Scary Day at the Range!

[Luke Duke]

Me and my son were shooting steel at 20 yards with mild lead .357 loads the other day. My son was next ,2nd shot and a ricochet bounced off his skull in a really bad way. Dead center high. Thank God he didn't get killed or really hurt bad. Major concussion, lots of blood.
This is something we've done for years and never had an incident, have literally fired thousands of rounds at steel at the range. Completely a stroke of bad luck. It's the scariest thing I've ever been through shooting. Wasn't that scared when they told me I had Stage 4 Colon Cancer!
Goes to show never take anything for granted. Wear your PPE. This can and always will be a dangerous sport.
My son ( 20 years old) has got PTSD. Told me he will stick with rifles and shotguns were he excels.
Stay safe out there fellow shooters. Accidents happen.

 

[raljr1]

Shooting at steel is always a concern. Sorry to hear your son got hurt.

 

[Goblin]

Picking fragments out of your face is bad enough….. Whole bullets are rare, and frightening. I'm sure glad he wasn't hurt worse.

 

[.38SuperMan]

Glad to hear both of you are doing ok.

I had a similar incident but with very minor injuries. Thirty years ago my wife and son and I were at the range. My son was behind us by about 20 yards. My wife and I were were 15 yards from an old army helmet that was rusty and against a log. My wife was shooting my Highway Patrolman with lead RN factory 38's so they were mild loads. She fired her first shot and missed then fired again and hit the helmet. The next thing my son shouted I've been hit and went face down in the dirt. We both freaked and ran back to check what had happened.

Fortunately the bullet was moving very slowly at that point and the bullet hit him an inch above his navel. It didn't break the skin but left a bruise. He was ok fortunately and no has a story that his step mom shot him with a 357 in his stomach.

When he got up he said I saw the bullet coming and walked a few yards in front of where he stood and picked the bullet up off the ground. Later I made a photo of him and put the photo and bullet in an acrylic block as a reminder.

I used to shoot 38 super in USPSA unlimited class so you know we were really pushing bullets to 1400-1450 fps. We shot steel indoors and on one occasion caught a jacket that separated from the core and came back and hit me in the hand. The jacket went into my hand and I can say they burn like fire when you're hit and there's a lot of blood. Fortunately it was only my hand and I had no serious damage.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Once upon a time a million years ago my dad had a hat taken off his head by a ricochet from a hidden rock buried in a berm. (Not at a legit shooting range, just casual plinking out in the boonies.)

 

[rockquarry]

I haven't shot at steel targets in years using handguns at short distances (closer than fifty yards or so). Ricochets were always a concern, even if the targets were of the proper steel and properly positioned.

I have two friends who were struck by bullet fragments, one in the stomach, one in the cheek. Both injuries were extemely minor and required no treatment. Paper targets work very well for me.

 

[murphydog]

As I recall I had a jacket fragment from a .223 hit me in the chest from about 25 yards off a metal target. I was wearing a shirt and sweatshirt and it stung but didn't break the skin.

Agree with keeping 50 + yards away from steel anything, you lower your odds of something coming back at you substantially at that distance.

 

[somorris]

Glad your son is going to be physically okay, Luke! Dangerous indeed!

 

[jeffrefrig]

This knife stopped a 38 special bullet from about 6' away. No ricochet, just an accident and a bruised leg. Keep the gun pointing away from what ever you don't want to shoot. He's one of my best friends, but accidents happen to the best of us. I'm okay. We don't talk about it. Still best of friends.

 

[colt_saa]

Luke Duke,
Glad that you are both well.

I bet that this was not only an eye opener for the two of you, but the rest of the folks in attendance that day at the shooting facility.

This is why we make eye protection mandatory on or off the firing line (when the line is HOT), even if you are not doing any shooting you are always at risk.

Having taken on Range Officer and instructor responsibilities (mostly part time) over the last 4 decades, I have been hit with many ricochets.

While I can not recall a full projectile ever striking me, shrapnel has broken my skin more than once.

Jacket pieces from the early projectiles were quite common. Today's thicker jackets and bonded cores have reduced those incidents

Hard cast projectiles are also more likely to ricochet than soft swagged lead bullets

Shooting steel is always one of the most common. At our indoor ranges we used to coat the bullet traps with used motor oil about twice a month(got it free from the oil change places). This caused the projectiles to slide rather than ricochet when they hit the metal. Still the random incident would take a fluorescent tube as a casualty from time to time

In the wild, rocks always insert a new level of unpredictability

 

[hyena]

A few years ago me and my shooting buddy were at the outdoor range. The range has pretty relaxed rules for targets. They allow plinking at targets on the ground, except glass, of course. We were sharing the handgun range with two other old guys, one of whom wasn't wearing eye protection. My buddy was shooting his .45 ACP at a small orange poly ball on the ground maybe 7 yards out. The bullet apparently skimmed off the hard ground, came up and hit the wood post holding the 10 yard targets, then ricocheted back and struck the other guy just below his right eye. He was screaming and holding his eye. Thought for a second it had blinded him. Within minutes he had a black eye. I found the deformed bullet sitting on the shooting bench where he had been sitting, and gave it to him. He was mad at my buddy, even though what we were doing was within the range rules.

 

[2152hq]

I used to shoot Bullseye in the 70's and early 80's.
I used a nice early K38 w/ wadcutter loads.
The wintertime matches were indoors at 50ft.
The range was rated for lead bullet only, no metal jacketed stuff because the backstops would dimple and could cause a ricochet.

Being a 24hr acessible facility by KeyCard, some members couldn't help themselves and came in and used the verboten ammo anyway.

During 2 matches I got hit with a ricochet from my own revolver that struck one of these pockets on the slanted backstop plates.
One hit me in the neck. That was scary enough.
The next one came back and hit me right under the right eye on the cheek bone.
Nice black& blue bruise and hurt like hell.
Odd thing about the second one is I could see it coming as a dark blur for just an instant. But no way of getting out of the way,( I had already lost my Super Hero reflexes even then..)
I often still wonder if my prescription eyeglasses of the time would have saved me if it had struck a bit higher.

The club I belong to now did away with steel targets on the rifle/pistol range some yrs ago due to a few ricochets flying out of the range.
These were used for .22rf Silhouette which was very popular at the time.

 

[AzShooter]

Glad you son is OK. I've been hit a few times over the years and still have a small scare on my leg where a .45 bullet came back and hit me and stuck inside. Rare to happen but it does.

Does your steel have any dents in it? If it's not flat you can expect bullets to come back at you. Be safe and I hope nothing like this ever happens to you or your family again.'

 

[tops]

Post #4 and #11 brings back memories. Sixty some years ago I was shooting a .44 Spec. at a can on the ground and the bullet ricocheted and hit a wood post on the dog lot and ricocheted back and hit my brother in the chest. I don't remember if it made a bruise but he likes to tell people I shot him in the chest with a .44 Spec. Larry

 

[30-30remchester]

Last year was shooting steel with friends. I was in the background behind the shooter when a ricochet cut me across my face within a 1/2" of my left eye. A 3" path, just like a minor cut but would have put my eye out if it had been closer.

 

[46er]

A friend claims to be the only person to survive a between the eyes hit from a 168 Match King. In the pits, shooter hit the berm and ricochet into the target frame and bounced off hitting him.

 

[desi2358]

Glad your son is okay. I've been hit a couple times by odd ricochets. Nothing with enough force to do any real damage but they got my attention. Learned to be careful around hard targets, always wear eye protection.

 

[Doug M.]

If I go to a pistol only training class, I still wear my body armor. It is a LONG time I have heard anything good about metal targets because of these risks.

 

[ReloadforFun]

As pointed out above, condition of the steel makes a difference. Dished or cratered steel is always more hazardous.

Many commercial steel targets are angled to direct the bullet downward.

 

[UncleEd]

Does your steel have any dents in it? If it's not flat you can expect bullets to come back at you.'

Pocked marked or dented steel hanging at the wrong
angle will throw the bullets back at the shooter. As
I understand it the bottom of the steel must be angled
inward, away from the shooter.