Safety Lesson Learned The Hard Way

Parrothead · 03-27-2008, 04:35 AM

I have to confess something here for the sake of everyone's safety. I made a mistake in target selection that resulted in (thankfully) minor injury to a friend. I am not nearly as familiar with shotguns as I am with rifles and pistols. I'm just getting back into shooting after many years

I'm just getting back into shooting and went out in the desert with a couple of friends who also happen to be my lead tech and a supervisor at work. The supervisor handed me the 12ga semi-auto and said have fun. I had already shot everything with the 12ga but the kitchen sink, so I took aim at the kitchen sink someone had left out in the desert.

You can probably see where this is going.

I hit the sink, it fell over, and quite a few pellets (we were using #9 birdshot) came right back at us. We were all wearing eye and ear protection, and while most of the pellets bounced off of us, at least one hit the supervisor's bare arm and drew blood.

I'm used to rifles and pistols. We had been shooting at the sink all day with those and no problems. I figured that the shot would still be in one general mass and would just knock the sink over. I was wrong.

Yes, my co-workers now either refer to me as "Cheney" and refuse to let me live the incident down.

My friends accepted my apologies and I learned a very important lesson - know what your ammunition will do to a target and how it will react on impact and when in doubt, DON'T SHOOT!!!

Long Shanks · 03-27-2008, 05:17 PM

Sounds like you got very cheap lesson. Glad to hear all are okay and it sounds like it's a lesson you won't EVER forget.

Parrothead · 03-27-2008, 05:53 PM

Thanks for the reply!

Very cheap indeed and it will not be forgotten. Especially with everyone at work continuing to bug me about not shooting any more members of management!

Montveil · 03-28-2008, 01:12 PM

In my experience the slower the round the more likely to not disintegrate on impact which allows for more richotets

BB guns. 22 lr shotguns etc

When I was a kid my dad used to hunt rats at the dump (before landfills).
His friend shot a 22 into a cast iron bathtub and the round came screaming back at him almost hitting him.

irish murphy · 03-29-2008, 11:19 PM

You have learned the better way mate,nobody got seriously injured.

Big Dog · 03-30-2008, 06:39 AM

I once had a similar thing happen shooting .44 lead balls of my Colt 1851 Navy cap&ball pistol into a big dead tree - that spongy wood bounced those soft lead slugs right back to fall at my feet! Had I stood a couple yards closer . . .

texnmidwest · 03-30-2008, 07:26 AM

I remember sitting on a friends back porch. He just bought a Daisy Pump BB rifle and was shooting it at the fence. He was only putting one pump into the rifle and when he fired that BB would bounce off the fence and come right back at us. After a couple of shots I asked him if I could shoot it. I wanted to show him that penetration of that BB into the fence could stop the bouncing BBs. I pumped it up 5 times and fired at a target on the fence. No bounce. Showed him the BB stuck in the 4x4 post we were shooting at. (sorry, I can't spell ricochet, so I didn't try.) I handed the rifle back to him. He put one pump in it and fired. He said if it bounced that much with one pump he was not going to put more in it. I just went back inside and stayed away from the windows.

andrew cochran · 04-11-2008, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Dog

I once had a similar thing happen shooting .44 lead balls of my Colt 1851 Navy cap&ball pistol into a big dead tree - that spongy wood bounced those soft lead slugs right back to fall at my feet! Had I stood a couple yards closer . . .

Happens all the time. Those round balls bounce out of the tree even from a rifle. I have done it.

Not a good idea!

just_a_car · 04-11-2008, 04:40 PM

Just feel lucky you weren't this guy:

YouTube - .50 BMG

At the end you can hear someone say "Nope, no more iron"... they were probably shooting steel plates.

GlockMeister · 04-11-2008, 04:52 PM

Well since you've experienced it, you can only hopefully learn from this lesson. One thing I'd mention, for future thought, even with a rifle, DO NOT take aim at bowling pins either, as they also almost always bite back...

Glad to hear no one was seriously hurt. As for the "Cheney" nickname, be glad they're co-workers/friends and weren't or wasn't someone else.

I assume it was kept between friends/co-workers I take it?

Thanks for the friendly reminder though.

And in regards to the video above, HOLY SCHNIKY. lol

.22hustler · 04-11-2008, 05:40 PM

Be careful, you'll shoot your eye out.

Apollo Morelos · 04-11-2008, 05:46 PM

KEYWORD: Don't shoot anything that will ricochet.

JBS · 04-11-2008, 06:14 PM

It weren't no ricochet...It was more than likely the tree shooting back at you. Just put yourself in it's place...after a while, it just plain gets tired of being shot, soooo, payback's a bitch. You'd prolly feel the same way.

just_a_car · 04-11-2008, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBS

It weren't no ricochet...It was more than likely the tree shooting back at you. Just put yourself in it's place...after a while, it just plain gets tired of being shot, soooo, payback's a bitch. You'd prolly feel the same way.

Or maybe it was one of those Bears they talk about: "Right to Arm Bears"

meatloaf · 04-11-2008, 06:27 PM

I tagged my self in the leg with my 45, ricochet of course but it hurt like hell and I was afraid to look. I dont know man shit happens, and its got to happen more than everyone thinks.

Sins-of-Mosin · 04-12-2008, 12:31 PM

Nice video just_a_car. I must admit that was a cool sound and you even saw the round bounce off the ground.

Parrothead · 04-17-2008, 04:13 AM

Doh! How'd I miss the replies

???

GlockMeister - Yep, it was just friends/co-workers. Both management above me, too. At least it hasn't come back to hit me at work any worse than the "Cheney" comments! And yes, we still go shooting together, too

Thanks for the warning about bowling pins - I was just about to go get some, too! And a bowling ball or two to feed the Steyr M95, but that's not gonna happen now...

meatloaf - glad you weren't more seriously injured! We figured it was a perfect lesson in why one must wear eye protection!!!

texnmidwest - some people just don't get it, do they?

I'm just glad I didn't learn the way the guy in the video did!!!

Thanks again for the replies, guys!

Capt'n Mil Coll · 04-22-2008, 04:51 PM

Make note to self: Shoot everything but the kitchen sink. Check!

mym1a · 04-22-2008, 04:57 PM

lucky he's very lucky!!

ezearln · 04-22-2008, 05:00 PM

Shot bowling pins fer years never had a problem but then I am a lil old fashioned I believe in shootin em with somethin that'll actually knock them down ! LOL

03-27-2008, 04:35 AM	#1
Parrothead Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 101	Safety Lesson Learned The Hard Way I have to confess something here for the sake of everyone's safety. I made a mistake in target selection that resulted in (thankfully) minor injury to a friend. I am not nearly as familiar with shotguns as I am with rifles and pistols. I'm just getting back into shooting after many years I'm just getting back into shooting and went out in the desert with a couple of friends who also happen to be my lead tech and a supervisor at work. The supervisor handed me the 12ga semi-auto and said have fun. I had already shot everything with the 12ga but the kitchen sink, so I took aim at the kitchen sink someone had left out in the desert. You can probably see where this is going. I hit the sink, it fell over, and quite a few pellets (we were using #9 birdshot) came right back at us. We were all wearing eye and ear protection, and while most of the pellets bounced off of us, at least one hit the supervisor's bare arm and drew blood. I'm used to rifles and pistols. We had been shooting at the sink all day with those and no problems. I figured that the shot would still be in one general mass and would just knock the sink over. I was wrong. Yes, my co-workers now either refer to me as "Cheney" and refuse to let me live the incident down. My friends accepted my apologies and I learned a very important lesson - know what your ammunition will do to a target and how it will react on impact and when in doubt, DON'T SHOOT!!!

03-28-2008, 01:12 PM	#4
Montveil Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mountains of NC Posts: 30	safety lesson In my experience the slower the round the more likely to not disintegrate on impact which allows for more richotets BB guns. 22 lr shotguns etc When I was a kid my dad used to hunt rats at the dump (before landfills). His friend shot a 22 into a cast iron bathtub and the round came screaming back at him almost hitting him.

03-30-2008, 06:39 AM	#6
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 9,479	I once had a similar thing happen shooting .44 lead balls of my Colt 1851 Navy cap&ball pistol into a big dead tree - that spongy wood bounced those soft lead slugs right back to fall at my feet! Had I stood a couple yards closer . . . __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

03-30-2008, 07:26 AM	#7
texnmidwest Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: South east Wisconsin Posts: 1,946	I remember sitting on a friends back porch. He just bought a Daisy Pump BB rifle and was shooting it at the fence. He was only putting one pump into the rifle and when he fired that BB would bounce off the fence and come right back at us. After a couple of shots I asked him if I could shoot it. I wanted to show him that penetration of that BB into the fence could stop the bouncing BBs. I pumped it up 5 times and fired at a target on the fence. No bounce. Showed him the BB stuck in the 4x4 post we were shooting at. (sorry, I can't spell ricochet, so I didn't try.) I handed the rifle back to him. He put one pump in it and fired. He said if it bounced that much with one pump he was not going to put more in it. I just went back inside and stayed away from the windows. __________________ "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (If all else fails play dead)

04-11-2008, 04:52 PM	#10
GlockMeister Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 2,919	Well since you've experienced it, you can only hopefully learn from this lesson. One thing I'd mention, for future thought, even with a rifle, DO NOT take aim at bowling pins either, as they also almost always bite back... Glad to hear no one was seriously hurt. As for the "Cheney" nickname, be glad they're co-workers/friends and weren't or wasn't someone else. I assume it was kept between friends/co-workers I take it? Thanks for the friendly reminder though. And in regards to the video above, HOLY SCHNIKY. lol __________________ I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6!

03-27-2008, 05:17 PM	#2
Long Shanks Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 141	Sounds like you got very cheap lesson. Glad to hear all are okay and it sounds like it's a lesson you won't EVER forget.

03-27-2008, 05:53 PM	#3
Parrothead Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 101	Thanks for the reply! Very cheap indeed and it will not be forgotten. Especially with everyone at work continuing to bug me about not shooting any more members of management!

03-29-2008, 11:19 PM	#5
irish murphy Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canberra,Australia Posts: 1,015 Blog Entries: 5	You have learned the better way mate,nobody got seriously injured.

04-11-2008, 05:40 PM	#11
.22hustler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York Posts: 405	Be careful, you'll shoot your eye out.

04-11-2008, 05:46 PM	#12
Apollo Morelos Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: AT HOME Posts: 79	KEYWORD: Don't shoot anything that will ricochet. __________________ If guns kill people, then I can blame misspelled words on my pencil.- Larry "The Cable Guy"

04-11-2008, 06:14 PM	#13
JBS Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 743	It weren't no ricochet...It was more than likely the tree shooting back at you. Just put yourself in it's place...after a while, it just plain gets tired of being shot, soooo, payback's a bitch. You'd prolly feel the same way.

04-11-2008, 06:27 PM	#15
meatloaf Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 665 Images: 3	I tagged my self in the leg with my 45, ricochet of course but it hurt like hell and I was afraid to look. I dont know man shit happens, and its got to happen more than everyone thinks.

04-12-2008, 12:31 PM	#16
Sins-of-Mosin Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: IL Posts: 190 Blog Entries: 3	Nice video just_a_car. I must admit that was a cool sound and you even saw the round bounce off the ground. __________________ Leave me alone I am not an angel yet. Last edited by Sins-of-Mosin; 04-12-2008 at 12:33 PM.

04-17-2008, 04:13 AM	#17
Parrothead Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 101	Doh! How'd I miss the replies ??? GlockMeister - Yep, it was just friends/co-workers. Both management above me, too. At least it hasn't come back to hit me at work any worse than the "Cheney" comments! And yes, we still go shooting together, too Thanks for the warning about bowling pins - I was just about to go get some, too! And a bowling ball or two to feed the Steyr M95, but that's not gonna happen now... meatloaf - glad you weren't more seriously injured! We figured it was a perfect lesson in why one must wear eye protection!!! texnmidwest - some people just don't get it, do they? I'm just glad I didn't learn the way the guy in the video did!!! Thanks again for the replies, guys! __________________ Send lawyers, guns, and money - the S has HTF

04-22-2008, 04:51 PM	#18
Capt'n Mil Coll Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Right behind you. -NRA Member- Posts: 770	Make note to self: Shoot everything but the kitchen sink. Check! __________________ You can't negotiate with a zombie! If all else fails do the unexpected.

04-22-2008, 04:57 PM	#19
mym1a Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,063	lucky he's very lucky!!

04-22-2008, 05:00 PM	#20
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,125	Shot bowling pins fer years never had a problem but then I am a lil old fashioned I believe in shootin em with somethin that'll actually knock them down ! LOL __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

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