My son and I got shot this weekend...

[charlessummers]

We had a few hours to kill on Saturday, along with a few boxes of .45acp and .38spl so we went to Gun City USA for a little while. Usually there isn't very many people there which is just fine with me. This weekend though all of the lanes were full except the one on the far left. My son was shooting my Ruger 1911 and paused to look down. He sat the gun down and turned to me pointing at something on the bench. "Did this just fall out of the gun Dad?" He asked. I looked at it, and it was a large piece of lead! I shot the remaining rounds out of the pistol without incident then reinspected the gun. No problems with it that I can tell. A few minutes later he feels something graze his head, and sits the gun down again and says, "Maybe we better not shoot that one anymore." Hmm... I picked it up, unloaded it, and started inspecting again when all of a sudden something strikes me in the gut! I look down and there is copper clinging onto my shirt. It didn't penetrate the shirt or skin but it still stung. Come of find out, the rounds from the guy in the next lane to me was recocheting off of the floor, onto the back wall, and right to us!

Needless to say, we enjoy living so we packed up and left. I collected the pieces that had hit us and brought them home. Why? I don't know.... What I do know is that we will not be going back to Gun City USA anymore. The waiting time for a range at the Nashville Armory or Guns and Leather just doesn't seem that bad afterall. Plus, we've never been hit at either one of those places. lol

[charlessummers]

[Guest semiautots]

Dang!  Glad you didn't lose an eye or a testicle!

[ls3_kid]

Wow glad everybody is safe. 

[MacGyver]

How that place is still in business is beyond me.

[TNMTBik3r]

Never been there, have no plans on going either.

Did you speak to a ranger officer/owner/manager before leaving?

[Jonnin]

Glad no one was hurt. 

 

I have to stress this --- be nice, but tell folks.  He probably had no idea his shots were doing that, a gentle "excuse me, ..."  can lead to a positive response and maybe help everyone be safer.   Or if uncomfortable talking to the shooter, there has to be someone there who took your $$ or something (?) to complain to.  Holding out pieces of bullets that hit you will get someone to lend you an ear....  

 

Sometimes ppl don't know, sometimes they don't think, once in a while they don't care but more often its just a mistake.   I hit a friend once (piece of a target came back and cut his arm).   Learned that steel is just not worth the "fun" of shooting at.  I will never again shoot at hard metal that is not part of a validated target system designed to be shot.

Edited March 31, 2014 by Jonnin

[Hershmeister]

[quote name="jonathon1289" post="1132456" timestamp="1396294009"]Never been there, have no plans on going either. Did you speak to a ranger officer/owner/manager before leaving?[/quote] This! Are there any regulatory bodies that govern safety at firing ranges?

[Oh Shoot]

Bimetal bullets?

 

Is that really lead or a steel jacket? Deformation looks odd to actually be lead bullet?

 

- OS

[Dustbuster]

That sucks Charles,the neighbor didn't read the rules of that range

There's a sign at the sign in book that says all targets must go to the end of the range. When people sign the release, they make you acknowledge, understand, and agree to send the targets all the way down range. Ill bet the guy next to you had it less than halfway,probably 10 feet from him, the target drooped on the cable, hanging lower,where the shooter was shooting towards the floor, causing the ricochet. I've had that happen next to me as well, and have asked guys to move their target down towards the trap after i was getting bombarded w ceiling material and concrete chips.

Glad yall are OK. 

[bersaguy]

I would surely have had to speak to someone at Gun City and alert them of the issue before the shooter next to you did actually hurt someone like hitting them in the face or other unprotected area.  You would have been doing everyone involved a favor................jmho

[charlessummers]

Yeah, I mentioned it to the guy that's always there. He was busy with more shooters and told them to make sure their targets were all the back out. Didn't show him the pieces as they were buried in my range bag with my spent brass at the time. Should have though...

[charlessummers]

Bimetal bullets?

 

Is that really lead or a steel jacket? Deformation looks odd to actually be lead bullet?

 

- OS

It was soft like lead...

[Guest semiautots]

Video of a guy shooting a .50 at a steel target.  Lucky to be alive.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc

[xjsnake]

Gun City has a reputation as a range that shoots back at ya. I don't shoot there anymore for that reason as I've had something similar happen to me.

[leftyk82]

i've actually had that same experience there, back when it was called Gun City USA (i think it's Shooter's now).  assuming we're talking about the same (old) indoor range on Murfreesboro Rd.

 

a buddy and i both caught frag in the neck; sacred the stuff out of me.  it's been years ago but, best i recall, there were many shooters there so we couldn't pinpoint where the ricochets originated.

 

needless to say, i haven't been back.  

[Volzfan]

Same thing has happened to me there and I refuse to go back. I got hit just below my safety glasses with a piece smaller than those. Just not worth it.

[Smith]

Venetian bullet traps will do that. If you are ever there alone look at the back side of the shooting booths (inside the range) and you will see them littered with shrapnel.

[MacGyver]

Getting hit with range splatter is the norm as opposed to the exception at Gun City. 

 

We've got so many good ranges nearby.  Why go and deal with the safety issues, much less the air quality issues?

[Garufa]

I was at the local indoor range several years ago, coincidently in the far left lane, when I noticed a massive hunk of lead and copper slowly moving in my direction.  I moved my head to the side and let it go past then picked it up after it hit the back wall.

 

Showed it to the guy manning the the counter and he said, "Yeah, it happens".  :lol:  

 

Good example of why eye protection is an absolute must.

[seez52]

Was there 30 odd years ago and had the same problem. Can't believe the place is still there.

[bowtieguy]

I was hit in the forehead with shrapnel there. Won't ever be back. (It used to be the only indoor range around)

[Hershmeister]

I went once --- once. Kept waiting for a gimp to pop up out of a box

[KKing]

[quote name="semiautots" post="1132496" timestamp="1396299050"]Video of a guy shooting a .50 at a steel target. Lucky to be alive. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc[/url][/quote] Talk about a very eerie sound, people just don't understand the dangers of shooting steel incorrectly Edited April 1, 2014 by KKing

[Chucktshoes]

A local range here in Memphis has two sets of lanes. I won't use the last two lanes on the right on the short side anymore for the same reason mentioned in this thread. It can take the fun out of a trip to go shooting when it feels like it is turning from a one way range into a two way range.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Chucktshoes