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Old September 7, 2004, 04:56 AM   #1
TheOtherOne
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How dangerous is ricochet?

I was out in the desert shooting today with a .22 at some water balloons that I had sat on the ground about 15 yards in front of me and every few shots I could hear the whiz of a ricochet. I decided to start setting them out farther after that but what are the chances those ricochets would of been heading back my direction?

There is an actual range that has IDPA competitions and things above my parents house and the little berms they have for the pistols are loaded with rocks. I would think that would be kind of dangerous, but I guess not?
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Old September 7, 2004, 05:26 AM   #2
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I've been hit a few times by ricochets over the years and a couple have drawn blood. Most have been at indoor ranges and mostly in the legs, but I caught one on the cheek once. Now that I have a vest, I wear it when I shoot without fail. It wont stop a rifle round, but the more probable pistol round or a rifle ricochet would most likely be stopped. Of course since I have the vest on, I'd get hit anywhere but there now.
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Old September 7, 2004, 06:07 AM   #3
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sorry

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Old September 7, 2004, 06:54 AM   #4
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I got hit in the nose with some bullet splash at a range once. Bled like mad, scared my wife to death.
I heard a lot of jokes about wearing a welding helmet when I shoot.
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Old September 7, 2004, 07:33 AM   #5
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A richochet can put an eye out. Shooting without eye protection is NOT recommended!
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Old September 7, 2004, 07:50 AM   #6
TheOtherOne
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So is a ricochet ever the bullet coming back at you or is it more just a risk of chunks of rock, metal, or whatever you were shooting at coming back at you?

I was searching for more information on exactly what a ricochet is and came across this site: http://www.ncit.com/Tips___Tricks/tips___tricks.html I thought it had some pretty cool information.
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Old September 7, 2004, 08:51 AM   #7
Mal H
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Most of the time it is the bullet that comes back at you. Sometimes a rock can explode with enough force to send back chunks of rock at you.

Usually, it is the relatively slow handgun rounds (and all .22's) that ricochet backwards. HP rifle bullets have too much forward energy to bounce back 180 deg. All handgun shot shells have a tendency to ricochet backwards when they hit rock or even wood.

I think it is unwise to shoot in a rock field where the rocks that are being hit are any closer than 15 yards. If there is a ricochet, and there will be one eventually, you make a much smaller target at the longer distances. Ricochets don't aim themselves very well at all.

As for eye protection when shooting anywhere where a ricochet is possible, it is best to use wrap around glasses. The odds are good that at some time during the shoot you will be standing sideways when someone else is firing. Plain seeing glasses and front protection safety glasses are no longer effective in that situation.
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Old September 7, 2004, 11:49 AM   #8
Quartus
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Bullet jackets like to fly back, too, and I've see them draw blood. Wouldn't want one in my eye.
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Old September 7, 2004, 11:58 AM   #9
P95Carry
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Jackets can indeed come back!

I was (rather foolishly) firing some milsurp .303 rounds into an old rear axle .. too close really. One round hit a portion of the casing where there was a reinforcing web and so altho bullet penetrated (nicely!!) ... it did so in an oblique manner ....... shaving off some jacket.

This came back like a piece of small shrapnel and hit a finger on left hand .... oh my - did it bleed!! As has been said - and never too often ... the one absolute ''must'' has to be eye protection ... no two ways about that.

For most part, ricochets from pistol rounds that come back from target/berm finish up being very low energy . so unlikely to be lethal at all .. but still can cause some damage!

The other ricochet I think needs well appreciated is the low angle ''skip'' ricochet ... off rocks, water etc .. the bullet that changes direction but with small energy loss ..... that sucker can be dangerous for considerable distance. Big reason for remembering rule #4.
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Old September 7, 2004, 12:40 PM   #10
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Djl4570 and I were shooting at the 7 yard range with full power 44 mags loads. Several of the jackets came back at us fully bloomed after hitting the dirt and wood backstop. At that time, we wisely moved to the 25 yard lanes.

A 44 Mag JHP that is in full bloom is an angry looking peice of copper!
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Old September 7, 2004, 01:48 PM   #11
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When I was a new hunter, a friend of mine decided he'd shoot a crock pot we found in the woods. Classic bad judgement, redneck style. He had a 12-gauge with birdshot. The crock pot was about 15 yards away, if memory serves. I recommended against it, and wisely left the area. The shot richoched right back and hit him in the crotch. He said it hurt, but didn't penetrate his trousers. I didn't check, of course.
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Old September 7, 2004, 01:51 PM   #12
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I was hit in the side of the head with a .22 ricochet once. I didn't realize that it was a ricochet until the RO told me so. It felt more like the casing had bounced off the dividerand hit me more than anything else. No blood, no damage, and a good reminder of why we wear eye protection.
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Old September 7, 2004, 06:27 PM   #13
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I've lost count of the times I've been hit hard while ROing an IPSC match with steel. I've seen one serious hit, while ROing a GSSF match the guy standing next to me let out a groan and hit the dirt. He was hit by a .45 jacket that penetrated his upper leg to the bone. Ambulance, paramedics, the whole deal. It looked like a small ninja star when they took it out.
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Old September 7, 2004, 07:34 PM   #14
TheOtherOne
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Quote:
I've seen one serious hit, while ROing a GSSF match the guy standing next to me let out a groan and hit the dirt. He was hit by a .45 jacket that penetrated his upper leg to the bone. Ambulance, paramedics, the whole deal. It looked like a small ninja star when they took it out.
So if you are unlucky enough to get hit it in someplace vital, the right ricochet could kill you. I know there are alot of steel matches going on all the time and you never hear about this so it must be a very remote possibility, but it still makes me wonder.
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Old September 7, 2004, 07:36 PM   #15
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when I bought my first 357 mag I just had to try it on things to see the damage it would do. the first object of my attention was a brake drum from about 15 feet. I didn't hear the clang because of the muzzle blast but the bullet bouncing back got me just above the knee and took me down to the ground. the funny (well the not so funny) thing was that it barely tore my denims and I had a huge welt about the size of a baseball above the knee. it stayed black and blue for over a month. I haven't shot a brake drum with anything since or ever again so that proves I'm trainable. that was 30 years ago
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Old September 8, 2004, 02:05 PM   #16
Blackhawk6
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I had a 7.62 ricochet hit my helmet during a live-fire once. It ripped the cover and put a deep gash in the helmet.
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Old September 8, 2004, 03:03 PM   #17
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Blackhawk 6,
Im sure that must have been about an 18 on a 1 to 10 pucker factor scale!
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Old September 8, 2004, 09:34 PM   #18
mcmoyer
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I found a .38 wadcutter laying on the deck where I was doing some practice...didn't hear it come back & it didn't hit me, but really did drive home the reason for protection.

It probably hit a shallow rock behind the log I was using to stand cans on.
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Old September 8, 2004, 10:25 PM   #19
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The only ricochet trouble I've has was while shooting steel targets. One night at the range we had a large group all shooting steel targets. A friend of mine was shooting his Kimber and had a piece of jacket come back and hit him in the temple just above where his shooting glasses were sitting. There was a lot of blood. Most of us thought he had somehow been shot. We had to shut down for about 30 minutes to get all the blood cleaned up.
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