Mark, that story qualifies as a Bill Jordan, "Good Ol' Texas Windy".
Craziest gun stories you have heard.
- Thread starter Barlow
- Start date
One more 7 Mag story. An old gentleman I met on a fishing trip to Minnesota last spring was telling me about the mystical powers of his Herters 7mm Remington magnum. He said, "they say that about one in ten bullets fired out of this caliber melt in the air because there going so fast". I said "Vic sometimes under certain conditions some bullets come apart due to centrifugal force, but they don't melt in the air'. His reply somewhat indignant, "that's what they say". Who is they? Barlow
watercam
Silver $$ Contributor
Was working in Tennessee in the early 90s and had brought a rifle to play with on the weekends. Went to the local range (run by the Corrections Dept. and staffed with Trustees - who were very nice and courteous) just before deer season opened. At some point after every available position had filled a stream of language similar to the .50 Cal. Old Guy's came wafting down the line. A gent with a Marlin 336 and a new scope was having trouble hitting paper at 25 yards. When I looked over I noticed his scope looked a bit off - it was rotated 90* so that the windage knob was up and elevation knob was out left. Which would have worked except that he was using the windage knob (now elevation) for windage and vice versa. I was about to try and help when he sprang up and declared "F__k it, good enough for hunting!".
I did not go into the woods that next two weekends...
I did not go into the woods that next two weekends...
dragman
Site $$ Sponsor
I am not a good story writer so I will give you two quick stories and then one that I actually saw myself:
1 - Guy was in shop and told me that he was gonna replace the scope on his savage .223 heavy barrel, but there was nothing in the shop as good as his so he would wait (he had a tasco varmint) and that gun is a world champion his dad used to use it too shoot dime sized groups @ 1000 yards.
2- Guy told me at the range that the 308 was the king of the long range cartridges because if you zero it @ 100 yards it only has 3" of drop out too a mile.
and the I saw it really happen, Guy has a Remington 700 270win (box store special) and it wouldn't hit paper. I looked down the bore at the range and @ 50 it was on the board but couldn't hit it. so we walked up and shot it at 25. bullets were key holed. Long story short his paper work says 270, the gun is stamped 270 and the barrel is chambered in 30-06. I don't know what he did with it, but I would have kept it and never shot it again just for the story.
1 - Guy was in shop and told me that he was gonna replace the scope on his savage .223 heavy barrel, but there was nothing in the shop as good as his so he would wait (he had a tasco varmint) and that gun is a world champion his dad used to use it too shoot dime sized groups @ 1000 yards.
2- Guy told me at the range that the 308 was the king of the long range cartridges because if you zero it @ 100 yards it only has 3" of drop out too a mile.
and the I saw it really happen, Guy has a Remington 700 270win (box store special) and it wouldn't hit paper. I looked down the bore at the range and @ 50 it was on the board but couldn't hit it. so we walked up and shot it at 25. bullets were key holed. Long story short his paper work says 270, the gun is stamped 270 and the barrel is chambered in 30-06. I don't know what he did with it, but I would have kept it and never shot it again just for the story.
Not a gun story but related....Just yesterday there was the typical hang around at the gunshop/gunsmith place. Kinda a cool place when you walk in you have to walk past a few very clean lathes and tools so you get an idea your weapon will be ok when it is no longer in sight. Anyway THIS GUY and I were talking about brass, match brass, regular old brass, Winchester, Lapua and Norma. He talks loud and asks me,,,,Son do you know how to make good match brass at which point I thought it was a joke and I said order it from Lapua. I thought he was going to throw his teeth at me. He said no Son all brass is the same, what makes it match brass is you get a flash hole de-bur tool that goes in from the case mouth end turn it a few times and BAM BAM BAM you have match brass. Now I shot next to this guy once and noticed he exclusively used Lapua brass....
...This happened when I was about 19 I just made it to my permanent duty station in Yuma Arizona. Some new friends aks if I wanted to go shooting so I said hell yeah I get to leave the barracks for the first time. Well we were drinking a little and shooting a little and a Staff Sergeant showed up named Ben Heppe one great guy and great Marine. He had an old .22 with a scope he said grab out of the back seat and sight it in at which point I said aye aye Staff Sergeant. I was leaning across the roof of his care and couldnt hit a damn thing at 30 yards or so. I made adjustments and shot and made adjustments and shot, this went on for about 50 rounds. I was thinking, not so clearly after a 6 pack that I'm not even seeing dirt move what the hell is going on. Well come to find out I was shooting the other side of the roof of his care the whole time and the rounds were ricocheting off his roof. Thank God we were all in a good mood and we still talked about that 20 years later. It never punctured a whole but those lead streaks and 2 inch long dents were funny for years.
I'm a RSO at my local range.
1) One guy came over with a piece of brass with the mouth cracked and blowin out.
He asked, Have you ever seen brass do this.
No! Let me see your rifle.... After looking things over, they were shooting 17 in a .22mag rifle.
2) More then once I've been called to the Pistol range for...
My pistols not firing.. After close inspection my reply was.
Well sir. This is a .40cal and these are 9mm rounds.
3) One fellow was having trouble with his rifle. I asked what's was going on.
He said some of his reloads would not chamber and they were all loading to the same length.
After a close inspection, I asked if he had checked the OAL using a stony point. To see out how for out you can load these bullet out.
He said. Yes.. I loaded them all to the same length.
That's not what I'm asking. These are to different styles of bullets. One is pointed and the others is short fat round nosed bullet.
His reply was.. I told you, They are loading to the same length.
I said, I understand what you are saying but your not understanding what I'm saying. Look at the Ogive of this bullet compaired to the pointed one. This round nose bullet is hitting the lands and that why it wont chamber.
Oh BS, they are loaded to the same length, he says. I've been loading for a long time.
I said so have I.
He said, I bet I've been doing it longer then you have.
I said Sir, that might be true and it might not, but I'm not the one whos reloads wont chamber.
4) Another guy was trying to sight in a brand new M1A. After nearly a box of shells and not hitting anything.
He asked for help.
After a few shots into the berm we gott'em on paper and then into the bull.. Everything was going good so off I went to help someone else. A little while later he comes up and said, it's off again. I asked if he had adjusted the scope and he said no. Ok let take a look.
No loose screws and the mount was tight.
So I asked if he was using the same MFG of ammo.
Yep he says, look. I looked over there and plan as day. The box was labeled .243.
5) One dude came around the corner holding his hand on his face and looking at a piece of brass.
I could see the blood on his hand and cheek.
I asked, you ok, what happened.
IDK, dang thing blow up on me.
After inspection, he some how mixed up his ammo and shot a .270 in a 7mm.
That .270 case just couldn't swell up enough to seal the chamber and all kinds of stuff came flying out.
You could see where the side of the case formed to the chamber and see a belt on the one side.
1) One guy came over with a piece of brass with the mouth cracked and blowin out.
He asked, Have you ever seen brass do this.
No! Let me see your rifle.... After looking things over, they were shooting 17 in a .22mag rifle.
2) More then once I've been called to the Pistol range for...
My pistols not firing.. After close inspection my reply was.
Well sir. This is a .40cal and these are 9mm rounds.
3) One fellow was having trouble with his rifle. I asked what's was going on.
He said some of his reloads would not chamber and they were all loading to the same length.
After a close inspection, I asked if he had checked the OAL using a stony point. To see out how for out you can load these bullet out.
He said. Yes.. I loaded them all to the same length.
That's not what I'm asking. These are to different styles of bullets. One is pointed and the others is short fat round nosed bullet.
His reply was.. I told you, They are loading to the same length.
I said, I understand what you are saying but your not understanding what I'm saying. Look at the Ogive of this bullet compaired to the pointed one. This round nose bullet is hitting the lands and that why it wont chamber.
Oh BS, they are loaded to the same length, he says. I've been loading for a long time.
I said so have I.
He said, I bet I've been doing it longer then you have.
I said Sir, that might be true and it might not, but I'm not the one whos reloads wont chamber.
4) Another guy was trying to sight in a brand new M1A. After nearly a box of shells and not hitting anything.
He asked for help.
After a few shots into the berm we gott'em on paper and then into the bull.. Everything was going good so off I went to help someone else. A little while later he comes up and said, it's off again. I asked if he had adjusted the scope and he said no. Ok let take a look.
No loose screws and the mount was tight.
So I asked if he was using the same MFG of ammo.
Yep he says, look. I looked over there and plan as day. The box was labeled .243.
5) One dude came around the corner holding his hand on his face and looking at a piece of brass.
I could see the blood on his hand and cheek.
I asked, you ok, what happened.
IDK, dang thing blow up on me.
After inspection, he some how mixed up his ammo and shot a .270 in a 7mm.
That .270 case just couldn't swell up enough to seal the chamber and all kinds of stuff came flying out.
You could see where the side of the case formed to the chamber and see a belt on the one side.
Last year we had a couple shooting a pistol. She had a hot case end up in her top. She never dropped the gun .From the pain and the excitement she shot her bf in the fanny. You can go to Manatee gun club to read the whole thing. Larry
jonbearman
I live in new york state,how unfortunate !
I just missed this story,but anyways a guy was shooting an Ithaca pump gun with a full magazine. He cocked it and it fired fine till he pumped another one, then the whole mag chain fired 3 rounds of slugs. The gun was destroyed and he was very seriously injured. When I got there they were still hosing the blood out of the shooting house.
I was there at the same time on another day and there were some young guys playing around and rapid firing an ak47. Nobody thought they were doing anything too bad and then I noticed they had some pidgeons set up on top of the 100 yard berm. After about 20 minutes they packed up and left , the rest of us were relieved as it was against the rules. Sooooo before you know this guy starts yelling for a cease fire. I turn around and it was a state trooper investigator, he then started asking what caliber each person was shooting. He started with me and I told him .218 bee so he went down the line and nobody at the time had a 30 cal. He opens his hand and out drops an ak47 light steel bullet. I asked if someone hit my friends barn again and he said yep. The barn is 3/4 mile away. So I packed up and went over to visit my friends farm and we went out to the garage attached to his barn. He pointed to the barn roof and he has counted over 3 dozen holes in the roof.
I was there at the same time on another day and there were some young guys playing around and rapid firing an ak47. Nobody thought they were doing anything too bad and then I noticed they had some pidgeons set up on top of the 100 yard berm. After about 20 minutes they packed up and left , the rest of us were relieved as it was against the rules. Sooooo before you know this guy starts yelling for a cease fire. I turn around and it was a state trooper investigator, he then started asking what caliber each person was shooting. He started with me and I told him .218 bee so he went down the line and nobody at the time had a 30 cal. He opens his hand and out drops an ak47 light steel bullet. I asked if someone hit my friends barn again and he said yep. The barn is 3/4 mile away. So I packed up and went over to visit my friends farm and we went out to the garage attached to his barn. He pointed to the barn roof and he has counted over 3 dozen holes in the roof.
watercam
Silver $$ Contributor
And that's how ranges get shut down!
No one has told the old 'I have to hammer the bolt closed on my .50 BMG/AR or it won't chamber. That's why they put the forward assist on the 5.56 ones...' He was very lucky that when the bolt exited out the back upon firing it only went through his cheek, right ear and grazed the skull behind the ear instead of through his frontal lobe...
Then, of course, we all know someone who used pistol powder in a rifle round and lived to be embarrassed by it.
No one has told the old 'I have to hammer the bolt closed on my .50 BMG/AR or it won't chamber. That's why they put the forward assist on the 5.56 ones...' He was very lucky that when the bolt exited out the back upon firing it only went through his cheek, right ear and grazed the skull behind the ear instead of through his frontal lobe...
Then, of course, we all know someone who used pistol powder in a rifle round and lived to be embarrassed by it.
LOL , good grief.. I must say that I am glad I no longer use unsupervised public ranges .
The scary part is how many stories you DON'T hear about because nobody was there to witness it with their own eyes.
Many years ago I was a member at a local range that was open to public and all that was required was a menial donation of 5 dollars (day use) were you not a member.. There was no supervision most of the time and I can count more times than I care too where someone decided to up and walk from their bench downrange to check targets while the line was hot...
I recall at one session I was alone and about 2 hours in another fellow showed up , we conversed briefly and I offered to stop my session to allow him to go down range and place his paper , at this point he informed me that wouldn't be necessary as he would use the bench at the "far end" and I was more than welcome to continue shooting while he did his business placing paper.
The "far end" as it were was 10 bench's away lol... I declined lol.
The scary part is how many stories you DON'T hear about because nobody was there to witness it with their own eyes.
Many years ago I was a member at a local range that was open to public and all that was required was a menial donation of 5 dollars (day use) were you not a member.. There was no supervision most of the time and I can count more times than I care too where someone decided to up and walk from their bench downrange to check targets while the line was hot...
I recall at one session I was alone and about 2 hours in another fellow showed up , we conversed briefly and I offered to stop my session to allow him to go down range and place his paper , at this point he informed me that wouldn't be necessary as he would use the bench at the "far end" and I was more than welcome to continue shooting while he did his business placing paper.
The "far end" as it were was 10 bench's away lol... I declined lol.
joshb
Gold $$ Contributor
I got a call from a friend, asking about when I was going to the range next. I replied " Saturday" and he says "Great, my Uncle just gave me an old Winchester an I want to shoot it". I ask him what caliber and he says 22. We meet, go to the range, and as we're setting up, I hand him a box of shells. Now I have to say, i've taken this guy shooting many times, with my guns, so I assume he's good to go. I set up at the next bench... Range goes hot.....and I start shooting. I look over after a couple shots and see him fiddling with his gun, so I clear my gun and step over to see what's up. The shells won't feed right", he says. I look at the gun as he's stuffing shells in the side and working the lever. STOP! ...What? ...It's not a 22....."My Uncle said it was. .......It's not a 22, it' a 30-30....Oh....The next week, we're back at the range with the right ammo. This time I'm on him like white on rice. Load...Ok. Aim..... Ok.... Fire.....click....... Wait........eject.......load new round.........click. After a trip to the gunsmith to fix a broken firing pin and a successful range trip my friend asked me to hang onto the gun for him. He says he'll call me when he wants to shoot it.
Mark Walker in TX said:
I live a couple of miles from this range.
This place is a disaster!
people at 25 yards think it's ok to walk down to their targets while you're shooting 50 or 100.
people pull out ridiculous firearms that have no business being at this type of range.
usually a long wait to get a bench, or long wait for a cease fire
huge amounts of general stupidity
huge gap in common sense among the 'crowd'
shuts down every couple of years because of stupidity, lack of common sense, and more stupidity.
Seriously, if you want to have your mind blown, go to this range... you'll crap yourself!
Here is a great one. I think..
Me and four friends are driving over to cabelas and on the way we are discussing 7mm rem mag's and available barrel lengths, like which manufacture has a 26" barrel verses a 24" barrel and why we felt a 26" barrel was the best choice in the 7mag. Now one of my friends had just went through a bitter divorce that was still a little fresh and kind of a sore subject and he say's he does not think it really matters what's two inches really. Then another friend say's hell two more inches and you might still be married. there was a slight silence, then we just busted out laughing. I could not believe he just said that.
Me and four friends are driving over to cabelas and on the way we are discussing 7mm rem mag's and available barrel lengths, like which manufacture has a 26" barrel verses a 24" barrel and why we felt a 26" barrel was the best choice in the 7mag. Now one of my friends had just went through a bitter divorce that was still a little fresh and kind of a sore subject and he say's he does not think it really matters what's two inches really. Then another friend say's hell two more inches and you might still be married. there was a slight silence, then we just busted out laughing. I could not believe he just said that.
Erik Cortina
Team Lapua Brux Borden Captain
Nodak7mm said:
... loosen up ya tight a$$!
Nodak7mm said:
adjusted accordingly...
DR1586
Gold $$ Contributor
Went hunting last year with a buddy and two of his friends I had never met. Nice fellas and we all got along great. The first morning, no one saw a damned thing so went had lunch and went back out for the evening hunt. One of the fellas came back and said he missed a deer because his rifle wouldn't fire. Being that I have worked on guns for years, I offered my help. First thing I did was look at the 270 round that came out of the gun. No hit on the firing pin at all, nothing. I grabbed the rifle and made sure it was clear and dry fired it a few times and did a basic function check. All seemed fine except this old-school Mauser was a heavy old gal with a heavy barrel. I pulled the bolt out to check the firing pin and that when the red flag went up. I immediately noticed a magnum bolt face. Upon seeing that, I grabbed the rifle and looked down the bore. The problem became immediately apparent. A 270 does not headspace well in a 458 Win Mag chamber. How the guy got confused, I don't know. But thank God he didn't get that round to go off.
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