I *think* I *kinda* shot myself tonight.....

[trio]

Background: I shoot pistols at my local IWLA indoor range....its a little hole in the wall indoor range, but it isnt bad for what it it is, and, most importantly, I can use it when I want....it is built underneath a structure...so it is subterranean

It has 25ish yard indoor lanes...the actual shooting stations are relatively close quarters, with concrete walls on either side of you...i catch brass deflecting off the walls back at me a pretty good amount of the time, you just learn to deal....

As far as me....I am not Rob Leatham...but I am a pretty decent shooter...I have been shooting 25 odd years now...was in the Army...I can hit what I aim at....

Anyway, on to tonight....

As a father's day present to myself I bought a CZ P-01 at VA Arms last week, and tonight I decided to go shoot it....Loaded my stuff up, went out, set up the range, etc...

Totally uneventful through the first 200 or so rounds...man is this a sweet shooter....I am primarily shooting Blazer Brass from Walmart...but I also ran 50 rounds or so of both 147 gr Rangers and 124 +p gold dots (my carry ammo) through it....

I then decide to stretch its legs....I run the target out to 25 yards...and wham, wham, wham.....i can tell from the "shootnsee" that I am good out there with this sweet shooter until the third mag...WHAM...OUCH...wtf....that hurt on my right arm

My first thought was I got a particularly hot shell casing up my shirt sleeve on my right tricep....like i said, you get shell casing smacking you...and tonight was no exception...but damn...that one hurt....finish the mag...check it out....pull the trigger....click...strange....retract slide...mag is empty ...well that is the first time that has happened....put gun down...I can feel something in my shirt, and my arm stings, so I reach in, I dont pull out a shell casing, I pull out this....



I apologize for my bad photography, but that is lead and copper jacketing...it is CLEARLY a bullet fragment....now I am a BIT alarmed....I feel back into my arm...no blood, ok...i look down and around...and sitting pretty much on my chest, on the front of my shirt i see this...



Now that I didnt feel at all...but damn that is A LOT bigger....

WTF...my brain is now going....that is a BULLET....I should add I am the ONLY person shooting...so it isnt someone else's doing...this could only come from me.....

So I spot check the weapon...looks fine....field strip....no noticeable marks on the magazine, barrel, ejection port, feed ramp, nothing....

I police all my brass...look at them all...all the brass looks normal...this was not a KB...not to mention...factory loaded 9mm? nope...and it wouldnt make the bullet do that..miraculously go out the barrel, come back, and hit me....

Richochet? I have to go with this as the greatest possibility BUT....

1) I have a VERY hard time believing I hit the ceiling or walls....I counted....out of 41 rounds fired on that target at 25 yards I could account for at least 30 of them on the Visishot within the 4" circle...and more were on the paper outside the 4" circle...this isnt bragging...I am just saying the bullets were all flying in the direction I wanted them to go....and this ONE veers and hits the wall or ceiling?

2) Our target carrier is a rope that runs down and back with clothes pins....aint nothing to richochet off of there...

3) I *could* have hit one of the spot lights that illuminates the targets...but even then, the damn richochet would have had to come STRAIGHT back 25 yards....

4) Why did this round, and ONLY THIS ROUND, not cycle the slide?

At any rate....after field stripping the gun and deciding it wasnt the gun, I reassembled and pressed on....

I fired another 150 rounds with no other incidents...and no other incidents where the slide did not lock back on the last round....

I have a very hard time believing it has anything to do with the gun....it ran like a champ....

Is it possible that this round fragmented when it left the barrel? Sending pieces bouncing around and off the walls? That would seem more plausible to me....

At any rate...I have a small mark on my arm where the thing hit me....like a cut...I am glad that piece hit me at speed instead of the damn big piece...i guess that thing bounced off more walls before coming to rest right in front of me....

Happy Father's Day

[uranus]

I was hit by a riccochet over thirty years ago at an indoor range when the bullet hit a steel target grasping plate (my mother had shot high). The bullet hit me in the upper thigh. Thankfully, she hadn't hit the plate slightly lower, because the riccochet could have been slightly higher. It startled the crap out of me, and I had a slight bruise, but I wasn't otherwise injured.

[Rob96]

You got hit by splash back. I had a similar incident at an outdoor range. I was firing an AK at 25yds. I hit the steel target stand. The bullet fractured and part of it came back and hit me in the neck. Had to go to my family doc for stitches.

[Robb Jensen]

You got hit by splash back.

I agree. Before Shooters Paradise burned down and closed. At USPSA matches there we used to get a lot of splash back since we would be 10-20yds from the backstop. Most of the time it was because they're bullet trap needed cleaning. At other matches (outdoors ones) I've been hit buy splash back on steel dozens of times. If the steel gets dimpled it'll get dangerous and should be replaced.

[trio]

wow....ok...well, thanks for the explanation guys....i didnt think it could splash back that far, but color me educated....

i will be using another lane at the very least from now on....

[Barry in IN]

It happens fairly often at matches where steel is used. Yours came back farther than the vast majority I've seen, though. I got hit by a piece recently from about the same distance, and was a little surprised. I was about 10 yards behind and to the right of the shooter, who was shooting at Pepper Poppers about 15 yards away*.

It provides a good reminder to wear eye protection WITH side shields, even if you are just walking past the area.

*I usually keep a big guy or a group of shooters between me and the steel when at matches.

[Wayne Dobbs]

Sounds like the backstop is splashing bullet fragments back at the firing line, especially since you had no wounds (which imply very low velocity, <250 fps).

It could be that the backstop surface, if a steel surface, is irregular or pocked which will do the deed or, if a dirt or other soft material backstop, has "globs" of bullets packed together. Then when a new round hits, it causes the "glob" to spall fragments off in unpredictable directions. I've seen both take place on training ranges that get lots of rounds into them. Make sure you keep your eye protection on all the time and always face directly at the backstop or directly away so you don't run the risk of a side hit to the orbital sockets.

It's likely the backstop needs some serious maintenance or refurbishment...

[trio]

yeah, this is definitely not a good sign...for my part, I can obviously vary lanes, etc...but I was very surprised that it came back that far (it is literally over 25 yards)....will definitely have to discuss this with the League management...

I have a feeling their answer will be...."Umm.....hrmmmm.....well..... .22 only on that lane from now on!"

[UVvis]

I had a small hunk of bullet pulled out of my right shin from splash back. I was behind the shooter with a shot clock as he was firing on steel poppers at maybe 15 yards. Similar story to yours, except I figured it was a bug bite till someone said, "Nick, you're bleeding a little"....

[QuietShootr]

Sheeeit. No big thing. I have a big scar on the back of my left calf where an entire 5.56 jacket splashed back and stuck in my leg. Fortunately() it was so hot the wound didn't bleed much - I actually burned my fingers when I grabbed it to pull it out.