When I worked out at the rifle range we had a coffee can full of casings that had obviously been run through the wrong caliber rifle. It really makes you wonder some times. The lack of firearms safety displayed by guys who should have definitely known better always amazed me.
After deer season, the range was only open on the weekends, and with just a person manning the office, who would make the rounds every hour and check on the clay pigeon range, the handgun range and the rifle range. I was working on Sunday, and had two older fellers shooting up on the rifle range. I was keeping an eye on them through the closed circuit camera and I noticed I hadn't seen the one guy in a half hour or so. He hadn't come to the office, or gone down to the parking lot to use the biffy or get anything out of his car. I figured I'd better go up and check on him. I get up to the range shack, and the one guy's down on his rifle, lining up a shot. I asked him "where's your buddy?" He told me he was out behind the target butts. This guy would shoot, and he'd come out to check his shot! Sometimes you just can't unteach stupid.
Well, when I was in the USN and we had to qualify with the M-1 in boot camp up at Pendleton, the targets were manned by another unit in the pits below.. One guy took a ricochet right off his helmet.. Left a nice dent..
This was back in Jan. of '67.. Wonder if they still do it that way?
Same in '67 at Ft. Polk, LA.
Tall round metal culvert type pipe sections buried vertical w/metal ladders attached to inside wall, mostly puddles of water/mud bottom.
Kind of cool watching ricochet tracer rounds sizzle and burn out in the dirt and mud puddles around outside pit. More scary than cool when one bounced inside.
Got a bit intense for a few minutes once for one young trainee soon after starting his turn down inside the pits. Pygmy rattler in the bottom and bullets flying over his head.
Sounds pretty exciting. Did that happen to you or did you find it in Webster's under the definition for caught between a rock and a hard place?
Every military range I've seen recently has been popups but the private range I go to has pits for the 1000..
Nope, not me per the snake ordeal. Happened to another young trainee on down the firing line. Snake wasn't there earlier. After chow it was. Had to of fell down inside between shifts. I didn't see it all go down with my own eyes. Couldn't have as I was inside another pit back toward the other end. I was told about it later by fellow trainees who were up on the fireline when it happened that did.
Going on 50 years ago now (summer of '67) but to the best of my memory that was the only rifle range I remember working the pits. I do recall shooting at some pop-up ranges at both Ft. Polk and Ft. Knox too.
