How many times have you been hit by ricochets?

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WhiteGoodman

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Okay, not really shot but hit by a ricochet. Today was the third time in 6 months between two ranges- one with steel trap the other with piles of asphalt shingles and gravel. I really need to find a private place to shot...

Am I just a bullet magnet or what? I'm wearing eye protection but I'm wondering if I need a flak jacket and a helmet too. :uhoh:
 
Am I just a bullet magnet or what? I'm wearing eye protection but I'm wondering if I need a flak jacket and a helmet too.
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You're a bullet magnet.
Remember the Georgia State Parks Ranger that was hit by lightning 6 times?And survived.
You are the range equivalent.
Try to stay safe.
 
The range I go to has stacked tires filled with dirt along each backstop.
Each backstop has at least a generous dirt berm in its dead end.
Supposedly there is some metal backstopping in there too, which should
be found when we rebuild the backstops this summer.
Paper targets only in front of a proper backstop is a rule here.
No metal targets of any type are to be used here, less RSO exception.

If you are willing to risk accepting a richochet,
you could always just simply continue doing as you have.
 
I shoot a lot of steel with handguns and I have been hit with splatter dozens of times. Once a hit to the adams apple that really stung.


Never anything with rifle because I only shoot rifle steel from AT LEAST 100 yards.
 
The range I go to has stacked tires filled with dirt along each backstop.
Each backstop has at least a generous dirt berm in its dead end.
Click to expand...

Same here, but there's a certain friend with whom I shoot who always inevitably ends up splashing me on most range sessions. It's strange, as we only typically shoot at paper, and only one round has drawn blood. I won't give up shooting at that range or with that shooter, however. A fluke's a fluke.
 
My cousin filled a gallon milk jug with water and froze it. We took it out to the range and he blasted it (along with other stuff that day) with his deer rifle, 270 I think.

It was out at 100 yards and I was standing right next to him when he shot. A piece of ice somehow came flying back all the way to the bench and hit me in the forehead.

Not kidding, I mean what are the chances of that?
 
I want to know what that guy was shooting with the .50 that it launched it right back at him. He is lucky to still be alive.
 
That's convenient! I'd just pick it back up and reapply it to my forehead.
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Damn, I never thought of that at the time. I was so freaked out that it happened I just added another thing to the list of "Ok, lets not do that again"
 
We had the problem on the short pistol range at our local range. The board determined that the dirt of the berm was saturated W/ slugs & that's what was causing the richochets. They changed the dirt and the problem went away.

To answer your other question, no I have never been hit by a ricochet
 
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I would have to say if your getting hit with ricochets you are doing something wrong, maybe you should rethink where you shoot and find somewhere safer or take a look at what you are doing. I am not an expert but if i got hit with a ricochet it would scare a little more safety into me.
 
Two instances, but one was multiple times.

First was a BB gun, stupidly using a brick wall as a backstop. You do the math (since I hadn't). :eek: Came back and hit me in the forehead.

Second was close-in shooting at steel knock-down targets, and people were using jacketed ammo. Got pelted several times that day, nothing serious enough to cause any injury... but still.

Seems the common causes are insufficient backstop, or unsuitable target. Don't shoot at hardened, thick steel unless you're using AP.
 
Been hit by a BB gun ricochet, bb nailed a nail in the fence we were shooting, bounced back and hit me on my forehead.
 
My first was with a BB gun also. I shot a 10 inch piece of PVC pipe form about 4 feet. That damn BB hit me right in the thigh. Hurt like hell!

Fired a .38 spl straight down into a telephone pole laying on the ground. It bounced right back up and hit me in the forehead. Didn’t hurt or cause any damage. It did surprise me however how hard those things are.

Having not learned my lesson the first time, years later I shot some huge chunk of metal (an alternator I think) with a 9mm FMJ. The round instantly bounced back and hit me in the shin. This one hurt like hell and blood was every where. 8 years later I still have a very visible scar on my shin.

My last one was shooting at a heavy piece of steel tubing with steel core 7.62X54R ammunition. I backed off about 50 feet and fired one off. First I saw sparks then blood. The steel core went through the first ½ of the tube just barely nicking it. It couldn’t however penetrate the second ½ and came straight back at me hitting me in the neck. I felt that incredible hot steel core on my neck. I don’t know if it penetrated just enough to imbed in me, or if it was so hot that it was burning to my skin. All I know is that I got it off real fast, and then started bleeding. The weirdest part about this story is after I stopped bleeding I went up to look at the 100+ pound piece of steel tubing I had just placed there minutes ago and look inside and find a birds nest with 3 little birds in it. All I can think is the pieces of metal and sparks or whatever must have knocked down the birds nest into the tubing. I put the nest back in the tree as best I could followed by the little birds and left.

Did I mention I don’t like shooting at paper.

Dan
 
Never, not one time.

In a strange way, that's disappointing. I'd like to believe that I've lived my life so intensely that I ticked off someone enough to mayhem.

When I think about the detractors in my life, there is one I fear, perhaps four I'm careful around, and then fifty who are so wussy and boring I dose off when they chide me.

If no one wants to kill me, ban me from his forum, hide his wife, excommunicate me as a heretic, drag race me or even insult me, then what have I accomplished?
 
I've had ricochet come back and hit me, as well as pieces of plywood when hit by a 12ga slug.

To answer the thread title... once too many.
 
Nope. Though I was standing near the firing line when a .22LR bullet came back and hit just to the side of me. The area immediately behind the firing line was packed with people, so its amazing no one got hit.
 
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