how I managed to ND at the range with an AR15

[silverlance]

the recent post about a cop shooting himself, and the speculation that it might have been during an poorly thought out fumble for a dropped gun, made me remember this incident.

it was in june of 2001 and my registered AR15 (california law) AW had only 200 rounds through it. I was kneeling and shooting on the line, when I noticed that I was being pelted all over by some guy with a PPK.

in what would be seen as a bad idea in hindsight, i chose to continue shooting anyway. sure enough about two target checks later a piece of hot hot hot brass came tumbling down the back of my shirt (another reason why one should not wear polo shirts to the range).

The pain was quite unpleasant and my immediate reaction was to hunch my shoulders and throw them forward in an attempt to shrug it off of me. in doing so my rifle went straight down into the dirt and I reflexively pulled the trigger.

bullet went straight into the dirt but also managed to bounce around a bit (I didnt see, i was told this).

so.. wear the right clothing... dont stand next to a brass sprayer if you can help it... and no matter what, finger off the trigger first!

 

[FieroCDSP]

The same reason I don't like being one or two lanes to the right of a guy shooting a Glock 40cal. You have to wear a hat to help ignore all of the bulged brass hitting you. I managed to get a nice burn when a .22 casing lodged between my temple and my shooting glasses. Brass hurts.

 

[RPCVYemen]

I did spend a few unpleasant moments once dancing around with a 1911 pointed down range, and a hot piece of brass wedged between the right lens of my glasses and my right eyelid. Actually left a little blister.

From that I learned to pull the bill of the ball cap right down over my glasses. The bill was up a bit, and the rented 1911 ejected on straight up that hit the bill and bounced down behind the glasses.

But those NRA safety classes I took more than 4 decades ago paid off. This incident happened several years ago when I had just started shooting again. But the reflex was still there - when something went wrong, my index finger went straight out - parallel to the barrel, out of the trigger guard, etc. I wasn't even conscious of that - I was working too hard at keeping the muzzle down range.

Some guys tease me (in a friendly way), because when I am shooting, index finger is either on the trigger, or rigidly straight. It looks dorky sometimes, but I never "rest" the finger inside the trigger guard or even on the trigger guard. The rule my Dad (and the NRA) taught me was, "Never have your finger on the trigger until you're ready to fire." The way we practiced was, "Never have your finger inside the trigger guard until you're ready to fire." That must have all stuck.

The truth is that lesson is strongly reinforced by shooting an SA revolver. That revolver has a very short trigger pull - very little takeup. I have been surprised more than once by how quickly a shot goes off when I feel like I am "barely touching" the trigger. That's made me even more careful - I am not quite sure that I would be banned for putting one in the (concrete) ceiling, but that is a conversation I really, really don't want to have with the RO.

So if you don't mind people goofing on you, the "finger is straight - parallel to the barrel - until ready to fire" practice seemed to have helped me.

Mike

 

[silverlance]

my finger was on the trigger because I was shooting the gun.

these days if you see me at the range I look like a plague victim.

I wear a cap and safety glasses and doubled ears/muffs AND a blue surgical mask.

the mask is because I got tired of hacking up bits of powder, oil, and cosmoline that I breathe in while shooting prolonged. Oh, and no more sweet taste of lead..

 

[springmom]

these days if you see me at the range I look like a plague victim.

Can't......breathe.....rolling.....on......floor......laughing.........

I'd sympathize, but just imagine having one caught in your bra, my friend. That redefines "pain".

Springmom

 

[El Tejon]

Ahhh, the Dance of the Hot Scorpion!

Wear your neckerchiefs, front and back!

 

[tank mechanic]

Another great brass catcher is the collar on an IBAS. My platoon was at reflex fire range when I caught a piece of brass about two shots into the first twenty round magazine. I figured a small piece of brass would be tremendously hot for a few moments and then cool down fairly quickly due to its lack of mass. I was fricking wrong! It burned and burned and burned as we were shooting and moving on the lanes. We did a mag change and shot another twenty rounds. Finally when the rounds were expended, I dropped the mag , put the weapon on safe and slung it over my shoulder. I had my battle buddy pull it out of my collar for me.A few hours later I had a huge blister on the bottom part of the back of my neck.

I had a perfectly tight group on paper though

 

[carnaby]

When we go to the range and a buddy decides to bring his GF, seven times out of 10 she's got her bust set up for brass catching. I'm always sure to tell them in advance to put the gun down first and THEN freak out when hot brass inevitably takes the plunge into the cleavage.

I'm still a little surprised every time this happens, I suppose I shouldn't be any more.

 

[sacp81170a]

As a leftie shooter, I've learned to head for the far left spot on the firing line and button my shirt all the way to the top.

when hot brass inevitably takes the plunge into the cleavage.

I..., I just can't find words to describe the image that comes to mind.

 

[Andrewsky]

I was at the range one day and a girl was wearing a halter top with 1/3 of her breasts exposed. She also did the standard "oooh this slide is so tough to pull back let me turn the gun 90 degrees towards everyone at the range so I can do it more easily.":banghead:

 

[nplant]

If the brass is exposed, flick it away (and mind your muzzle and trigger finger).

If it falls into clothing, you can grab the cloth and the brass together and hold it away from the more sensitive area until the brass cools (also minding the above items). Once it's cool, you can let it fall back into the clothing, or quietly remove it.

The other thing you could do is learn to deal with a tiny branding iron on the neck, breast, stomach, back, etc. I'd had some 2nd degree burns before (small ones, mind you) from where I had no choice but to grin and bear it while it burned, burned, burned and I could not stop to remove the brass safely.

 

[Geronimo45]

You mean you don't use your Ninjitsu skills to knock aside the brass as it comes in?

 

[RPCVYemen]

my finger was on the trigger because I was shooting the gun.

I did not mean to sound critical, though apparently I did. My only point was that due to the training, when something went wrong, my finger straightened by reflex, as opposed to curling by reflex.

Mike

 

[TehK1w1]

Being male, I have not had the "hot metal touching cleavage" problem, but a good friend of mine has a scar in a rather private place because she forgot to button up her shirt while mig welding I was there at the time, and there was a LOT of going on

 

[Byron]

Tank Mechanic, you did well in keeping moving even though the brass hung to you. You maintained control.Left handed people had a difficult time in Nam as there was no brass deflector then.
Are you with the 4th Inf Div at Ft Carson? Byron

 

[RPCVYemen]

Being male, I have not had the "hot metal touching cleavage" problem,...

Some of us have a slightly different problem. I was shooting my K31 on a hot day at a range in eastern NC one day. I was wearing a T Shirt, jeans, and shoes. I has eye and ear protection, and the bill of my baseball cap was pulled down against my glasses, so a hot piece of brass could not be caught against my eyelid.

I had been sitting on the bench for a while, and unbeknownst to me, I had developed a little sag in my britches.

The Schmidt-Rubin is a fine rifle, but it ejects straight up. And straight back down. I felt one round come back down, and I felt it glace off the back if my ball cap. I will stop the story there, in case any of you have weak stomachs - other than to say that I stood up rather quickly.

Mike

 

[tank mechanic]

Yes Byron I am currently stationed at Fort Carson. I am with 4 ID 1/68 Armor Battalion.

 

[kcmarine]

He he. My range has stalls. But my Saiga throws brass three stalls over.

 

[Kevin108]

My G17 is good for throwing brass over the stall to my right. I try to stand as far to the left of my stall as I can to minimize the quantity of "jumpers" for the guy to my right.

 

[Threecard]

I'm kind of disappointed at the negative comments here. I feel more that I'm in a glass house an shouldn't throw rocks.

Thanks for sharing the experience. Maybe it will keep me from doing something similar.

oh...and...uh...mmmmm...cleavage

 

[pdowg881]

My first time shooting a 1911 it chucked a peice of brass right into the center of my forehead. It didn't stay there long enough to burn, but it left a red mark for awhile from the force of it. That gun would eject casings far and always perfect. But the first time I shoot it I get a case in the forehead.