Know whats behind your target

Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
This is what I meant to post. You can hear it zinging and see it skip in front of the shooter.

 
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woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
good subject and an example of why I truly believe in the "regulated" part of the 2nd,,,

regulated = well trained in the vernacular of the day,,,,

people will miss the berm,,,
richochets will do nasty things,,,and unpredictable,,,

I was with a group of HIGHLY regulated folks shooting Colt 1911 .45 acp pistols,,,,about 20 of us on one of the best ranges (at that time) on Fort Bragg,,, wearing our scuba shorts and t-shirts (yeah,, it was August,,,,I felt something hit my left calf, and turned to look at the guy pulling range safety who was behind me,,, thinking he had kicked my calf (he was a good man, but prone to that kind of thing),,, he looked at me like I was crazy,,,, looked down and there was a fully flattened (to about 1" in diameter) 45 bullet,,,and my calf had a developing bruise that size,,,

seems that .45 bounced at least 3 times to hit me like that,,, or it came from a LONG way off

can never really be sure,,,

Then when I was stationed at Tampa (MacDill AFB) I had most weekends free,,,and could break loose during the week as well most of the time,,,, so I was a Range Officer for the Wyoming Antelope Club - Florida Chapter / Pinellas Range ( https://www.pinellasoutdoorshootingrange.com/ ),,, ALL of our ranges had overhead baffles (some wood, many concrete) to totally (as near as possible) eliminate ANY ability for a round to go over the berm,,,

see our range was in the middle of the developed part of the county and a couple of the ranges were oriented towards the airport as well,,, (grandfathered in from the 50s,,,no way that range would go in today)

long cool story on the name of that club

WAC site.png

WAC 2.png
 

Tipmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Stuff like this is why I've seen people in the couple FB women-only hunting groups I'm in go around looking for private land to hunt on in exchange for sharing the meat they harvest or whatever. They're scared of getting shot by some idiot on public land.

Glad you and your kid are alright, @Shaggy!

It's not just you girls that are worried about being shot by public land yahoos. The worst thing about public land has always been and always will be the public.
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
It's not just you girls that are worried about being shot by public land yahoos. The worst thing about public land has always been and always will be the public.
I second this. I’ve had some encounters on public that made me question how much it was worth to me to even be out there. It’s like hearing someone say “I don’t worry about that stuff on public land. Anyone who doesnt know the basic gun safety protocols shouldn't be hunting.” Just cuz they shouldn’t doesn’t mean they ain’t. Anyone can learn the rules, pass hunters safety, and then choose to not follow one bit of it. I often still use public land and love it. But I trust my own judgment and don’t think twice about going to a different spot or heading to the house if stuff don’t seem right.
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
Stuff like this is why I've seen people in the couple FB women-only hunting groups I'm in go around looking for private land to hunt on in exchange for sharing the meat they harvest or whatever. They're scared of getting shot by some idiot on public land.

Glad you and your kid are alright, @Shaggy!
Don’t you gals worry. Reckless “hunters” and stray bullets don’t discriminate. But seriously Use your best judgment and always trust your gut. On the flip side, you’ve shared a ton of positive public land experiences with us on here. I’d share them with those ladies. Those could be make difference between getting a gal to go on public and have a great time, or getting so bound up by fear she just gives up on the whole idea if she can’t find private land to hunt.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
The time I was most concerned about incoming rounds was on public land, but the shots were coming from private. I was walking near the edge of public down a path, and some locals were sighting in their guns for the coming gun opener in a big, flat neighboring cornfield. They had a target out in the middle of the field, and the shotgun slugs were zipping out of the field and hitting trees next to me. I hit the deck and then got below the level of the field and crawled away. It was NOT a good feeling. Those guys should have known their rounds would continue onto public land where there were hunters, but they gave no concern to that.
 

wolfman

Old Mossy Horns
I believe stats show more people get shot on private land than public land. I'd be glad to be corrected on that.
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
Don’t you gals worry. Reckless “hunters” and stray bullets don’t discriminate. But seriously Use your best judgment and always trust your gut. On the flip side, you’ve shared a ton of positive public land experiences with us on here. I’d share them with those ladies. Those could be make difference between getting a gal to go on public and have a great time, or getting so bound up by fear she just gives up on the whole idea if she can’t find private land to hunt.

I could not agree more. I did tell them recently in another post that 95% of my hunting is on public land and I have not had any issues yet and that I try to find quiet, low-pressure areas to hunt. I rarely ever run into another hunter. I'm not so active in the FB groups as I am on here, but I'll try to share more of my good experiences on public land in those groups.
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
Ever heard rounds go by you? It's not a mistakable sound. I dont know if they missed the berm or not i wasnt with them. I didn't go looking for any lead so no I didnt find any lead. Where in the ever loving H E double hockey sticks did I ever say someone was shooting from any road?
Definitely an unmistakable Sound!! Been there 1x and hope to never have it happen again

Glad y’all are safe and hope it didn’t spook your kids too much
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
The time I was most concerned about incoming rounds was on public land, but the shots were coming from private. I was walking near the edge of public down a path, and some locals were sighting in their guns for the coming gun opener in a big, flat neighboring cornfield. They had a target out in the middle of the field, and the shotgun slugs were zipping out of the field and hitting trees next to me. I hit the deck and then got below the level of the field and crawled away. It was NOT a good feeling. Those guys should have known their rounds would continue onto public land where there were hunters, but they gave no concern to that.

That is horrific. Glad you were ok!
 

venom17

Six Pointer
Been there done that on multiple occasions. There is different sound from being shot at and from a ricochet Ricochets have a zing to them and straight line shot has a hiss. Very distinct difference. Once while hunting aboard a military installation, I had buckshot rain down on me from someone using it illegally. How did I know it was buckshot? Had 2-3 land in my lap. Needless to say I got up and left quickly.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Can you tell us the story?

likely just interesting to me,,, history of things interests me,,

just that their aint' no other chapters (then),,, 5 guys from that area (Tampa/Pinellas) used to go to Wyoming every year pronghorn hunting,,,started the range and needed a name,,,when I joined, I assumed there were other state chapters (pre-internet use by me ignorance)

since then I have learned there were folks that had similar in Indiana,,,but that was a drinking club not shooting,,,
and now in Florida they now have "chapters" elsewhere, but they are more affiliates
 
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