Ricochets....:oops:
- Thread starter phillips321
- Start date
dave 67
Well-Known Member
Namman
Well-Known Member
The same happened to me some years ago . I spotted two Roe does on a bank, but they were too close together for a safe shot at either. I waited until they separated by a few yards so that from my position they were well separated . I shot the left hand one and to my surprise the second doe on the right collapsed as well. The bullet (.308) had exited at a right angle.
As many contributors have said there is no such thing as a 100% safe backstop despite some of the holier than thou contributors postings!
CarlW
Well-Known Member
Completely agree. And, knowing that fact makes people safer shooters. As soon as a fellow starts talking in absolutes, he ceases to think. He suspends judgment. He stops doing those subconscious mini risk-assessments that all of us perform before squeezing the trigger. Those people really worry me and shouldn't be out shooting unsupervised.
Stalker62
Well-Known Member
Experienced some of the very worst richochets when I tried that...
Anyone who really wants to learn something about 22lr ricochets through firsthand experience should try using a golf ball as a target....
How far behind the rabbit? A few yards or a few miles? How high is the hill? A few yards or a few hundred feet? If you're relying on high hills in the distant landscape to contain your wayward shots then I would say you are not a safe shooter. All sorts of things could be happening over there, unbeknownst to you.
On the other hand, a modest sized hill or rising ground immediately beyond your target is ideal. Even so, some bullets will defy logic. Thankfully, ricochets generally lose velocity very quickly.
Bouncy as a bouncy thing and in the case of .22LR unstable from all existing barrels.
Thanks @David BASC
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Totally this. Richochets happens with air rifle, rimfires and CF's. Anyone who shoots enough knows this having experienced all despite shooting with what appears to be a safe backstop beyond their point of aim.
It is why I always turn down a particular shot on our land where I am frequently presented with rabbits, deer, fox etc. The shooting position is from a flattish piece of ground and the potential targets tend to sit at the crease of land where it rises aggressively upwards a good way, about 70 metres and at an angle approaching 45 degrees. Most would tend to look at it and think "yep, the bullet is going to penetrate and go on to hit a massive bank of the earth's crust and all will be well." And in all probability all probably will be well. The key is the word "probably" About 800yds beyond that hill is the next village where a richochet, however unlikely, would have a good chance of impacting badly on life or property. I simply do not take this shot ever. I always curse as I turn it down but in the back of my mind I am thinking "if I take that shot, it could be the one in a 1000 time something behaves randomly"
I have had ricochet with .222rem shooting downhill at 45degrees in to sodden pasture with the target being a cardboard box. I was amazed. Bullet sized entry and exit and had then hit the ground and somehow gone awol. You simply cannot with 100% certainty say a shot is absolutely safe unless your backstop is a vertical bank of soft soil/sand with no foreign body in it.
I once shot a muntjac with .243 at the bottom of a backdrop of huge bank of hill covered in gorse. Atop the incline was a row of fencing. Bullet went through the animal and somehow turned upwards at an angle well in excess of 45degrees and went through one of the fence posts ha ha. Brother in law was well hacked off ha ha ha. I was just happy there was a desolate landscape beyond. I would never ever consider turning down that shot. If it was considered unsafe, you would simply have to give up all forms of shooting.
Be safe, mitigate against danger by being careful but also by being realistic.
This is why I prefer fast frangible bullets for pretty everything other than deer, for an added layer of safety, yet whenever I post that on here I get accused of being an unsafe shot!! I suspect by people who do far less shooting than I do!
Have had a 75 gr Varmint bullet ricochet from a steep grasses bank after going through 12” of heavily muscled animal before, after it failed to expand so even that’s not a fail safe!
It’s quite clear to me from this thread there are SD members who shouldn’t be granted an FAC for anything other than use at a club range and under the strictest of supervision.
K
K
So according to your theory your bullets our powered by gravity to not go higher than the height they are fired from!
One of the most ludicrous things I have ever seen written on this forum
I think the point is that they'll go wherever they are sent by whatever it is that causes the ricochet and one has no control of where that might be. A backstop might mitigate the risks but it will not exclude them as the direction of travel will not necessarily be towards the backstop.
To be fair, a bullet in normal flight will never rise above the line along which it is fired. Due to gravity it is gradually falling from the moment it leaves the barrel. That is why we shoot on an inclined plane. Bullets do not mysteriously "rise" above the line of sight to give the classic trajectory curve, they get there because we shoot them slightly upwards relative to the line of sight.Whitester said:
However, ricochets are not normal flight, and often involve deformed bullets. Their flight cannot be predicted, except under test situations involving know angles of impact against hard level surfaces.
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
shine a laser at a spinning disco ball any where the beam goes so could a bullet
I bet you have done a practical and not even realised it, most ricochets are silent, especially if the Bullet had not deformed.
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