how to use and qualify with them. I showed them a few instructions on how to hold, load, unload on one empty Glock. I then wanted to show them what a course of fire would look like for their qualification so they would know what to expect, how to practice. I never got that far. Pulled the G22 from a paddle holster the magazine catch failed and threw the magazine about 5 yards forward, I fired the one round in chamber at the target and safed the range. Upon inspection the magazine catch was completely gone from inside the grip. We sent all the Glocks back to the factory for a refund.

 

[jmr40]

I shot a chronograph once.

 

[flathats]

I shot a chronograph once.

Me too....Thank God I was alone on my private range....The wife did notice the CC statement for the replacement though....

 

[Onmilo]

My first AR15 with a collapsing stock used a commercial extension tube.
Knocked the rifle off the shooting bench and it hit the concrete pad butt first hard enough that the extension tube bent and locked the rifle up solid.
I only use high quality mil-spec extension tubes now.

 

[J-Bar]

First day of the muzzleloading deer season. I had charged the Hawken at home the night before, and capped it when I left the car before daybreak.

Hunted hard all day. Saw a few deer at ranges beyond my iron sight capability. Spent some time on stands, still hunted through some oak covered ravines...nothing.

Got back to the car after hunting hour had passed. I have a rule-don't bring a charged muzzle loader home. Never know for sure when I can get back to the woods again. So I picked a tree a few yards away as a target and pulled the trigger.

Nothing. Cap failed to fire.

I pulled that cap, recapped, and discharged the rifle. Even if I had seen a deer within range, I would not have scored.

I was tired, hungry, mad and discouraged when I got home. But I was in the woods the following weekend.

 

[Hangingrock]

I was next to an individual that was shooting a 1911 that on that occasion it doubled, I turned to face the individual whom was to my left only to see the muzzle pointing in my general direction. I grasped the individual's arm to point the 1911 down range when it discharged. I could have lost my composure but then what good would have come of that for the individual and myself. The individual was shaken by the experience.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I shot a chronograph once.

My friend shot my chrony and we are still friends.

Mike

 

[jamesjames]

Unboxed a new Henry levergun in .357 with octy barrel--- a birthday present from my brother and he was there to take me to the range for its maiden voyage. It fed and shot exactly one .38 special cartridge before locking up completely on feeding the next round. It fed crooked into chamber and bent the cartridge. I hammered it out from the muzzle with a long dowel and a hammer. What a dog.

 

[rskent]

I shot a chronograph once.

A buddy of mine shot his. He shot it, it just sat there for what seemed like forever,
then it just fell over sideways. We laughed so hard. Guess you had to be there.

The worst for me was when the front sight flew off my beautiful Colt XS Commander for the second time.

 

[JSH1]

I went to an overpriced indoor range near me for the first time. $20 range fee, $15 to bring in 3 boxes of my own ammo and $2 for a target. I shoot the first cylinder with my SP101 and the empties won't eject.

I instantly remembered my last range session I had shot 250 rounds of 32 S&W long wadcutters and it turns out I didn't clean out the lead rings enough. I did clean the gun but didn't scrub and scrub to get rid of the rings since an unfired 32 H&R Mag would chamber easily and drop out under gravity.

I packed up to head out and talked to the owner of the range and explained my issue I asked if I could could back in about an hour after cleaning the gun. He said, of course, but you will have to pay another $20. I asked if I could get a refund on the $10 I paid on the two boxes of ammo that I hadn't fired. Nope, and if I come back in an hour it will be another $10 to bring those boxes back. Needless to say I have never been back.

A combination of me being stupid and not cleaning the gun enough and piss poor customer service from the range. (This was 1 pm on a weekday and I was the only person in the shop or on the range) I ended up paying $6 a round in range fees!

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I only have one and it is my own fault.

At an IDPA match and get up to the line. Load/make ready. Stand by. BEEP!
Click!
Tap rack!
Click
Tap Rack!
Click
Remove mag, check for obstructions. Reload. Rack.
Click.
Done.

I cleaned the gun the night before and couldn't understand it.
Turns out Frog lube and Breakfree CLP DO NOT MIX.

The gun was originally cleaned with CLP and I used Frog lube the night before. The two solutions together created a gummy sticky goo that prevented the firing pin from striking the primer.

Lesson learned!

 

[jmace57]

I was standing at the far left lane at an indoor shooting range. I was looking at the wall about four feet out seeing the nicks from bullets and thinking "what kind of idiot does that"? I racked the slide on a newly acquired 1903 Colt, and realized I had a machine pistol (slam fire) and shot several rounds into the wall right where the other idiots did. I never shoot a semi auto with more than two rounds the first time...and always expect the slam fire to happen...even though it never has happened again.

 

[Black Knight]

Try being on the range as a student in a Police Firearms Instructor's class with a Sig SP2340 that is absolutely clean and well lubed. You are on the line and one round out of 15 fails to eject. With all the failures you fail to make the required score to continue and are sent home. On the way home (three states away) I felt like stopping on a bridge and just heaving it into the water but didn't. A few days later I find out the SP2340 had a defective extractor and ejector. I sent it back to be repaired and it was fixed under warranty even though the gun was a few years old. I lost all faith in that gun and I rarely carried it again after that eventually selling it when I had money problems. I got only half of what it was actually worth.

 

[Walkalong]

Drove 45 minutes to the range with only one firearm, a rifle, with no bolt.

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

Post 15: That's chrony-ism.

 

[Ironicaintit]

When I turned 21 my dad gave me a CAI Cetme. Took it out with some friends to a piece of property one of them had. And i fiddled with that POS all day, trying to get it to run better than a single shot rifle. It runs better now, but I still believe CAI stands for "Cursed, Aint It?"

 

[MilsurpShooter]

First trip out with my Savage 110BA in .338 Lapua. Took awhile to find the scope I wanted (Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50) because no matter where I went they were sold out and a waiting list was going. So from time of purchase to time of first round was probably a good 4 or 5 months. It was my first NEW gun though. I always buy old guns, hand me downs, war relics... This was an impulse buy and the first thing I ever got new out of a box.

brought about 40 rounds of 3 different brands. Prvi Partisan, Hornady, Black Hills. First shot was good, but tough to eject with the Hornady. 2nd was tougher with the Hornady. 3rd required a pretty good whack to open. I switched to Prvi, no problems except for some reason 3 out of the box of 20 were duds even with a double tap to the primer. Black hills functioned great, but I couldn't get a consistent group at even 100 yards, let alone at the longer ranges.

Needless to say I was not impressed that this rifle I spent so much on new was performing worse then some of my Mosins and K98s that were nearly dug out of fields somewhere lol.

Savage did me right though, sent it back to them, they cleaned and deburred and since then I haven't had a problem with it *knock on wood*