Possible bullet ricocheting??

[Darth-Vang]

So a few months back I took my .25 acp Beretta 950 BS to my local gun range. I was shooting fmj bullets at steel targets. After a few mag I just noticed that at the last shot I heard, “peeeeeew, peeeeew!” Now was that bullets richocheting????

 

[PapaG]

Round nose full metal jacket at low velocity is very likely to ricochet off hard surfaces.

 

[halfmoonclip]

As an old 950 fan, it doesn't surprise me you have one, and that you shoot it with FMJ.
Now whether those bouncing bullets are doing any harm is another question.
Are your targets flat, or are they cratered from previous hits, say with a high powered rifle?
Moon

 

[Darth-Vang]

It’s those round flat steel target and it just hanging. When I shot my 9mm I don’t hear those sound that goes “peeeew, peeeew!” Only the 950 BS.

 

[Atavar]

Yur prolly hearing the gong hit. The little .25 takes enough time to get there the bang has time to die down before the bullet hits the gong. Lol

 

[WheelGunMan]

I have 30+ yards of sand that I use as a backstop on my pistol range..there are some stones and rocks mixed in with it. I've heard one ricochet and have found several projectiles laying 5 - 10 feet back towards the firing line.

 

[buck460XVR]

Now was that bullets richocheting????

FMJ bullets do not disintegrate when hitting a steel gong, nor do they dump all their energy at the point of impact. There is nothing else for the bullet to do but ricochet. That is why most steel targets are set up so the the bullets ricochet in a safe direction.

 

[gobsauce]

FMJ bullets do not disintegrate when hitting a steel gong, nor do they dump all their energy at the point of impact. There is nothing else for the bullet to do but ricochet. That is why most steel targets are set up so the the bullets ricochet in a safe direction.

Precisely. If you're shooting FMJ at a relatively short distance, you should slightly angle the target so that ricochets don't bounce directly into you.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

FMJ bullets do not disintegrate when hitting a steel gong, nor do they dump all their energy at the point of impact. There is nothing else for the bullet to do but ricochet. That is why most steel targets are set up so the the bullets ricochet in a safe direction.

This is not true as far as the ricochet aspect, at least in my experience.

Shooting at quality AR500 steel the rounds basically pancake and any fragments go in a 360 degree direction parallel to the target. I've got a pile of "pancaked" 9mm rounds around my target I frequently shoot at at home. I'd be more than happy to take a picture tomorrow if you'd like.

I normally shoot at 12-15yds but also as close as 5yds and the result is the same.

 

[Darth-Vang]

Was watching Jerry Miculek’s range shooting safety video. And he had a box completely “covering” the outside of his steel targets. I’m going to try that and see if there’s any hole on the box next time I go shoot.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Our Club's indoor range has a sharply angled backstop, and a stout one. Anything up to 1400'sec is permitted.
We find bullet fragments of various sizes all the way back to the 50' firing line. One of the reasons to wear safety glasses.
Moon

 

[Riomouse911]

My steel targets and dueling tree paddles hang at an angle that should send bullets and fragments down rather than back.
Little divots in the targets face from other bullet strikes, or striking the target at an odd angle, may send a bullet in an unintended direction.
As the guys above said, staying a safe distance from the steel targets and wearing eye protection is a must..
Stay safe.

 

[Bfh_auto]

So a few months back I took my .25 acp Beretta 950 BS to my local gun range. I was shooting fmj bullets at steel targets. After a few mag I just noticed that at the last shot I heard, “peeeeeew, peeeeew!” Now was that bullets richocheting????

When I was a kid my friend had a 25. He shot a 5 gallon oil bucket at about 10 yards. The bullet ricocheted off the bucket and hit him in the shin. He got a pretty nasty bruise.
How the bullet bounced off the heavy plastic rim is beyond me.

 

[Jim Watson]

Shooting on a well bermed range yesterday, I heard several bullets howl overhead from neighboring bays. There were only two Pepper Poppers, so them or rocks in the berms? When the light is right I have seen many flattened bullets lazily flying away from steel targets, but if the target is oriented to the firing line, there should not be fast ricochets.

 

[GHinNH]

Arbitrarily saying FMJ bullets do not disintegrate is simply not true.

The answer is it depends... depends on the speed of the projectile, the mass, thickness of the jacket and the angle of the target. Something like a .25acp simply does not have the speed and energy required, same with a larger caliber heavy but slow bullet.

A relatively flat target and the bullet will expend most of it's energy trying to go through, but placed at a 45deg angle and the likelihood of it bouncing off is dramatically increased. This is why you don't take cover (or not supposed to) against walls, because even high speed rifle bullets will ricochet into you.

Even "freak" accidents have to abide by the laws of physics, and indoor ranges have 10's of thousands of rounds fired in them, increasing the numerical odds of one of those events happening.

All that said, that's another reason I use plated bullets for my practice ammo. I keep threatening to try coated bullets one of these days also.

 

[GravelRider]

I use this MGM target. It is sharply angled, and sends fragments downward right below the target. Doing very close drills, I've occasionally been hit by fragments, though I think those are fragments that have hit the ground and bounced back up toward me, with no real danger potential.

 

[entropy]

Our Club's indoor range has a sharply angled backstop, and a stout one. Anything up to 1400'sec is permitted.
We find bullet fragments of various sizes all the way back to the 50' firing line. One of the reasons to wear safety glasses.
Moon

And also why I won't shoot steel at less than 100 yds. My gun club doesn't allow steel at all, which I don't mind.

 

[Tirod]

Qualifying at night on a military range with tracer is an illuminating experience about where bullets can go.

There are plenty of posts online about FMJ coming back at you, some have been injured. Next time someone is in a covered range, it's obvious why there are bullet holes in the ceiling and walls walking down to the targets, but coming back, look again.

 

[halfmoonclip]

In years gone by, when we were all shooting full wadcutters at bullseyes, there was often drama with the minebelt used as target backers. Those WCs could come bouncing back....
Moon

 

[dirtman]

Inadvertently Hit any of those steel targets on the sharp metal edge.... and just watch where that bullet flies.... Almost anywhere......
dirt

 

[AK Hunter]

Check your shooting steel targets regularly. A cup or deep dent will put rounds right back at you.

 

[Bo]

I used to shoot at bowling pins hanging from a 2x4. They would swing back and forth when hit.
I was shooting a bit too fast one day and I must have hit the pin at the wrong angle, the 45 slug came back and hit me in the shin.
Felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat. Put one helluva knot on my shin.
I don't shoot at swinging bowling pins anymore.

 

[jmorris]

You want the plate to remain flat, if the surface does not stay flat, fragments can be redirected back, not radially.

Like the beginning of the video above. Edge hits like around 7:20 can sent them unexpected directions too.

Hard plate that stays flat and square hits, like around 7:35 are what you want. Once you see the radial frags from the hard plate, go back to the beginning and notice the frag “cone” going back the direction the bullet came from. This is why we don’t shoot steel that craters.

 

[Gus Chiggins]

I was surprised that lead roundball will ricochet too. We had a blackpowder pistol shoot at my club and started at 10 yds moving back 5 yds after 5 shots. One of the participants brought a steel target hanging on a stand and set it up between the targets in the middle of the line and some guys were shooting at it after their 5 shots. One shot ricocheted sideways at 90°, nicked the wooden lathe leg of a target stand and hit the top of the side berm to my right. It made a dirt cloud as it went off the berm leaving no doubt what happened and from what direction. I was abstractly looking in that direction and caught it all.
I've complained before about the steel being too close before and this was way too close.