doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Skeet Shooting Incident

I was shooting trap once, and shot a straight-away off #3:
A blackbird was flying by, about at station #5. He was shot and killed by what must have been a pellet bouncing off the target.
He was 15 yards to the right of the target at the time.
It was strange.

I know of more than one similar instances occurring. I'm pretty sure that what is happening is a pellet hits the target's belly and does a partial 'loop' as the target breaks sending the errant pellet in a direction that can be back toward the shooter.

Stuff happens, wear a good pair of impact rated glasses when shooting, period!

FWIW, I have a 20.ga. model 12 w/a target chunk imbedded it it's butt stock to what I think is a depth of about 1/2" or 12 mm. That happened while I was standing on the queue on station 7 waiting for my turn to shoot. The target piece came from the first shooters H-7 target. I have also received several minor cuts from target fragments over the years on skeet fields and a couple of pellet strikes as well. Wear glasses.

While speaking of safety, wear hearing protection. Expandable or custom ear plugs under muffs for shooting anywhere near ported barrels or a Cutts type equipped gun. Both make LOTS of concussive bad stuff for your hearing.

This may happen more often than before, as most all clubs go to the bio-degradable targets. Most have already around here. They are a little harder to break, by all accounts, than the old birds.

SRH

I agree w/that probability, Stan. Also regular pitch targets can become rock hard when left exposed to the elements over a long period of time. When you see orange pitch targets faded to near white, you best bet they will be VERY hard to break.

I attended a trap shoot two summers back that was using some bio targets that were not prone to breakage when hit. You could literally see them move a couple of feet when hit, but they didn't break. Many of those same targets were picked up afterwards and had as many as seven distinct pellet strikes on them. We took some of those same targets and threw them at the ground; they still did not break! That was an anomaly, long since dealt w/by the maker, but bios remain harder than pitch targets, even when fresh, and I don't think anyone will argue that point.

Glad that you bring it up! Thank you for doing so.

Dittos, most common on station 8. Buddy dug one out of his nose. And not just pellets - target fragments especially on 1, 7, 8. Eyewear.........always. Have had & seen nice buttstocks take hits, too.

Sam, I had to reread your last sentence. Thought it was "nice buttocks" the first time.

I've also seen it happen a few times, almost always on 8. Either a pellet ricochet or else a piece of the target striking either the shooter or someone else in the squad.

My grandfather is a big guy, and he once took a pellet in the forehead from a hunting "buddy." One single pellet knocked him off his feet, of course it wasn't a ricochet. When us grandkids were young he would have us feel where the pellet was still imbedded in his skull.

I have heard the old guys talking about shooting doves with reclaimed shot and they said that they had been occasionally hit by a stray pellet that they assumed due to its odd shape had taken a nearly 90 degree path.
CHAZ

I've been hit by pellet ricochets twice, once on sta. 3 and once on sta. 2. While waiting to shoot at sta. 8 my Parker Repro took a fragment hit on the rib and right barrel. No dent but had to have the bluing touched up.

I used to shoot 25 yd. steel plates with .38 wad-cutters and often came away with bloody knuckles from splattered lead fragments.

YES, it does happen and that is why EYE and ear protection are required!!

Either clay pigeon fragments or shot can happen

Pleased you are healing

Mike