One LUCKY shooter

[Cryozombie]

And a good reminder why you don't shoot at certain things...

Guy fired a round from a .50 caliber sniper rifle into a steel plate. the bullet comes back and almost kills him.

 

[Kreth]

Natural selection fails again...

 

[KenpoTex]

Shooting steel is very common and usually doesn't cause any problems...without knowing any of the particulars, I'd say that this was just a "1 in a million" freak-accident.

 

[Makalakumu]

Both of my grandfathers had more experience shooting and killing then most people walking the Earth around me. When I grew up, they always taught me to make sure that I wasn't shooting at hard targets. They talked about riccochets in WWII and both have seen some weird ones.

I'm not sure how common shooting steel is. I have never done it and probably will never do it out of respect for the knowledge these men passed on to me. The bottom line is that I was always taught to never shoot at hard targets. The bullet will bounce.

I suppose if you are going to do this, then maybe some cover would help make it safer.

 

[jarrod]

i've seen demonstrations of people shooting .50 through steel, & if i remember right one of the first anti-tank weapons was a .50 rifle which would penetrate the armour. still, not a real good idea. even water can cause a ricochet.

jf

 

[Big Don]

When I was 13, I shot a target about 50 feet away and the ricochet hit me dead center in the middle of my forehead. Luckily, I was only using a bb gun (and NOT, an official Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 shot Range Model Air Rifle) I could have shot my eye out!

 

[KenpoTex]

I own a steel "pepper-popper" target (3/8" plate) that I have hit with hundreds of rounds of pistol ammo. Granted, it's designed so that it's presented at an angle (thereby deflecting any spalling/fragments away from the shooter).
Furthermore, just a few weeks ago, I shot a Barrett .50 at a steel target and watched probably 50 other people do the same thing with no ill effects.
Lots of firearms training schools and competitive events utilize steel targets.

Maybe they screwed up. However, as I said before, absent any specific information on what they were shooting and how it was set up, I'm going to stick with "freak accident" rather than accusing them of negligence.

 

[MA-Caver]

When I was 13, I shot a target about 50 feet away and the ricochet hit me dead center in the middle of my forehead. Luckily, I was only using a bb gun (and NOT, an official Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 shot Range Model Air Rifle) I could have shot my eye out!

Well that's because your name is Don and not Ralph like mine.

Lucky shooter indeed and yeah, I agree that was one in a million freak accident. Pretty freaky for a ricochet to come nearly straight back like that. Without seeing it on video I'd found it hard to believe.

Loved how "That's the LAST one of THOSE we're doing!" :lol:
aww c'mon, you'd have to fire a million more rounds before it'd happen again!

 

[thardey]

Shooting steel is very common and usually doesn't cause any problems...without knowing any of the particulars, I'd say that this was just a "1 in a million" freak-accident.

Or a setup. All we really saw was a puff of dust 30 feet in front of the shooter, and his earmuffs fell off. Not hard to manufacture if you were so inclined.

They didn't even show where the bullet hit the 'muffs. Just a fuzzy, blurry shot of him holding them.

1 in a million that it would happen - what's the chance that it was caught on tape?

 

[Deaf Smith]

And that is what is so funny when such as Stephen Segal gets on a warship belowdeck and everyone fires submachingun's at each other. And no one even gets hit.

Yea, right.

Deaf

 

[grydth]

Fortunately the bullet struck him in the head, where in his case nothing vital is located.

 

[KenpoTex]

And that is what is so funny when such as Stephen Segal gets on a warship belowdeck and everyone fires submachingun's at each other. And no one even gets hit.

Yea, right.

Deaf

but they're using "secret navy-SEAL ammo" that only hits the bad guys and never hits anything else no matter how many rounds are bouncing around like pin-balls. :lol:

 

[jks9199]

Shooting steel is very common and usually doesn't cause any problems...without knowing any of the particulars, I'd say that this was just a "1 in a million" freak-accident.

I own a steel "pepper-popper" target (3/8" plate) that I have hit with hundreds of rounds of pistol ammo. Granted, it's designed so that it's presented at an angle (thereby deflecting any spalling/fragments away from the shooter).
Furthermore, just a few weeks ago, I shot a Barrett .50 at a steel target and watched probably 50 other people do the same thing with no ill effects.
Lots of firearms training schools and competitive events utilize steel targets.

Maybe they screwed up. However, as I said before, absent any specific information on what they were shooting and how it was set up, I'm going to stick with "freak accident" rather than accusing them of negligence.

Or a setup. All we really saw was a puff of dust 30 feet in front of the shooter, and his earmuffs fell off. Not hard to manufacture if you were so inclined.

They didn't even show where the bullet hit the 'muffs. Just a fuzzy, blurry shot of him holding them.

1 in a million that it would happen - what's the chance that it was caught on tape?

Something's hitting me wrong about that clip. Something about the timing, the whistle... it's just not feeling "right."

Don't know. Might just be a freak accident. Might be a set-up or gimmick.