How safe is you shooting range?

I agree with the others who have stated there is something wrong. A properly designed range will deflect only into traps. The only thing hitting you should be brass - and that's pretty much unavoidable. My indoor range even does practical shooting on set nights, and has one night coming up with moving targets. It's a big deal because in Arizona summers get way too hot for outside. But I've never even heard of a ricochet there - and you can tell it's designed for safety first.

I'd speak to the owners and find another range to use, pronto.
 
Ditto, this happened to me as well. I was training 2 Officers, very hot day so I took off my RED range bullet proof vest, shooting steel plates. Did everything to keep it safe, shot one line off (Offier standing on lane 5 shooting target on lane 4), min. 15 yards to steel. I walked behind the shooters and gave the command, "Ready on the line, on the threat, GUN"... next think I felt was a George Foreman punch on my left chest. A 9mmm +P+ came back and entered my left tit muscle. Approx. 1/2 inch deep. Grabbed a SOG tool and un-screwed it from my chest, put two tapes in a X and went back on the range. Went to the hospital later and they cleaned it out but that hurt more than the bullet.. So what did I learn, Eyes, ears & Vest at all times never to forget that lesson.. Keepem in the X ring, not Chest..

Note: Someone had been shooting our 8" 1/2 steel plates with a rifle round, it caused a very deep crater and the steel was just swinging flat and it just spit back. Now all steel are angled down and NO RIFLE shooting on plates.. I carry that scar for life, the muscle was purple and black 5X7" for weeks. Hate learning the hard way..
 
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If its happening frequently then best go somewhere else.
Somethings not kosher with the backstops. It ain't the shooters
fault when it starts happening this often. Just my HO


chuck
 
it was a flattend .22 slug
Click to expand...

What was the backstop made of? The rubber material that is referenced by a few here is nothing special; generally it is manufactured from old tires, believe it or not. But here's the trick with that stuff, after several thousand rounds, they tighten up and will repel ammuntion types that either suffer from penetration or deflection issues (a keyholing projectile, for instance). That stuff must be replaced if lots of shooting goes on, it is not permanent. I ran live fires exercises before retiring and we used that stuff in shoot houses (urban training). When you get a squad of soldiers firing automatic weapons in those things the "fill up" fast and have to be replaced often. The rounds can actually bounce, or strike rounds already imbedded and cause this problem. Ricochets are often caused by debris larger than an allowed diameter (I forget the size stated by the regulation) such as rocks or other projectiles on outdoor ranges; they should always include bullet stops and deflectors, but that won't cure the rubber filling up issue. It's one of the reasons that you do not normally allow large caliber ammuntion (long range) to be fired on smaller caliber ranges at shorter ranges (such as .50 BMG on 5.56 and 7.62 zero ranges); the big live fire ranges are a different story of course, but you shoot in a lot of different directions and materials. It's also one of the reason that protective eye gear is really important as those copper jackets mentioned by several can put out an eye quickly.
 
I can't remember it happening at an indoor range I have shot at. Outdoors shooting at steel you get pieces of the jacket hitting you on occasion, generally when you are at the wrong angle of a plate someone else may be shooting.. One reason that in action shooting rifle steel is way back and shotguns are limited to paper and clay. I applaud shooters like BJ Norris who use nothing but frangible bullets at steel matches. Cost more but no pieces to fly around.
 
I agree with most other replies here... In years of shooting I've never had a richoccet in an indoor range!

I went to a steel shoot yesterday and got hit at least 15 times, one of which broke skin but this is normal.
 
It can happen outside, too

Folks, it can happen outside too. I was at my local outdoor 100 yard range a few weeks ago. We were shooting at the 10 yard pistol range. Its a wood target stand with a mound of dirt behind it. We were shootin 9mm and .22. An hour or so later, I went back to my car, which was parked about 20 yards to my right, and slightly behind me. My driver's side window was spider webbed completely. Obviosly one of the bullets ricoched. We think it was becuase the dirt mound was frozen solid.
 
Look Up.

While shooting at a local outdoor range I was stunned when I looked up. The range has a typical steal structure for shade over the firing line. Heavy steel frame with a corrugated roof. The roof directly over the benches and forward of them did not have just a few holes in it, it had many holes!!! I was shocked by the number of them. We were shooting large caliber hand guns. I can only imagine what happens when one of those rounds hits the steel frame instead of the thin roof. You can't fix stupid!!! That is why I prefer the open desert as my range instead of a community gathering place with firearms.
 
PHXSHOOTER, I couldn't agree more on all accounts...

This is why I need to move my @$$ out of Southeast florida and go some where with more open land!
 
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The only time I have seen anyone hit by a ricochet was an instructor who had his student shooting at a target that was about 5-6 feet away. Student hit the metal target carrier and a piece of bullet or jacket ricocheted back and hit the instructor on the cheek, cutting him. The carriers have angled surfaces to deflect the bullets either up or down, but he still caught a piece of that one.
 
I was at an outdoor range Saturday and the woman to the left of me was shooting a 22 auto and every shell casing the gun ejected was hitting me.

This was at a concealed carry training class.
 
I have never seen or heard of a ricochet coming back fro m the backstop of our club's indoor range. Our backstop is steel andgled at 45 degrees with a sand trap beneath. I have seen and even had a cast lead bullet come back at me from shooting at a steel plate rack.
 
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