Burned like hell... shell on the back...

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Burned like hell... shell on the back...
Today's my 5th ever session with gun in my life and it happened.
A shell flew over my head and into the collar of my shirt.
Hurt really bad and immediately Florida guy shooting his son flashed in my brain and I first dropped (put very quickly) the gun on the table before pulling my shirt away.
It's hurting in few places but can only see one red spot on my back now.
Looks like I need to button up when shooting.

BTW, great grouping today (for me anyways) at 5 and 7 yards, total 25 rounds.
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Years ago I shot a lot of Bullseye and most of the ranges at that time just had 8' tables that you set your equipment on. without a doubt, every match I would get hot shells down the shirt or behind the glasses or even drop between my off hand, which would be stuffed in my pants pocket and my pants. Always had small burn marks but you got to the point that you had to finish the match before you started the dance.
 
Shooting in separated lanes indoors with tight spaces will about guarantee some hot brass is going to hit you sometime. You're right: you need to button up. Here are some other tidbits of advice:

No sandals.
Shoes (boots) with socks.
Tight collared shirt, buttoned.
Hat with a 360 degree brim—better than a ball cap (which is OK). The brim of the ball cap will keep brass off your face, but a boonie hat will usually keep it away from your face and neck.

I haven't been burned in many, many years. I shoot indoors Nov-April about 1X every two weeks.

Here's another hint for shooting classes with no range separators, indoors or outdoors—always get the left-most position in a line of shooters. This avoids the brass from a semi-auto shooter to your left hitting you. If that's not possible, try to get to the right of a revolver shooter.

For your own shooting pleasure with a semi, a good gunsmith can tune your ejection to go slightly more forward than back. You might have to stick with one brand of ammo though for consistency.

I collect my brass at the end of each range session, so I like my empties to go rearward. However, to keep them from bouncing forward out onto the range where I am not allowed to get them, I stand back a step in the stall rather than being as far forward as possible.

That's a great group on that target.
 
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I used to get 'em down the front. Now wear a collared shirt and button the top button.

The left-hand lane is a good idea....unless the shooter to the right has a Walther P5 which ejects to the left.
 
P229 chucked a piece of brass that landed in between wifes face and goggles. Between that and obnoxious people in the next lane with an AK of some type, she hasn't been back.
 
I was shooting with a buddy one summer afternoon. He was sitting at the bench, resting his Ruger Mark I .22 over a sandbag; I was standing behind him and just off to the side. He fired a round, the spent case flew down the back of his shirt, and reflexively he raised his right hand -- the one with the gun in it -- reached back to slap what he thought was a wasp stinging his back, and shot me in the left foot! Fortunately, he was shooting round nose bullets, the bullet passed through the top of my tennis shoe and between bones, resulting in a nice, clean hole through-and-through the foot. Hurt like hell, but he was so flustered that I laughed at him all the way to the ER. A rather uncomfortable cleaning and bandaging, a stiff course of antibiotics, and healing went well -- I can barely see the dimple left now, 35 years later.

Good lesson for both of us, though -- when you're shooting, always, ALWAYS focus on controlling the gun, no matter what happens. It could have turned out a whole lot worse for both of us.
 
Pisgah said:
I was shooting with a buddy one summer afternoon. He was sitting at the bench, resting his Ruger Mark I .22 over a sandbag; I was standing behind him and just off to the side. He fired a round, the spent case flew down the back of his shirt, and reflexively he raised his right hand -- the one with the gun in it -- reached back to slap what he thought was a wasp stinging his back, and shot me in the left foot! Fortunately, he was shooting round nose bullets, the bullet passed through the top of my tennis shoe and between bones, resulting in a nice, clean hole through-and-through the foot. Hurt like hell, but he was so flustered that I laughed at him all the way to the ER. A rather uncomfortable cleaning and bandaging, a stiff course of antibiotics, and healing went well -- I can barely see the dimple left now, 35 years later.

Good lesson for both of us, though -- when you're shooting, always, ALWAYS focus on controlling the gun, no matter what happens. It could have turned out a whole lot worse for both of us.
Click to expand...
You laughed it out but that's freakin scary.
Had he pulled trigger little earlier, you'd be a goner. :eek:
 
I was at an outdoor range that had a long bench to shoot from. There is no screen separating shooters from each other. The guy next to me had his son shooting a Ruger P90. His gun was ejecting casings right at me. The father stood between me and his son when he saw the casings flying at me. Luckily I didn't get hit by any casings. I have not been back to that outdoor range since then. It made me wonder if any of my ejected casings were pelting anyone beside me. I guess mine were ejecting back and up from me instead of sideways.
Women are best to wear a shirt buttoned up to their neck so they don't get a hot casing stuck in their bra.
I made my own bullet trap on my land with 1.5 yards of sand. I have not gone to any shooting range since then.
 
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Years ago I saw a report, from Pasadena I think. Female cop got a hot shell case down her blouse and into her bra. She ADd twice while jumping around, leg shot the cop next to her. After that they required female officers to wear crew-neck t-shirts while on the range.

I have TWICE got hot brass behind my glasses. Once came from my own weapon, bounced off the bottom of my baseball cap bill. Once came in from the side from the person next to me. Really wakes you up.
 
You should a try a .308 into your army boot.:D

Then you'll know you got it easy.:D

Don't ask me how I know that.;)
 
Hot shell hurting like hell?
I think about welding and hot steel work, and having slag and splatter landing in places you dont want to think about, but you suck it up and dont even flinch becouse your more worried about the quality of your weld or cut than the discomfort of a few little burns.
Then I will see a grown man dancing around like a little girl pointing his weapon at everyone around him just because of a empty landed inside his collar? Makes you want to slap the guy.
Maybe part of the safety requirement of the range should be holding a sparkler over their head and see if they can handle it or not.
 
Shoot lefty and catch them with your right hand while keeping the muzzle downrange. :rolleyes:
Beats getting hit with a dumb old golf ball on land that should've been a gun range. ;)

Seriously.... the lighter side of hell can happen when an autoloader is in the lane next to you and a hot case hits the side of your head and hangs up in between your shooting glasses and
face.

Some days the ROs are kept really busy with people who never read and memorized the manuals important sections.

The golf ball was my 1 wood, driving out from the tee..... setback in a White Mountain forest in '64. :eek:

In the old days, if a range had a separate high power tunnel/area, that's where I'd do my shooting... solo!!!
 
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Called "learning what to wear at the range the hard way" !
Every one of us has a similar story or stories.... I was in the middle of a precision match rapid fire string ...couldn't stop or I would lose points...that big hot 45 acp case went right down the shirt front and stuck about belly high... Learned 1.)what type shirt not to wear and 2.) juice of aloe vera plant is great burn treatment .
Gary
 
Your shooting skills have progressed nicely.

Your brass avoidance skills can be improved. :) To recap - brimmed hat, close fitting shooting glasses and outer shirt, wear undershirt. If this becomes any kind of pattern at the range, move slightly to the side or back in the booth so the empties don't bounce at you.

Should all else fail, train to set your gun down before commencing the chicken dance. ;)
 
Ribwizzard said:
Hot shell hurting like hell?
I think about welding and hot steel work, and having slag and splatter landing in places you dont want to think about, but you suck it up and dont even flinch becouse your more worried about the quality of your weld or cut than the discomfort of a few little burns.
Then I will see a grown man dancing around like a little girl pointing his weapon at everyone around him just because of a empty landed inside his collar? Makes you want to slap the guy.
Maybe part of the safety requirement of the range should be holding a sparkler over their head and see if they can handle it or not.
Click to expand...

Amen to this. Yes, it's hot, but I always keep in my mind I have a loaded weapon in my hand when I feel that familiar burn. I just grimace through it, put the gun down, then deal with the casing.
 
I always wear a hat to deflect the casings and keep shirt untucked . Had a 9mm case stuck in the corner of my glasses and eye . Being a lefty 10/22 hot cases would sting my arm pretty good.
 
While on the range with our officers, I insisted they wear a "baseball" type cap (with the bill forward) for similar reasons. Without the cap and with mandatory eye pro in place, a fired casing can find its way between the shooting glasses and your eye. End result......trip to the ER/Ophthalmologist.

I've seen it happen and it ain't no day at the beach.

JPJ
 
How about when you're running a lathe and a hot chip of metal lands on you and you can't let go of the handles or you'll destroy the part and the tooling...the metal chip gets peeled off after it cools.

Robert
 
Happens all the time at my indoor range. But I am old and must not be very sensitive to it. Doesn't bother me a bit.

The funnier part of shooting at my indoor range is that it can get awfully cold inside (due to required mega-ventilation) and so 3 seasons of the year I wear my favorite hoodie, albeit with the hood down. Well, that hood catches more brass than you'd ever think possible. :p

Then typically, after shooting and on the way home, I stop at the Dunkin' Donuts right around the corner for either a cold or hot drink... and that's where the brass just pours out of that hood onto the floor as I sit down and take the hoodie off. :D Talk about some funny looks! :D

This is in crazy liberal anti-gun Massachusetts remember! :eek: People have been arrested for far less!!! :eek: :D ;)
 
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Ribwizzard said:
Hot shell hurting like hell?
I think about welding and hot steel work, and having slag and splatter landing in places you dont want to think about, but you suck it up and dont even flinch becouse your more worried about the quality of your weld or cut than the discomfort of a few little burns.
Then I will see a grown man dancing around like a little girl pointing his weapon at everyone around him just because of a empty landed inside his collar? Makes you want to slap the guy.
Maybe part of the safety requirement of the range should be holding a sparkler over their head and see if they can handle it or not.
Click to expand...

As a 40 year welder I agree with you, casing hits are nothing compared to a good "clinker" going in all sorts of places. You have not lived till you hear and feel a hot one sizzling away on your ear drum or go down deep inside your clothing. Most times you cannot get to it in your clothes fast, so your best bet is to press against the spot as hard as you can as that helps remove the heat faster.

Oh and just for more smiles as I have done both a lot of welding/ cutting and shooting, never had a casing start my clothes on fire!:)
 
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