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What Goes Downrange Sometimes Comes Back
We are putting this little drama up for your consideration because I saw something similar happen on a smaller scale a few years ago. A bunch of the boys was firing their M-1s (military ball ammo) at a mild-steel gong 100 yards away. Under the merciless pounding, the steel became brittle, and finally a chunk about the size of a thumbnail broke off and made the trip back to the firing line where it hit one of the shooters in the forehead. What he got was a cut; an inch lower and he'd have lost an eye.
The same thing seems to happen here. Whatever the .50 BMG guy is shooting at bounds in the dirt and smacks him in the head.
If you want to do this stuff, take a tip from Siluetas Metalicas competitors who shoot at iron targets, but their closest target is 200 meters away. At a range where I used to shoot, we tried to hit a gong that was 300 yards away, and there was never a problem with stuff flying back.
Or you can blast away at hard objects at close range … but have a glass eye handy. You'll need it.
Thats why god made milk jugs.
Posted by: WaltSmith | August 08, 2007 at 10:35 AM
You'll shoot your eye out!
You'll shoot your eye out!
Posted by: Blue Ox | August 08, 2007 at 10:40 AM
I saw this a while back when it first started making the rounds. It's a scary thing, no doubt!
Even so... I love the comments at the end.
Posted by: Phillip | August 08, 2007 at 12:20 PM
Just another reason to wear safety glasses while shooting.
Regards,
Charles
Posted by: Charles Benoit | August 08, 2007 at 12:47 PM
I don't think he would have this problem with .50 Cal API.
V/R
C_S
Posted by: Concerned_Soldier | August 08, 2007 at 01:08 PM
Concerned_Soldier
I don't think he would have this problem with .50 Cal API?
WANNA BET!
One of the guys got a hold of some 50 BMG AP from the bomb dump and took it to the range. 200 yards shot at a large piece of block mild steal from welding shop. The round came back and put a nice almost sideways hole in his front right fender of his jeep.
Posted by: Clay Cooper | August 08, 2007 at 03:44 PM
Flashback... I was shooting a disk which is something you pull behind a tractor (for those not living in flyover states) with a Savage .22/.410 over under when I was maybe ten or twelve because it made a really cool noise. I swear I saw the .22 bounce off the disk and it came straight back and hit me in the forehead. Big red mark but no blood and it scared the crap out of me. I know I made up some crazy story for my parents. No way I was going to say "Yeah dad, I was shooting the disk with the .22 from about thirty yards and the dang thing bounced right back and hit me in the face..." It wouldn't have been only my head that was sore.
Posted by: Dr. Ralph | August 08, 2007 at 07:41 PM
Check out this Coyote hunt!
Coyote hunting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTvKwWXwgpM&mode=related&search=
Posted by: Clay Cooper | August 08, 2007 at 08:09 PM
off topic. what are the trajectories for the 30-06 if it is sighted in to hit dead on at 100 yards with 180 grain bullets?
Posted by: | August 08, 2007 at 08:21 PM
When I was a bout 13 younger stepbrother breathlessly announced that there was a copperhead in the Horsebarn. grabbed my ole win 67 and when I got to the barn the snake was coiled up under a sill. When I shot, the bullet went through the snakes head hit a rock and said "thunk" when it hit joice unner loft floor about a foot and a half directly above my head. 45 yrs. ago and I ain't forgot it...:-)
Posted by: ray | August 09, 2007 at 01:29 AM
One night when I was much younger one of my uncles took me, an old Arisaka rifle that had been converted to 30-06 and a bunch of tracers out to the edge of a National Guard Bombing range where he proceeded to shoot at a big rock some 300 yards or so away. Mr. Petzal, I concur. Bullets do strange and sometimes frightening things when they ricochet, and watching tracers carom off into the night made a big impression.
Posted by: Cougar | August 09, 2007 at 04:43 AM
That's some wild ballistic sh*t!
I recall seeing similar training films in active service, so I stuck to water filled plastic jugs for "fun", when I shot my private weapons.(off-duty of course!)
Posted by: Ralph the Rifleman | August 09, 2007 at 07:06 AM
Okay, I like the .50 BMG ricochet, but the coyote hunt with what has to be .50 BMG HE is awesome. My Sgt. is going to laugh his ass off at that one.
Posted by: HGHunter | August 09, 2007 at 09:12 AM
Diggin' the coyote hunt video!
That's the coolest sh!t I seen in a long time...a whole new definition of 'quick kill'.
Posted by: Blue Ox | August 09, 2007 at 09:24 AM
My brother was shooting a one inch thick 12x12 inch steel plate with his 340 Weatherby Magnum. So I took it out into the Desert and shot it with my 338 Win Mag with a 250 grain Nosler Partition. The first round punched thru the second round punched thru the third wwwwiinnnggggg over my head, enough of that I said!
Posted by: Clay Cooper | August 09, 2007 at 09:34 AM
Hey HGHunter and Blue Ox
If you think that’s something, check out this video of British Snipers shooting Taliban bad guys!
http://moonagewebdream.blogs.com/moonage_spacedream/technology/NastyMeds.wmv
Posted by: Clay Cooper | August 09, 2007 at 09:41 AM
Watch the arm at 34 second mark, go flying up and to the left!
Posted by: Clay Cooper | August 09, 2007 at 09:43 AM
Is this Mr. David E. Petzal missinig a buck video?
http://media3.guzer.com/videos/misses_buck.wmv
Gatlinggun
http://users.rcn.com/sitzkrieg/war/gatlinggun.wmv
squirrel and deer
http://www.thejump.net/multimedia/squirrel-deer.wmv
WMD
http://www.gulfwarrior.org/wmd.mpeg
Dog attack on a policeman
http://media1.compfused.com/comp/58oxdwc/dogattack.wmv
Playing chicken with a train
http://media2.compfused.com/comp/58oxdwc/trainchicken.wmv
Back flip off high wall. Really crazy!
http://media2.compfused.com/comp/58oxdwc/crazyflip_578.wmv
Posted by: Clay Cooper | August 09, 2007 at 10:00 AM
Correction on Dog attack on a policeman. They changed the link.
New link,
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/916/
Posted by: | August 09, 2007 at 10:28 AM
Ralph the Rifleman
This stuff should be a blast to shoot!
http://www.tannerite.com/she_exploding_targets.html
Posted by: | August 09, 2007 at 10:35 AM
I've had this kind of thing happen with a pellet gun. Whenever I shoot something to close it comes back and hits me in the head.
Posted by: Jonny | August 09, 2007 at 01:50 PM
Just a few months ago I was shooting at a 1/2 in. high speed steel homemade target with a semi auto .22 from about 40m. One came back and hit me in the left arm. No damage or marks but scared the crap out of me. I usually shoot it with 22-250 from 200+ yards.
Posted by: | August 09, 2007 at 04:41 PM
Answer to off topic. What are the trajectories for the 30-06 if it is sighted in to hit dead on at 100 yards with 180 grain bullets?
Given the velocity is at 2700 fps.
First a little factoid here, when the bullet breaks from the barrel, it instantly starts dropping the same rate as if you dropped it from your hand. In other words, if the barrel is lets say 106 inches off the ground and the velocity of your 180 grain spire point is 2700 fps, then fire it level/parallel to the ground and dropped a bullet vertically (zero fps) at the same height they would hit the ground at the same time as the bullet at 2700 fps would have traveled 600 yards hitting the ground.
Answer to your question Shooter. If you’re using a scope, your bullet will depart minus 1.5 inches below the crosshairs point of aim. Then at 100 yards both bullet and point of aim will intersect and at 200 yards will be minus 4.3 inches approximately. It is the norm for a 30-06 with any grain bullet to be sighted in at 200 yards.
By the way, 180 grain is a little to heavy for deer. It’ll work ok, but I would prefere a 150 grain instead. I use Hornady 150 SST with 54 grains of IMR4064. Going to crony the load this week end maybe. Should be thumping out around 3100 fps.
Posted by: Clay Cooper | August 09, 2007 at 06:20 PM
where would it hit at about 400 to 500 yards? thanks
Posted by: | August 09, 2007 at 06:41 PM
And I have a friend who almost lost an eye when a 240gr. ball round from a 45ACP that bounced off a bowling pin, of all things. Another time I was on a skeet squad and we were shooting station #7, a straight away from the low house. A pellet of #9 shot bounced off the clay bird and hit the guy standing next to me in the leg. It penetrated about 1/2 inch into his skin. Bullet do wierd things. ALWAYS were safety glasses. Even if you are just in the vacinity of were shooting is going on.
Posted by: JC Blauvelt | August 09, 2007 at 07:27 PM