My favorite range had an oopsy!

Riomouse911

Riomouse911

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I shot there on Monday from 11:15 to just before 1:00. It was pretty busy, so I was in the second room using lane #16 (of 20).

Apparently, at around 2:15 or so there was some sort of issue that caused a large halogen light fixture over lane 15 to fall. This made the piping hot bulb and fixture violently burst like a M-80 firecracker. That caused gun powder residue on the floor to flash-ignite, which then set off all the fire sprinklers on that side. :oops:

Luckily there were no injuries! I heard there were only two or three others in the room with no one shooting in the middle lanes after I left. (Guns and gear did get wet when the sprinklers went off.)

I guess i will need to get there early for a while, I will bet repairs will take a month or two in order to get back to full capacity.

IMG_3644.jpeg IMG_3643.jpeg

Glad I left when I did!

Stay safe.
 
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Yikes!

One of our local ranges is a bit, umm.....generous with who they rent guns to. A pair of Japanese exchange students were on the line for all of 5 minutes the other day when one of them came back into the shop with shrapnel wounds to his face. The staff went into full panic mode, so I cleared out before I could get the exact details, but it was obvious these kids had no experience and probably should have had a basic safety course first.

Another local shop/range DOES actually give some cursory instruction to folks that admit to being complete noobs, but I was there recently when a couple newly retired New York Ninjas thought they were savage enough to shoot their brand new 12GA pistol-gripped shotguns one-handed.

It did not end well for the one gentleman's nose. His buddy was at least smart enough to ask for help after that.

They had both told the range staff that they were experienced shooters. SMH.
 
Riomouse911 said:
I shot there on Monday from 11:15 to just before 1:00. It was pretty busy, so I was in the second room using lane #16 (of 20).

Apparently, at around 2:15 or so there was done sort of issue that caused a large halogen light fixture over lane 15 to fall. This made the piping hot bulb and fixture violently burst like a M-80 firecracker. That caused gun powder residue on the floor to flash-ignite, which then set off all the fire sprinklers on that side. :oops:

Luckily there were no injuries! I heard there were only two or three others in the room with no one shooting in the middle lanes after I left. (Guns and gear did get wet when the sprinklers went off.)

I guess i will need to get there early for a while, I will bet repairs will take a month or two in order to get back to full capacity.

View attachment 1182154View attachment 1182155

Glad I left when I did!

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
that range powder is DANGEROUS!
 
Hot Wells was not my favorite, but it was close…

abc13.com

Gun range closed indefinitely after dad of triplets killed in accidental shooting

The northwest Harris County gun range where a father of triplets was killed in an accidental shooting is closed, with no word when they'll reopen.
abc13.com abc13.com

“Police say an employee of the gun range was working on a hunting rifle when it suddenly went off. Cummings was just getting out of his car at the time and walking toward the building when he was hit.”

…Through a wall, into the parking lot, killing an unsuspecting customer…
 
rabid wombat said:
Hot Wells was not my favorite, but it was close…

abc13.com

Gun range closed indefinitely after dad of triplets killed in accidental shooting

The northwest Harris County gun range where a father of triplets was killed in an accidental shooting is closed, with no word when they'll reopen.
abc13.com abc13.com

“Police say an employee of the gun range was working on a hunting rifle when it suddenly went off. Cummings was just getting out of his car at the time and walking toward the building when he was hit.”

…Through a wall, into the parking lot, killing an unsuspecting customer…
Click to expand...
Aww man, I feel badly for the guy just walking along. 😞

Stay safe.
 
The same range where the exchange student got flakked had a fatality a few years ago when a Dad was trying to supervise 5 or 6 kids and a ND hit an overhead rafter, then ricocheted down and struck one of the kids. Very tragic. Questionable judgement on the part of the Dad and range, but I think he refused to try and sue them despite many lawyers hounding him for the case. They may have had a private settlement, but if so it never hit the papers.

The same range that had the two boobs with shotguns had a suicide there a while back too. What kind of jerk does that in someone's place of business, while endangering innocent bystanders? 😠

In a lighter note, one of our outdoor ranges had a young lady pop her boyfriend in the keester with a .22 when a hot case went down her blouse. Apparently she was rather well endowed and had a loose v-neck top on. Her fella wasn't seriously injured, thank goodness.

That facility now requires close-fitting collars. They will sell you a T-shirt for $5 if needed, lol.
 
A new indoor range opened up not far from home about three years ago. I have an outdoor range but when it's bitter cold I go there. Very nice place. The first time I shot there they had just after they opened. After about a year there were bullet holes in the ceiling and in the dividers between the lanes. It's a busy college town and a lot of students from other countries that have never had the privilege of shooting guns in their country have their first try there. About a year ago a college student from another country was killed from a gun shot to his head. He was the only shooter there at the time and it's still not known if it was an accident or suicide.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
The same range where the exchange student got flakked had a fatality a few years ago when a Dad was trying to supervise 5 or 6 kids and a ND hit an overhead rafter, then ricocheted down and struck one of the kids. Very tragic. Questionable judgement on the part of the Dad and range, but I think he refused to try and sue them despite many lawyers hounding him for the case. They may have had a private settlement, but if so it never hit the papers.

The same range that had the two boobs with shotguns had a suicide there a while back too. What kind of jerk does that in someone's place of business, while endangering innocent bystanders? 😠

In a lighter note, one of our outdoor ranges had a young lady pop her boyfriend in the keester with a .22 when a hot case went down her blouse. Apparently she was rather well endowed and had a loose v-neck top on. Her fella wasn't seriously injured, thank goodness.

That facility now requires close-fitting collars. They will sell you a T-shirt for $5 if needed, lol.
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Over the years I have had one or two fired cases drop down my collar in training. It does take a bit of discipline to not jump up and flail about with team members in front and behind you. 😬

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
Over the years I have had one or two fired cases drop down my collar in training. It does take a bit of discipline to not jump up and flail about with team members in front and behind you. 😬

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
My oldest daughter has a little .22LR -shaped scar on her chest from a similar "wardrobe malfunction." Her training kicked in and she cleared the weapon before diving in after the hot case. I was super-proud, and she wears it like a badge of honor. 😁
 
Wow, I never considered that the powder on the floor might ignite, that's wild man. All the other stories are seriously scary and sad though. Glad that I do not have to rely on a public range as my only shooting venue. I encourage all of my friends, and usually offer to anyone I meet who seems like decent folks, to come down and use my range. I'm thankful for my safe place to shoot.
 
Some years back, the NRA put out a bulletin suggesting any and all cracks in an indoor range's floor be sealed due to an explosion at a range when a powder filled crack went boom and sent concrete chips throughout.

I was the sealer at my range. I went through 3 tubes of caulking compound.
 
About 30 years ago I was between jobs and taking the Florida "Class G" (armed guard) course at Reig's in Orlando. The instructor swept up the range brass into a pile and lit it with a match. No explosion but it burned intensely for half a minute. Didn't expect that as I was more worried about the lead dust overcoming the inadequate ventilation. Joe
 
Riomouse911 said:
Over the years I have had one or two fired cases drop down my collar in training. It does take a bit of discipline to not jump up and flail about with team members in front and behind you. 😬

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
I was cutting an exhaust pipe and clamp with a torch overhead on a lift when I was 17 or 18. Dropped a big gob of slag down my shirt. Turned off the oxygen, then acetylene, set it down, pulled my shirt out and dropped my pants. That 3 seconds was an eternity.

3 things I learned-

I know enough foul language to offend a mechanic.

Hot brass in my eyeglasses or shirt will never bother me again.

There was a reason why the guy on the exhaust rack always had his shirt untucked even though the owner said it looked "slovenly".
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
The same range that had the two boobs with shotguns had a suicide there a while back too. What kind of jerk does that in someone's place of business, while endangering innocent bystanders? 😠
Click to expand...
That happened at Bud's recently (within the last year or so). A man came in, rented a gun, went into the range, and shot himself in the head with it.
 
wayneinFL said:
I was cutting an exhaust pipe and clamp with a torch overhead on a lift when I was 17 or 18. Dropped a big gob of slag down my shirt. Turned off the oxygen, then acetylene, set it down, pulled my shirt out and dropped my pants. That 3 seconds was an eternity.

3 things I learned-

I know enough foul language to offend a mechanic.

Hot brass in my eyeglasses or shirt will never bother me again.

There was a reason why the guy on the exhaust rack always had his shirt untucked even though the owner said it looked "slovenly".
Click to expand...


Did that welding up a fixture about 13-14 years ago. Piece of slag found the ONE hole in the gloves and rolled down my wrist and onto the back of my hand. I put down the electrode, turned off the machine and sent the glove flying across the shop in one fluid motion, while using enough "persuasion words" to offend a salty old sailor. My boss laughed hard when I told him what happened, and tossed me a brand new pair of welding gloves. He also used that as our "safety topic" for the week.

To keep this firearms related I heard of a shady indoor range that had one heck of a fire when the unburned powder in front of the line lit off due to an idiot shooting a .44 magnum round, after being told not to do it. The range shut down not too many months later due to failing a "building inspection."
 
Mousegun said:
Some years back, the NRA put out a bulletin suggesting any and all cracks in an indoor range's floor be sealed due to an explosion at a range when a powder filled crack went boom and sent concrete chips throughout.

I was the sealer at my range. I went through 3 tubes of caulking compound.
Click to expand...
I think thats the cause here. Its swept daily, but the cracks can hide a lot of unburned residue.

Stay safe.
 
I once had a minor but still alarming incident when flash from one of my handloads traveled far enough downrange to ignite some unburnt powder. Not dangerous, but unexpected and interesting.

The indoor range I use is kept pretty clean and I think this was a fluke. Happened first thing in the morning, and I suspect someone had just swept the floor and got distracted before opening up for the day. It did get me thinking about the unburned powder and bits of shredded paper downrange.
 
Riomouse911 said:
Over the years I have had one or two fired cases drop down my collar in training. It does take a bit of discipline to not jump up and flail about with team members in front and behind you. 😬

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
This happened to a buddy in Battalion in Haiti when we were on the firing line. Hot 5.56 brass landed inside his shirt collar. He was howling in pain. I was howling in laughter. I couldn't help myself but to laugh uncontrollably (I know, I know - what a jerk). Dark humor abounds in certain situations....:rofl:
 
Speedo66 said:
That’s also the reason ranges don’t allow steel cased ammo with coated steel projectiles, they worry possible sparks from the bullet will set off the unburned powder..

Same for tracer ammo.
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And folks still sneak those in. One or two trips ago I was seeing occasional sparks from bullet impacts a couple of lanes over. 😞

Stay safe.
 
FWIW on the indoor range I helped build years ago we employ an explosion-proof HEPA vacuum to clean the range area, especially that forward of the firing line. Ranges really should never be swept ... man that just aerosolizes all the contaminants!
 
I don't know why there's a link between suicide and gun ranges. Several years ago a man, whose ex-wife and son lived across the street from me, went to an outdoor range he frequented and shot himself. My guess is that the shooter knows their body will be found by someone visiting the range.
 
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