Freak and scarry incident at the range..

[Reysc]

Well, we were at the range ( w/ my brother in law) this a.m. to try out the newly installed night sights on my G26 and check out my new G17..it's an indoor range and I was in lane 4 my bro in lane 5. I was just getting used to the new sights ..front sights at center mast getting ready to squeeze when I felt a tap on my shoulder..Slowy lowered the gun and laid it on the counter and turned around.. My bro had his hands to his head ( he had eye protector on and was wearing a baseball cap) and there was blood all over his face!!! I asked him what happened and he said he was in his lane, reloading and watching my target when something grazed him on the head.. We both walked to the front counter and informed the Range master of what happened..We were very happy with the way the staff responded and how they attended to my bro.. After the clean up, it was a cut and nothing was neeeded but some pressure and wound dressing ( BTW my bro is a medical doctor) and of course topical antiseptic and antibiotics.. Wheww, now what cause it. there is a spot on his cap where he got hit.. It got powder on it. No tear on the cap, however.. Is that a casing from my gun?? Or a piece of slug richoceting(sp?)..I know I did not hit any metal part of the target holder... Have you heard of something like this before..

[txinvestigator]

Where was he cut? I have NEVER seen an ejected case do that.

It sounds more like you struck either the target holder or carrier, and either a piece of it or bullet fragment bounced back.

[Paladin]

I've had pieces of lead come back at me before, but it could be a hit from a casing.

I've heard of bloody headwounds from a casing before(very rare), I've never seen one myself.

[HighVelocity]

Glad to hear your brother will be OK.

I had a piece of a copper jacket come back 50 yards from a steel sillouette target with enough force to rip my shirt sleeve and draw blood from my arm.
Not exactly a handgun bullet but a rifle bullet fired from a handgun anyway.

I have also seen the backstop at an indoor range become so full that debris was flying back towards the line.

[Reysc]

Where was he cut? I have NEVER seen an ejected case do that.

It sounds more like you struck either the target holder or carrier, and either a piece of it or bullet fragment bounced back.

He was hit on the right side of his receding hairline.. We are saving the baseball cap he was wearing so it's easy to see were it hit him..You could be right txinvestigator about my hitting the target carrier/holder and fragments of the bullet bounced back.. Will bullet fragments have black powder on them? there were black powder on his cap were the fragments/casing hit... Thanks for your reply guys..

[jimlongley]

I'll bet it was lead - lead sometimes leaves powdery marks when it hits things. Remember it just bounced off of something while it was going real fast.

I have been hit by lead fragments many times, one of the hazards of shooting at steel targets, and have had blood drawn more than a few.

OTOH, at indoor ranges you get some funny bounces on ejected cases, off partitions and ceilings and stuff so maybe . . .

Last year I had a lead spatter and jacket fragment go along the side of my face between my glasses bow and skin, made an interesting mark.

[KBCraig]

Anything unexpected can be scary when live fire is happening.

Like my wife's account of shooting herself in the head, for instance. (Not TYOD safe.)

Kevin

[Crossfire]

Yeah... this is one of the hazards of indoor ranges. More than likely it was a piece of copper or lead that ricocheted off the floor, wall, ceiling, target carrier, etc. This happened to me recently, except that I KNEW what it was since I had a piece of copper stuck in my neck that I had to dig out.

[jbirds1210]

Ouch! I think this serves as a reminder to always wear our glasses on the range! I am guilty of leaving them in my bag...I really wish it was required on range to keep my in compliance! I am glad that there were no serious injuries!
Jason

[Reysc]

As they say, thing happen for a reason... Reading thru all your post made me realize, once again..SAFETY in everything we do. Eye protectors/caps, safe range attire on top of safe gun handling. As a rule is it safer to go to outdoor ranges?? I just enjoy the convenience of having the motorized target holder of the indoor range. I don't know any out door range here in DFW that has that.

[one eyed fatman]

UH OH! Joey strikes again. Glad your B in law is OK. Might be kind of hard for him to go back to an indoor range after something like that.