Ricochets from pistol bullets?

[knight0334]

.45 acp with fmj will bounce off trees like a pinball machine.Kinda scary when you hear the bullet whacking back and forth between several trees and whiring nearby.

I've seen 45acp ricochet off of heavy equipment tires and fly back and dent the side of my truck(using as a rest) at my sportsman's club range.

We have some old tires from those big dump trucks they use in mines behind our target boards.  After having a few 45acp, 25acp, and 22rf bounce back - I refuse to shoot those at that range anymore.  Higher power cartridge dont have the problem and embed into or pass through into the hillside behind them.

[Racer X]

A couple of personnel gun experiences from my youth:

When I was thirteen, my friend and I spotted some wild dogs on the powerline behind our houses. He grabbed his dad's 12 gauge loaded with #6 shot and we took off for the woods. We heard a dog moving through the bushes about 25 - 30 yards into the woods. He shot and heard a dog yelping. Well, it ended up being his own dog, a German Shepard. The dog ended up being ok, might have turned out worse if he had used buckshot. He learned a valuable lesson that day.

A few years later when I was 16 or 17, a friend of mine bought a 44 Redhawk. He was a few years older than me, probably in his early twenties at the time. He worked in a gas station and we decided shooting a can of freon would be neat. I don't recall how much freon was in the can, but the container was about the size of a 12 oz soda can.

We went to this claymound where people used to shoot back then. We set the can about 15-20 yards away and took turns shooting at it until one of us hit it. I hit the can and upon impact, I recall a white cloud or heavy mist filled the air near where we place the freon can. About 5 seconds later, the mutilated freon can landed about 10 feet behind me.

Nobody got hurt. However, I'm glad the place my friend worked didn't sell 20 gallon propane tankks. 

[blhof]

I have shot at a few propane tanks, in my youth, from about 80 yds and they either dented or were punctured and spun around, never had one erupt, til much later when a friend got some tracer rounds and we were off 100+yds and it shot a fireball and split the tank but no shrapnel.  Kids don't try this at your range!!!! 

[ratgunner]

Yesterday I shot at a groundhog that was peeking from behind a small rise in a field.It was a head shot deal,but I had to clear the hill he was behind.The bullet from my .44mag. hit way high on the next hill  Now I know I'm not that bad,of a shot,so I walked up to where the hog was and it turns out I hit a bit low and the bullet skipped off the first rise and up and hit the hill beyond.Gotta be carefull of whats behind your targets.

[sscoyote]

At the range where i shoot if pistol shooters shoot on the 100-yd. rifle ranges at 25 yd. targets every bullet will ricochet off the hard ground and fly over the 8 ft. berms at 100 yds. The range officers know about it and nothing's been done about it.

[Bigeasy]

The one that stands out in my mind happened about 20 years ago.  A little Barretta Jetfire .25acp.  I was shooting at an oak tree, about 10 feet away.  My 3rd shot, the bullet came back, and bounced off my belly.  Those little .25's were not penitrating, just bouncing off.  Made me think a little more about my backstop, sold the .25

Larry

[Mikey]

Larry - I like those little Jetfires and the 950s.  I learned long ago (probalby about when you did) that 25acps don't kill things like hardwood trees, 55 gallon drums or berming logs.  But they do penetrate bodies if not allowed to ricochet off something less penetrable first. 

[Bigeasy]

Mikey

Your right, those single action auto Jetfire's, with the pop up barrel, were neat little guns, a lot handier then the double action 25's they were selling at the time.  I wonder if they still make them?  For real self defense carry, we are lucky these days to have a good choice of compact autos, not much bigger in size, but chambered for much more effective rounds.  That said, the .25acp has proven to be a deadly round, just not a fast fight stopper.  Depending on angle, bullet construction, and a whole lot of other factors, people would be amazed at ricochet potential of a lot of rounds fired.  You don't always hear that tell-tale "zing" sound when a round goes south.

Larry

[Mikey]

Nope!  They don't usually hear it.  If they understood that the 'bzz', 'snap', or 'flup-flup-flup' was their own stuff coming back at them they would be more  oncerned, I'm sure.....  and you are quite right that we have many more options these days for small pistol carry but those little 25s are neat little pocket pistols.  I believe Beretta still makes the 950 and that wears their trademark tip-up barrel.  I believe you can also obtain longer threaded barrels should you so wish.