One Lucky Son of a Gun

[Ken Massingale]

This lucky guy test fires a 50 caliber rifle and the bullet ricochets back to him and hits his ear muffs.


http://shock.military.com/Shock/vide...=airforce-a.nl

[cabinetman]

I'm thinking of the odds of that happening. I've fired the 50 cal, and it's a beast. That guy is very lucky. A real conversation piece of video tape.
.

[os1kne]

Very Lucky Guy! I hope they checked downrange to see what caused the riccochet before they did any more shooting. I can't imagine having a .50 cal round flying 2 inches from my head.

[jwaterdawg]

I think they were shooting iron target.

[Uncle Cracker]

Yup. He said "No more iron..." There is a penalty for stupidity.

[mater]

He was very lucky.

[scorrpio]

Good thing he didn't go full-auto. And my, did they use a machinist level to set up the target?

[Black wallnut]

Yup. He said "No more iron..." There is a penalty for stupidity.

Reactive steel targets are normally safe! I would like to see a picture of his target. Normally with an steel target the target upon impact moves which deflects the bullet down into the dirt. Many indoor ranges have steel bullet traps, although at an angle to deflect the bullet down. My point is that shooting a steel or iron target is not necessarily stupid!

[TheRic]

The bullet hits the dirt about 10-20 feet in front to his left before it hits his ear muff.

[Uncle Cracker]

Reactive steel targets are normally safe! I would like to see a picture of his target. Normally with an steel target the target upon impact moves which deflects the bullet down into the dirt. Many indoor ranges have steel bullet traps, although at an angle to deflect the bullet down. My point is that shooting a steel or iron target is not necessarily stupid!

Yep, but he's sitting in a lawn chair outside, not in an indoor range. I agree about steel targets that were meant to be targets, but iron is another thing altogether. And I think these guys were just trying to see what they could punch a hole in, and that's dangerous, IMO.

[Black wallnut]

Hey U.C. perhaps I'm missing something but I've watched the vidio a few times. I could not even identify his intended target. With a bit of calculations I could figure out the range based on elapsed time and velocity. Since there is no discussion of the actual distance and target all one can do is make assumptions. Assuming someone is stupid just because they are involved in a freak accident is just not a polite thing to do. I would need far more information than just what is presented in the vid to conclude the intellengence of the actors.

[MilDoc]

Must have 9 lives or a guardian angel!

[Hoakie]

And that is why I let others shoot guns... WOW.

[Uncle Cracker]

Assuming someone is stupid just because they are involved in a freak accident is just not a polite thing to do. I would need far more information than just what is presented in the vid to conclude the intellengence of the actors.

Wasn't trying to be polite. The audio clearly states "iron". No bona fide marksmanship target I'm aware of is made of iron, hence my "assumption". That type of weapon should be test-fired under near laboratory conditions. Can you agree that "freak accidents" are more prone to occur when people get careless? The video does seem to support my assumption, which I would prefer to call my opinion, and I think I'm entitled to have one, just as you are.