I was hit by a bullet fragment today

G

Ghost22

New member
While practicing at a local indoor range today, I was hit by a ricocheting bullet fragment in the chin. It hit hard enough to draw a tiny amount of blood, and at the time I thought that was the extent of the damage. However, a cursory check in the mirror reveled a piece of lead just under the skin. I considering (briefly) trying to dig it out myself, but then common sense kicked in and I went to an urgent care facility. That turned out to be a good call, because the Doc needed to cut open the hole to find the crumb sized fleck of lead, and it had traveled about 1/4” under the skin. A tetanus shot and Band-Aid later, I’m on my way.

Some of the particulars:
1. I was on the leftmost lane, and the concrete under that lane was broken on the left side, so I was on the right side of the lane.
2. There are small triangle shaped protrusions on the wall, that I think are meant to protect the wall from gunfire.
3. I was shooting close (3 yards).
4. I was shooting a 9mm loaded with 115 gr plated bullets at around 1050 fps.
5. I was shooting a paper target.

I think I nicked one of the steel outriggers mentioned in 2 above, and maybe it’s caved in from repeated hits so it sent shrapnel back instead of down range. I told the ‘range officer’ (i.e. guy who was emptying the trash, but the only one out there), but I don’t know if it went any further than that. I also left a review on their survey (per their automated request), but it didn’t have any contact information. Also, I’ve seen this happen once before at this range, but I figured they did something dangerous and/or stupid.

So, my question is this simply a risk of shooting, or is this rare and a range defect? I wasn’t shooting at an unapproved target or at an unapproved angle, even if I should have made sure I was hitting the rubber backstop instead of glancing off the wall. Also, should I ask to speak to the manager just to detail what happened so they can prevent it later on? I’m not looking for money or anything, but something like this can turn a new shooter off for life and shut down an otherwise great range.

As far as lessons learned:

Know thy target and what lies beyond. It’s one of the 4 main safety rules for a reason, and doesn’t turn off because you’re at a range. Even if this is a bad range layout, doing this would have saved me a $50+ trip to the Doc-in-a-box and some discomfort.

WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!! Freak ricochets occur, and if this had hit my eye it would have surely blinded it. Regular glasses don’t cut it, and cheaper ‘over glasses’ safety glasses can be found in hardware stores for about $10.

Sorry for the length, and thanks for the responses.
 
You stated that the triangles were deflectors on the side wall?
So the question is, did your shots all hit the paper at 3 yards. Were you able to verify straight ahead hits on paper?

Or did you jerks so hard to the left as to hit the deflectors by accident?

Yes, if you hit the deflectors at close range, they could have sent something back. 3 yards is close enough for any sort of bounce back.
Many times the deflectors are meant to protect the range's iiability against shots going outside, not the shooters inside.
Next time use a center lane to avoid this possibility.

Good idea to mark your target between shooting intervals so you can account from every hit or miss.
 
I was shooting individual post it notes, and replacing them after a hit or two. The drill I was working on was slow fire and really focus on the front sight, so I'm fairly certain I hit the paper and it passed through downrange. Also, I remember a slight delay between the shot breaking and feeling the impact (milliseconds, but detectable)
 
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It may have not even been your shot that hit you. I once attended an out of state shoot where steel targets were the order of the day. The RO was standing near me and another shooter, the match director, was setting up steel targets about twenty-five yards to my left and testing them to make sure they would fall when hit. The RO was to my right about five yards, so he was a good thirty yards from the match director who was shooting at the steel targets to my left. One of the match directors bullets went out and hit the steel target which fell over as it was supposed to. The bullet ricocheted back and struck the RO in the face. It completely penetrated his face and lodged in his sinus cavity. He went to the hospital and got it x-rayed and was told to come in the next day for surgery to remove it. He told them he couldn't, he had a match to run the next day. He showed up the next day with a big bandage on his face, ran the match, and got surgery the next day to remove a nearly complete 9mm bullet out of his sinuses. If you aren't wearing glasses while shooting you shouldn't be allowed on the range. Fragmentation can come back a long ways and from a weird angle. It may have been your fragment but it may have been someone elses. I've been sprayed myself and have gotten some deep cuts that required medical treatment.....such as yourself. I hope the RO where you were shooting looks into this to see if a potential hazard exists and gets it fixed.
 
You're my almost bullet proof hero! :) Good to here you're OK. This type of event happens to some of us, including myself, here on TFL. I think it was under General Discussion fairly recently.
 
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why

Not all that uncommon, though never safe, and often some underlying safety issues in play.

One reason we should all be using eye protection/safety glasses.
 
^^^
For sure, it will happen again.
If you shoot enough, it's just about guaranteed.
Like any other risks, being aware and prepared goes a long way.
I've been hit so many times that I have a decent first aid kit in the car.
For others as well as myself.
Amazingly, often mine is the only one there.
And it's not just ricochets that can draw blood at the range or match.
 
Hard to say

At 3 yards it's harder to say exactly where the bullet went. If the backstop wasn't well maintained or cleaned, I've heard that can cause splash back. Many indoor ranges have a minimum shooting distance of 5-7 yards which may be a good idea to do even if your range doesn't require it. It's great when a range isn't too strict but if their facilities aren't up to the task, maybe they should limit certain things.

Were you the only one shooting? Did the fragment occur right after your own shot? I could imagine someone else shooting very close and not shooting at straight into the backstop. I've gotten fragments back before that caused a scratch on a cheek or eyebrow. I would tell someone that won't blow you off to let him/her know that something may be going on with the left side of the range and they may want to check it out before someone gets hurt.

The good news is that lead is pretty inert, but the entry wound introduces bacteria from your own skin deeper in to the tissues. Watch for infection and call your regular doctor if it acts up.

Now you have "street cred" and can become a rapper. How about "60 Cent"
 
What is the actual distance to the backstop from the benches?
At most indoor ranges, the targets are on cables so that shooters can adjust the target distance from 3 yards out to the max of sometimes 25 yards.

So unlikely that one would get splash back from a 25 yard backstop.

Outdoor ranges, sometimes the shooters move closer to the berm, so the backstop distance does change, but this was indoors.

OK to shoot at 3 yards if the target is only cardboard and paper but not a metal holder frame.
 
I've been hit a couple times and once or twice it was hard enough to break the skin. Shooting steel most of the time we routinely find small chunks of jacket material when policing brass.
 
Got hit in the leg once from a guy shooting a .454 Cassull. Bullet bounced off the backstop and grazed my leg. Bullet didn't penetrate just created a cut that wouldn't stop bleeding. Found the remnants on the floor after it appears to have bounced off the wall behind me.
Didn't press charges as it was just one of those things. Afterwards the rules changed and such cartridges were regulated to the rifle range.
 
"There are small triangle shaped protrusions on the wall, that I think are meant to protect the wall from gunfire."

"... I'm fairly certain I hit the paper and it passed through downrange."

I am having a hard time envisioning the setup. The indoor ranges I have fired on had a sheet of steel plate set at a 45 degree angle to deflect bullets and fragments down into a sandbox. I have never seen any with triangles on the wall, so I wonder how that works, or is supposed to work.

Jim
 
I am having a hard time envisioning the setup. The indoor ranges I have fired on had a sheet of steel plate set at a 45 degree angle to deflect bullets and fragments down into a sandbox. I have never seen any with triangles on the wall, so I wonder how that works, or is supposed to work.
Click to expand...

I'm due for a cup of coffee but I too am having trouble picturing the exact set-up or how a fragment of one of his own hit him if they all passed through the paper.

Was the OP physically standing down range or did he have a paper target posted/suspended at three yards? The former decreases distance to hard surfaces and any irregularities in those surfaces can increase risk. In the latter, it's certainly possible that a nail, tack, screw, clip, or other metal doodad in whatever was holding the target nicked the bullet just right to send a little piece three yards back.

Since the OP was shooting at post-it notes, how were they grouped? Were any of them posted at unusual extremes for the lane? Remember that aiming a little up or to the side at three yards is a lot of up or to the side down range.

Were other people shooting? The OP says he was on the far left. It is possible that someone much further to the right let loose a wild shot that hit something, possibly between lanes, and it fragmented at just the right angle. That would be consistent with the mentioned delay.
 
Got hit in the leg once from a guy shooting a .454 Cassull. Bullet bounced off the backstop and grazed my leg. Bullet didn't penetrate just created a cut that wouldn't stop bleeding. Found the remnants on the floor after it appears to have bounced off the wall behind me.
Didn't press charges as it was just one of those things. Afterwards the rules changed and such cartridges were regulated to the rifle range.
Click to expand...


Why would you even imagine you could "press charges", unless you are saying he INTENDED to shoot you?:confused:

At a range, back splash happens. Wear quality eyes and ears along with clothes to protect skin like a hat, long pants, etc.
 
- no no, do not try to have the range shut down! I know that was sarcasm but don't underestimate how gullible some folks are. And that word WAS in the dictionary, I checked.
 
Ive been hit by pieces/bullets coming back more times than I care to remember over the years, indoors and out. Some drew blood, others left bruises, all were quite disconcerting and annoying. Right up there with people who shoot out of time revolvers while standing next to you.

The place I got tagged the most, was an indoor range I used to shoot at a couple times a week back in the late 90's, early 2000's. They used one of the "Nautilus" type traps, that spin the energy out of the round, which i thought were supposed to eliminate this sort of thing. Then again, considering what the walls, ceilings, dividers between the lanes and the counter tops looked like, theres a good chance it wasnt the traps fault. Im always amazed when you go to a club, and things are all shot to hell. The safest place to probably be, is in front of the target. :rolleyes:

The range I currently shoot at is an outdoor range, and you move to and from the berm to shoot different distances. I shoot everywhere from point blank out to about 50 yards, and Ive occasionally had things "zing" by while shooting, and have found spent and deformed (obviously hit by other bullets while in the berm) bullets laying amoungst my brass when I was picking it up. Havent been hit there yet, but I suppose its inevitable at some point. The target frames are the old "police silhouette" type, and as big as they are, they too have numerous hits on the metal frames, which again really makes you wonder, as the sides of the frames are almost 3 apart.
 
If you shoot long enough (it may take years)....you will likely get hit by something. Sooner or later, it probably will happen.

At the county owned indoor range at which I shoot most often, people have been hit by bounceback bullets. I was nearly hit by one of my own, about two years ago. I found it near the back wall, immediately behind my shooting station. A quick analysis of the obvious trajectory, both to the backstop and back from the backstop, indicated that the bounceback bullet passed by my left knee, or perhaps even between my knees, on it's way back.

The backstop material at that range is shredded tire bits, piled into sloping bays and held in place with rubber mats. Regardless of the fact that at least once a year, the backstops are completely torn down, all metal fragments are removed and the tire bits replaced, bouncebacks still do happen.

I have also been hit twice by spall (bullet "shrapnel") when shooting steel targets (at a proper outdoor range, with all proper safety measures including adequate distance from the targets). In both cases, blood was shed....and in one of the two instances, I had to have a fragment removed surgically. Not the only time I've been shot, but that was, of course, unintentional.

The point is that, unfortunately, shooting is a dangerous sport. There is no way to remove 100 % of the risk. We can (and certainly SHOULD) strive to make things as safe as possible, but absolute safety is impossible.
 
Performing tactical draw exercise with a 1911 at about 7 feet into an outdoor back stop. Railroad ties made up the outside edge and there was about 20 Feet of dirt .
I don’t know if the bullet I shot or one that was hit came back out but it hit me in the stomach, the velocity was enough to draw blood. That was the worse but shooting now for over 35 years I would say that I can count the times I have been hit from something coming back off the target on one hand.
I shoot every other weekend all summer (If I can) and an indoor range about the same in the winter. I wear prescription safety glasses every time I shoot. To me they are second most important next to ear protection.
 
It happens. :o Not much more to say.

Invest in good ballistic eye protection. You don't have to spend a fortune, but the garbage wal mart shooting glasses they sell for $5 are worth exactly that. Your eyes are worth more.
 
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