Should have take a picture, but I was too busy bandaging him up!

[Guest Nunya]

Saw a guy shoot a hole through the tip of his left index finger today at Prentice Cooper. I was supervising my sons shooting on the handgun range and noticed the guy who came up on our left was acting a little funny. The guy on his other side was eyeballing him, too. After he reloaded the first time, he fired off a few and the guy on his other side said, "I was afraid you were gonna do that." The guy looked at his gun and said, "What?" Then he looked at his left hand and said, "Did I shoot myself?".

We cut a piece off a towel one guy had and used duct tape from another bench to hold it together and tried to convince him to let us drive him to the hospital.

In retrospect, the guy's blood pressure could have been low, could have been on meds, drunk etc.

What I learned today:

Be aware of your surroundings, especially other shooters and take action if you're suspicious. Better to offend than someone get hurt.

Don't go to the range if you're impaired, not feeling well, etc.

Call the range "cold" if anything goes wrong. That is something we didn't do. Everyone on the pistol range saw what happened and stopped shooting, but it could easily have distracted shooters and let to more injury.

[DaveTN]

He put his index finger over the end of the barrel?

[Guest Nunya]

Somehow, yes. It was a Ruger Mark II and I guess he had his left hand under the barrel, steadying it.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Just so everyone knows.

It was not me and all my digits are safe and currently still attached.

Dolomite

[BrasilNuts]

Just so everyone knows.

It was not me and all my digits are safe and currently still attached.

Dolomite

I knew it wasn't you because he said it was his index finger.

Now, if the guy had shot his thumb.....

[DaveS]

Just so everyone knows.

It was not me and all my digits are safe and currently still attached.

Dolomite

Somehow my friend...I was gonna ask! lol

[Guest sL1k]

I still go to prentice cooper to shoot. Everytime I go there seems to be only 1-2 other people that recognize range cold range hot calls. I'm going to have to renew my membership to an indoor range i used to frequent. Just not many other rifle ranges to go to around here :/

[DaveTN]

Waiting on the ….. “I shot my finger off at the range today†thread.

[sigmtnman]

Compassion.

It's a relative thing.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Compassion.

It's a relative thing.

Shooting the tip of one's finger is hardly comparable to the other thread.

Dolomite

[sigmtnman]

Then my statement is true, no?

[Guest tommy62]

Wasn't me either.

[jtluttrell]

Sounds like this guy needs a few pointers.

But seriously, whether from inexperience or a momentary lapse of reason.....this sucks.

[Links2k]

Just so everyone knows.

It was not me and all my digits are safe and currently still attached.

Dolomite

Pitures or its not true.

[NRA]

not me

[Guest Travtastik]

Not me.

I figured something like that would happen up there at some point.

[Guest Nunya]

I felt really sorry for the guy, but it was a great lesson for my boys (13 & 15). Saying "Be careful with guns" loses its meaning when you shoot often. Meat hanging off the end of one's finger, on the other hand, doesn't happen everyday.

[billyscott]

I've seen people support the barrel on a handgun with their off hand. I have corrected them when possible. It's a fairly common mistake. Good awareness post.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Not really the same but another awareness thing.

I was once shooting a revolver from a seated position. I rested it between my knees and pulled the trigger. The gas from the cylinder gap cut my jeans and burned my skin. Definitely something I didn;t think about at the time but am very aware of now.

Dolomite

[Oh Shoot]

....The gas from the cylinder gap cut my jeans and burned my skin. Definitely something I didn;t think about at the time but am very aware of now.

[media=]

[/media] Edited July 22, 2012 by OhShoot

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Twarn't me either. Thank goodness.

Blood sugar either real high or real low can make people act similar to drunk. Hasn't happened to me (that I'm aware of). Supposedly it can "sneak up" on people and sometimes they do not realize they are impaired. It can happen with hypoglycemics (folks who tend to have low blood sugar bouts), or diabetics when the medicine hits em too hard and suddenly drops the sugar too much. Or diabetics where the sugar gets way too high all of a sudden and "sneaks up on em".

Did the guy drive himself home? Was the dude young, middle-age or old? Just curious, no particular reason for wondering.

[Guest Nunya]

I would guess he was 60. He was adamant that he was fine to drive, wouldn't let us drive him.

And, I agree: Could have been blood sugar, blood pressure, or anything.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Some people are just so crusty and hard they dont need no stinking stitches or help..lol..

I cant figure out how exactly he held that gun tho.. isnt that a bit of an awkward position to keep your hand? or at least very unatural.?

[bvarnell]

Since it happened at Prentice Cooper, I am not the least bit surprised.

I haven't been there in about 4 yrs. At that time,it was always an adventure to see if anyone got shot going down range to change targets with the range still hot. Not that most of them knew what "going hot" or "going cold" meant anyway.

[vontar]

Just checking it, it wasn't me either. If you had not said Ruger Mark II, I would have assumed he did like the hotdog in the video. A good example and reason for those learning to shoot learn the correct way to hold any firearm.