A scary moment...

[Boolseye]

Shooting into the (frozen) bank on my land the other day, as I have for thousands of rounds–out about 20 yards or so. I was shooting my .45 with 200 grain SWCs at a target...fired off a round, looked to my right and saw a strange little snow devil. The slug was in pretty good shape! When I checked out the impact area I noticed that the slugs were richoceting and bouncing off a couple trees. Time to get a lead trap or shoot at the range, at least for the rest of the winter

[arjacobson]

I had the same thing happen this summer... Almost---- My son just shot my 45 and as I bent down to pick up the brass he shot again. The bullet must have came straight back as I reached down.. It hit my arm so hard it threw it to the side...No wounds other than a large red spot and some bruising for a few days.. Couldn't believe how much energy hit my arm without breaking the skin. Btw I kept the slug but ended melting it back down to make a new bullet... We fixed the back stop up to a safe condition right then and there...

[C1PNR]

We're shooting round steel targets for pistol and the first thing I did was make sure there was a modest downward angle when we hang them. We have seen some dust raised near the targets, but nothing closer than about 10 yards.

Longer range steel targets for the rifles are set with a distinct sideways cant.

One of the reasons everyone in the area wears shooting glasses, period! No excuses.

[Mal Paso]

I used to shoot towards a Shale cliff until I noticed it was shooting back. Now I shoot into a Cedar tree stump. I figure when it gets full I'll cut it off, split it open and recover the lead.

[tommygirlMT]

I used to shoot towards a Shale cliff until I noticed it was shooting back. Now I shoot into a Cedar tree stump. I figure when it gets full I'll cut it off, split it open and recover the lead.

LOL !!!!!!! --- My firewood pile is my back stop --- at least the one outside the garage door that I use for impromptu load testing fresh off the press

[HammerMTB]

I took a 158SWC from a .38 right between the eyes at a pin match last summer. when the yardage is short, ya haveta be careful! As was said above, safety glasses!
It gave me a helluva headache!

[ghh3rd]

There were frequent richochets at the indoor range (25 yard) that I used to shoot at. My young son got hit three times in the legs and arm within a minute with shrapnel. After that I noticed lead pieces on the floor around other shooters, and when I looked at the rug covered wall behind us, it had many pieces of lead stuck to it.

Here's one riochet I wouldn't want to experience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-psit8M9K0

Randy

[oso]

I used to shoot towards a Shale cliff until I noticed it was shooting back. Now I shoot into a Cedar tree stump. I figure when it gets full I'll cut it off, split it open and recover the lead.

Found a pitch pine stump that would throw 'em back at me.

[Leadmelter]

Our 50 ft indoor range has had a few issues. In the beginning, the range was constructed with boiler plate baffles the went to a recovery area. The noise was terrible even with protection.
They took out the metal and we are now is the shredded tire era. The problem is the tires are not recycled enough. We have a group of Bullseye shooters who can put 10 shoots into the black all day long. Unfortunately, this creates a mass of lead and jacketed bullets for the rest of us.
Aim, Shoot and if anything gray is coming back near you: DUCK!
Gerry

[geargnasher]

Had more than a few come back for a recheck, occasionally in the shin. Caliche cutout in a hillside makes a poor backstop. Since then I've installed sand-filled wood box traps that catch them all and save them for recycling.

As for the endgrain of stumps, that works well too. Just split it into quarters and burn it when it's time and go back in a couple of days and rake your lead out of the ashes.

Gear

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I have always shot out in the country. Mostly at my brothers farm. There was a great clay creek bank that worked quite well. My brother sold his farm this past December and Saturday I went to my first indoor shooting range. Being Saturday morning, it was almost full and quite noisy. I really didn't like having people I didn't know that close and not being able to see them. I'm not telling you guys nothing new, it was just a whole lot different than being by yourself and concerned about just one muzzle. I need to make some farmer friends.

[oldhickory]

LOL !!!!!!! --- My firewood pile is my back stop --- at least the one outside the garage door that I use for impromptu load testing fresh off the press

Me too, I have 1/2 of a 5,000gal. under ground fuel tank end behind the fire wood though...Sometimes they make it through the wood pile.

[songdog53]

I always shoot into clay bank with dirt and trees pushed up on top of of it. Never had one come back at me that i noticed ...course that may change next time i shoot. But then our ground doesn't freeze that hard down here.

[Boolseye]

Yeah, It wakes ya up! 'course, it probably only had enough energy left to give me a headache.

[ScottJ]

If you shoot at a woodpile make sure you shoot at the end. I had a stack of sweetgum taken down by a storm a couple years back I'm letting rot into mulch.

This Summer it was rotten to the point it would yield to a good kick and I used the side (round sides of the logs) for a backstop testing some .380 cast loads.

Later that day we were in the pool and I stepped on a spent .380 slug. It had come back over my head and plunked into there.

I went back to shooting through the brush pile into the clay bank. I really need to get serious and build me a proper sand-filled backstop.

[NVScouter]

Shooting into the (frozen) bank on my land the other day, as I have for thousands of rounds–out about 20 yards or so. I was shooting my .45 with 200 grain SWCs at a target...fired off a round, looked to my right and saw a strange little snow devil. The slug was in pretty good shape! When I checked out the impact area I noticed that the slugs were richoceting and bouncing off a couple trees. Time to get a lead trap or shoot at the range, at least for the rest of the winter

What you shot at a hard surface and got a ricochet?

Every once in a while we do something we know better then to do as a wake up call. I hate it when I say "Man I knew better too"

[22Short]

I was down near Yuma many years ago, down in the bottom of a bowl formed by sand dunes. I had a 1911 loaded with 230 grain FMJ ammo. Decided to sketch some targets into a dune and do some shooting. It went well enough but at one point a bullet landed a few feet to my right and danced on the sand for what seemed like forever! It was spinning at an unbelievable speed! It was a high trajectory ricochet that had come back from a dune about 70 feet from the point of impact to where I was. No way did I think it would have bounced off of that sand, but there it was, and doing a bazillion RPM... Imagine a funny buzzing sound for 20 seconds or so, then a very hot bullet...