Most embarrassing range moments?

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When I was in the fourth grade I belonged to the Cub Scouts. Dad is quite an accomplished shooter and collector and decided to take the boys of our troop to the outdoor range. Since I've been taught a long time ago how to shoot I did not need any instructions or help like most of my first time shooters in the troop. The adults were helping the others while I was shooting Dad's 1890 Winchester .22 at the target and doing quite well. I got bored and decided to shoot one of the wooden legs of the target stand. Score! I was feeling smug with myself and decided to do it again. Score again! But the bullet cracked the leg and a huge chunk fell over almost causing the target to fall down. I knew I did bad and sneeked a glance over to Dad. He just gave me THE LOOK! He never said anything about it either. I never did it again to this day! I was surprised that I was not grounded!
 
PA state game range/target stands

In 1999, my good friend and I used a free state firearm range run by the Game Commission. I had some old "exploding" targets I bought from a mail order catalog that I wanted to shoot up. My buddy and I set up the targets on the wood target stands and started to blast away. After a few rounds hit the sides of the exploders the targets started to smoke and catch on fire! :uhoh:

The wood target stands caught fire and started to burn. My friend and I quickly put the small fires out with handfuls of dirt and then we removed the "exploder" type targets. I bought these stupid things thinking they would pop like firecrackers not burn down the entire range! :eek:

A game officer came by later and was really POed but we were able to get out of that jam, :D .
 
Done many of the above. No ammo, no gun, "ears" off at wrong time.

Shooting IPSC-type match with a 1911 on "hot" range. Passed on "load and make ready" command, as I was already "hot". BEEP. Draw, point, press... nothing, not even a click. Brain shifts into high gear: "Why didn't it go bang? Why not even a click? It HAS to click when the hammer drops. Hammer must be already down. But if I'm "hot", the hammer has to be cocked. Only reason the hammer wouldn't be cocked is if YOU FORGOT TO RELOAD AFTER THE LAST STAGE!" Grab mag, tap-rack, hose for everything you're worth, crawl away muttering to yourself.

IPSC match. Jam/misfire. Tap-rack. Extractor wasn't hooked on round, so proceeded to generate 3-point jam of next round with round still in chamber. Struggle, finally lock open and strip mag out, clearing 3-point jam, seat new mag and rack. FORGOT TO CLEAR ROUND IN CHAMBER! sigh! (and curse) Clear same jam again, remembering to clear EVERYTHING this time. Proceed to hose last target with remaining 8 rounds out of frustration. All documented on video.

Public range: Not payng attention and started to go forward to targets during cease fire before line was cleared/released to go forward. Got called BY NAME over the PA by the asst. rangemaster to get back. It was the range that I worked at as a part-time line safety officer. VERY embarrassing.

Left entire bag of pistols (4 or so) in a competition bay at the same range and drove home after a PPC match. Called rangemaster in a panic from home. One of the other competitors had turned the bag in at the office.

As with most things, lack of concentration is the key problem. Hope it never leads to anything more than embarrassment.
 
put a round into the dirt getting set for some skeet. forgot the model 12 doesnt have a disconect

the other day i let my friend use said model 12 when trap shooting in a field. he gave it back to me. i loaded it up and got set for the next target. only to line up, pull the trigger. only to be stoped by the safety :banghead:
 
Brought the ammo.
Brought the guns.
Brought the rests, targets, eye & ear protection.

Forgot the trigger lock keys. :banghead:
 
I was at an indoor range a couple of years ago. I was having some jamming problems with my Ruger P90 and decided to break it down and see what was going on. As I was putting it back together my hand slipped and allowed the spring to go flying into the impact area.

It is a humbling experience to ask the range master to make the range cold because of a rookie mistake on my part.
 
Shot through a wood cover barrier while shooting to the side around it, rangemaster said I had to write my name and rank next to the hole. It was a proud day for my tactical skills. Funniest thind about it was I had been shooting the same course for six years. I guess thats why I've never been invided to the instructers academy.:)
 
TC Encore problem

About five years ago I bought a new TC Encore from Virgin Valley Custom Guns. It was in 44 mag, with a high polished 15" full bull barrel. It had high grade fancy walnut pistol grip and forend with ebony grip cap and forend tip. It was topped with a Leupold pistol scope. It was stunning to say the least. When I was setting up my firing point, a crowd started to gather, I was very excited. I opened the action and tried to load one of my handloaded 44 mag rounds. It wouldn't chamber. I tried another and it also wouldn't chamber. I thought that I somehow screwed up the rounds that I handloaded, so I tried to load some factory ammo that I had and they also wouldn't chamber. That is when I looked down the barrel and saw that the barrel HAD NO CHAMBER! I sheepishly turned around and had to explain to about 20 of my friends what happened. Now, whenever I get a new firearm I am always asked to make sure it has a chamber. and BTW, I believe Virgin Valley Custom Guns is out of buisness.
 
I had just bought a Beretta, Model 948, 22 LR and took it to the range. I loaded the magazine. pointed it downrange and fired. It went FULL AUTO!!!

Someone had tried to do a trigger job on it and took too much of the sear off of the hammer.

I was able to buy a new hammer from Numerich Arms and I was in business!!

Nice little pistol.
 
Dropped my Glock 35 at a Action Pistol match once and got disqualified immediately. It was hot and sweaty and it just slipped when I drew the gun. That's the first time ever in 40 years of shooting I ever dropped a gun even in Vietnam. Steve 48
 
TrueBlue reminded me of another one...one of my 1st weekly IDPA matches..I shot the crap out of a barracade...like 6 or 7 rounds before I heard the RO yelling "STOP"....although it was a great group :uhoh: :D
Also dropped my Glock 17 while reloading at an IDPA match.Since there was only 3 of us there,we took a vote and I got to stay...but didn't shoot the rest of the night.
 
I was shooting a highpower match -- 100 yard reduced course, with a 1945 SA M1 Garand. I shot the standing OK. Then the rapid fire sitting, still OK. Then the rapid fire prone, mostly OK but with some stringers off to the left.

For the slow-fire prone, I carefully aimed the first shot and fired. It was way left, just outside of the scoring rings. Hmm. Must have pulled it, even though I thought it broke fine. I sent another round down-range... even further to the left. I made a pretty big adjustment to the rear sight and fired again. This time, it was in the 7-ring, but left of the bull. I shot again. It was out of the scoring rings.

WTH?

I made another huge adjustment to the rear sight. Barely got into the scoring rings. I cranked the rear sight all the way over and it was barely on the target. I finished out the prone by aiming almost off the paper to the right, just to get into the black.

When I was done, I mentioned this to friend, who looked at my rifle and pointed out that my front sight had come loose and was about 1-2mm from falliing off.

If I'd just taken a couple minutes to do some trouble shooting, instead of just chasing the symptoms around, I probably would have figured it out and not had such a disastrous stage.
 
Shooting IHMSA Silhouette back in the early 80s. I was an experienced Unlimited shooter, and us experienced guys would close the bolt at the "load" command, even though that is generally frowned upon (no safety, light trigger). You see, we could get the first shot off at the "fire" command, giving us more time for the other four shots.

So one day I had cleaned the chickens, and was starting to shoot pigs. At the "load" command, I closed the bolt and sighted on my first pig. I was in the zone, this pig was MINE as I squeezed off the first round, Bang - Clang.

The match director looked down at me, grinned, and said: "Fire!" "Larry loses a shot". :eek:
 
OK, I got to the indoor range, signed in, went to open the case for ammo inspection...couldn't find the right key. It was on the other ring. Sigh. Took me 5 minutes to go through both sets. It now resides on it's own small keyring and is easy to locate.

Geoff
Who finds it difficult to shoot well while heavily BLUSHING! :uhoh:
 
Not really embarrassing for me, I can give as good as I get, now some viewing pretended they did not know me...

Remember the 4 ladies that were Surgical Nurses that traveled, I assited in instructing and coaching? I mean Drop Dead Gorgeous! Not interested in guys, 2 couples. Makes no difference to me...

Time to shoot the first small club tourney away from home. I have a "tendency" to promote the Mental Game [90%] over the Physical Game [10%] - the fact "somehow" "something" might mess with opponents Mental game ...well, stuff happens.

Uh uh, oh yeah. Them itty bitty teenie weenie Yellow Polka Dotted Bikinis were worn the day before the shoot. We went to see the field, get used to targets, scenery...just when they took off T shirts, and later cut off jeans, them matching bikinis underneath.

Made sure noticed we did. Folks tripping and falling and all sorts of distracted behaviors.

Next day...T shirts that had that Bikini Top - front and back...

"Where is that coach of yours" [me].

I stepped out of the high house and just stood there, and modeled MY shirt, turned around and everything.

I was wearing a long sleeve, white oxford shirt , button down collar, oversize for a over shirt with Four of them bikini's on back and one on shirt pocket like a logo.

Person that made the T shirts, did Me a shirt and we did not tell the ladies.

It was a riot! :D

Focus? Oh the ladies did great! Everyone else had flubs and flitters. I mean just being seen while others shot, or them shooting and folks watching [ guys getting elbowed by wives and GFs]

One little lady really wanted My shirt for her Mom. Mom- as were the other ladies, were great sports, thought it was great messing with the guy's psych. Her husband turned beet red.

Little girl got the shirt - she was cute as button - Mom wore it and dad just had a dumb grin on his face.

We then started putting coins and dollars in a hat to get the dad to wear the shirt.., enter the "slow strip music being hummed> .money went for the kids range supply fund.

Embarassed? Nope, not me. I am centered enough....But some other folks sure were beet red, flubbing shots, and "I do not know that boy [me] - boy about half crazy ya know?


I told "my girls" to go out like they owned that field...they did, and sure enough shot great!
 
I had inherited my grandfather's M-1 Carbine, and I doubt he ever put more than a few rounds at a time through it. I shot a few magazines, ans went to shoot some more, and I couldn't acquire the front sight. I wiggled around, thinking I must me disoriented. Nope. I looked down at the muzzle, and realized the front sight was GONE. (Thinking of Ron White describing when he took his van to a Sears service center and the wheel fell off. "It fell off. It fell OFF. It FELL THE ____ OFF!!") I waited for the cease-fire, and walked around front to retrieve the front sight which had crept off the end of the muzzle. Luckily only the range master noticed. I went to a gun show the next weekend, bought a new lock pin, and set it in with some loc-tite and everything is fine.

I was trained in the Army as a armor crewman, and in basic at Fort Knox, I never qualified with a rifle. I zeroed the rifle, but the following day I was on KP or something, and didn't qualify. I asked the drill sergeant if I was supposed to make it up, and he told me it wasn't important, since we were armor crewmen, the rifle wasn't our primary weapon, and it was therefore not necessary to graduate. (?!). So, I went to Germany, and the first thing they did was put me on a truck out to the local woods to qualify. I was using the standard target with ten various shaped silhouettes, all with the same small circle (about 2") in the middle of it. I HAD NEVER SEEN THIS TARGET BEFORE. I asked the sergeant, "Which target to I shoot at?" he replied, "THE ONE IN FRONT OF YOU IDIOT!!" So, I proceeded to put all 40 rounds through the top right-hand circle. When I was done he looked and laughed and apologized, but I mean really, who in the army doesn't know how to qualify with an M-16? So, they gave me another 40 and a new target, and made a show of explaining to me VERY LOUDLY, that you put four rounds through each circle. No problem.
 
Shot my self in the manhood once!!!! Actually a ricochet hit me right to the right of that area but it was close enough to scare the you know what out of me!!!!!:what:
 
Accidental Discharge 4 Years Ago

Just goes to show you the importance of NEVER taking safety for granted.

I was shooting at an indoor range (normally shoot at an outdoor range) and was doing some test firing on a BUG after maintenance. I took out the magazine while the safety was on and (without checking to see if there was a round in the chamber), took the safety off and fired it downrange fully expecting to hear a "click" rather than a "BOOM".

Needless to say, it shocked me (and embarassed me) enough that it will NEVER happen again. I check...and double check...and sometimes triple check...just to be sure.

Remember the basic rules of safety and practice them religiously.
 
"hidden rounds" in semi auto pistols

I would say it's always good to check a semi auto pistol well. I remember once clearing my Beretta 96D after removing it from my concealment holster. I let the loaded mag drop and quickly looked down the top of the weapon through the magazine well. I let the slide go forward and started to pull the DA only trigger when I realized the round in the chamber! :eek: . I let go of the trigger, racked the slide back then watched in surprise as the "hidden round" flew out!

This could have been a bad AD. It's also important to remember all safety rules when using semi auto pistols(loaded and unloaded) and to avoid rushing.

It's a good idea to where the loaded chamber indicator is on your pistols and how they work, ;) .

Rusty
 
Took my son to trap shoot in Town, Livermore Rod and Gun Club, with my Stevens SXS 20 ga and my Rem 870 exp 12 ga.
Open slot in a group that I take while son watches me break 24 with 870.
Son beaming as I win a slab of bacon.
Next group up invites us to fill their group. My son has the 870 I am using the Stevens.
I've had this gun since my Grandfather gave it to me when I was 12.
Son at station 1 makes break.
Me at station 2... Pull!!! Click?
Break it open.. shell in left bore.. pulled foreward trigger.. My shame was the look on my sons face.....:banghead:
 
After the NJ assault weapon ban I opted to escape to Illiniois of all places with my new HK91 rather than get rid of it. I went out to Bensenville, Il to a place called Gunworld that had an Indoor Range upstairs that you could shoot rifles at. I had never been there before, went up and signed in with the range officer who directed me to a lane. I set out my gear, loaded the rifle and squeezed off two shots when I heard screaming and pounding on the window behind me. It was the range officer and he was foaming at the mouth! He motioned for me to put the rifle down, burst in and grabbed the rifle and told me that I needed to be in the range one door over and that both rounds I had fired probably penetrated his backstop.

I had never been there before and he plainly saw me walk up to the counter with a rifle case, maybe he thought I had 9 or 10 handguns in it? The ranges were not marked rifle/pistol. I thought he should have been paying more attention to where he assigned shooters. It was a strange experience, I never went back.
 
if he has seperate ranges (esspecialy ones not clearly marked where you can say "hey buddy") he should be asking people what they are shooting. I know the one indoor range I used to go to all the time asked me every single time what I was shooting when I showed up with the rifle case. Even though they knew me they still asked every single time since their backstop couldn't hold up to anything out of a rifle other then 22lr and pistol calibers. They didn't even allow .223's
 
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