Shooting 8mm Mauser at heavy steel.

dgradinaru

dgradinaru

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OK i was shooting my k98k czech sporter, with 196gr yugo ammo and 150Gr light ball fmj ammo at 100 yards at a 3/4" metal target. So i shot with the 196gr fmj first it made it through no problem, pirced it like nothing. Then i decided to try the 150 gr fmj's. First shot i missed, no big deal, i try another one this time i hit it, after that i herd it recosha towards me, i herd it past my face, i got so scared. When it passed my side of the face there was so quite abit of wind that passed by and the sound was really loud even with ear muffs on. I am lucky to be alive, it could hit me in the face. So i took the target down since its to dangerous to shoot at.

here are some pics of the damage on the dong.

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Here below is 3 shots at this metal dong, from left to right. 8mm mauser 150gr czech fmj, middle is 9.3x57 286 gr ammo, and far right is 8mm mauser 196gr yugo ammo. Only the 196gr ammo made it through, the 150 almost made it through as you can see it the next photo's.

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Here is the damage to the metal dong from the czech 150gr fmj.

I was lucky i didnt get hit with that rechosha.
 
There is a video of a fellow seated at a shooting bench hitting a gong with a .50 BMG sniper type rifle; in which the bullet returns and plucks his earphones ( muff's?) off.
Spooky.
Glad you are OK
 
Its ricochet.

But anyways, what did you have the gong fastened to? If it was sitting against something or solidly mounted I would expect what you saw. If it was hung on a chain, could just been a fluke.
 
That Czech has some really attractive wood grain but I would really hesitate at shooting at a metal gong. As Tokguy mentioned, that .50 cal video just shows you how much worse it could have been if his head was over to the one side a few more inches.

Glad you are safe though.
 
I have shot at steel gongs in the past and know guys who have used them for years without incident, but have since stopped after hearing several stories similiar to yours.

A friend of my dad's has a similar story to the video on YouTube and the guy with the .50BMG. He was also shooting a .50 and had either a bullet or a fragment kick up dirt very close to him. Thinking it had to be some weird freak incident, he continued firing only to have the same thing happen a few rounds later. Needless to say he stopped after that. I'm not to sure on the target he was shooting at or the type of ammo.

How about the little reactive targets made of steel for .22's and handguns? Has anyone had a ricochet from one of these?

Glad you're ok dgradinaru!
 
I think if the steel is light enough for the bullet to pass through it would be fine. But when two items collide and neither give......energy has to go somewhere.
 
I got hit in the ring finger with a fragment of .45 ACP 230 FMJ off of an IPSC falling target. Didn't do anything but cut me a little, but it sure smarted!
 
dgradinaru said:
OK i was shooting my k98k czech sporter, with 196gr yugo ammo and 150Gr light ball fmj ammo at 100 yards at a 3/4" metal target. So i shot with the 196gr fmj first it made it through no problem, pirced it like nothing. Then i decided to try the 150 gr fmj's. First shot i missed, no big deal, i try another one this time i hit it, after that i herd it recosha towards me, i herd it past my face, i got so scared. When it passed my side of the face there was so quite abit of wind that passed by and the sound was really loud even with ear muffs on. I am lucky to be alive, it could hit me in the face. So i took the target down since its to dangerous to shoot at.
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Maybe you're shooting too close at 100 yards. The gong on the range I shoot on is hanging and 300 yards out. If its ricocheting back towards you, others on the firing line are at risk.

Also isn't surplus Yugo 196g hot? Glad you're not hurt dgradinaru!

I got his in the face by a brass casing bouncing off the wall at a pistol range. Than goodness I was wearing my shooting glasses.
 
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jbmauser said:
How about the little reactive targets made of steel for .22's and handguns? Has anyone had a ricochet from one of these?Glad you're ok dgradinaru!
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IIRC most .22 ammo is copper-plated lead, and so will pretty much explode on impact with the steel. It's also moving a lot slower than the ammo the OP is using on the steel gong.

My range won't allow the use of anything other than TMJ or lead bullets when we shoot Steel Challenge with our handguns, but I have had ricochets come back at me from an indoor range when using FMJ ammo. It's normally just the jacket that comes back at me (it's happened twice). The jacket didn't penetrate, it just bounced off my left arm. Didn't even leave a mark.

Good to hear you just got a scare, not hurt dgradinaru!!
 
fugawi said:
Maybe you're shooting too close at 100 yards. The gong on the range I shoot on is hanging and 300 yards out. If its ricocheting back towards you, others on the firing line are at risk.

Also isn't surplus Yugo 196g hot? Glad you're not hurt dgradinaru!

I got his in the face by a brass casing bouncing off the wall at a pistol range. Than goodness I was wearing my shooting glasses.
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Well i have a home made range at home, i have 36acres of pastures, 1 range is flat and i have 100yard and 50 yard set up to sight in my guns. then i have the one with metal dongs 75yards,100yards,200yards,and300 yards. Yes the yugo ammo is hot stuff.
 
dgradinaru said:
Well i have a home made range at home, i have 36acres of pastures, 1 range is flat and i have 100yard and 50 yard set up to sight in my guns. then i have the one with metal dongs 75yards,100yards,200yards,and300 yards. Yes the yugo ammo is hot stuff.
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Metal dongs eh.... Does that make you the hotshot cockshot?
 
CanadianAR said:
Its ricochet.

But anyways, what did you have the gong fastened to? If it was sitting against something or solidly mounted I would expect what you saw. If it was hung on a chain, could just been a fluke.
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I hang my steel target by chains bolted to the back of the plate. This causes the plate to hang at a slight forward slope so a straight back ricochet would not happen.
 
CanadianAR said:
I think if the steel is light enough for the bullet to pass through it would be fine. But when two items collide and neither give......energy has to go somewhere.
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I was hit on the pant leg with the jacket from a .308 FMJ. We were shooting at my homemade knockdown steel targets. The center part must have gone through, but the jacket stripped and came back. We were about 50 yards away. I can't say whether the ammo was steel core or not, but I doubt that it was. That happened 20 yrs. ago.
 
fugawi said:
Maybe you're shooting too close at 100 yards. The gong on the range I shoot on is hanging and 300 yards out. If its ricocheting back towards you, others on the firing line are at risk.

Also isn't surplus Yugo 196g hot? Glad you're not hurt dgradinaru!

I got his in the face by a brass casing bouncing off the wall at a pistol range. Than goodness I was wearing my shooting glasses.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

I shoot steel all the time (AR500) but never closer than 300 yards. 100 yards is too close for rifle ammunition in my opinion.

Glad you were not hurt.
 
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