50 Cal Dead on reverse riccochet

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

http://carlnet.no-ip.org/50_cal_riccochet.wmv
It could have been worse.

However, one wonders why they chose to present the steel target as flat to the shooter.

[Greg Cole]

I saw that earlier today via e-mail & I passed it on with a title of "Audition for the Darwin Awards".
Not sure why you'd do that in the first place, nevermind film it and share your stupidity with the WWW?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

What are the odds that they would set the steel plate so perfectly flat to the shooter that he'd get it in the head?

I mean that had to be within a lousy inch or two of the muzzle.

Clearly no one was using their noggins for much more than targets.

Will myth busters try to get a ricochet to re enter a gun?

[John Ricci]

This one impacts a few of the senses...you can hear the bullet coming back, see it hit the ground and bounce before it hits his hearing protection and you can almost smell the pantload he must have had from the experience!

J.R.

[Brad Wood]

doesn't make sense.

[Bruce Page]

We’re not doing that no more

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Cliff....myth busters had enough problems debunking the shoot the other sniper through the scope lens rumor.

[C Scott McDonald]

Sorry, but a laughed so hard at the video my sides hurt now!

[Brent Leonard]

Strange. A ricochet coming straight back??

Almost seems against the laws of physics (not being a physicist or ballistic expert). All the energy of the bullet is moving straight ahead, then it strikes a target, reverses the energy, and sends the projectile directly backwards?

What kind of target would not deflect from the energy of being struck by the 50 cal bullet, sending the projectile off in a deflected tangent?

A very interesting video.

[Tom Veatch]

It can certainly happen, but the odds are very long.

I vividly remember getting my first BB gun as a kid and firing it at the door of the barn. The ricochet got me dead center of my forehead. I'm reminded of that every time I see the movie "A Christmas Story" where the kid gets a "You'll shoot your eye out" whenever he mentions wanting a BB gun.

[Ben West]

Strange. A ricochet coming straight back??

What kind of target would not deflect from the energy of being struck by the 50 cal bullet, sending the projectile off in a deflected tangent?

A dished or cupped target can and often does this. High power rifle silhouette shooters know the danger of shooting steel that has been cratered by previous shots. Ricochets are a big danger when shooting cratered steel. That's almost certainly what happened in this case.

[Belinda Barfield]

I don't understand why the cut the part where the shooter said, "Hey, hold my beer and watch this . . ."

[Al Willits]

Having shot a steel match or three in my life, I can tell ya ricochets seem to go in all angles, the targets tend to cup and pit after a bit, all making for erratic angles of deflection.

There's a reason most every steel match I can remember has required protective eye on the range and not just for the people shooting.

Al

[Kevin Arceneaux]

One of the idiots at work did the about same thing. They were shooting a 22 at a tree and it came back and grazed him on the shoulder.

[Brent Leonard]

A dished or cupped target can and often does this. High power rifle silhouette shooters know the danger of shooting steel that has been cratered by previous shots. Ricochets are a big danger when shooting cratered steel. That's almost certainly what happened in this case.

OK, that makes sense.