Lessons learned.

[Dozer]

A few days we were developing a lesson plan for our next drill and were trying to come up with a lessons learned period of instruction. It consists mainly of safety issues. This one happened to me but any stories you guys have would be a great help.

We were shooting an EMP range before deployment last year when it happened. This range was ran by a nasty Gunny we used to have. We received out safety brief and when the brass left we got the "If you do anything stupid I will end you" talk. I was the third guy on the line and was shooting without any protection around my neck (BIG MISTAKE!!). I caught a piece of hot brass from the Marine shooting to the left of me down my shirt and commenced to flap around like a chicken with the head cut off. I don't know if it was out of fear of the Gunny but I kept my weapon pointed down range. I learned a few things that day.

1. Hot brass freaking hurts. (I was not able to remove the piece of brass for a what seemed an eternity. By the time I removed it, it had flesh stuck to it.)
2. Wear some type of protection around the nech when shooting close to others. It will save you a lot of pain.
3. Murphy is always present and you must have enough discipline to work through the pain and keep going.

S/F
Libardo

[Striker5]

You're a harder man than most. people usually freak and lose all sense of muzzle awareness. The best was a guy who freaked and started whirling around and, in his panic, stuck his muzzle in the dirt with the rifle off safe. I had pistol brass bounce off a divider and stick between my face and the leg of my shooting glasses once - ouch!

[Submariner]

This range was run by Pat Rogers. We received out safety brief and got the "If you point a gun at me, I'll point a gun at you" talk. I was the third guy on the line and was shooting with [insufficient] protection around my neck (BIG MISTAKE!!). I caught a piece of hot brass from the shooter to the left of me down my shirt and commenced to flap around like a chicken with the head cut off and then stopped. It was out of fear of Pat and I kept the weapon pointed down range.

Same thing happened to my son this year with buttoned shirt and a neckerchief. He didn't even start to flap. Nice scar, though.

Murphy is everywhere. Why is he Irish?:rolleyes:

[Jay Cunningham]

I was in a class where I was on the line and there was this DEA agent to my right shooting a bone stock Colt M4. He was a real tall drink o' water...

At a break I noticed the left side of his neck was mangled from hot brass coming from my AR. My casings were ejecting directly onto his neck...

I talked to him about it and he didn't seem to mind?!

Anyway, we got back online and I just couldn't stomach it anymore and I eventually moved to the far right end - but that sonofabitch never complained once.

[99superduty]

This range was ran by a nasty Gunny we used to have. We received out safety brief and when the brass left we got the "If you do anything stupid I will end you" talk.

Are you saying he was nasty because of the way he ran the range that you got burned on or because he sucked?

[Dozer]

Are you saying he was nasty because of the way he ran the range that you got burned on or because he sucked?



Nasty like the master of the universe. The all seeing God that runs everything and in this world and others. His words not mine. Very squared away and knew everything about anything.

[Dozer]

See above.