Improper backstop results in injury and 4 arrested

[DadSmith]

A 39 inch miss at 100 yards is well within the capability of a once-a-year deer hunter zeroing a new scope/base combo at the range. People need to be aware, and know how to read ballistic tables properly.

I just took my rifle outside and looked and I raised it over the target 39MOA it's way more than 39" to get a 175gr SMK to hit at 1000yds.

 

[Twangbanger]

I just took my rifle outside and looked and I raised it over the target 39MOA it's way more than 39" to get a 175gr SMK to hit at 1000yds.

How much was it?

 

[Michigan Slim]

I was ran out of a tree stand by a couple drunks shooting beer cans they threw out in the yard. Bullets were snapping through the branches over my head. I was at least 500 yards behind their house and they had a .380. I let the property owner know and she evicted them shortly after.
Ricochets can go a long way.

 

[ECS686]

I just took my rifle outside and looked and I raised it over the target 39MOA it's way more than 39" to get a 175gr SMK to hit at 1000yds.

When I was a SORT trainer we had training at ADX Florence/FT Carson Colorado. We were able to get hits on steel at 1150 yards (we ran out of range) with 168 Match HP. I forget the dope but the rifles were nowhere near that elevated.

SORT had a smorgasbord of approved rifles. We use Chandlers built in Rem 700 others had Sig a laser/3000 some Accuracy Internationals some Remingtons and probably some I am forgetting. All in 308

 

[DadSmith]

How much was it?

At 100yds I'm guessing at 10-12 feet over the target. That is using my vortex diamondback 4-16x it has upto 38moa so it was basically 1 moa short but close enough for this.
If we are talking degrees it isn't much, but if you are aiming and paying attention it's a good 120"+ hold over at 100yds.
I see your point as to degrees it isn't much at all.
I've never seen it as a angle of degrees I've always thought drop of the bullet. So you are correct angle wise I'm correct if talking knowingly holding it over the target by that much. I just can't see that happening, but with a bunch of idiots it's very possible with any high power rifle.

Thanks for pointing this out. I concede to your overall wisdom. I just had to do something I've never done unless aiming at a target at long range to see your point. I went out to the range several times, and checked the height in feet over target, but the last time out I payed attention to the angle.

 

[Hookeye]

Don't assume the shot was aimed.
Coulda be fired before bringing the gun onto target.
Yrs ago at a club I saw a guy thumb a nickel Model 29 at 45 degrees and bring the gun down to target. did that once or twice and then thumbed again at 45 and touched it off, while still at 45.
Oops.
Seen old timers cock a gun raised way higher, then bring it down to target.
Lifetime shooters they said, lifetime clueless.

I still hear of folks thinking an open field of a few hundred yards is a sufficient for safety.

Told my kids, unless there's a backstop it aint a range.

 

[armalitesheepdog]

1760 yards in a mile
1 mile warning from a box of .22s
Hitting someone at 1000 yards would not be unreasonable. How much damage.....I dont know

 

[wcd]

Well, yeah.....after all they destroyed 2 acres worth per the forester that had to come out and assess the damages so they could figure out what charges to apply.

Unfortunately idiots are like the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[AndreusMaximus]

At 100yds I'm guessing at 10-12 feet over the target. That is using my vortex diamondback 4-16x it has upto 38moa so it was basically 1 moa short but close enough for this.
If we are talking degrees it isn't much, but if you are aiming and paying attention it's a good 120"+ hold over at 100yds.
I see your point as to degrees it isn't much at all.
I've never seen it as a angle of degrees I've always thought drop of the bullet. So you are correct angle wise I'm correct if talking knowingly holding it over the target by that much. I just can't see that happening, but with a bunch of idiots it's very possible with any high power rifle.

Thanks for pointing this out. I concede to your overall wisdom. I just had to do something I've never done unless aiming at a target at long range to see your point. I went out to the range several times, and checked the height in feet over target, but the last time out I payed attention to the angle.

Hopefully I'm not beating a dead horse, but I'm a bit confused trying to follow the math here. Doesn't 1moa of adjustment equate to roughly 1" of POA/POI shift at 100 yards? How does dialing your scope 38moa change your aiming point at 100 yards by 10-12 feet, instead of roughly 38 inches?

 

[Creedmoor]

Objects fall due to gravity at an acceleration rate of 9.8 m/s^2. This means that a bullet will be falling at a speed of 9.8 m/s at the end of its first second of falling. It will then increase its speed an additional 9.8 m/s for every additional second it falls.

To plan for projectile drop and compensate properly, one must understand parabolic shaped trajectories.

 

[BE Mike]

Did they match the Bullet to one of the Members weapons - or did they just assume it was the Gun Club rather that a Drive-by

In a former life, I investigated a round that penetrated the exterior of a mobile home and went through a closet. The trailer park was about a half-mile beyond the berm of a public shooting range. I drove over to the public range and found 3 dudes with one bolt action rifle in the caliber of the spent bullet. It was pretty clear that the rifle was the one in question. It was investigated as an accident. Of course, if the owner of the rifle had given me a ration of do-do, the possibility of criminal negligence could have been pursued instead.

 

[DadSmith]

Hopefully I'm not beating a dead horse, but I'm a bit confused trying to follow the math here. Doesn't 1moa of adjustment equate to roughly 1" of POA/POI shift at 100 yards? How does dialing your scope 38moa change your aiming point at 100 yards by 10-12 feet, instead of roughly 38 inches?

You have a rifle sighted in at 100yds.
You do your calculations and find to shoot a target at 400yds you would need a 6moa hold over from your zero which is 0moa at 100yds.
You go out farther to 1000yds its a 39MOA hold over from your 100yd 0moa.
Maybe this picture will help you understand.
With my scope I'd be holding it almost to the bottom of the reticle.
If you have a BDC or similar scope try it.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

You have a rifle sighted in at 100yds.
You do your calculations and find to shoot a target at 400yds you would need a 6moa hold over from your zero which is 0moa at 100yds.
You go out farther to 1000yds its a 39MOA hold over from your 100yd 0moa.
Maybe this picture will help you understand.
With my scope id be holding it almost to the bottom of the reticle.
If you have a BDC or similar scope try it.
View attachment 285570

Yes, but a 39 MOA holdover at 100 yards is 39 inches, not 10-12 feet.

 

[DadSmith]

Yes, but a 39 MOA holdover at 100 yards is 39 inches, not 10-12 feet.

Oh boy you all are correct. I've been looking through the wrong scope going by dashes that I assumed where correct. (I just looked at the manual.) I was way off. Totally different reticle than the one above. (They look very similar) My bad. Obviously I should have used common sense instead of arguing about it.
I apologize to all.

I started wondering if the bdc was way off. That lead me to look at the manual and found I was using the wrong scope information.
Again I apologize.

 

[Twangbanger]

Oh boy you all are correct. I've been looking through the wrong scope going by dashes that I assumed where correct. (I just looked at the manual.) I was way off. Totally different reticle than the one above. (They look very similar) My bad. Obviously I should have used common sense instead of arguing about it.
I apologize to all.

I started wondering if the bdc was way off. That lead me to look at the manual and found I was using the wrong scope information.
Again I apologize.

Not an expert because I don't use BDC reticles, but I also believe on a non-first focal plane (FFP) variable scope, the reticle subtensions are only valid at one of the possible magnifications, so watch out for that. I'm not sure what kind your Diamondback is, so I didn't respond earlier, but I suspected that's what was happening...you were lining up the bottom or "38" mark with your target, and your crosshair was 10~12 feet above the target. Again I never slept at a Holiday Inn, but change your magnification to the "reference" setting for compensation, repeat the visual test, and see if you get a more reasonable result?

(Just don't rack a round and pull the trigger )

 

[mom45]

I remember that thread and was going to ask about the trees. Weren't you or your husband pinned down at one point during deer season while they were shooting into the woods?

Some people are just idiots.

My husband and a neighbor both got caught in the woods with bullets whizzing past them.

 

[Hookeye]

Hell I've had some "angry bees" come by.
Dunno where from either.

Others, yeah, I knew, and tried to get timber between me and them

 

[warren5421]

Where did it say what gun was used?

 

[mom45]

I didn't have these saved on my phone so needed to post them from the laptop. This is what our neighbor's "shooting range" looked like. Note the tree blown out behind the center target and the numerous holes in the targets that extended beyond the trunk of the tree. These trees are about 50 feet in front of the property line.




The forester estimated at least two acres of our property had many trees with bullets in them in all directions. The targets were set for them to be shooting toward the west but there were trees affected to the northeast and all the way around to the west so they were firing into our woods in all directions. They were dumb enough to post photos of the event on FB where I was able to access their pictures as well so his visiting friend was also charged. As a result of this incident, the judge gave them probation and banned any shooting on the property as long as they live there. Both of them also lost their LTCH...the DNR did that as a result of the criminal recklessness charges. Apparently, being an idiot has consequences. We did not pursue a civil suit to recover damages as our main goal was to get the unsafe shooting to stop. Obviously, talking to them wasn't going to make that happen due to our many discussions with them and the subsequent talks from the Sheriff and DNR officers.

 

[ancjr]

I've noticed way too many people that, once they find out something is affecting you negatively, they make it their life's calling to recruit friends and give you more of it.