Range Safety

[Renbots]

I share this in hopes of getting some advice as well as making the point of how safety is always a concern. I was at the range today with my Walther P22. I am always mindful of safety procedures so this one caught me off guard. I was at my station with another shooter to my left. As I was in the process of firing at the target an ejected cartridge went down my back collar and started burning my bare back. I was in the middle of shooting so my finger was still on the trigger and being a semi-auto I had another round in the chamber with a single action pull ready to go. As I reacted to the burning piece of brass going down my back I moved the gun to my left, finger on trigger. It never pointed at my neighbor but I didn't like the fact that my gun moved in that direction at all with my finger on the trigger. This all happened in a split second. Any thoughts on how to prevent this when a piece of brass ends up in the wrong spot..... Including your face? My thoughts are.... Since this has happened the next time I will put the gun down immediately pointing down range burning skin or not. Other idea, finger out of trigger after each shot. Or where better clothing. Of course all of the above would work. Any other suggestions?? Thanks!

[redneckfuller1977]

Just deal with it, secure your weapon, and then retreive the spent shell from your shirt....it has happened to most of us.

[Elspeth]

Yup...not much else you can do. Although I did learn the hard way not to wear a low-cut blouse to the range...Ouch!

[uscg4good]

Always secure the weapon first. Drop the mag and clear the chamber. Then bench with the muzzle down range. A little burn is always better than a bullet hole where there shouldn't be one.

[Themainhag]

Another simple solution, wear a shirt that has a collar that can be buttoned closed while shooting and ALWAYS were a hat with a bill on it to prevent hot brass flying thru the air from hitting your face.

[Bighouse Doc]

[BulletTrainingLtd]

Yes, it will continue to happen as long as there are adjacent firing points without wall dividers. The only solution is as themainhag wrote, to wear a collared shirt. I advise all of my students not only of this but to also wear a billed cap. I had a student "catch" ejected brass behind their safety glasses and burnt their eye lid and nose.

[Hoganbeg]

What would you do if you spilled hot coffee in your lap while driving down the highway? First things first: control the car, pull over, deal with the mess/damage. Same thing on the firing line. Maintain control of your weapon, set it down pointing down range, deal with the brass. It's good that you're thinking about it.

[Babarock]

I also suggest wearing socks or make sure your pants cover your shoe tops. Daughter has a pretty scar on foot where hot casing went into side of shoe.

[uscg4good]

What would you do if you spilled hot coffee in your lap while driving down the highway? First things first: control the car, pull over, deal with the mess/damage.

Great analogy!
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