MONTANA
New member
For those of you using the Talon Range in Tallahassee, Florida; I feel like you need to read this account of my experience at that facility. My son told me that he would be competing in a pistol competition at Talon Range in Tallahassee on Saturday January 3, 2015. He asked if I would like to come and observe and I agreed. I had never been to this range before today and normally use the Tallahassee Rifle & Pistol Club Range. I am certified as both an instructor and range safety officer through the NRA.
It was raining the morning I left for the range but it had slowed to a drizzle by the time I got to the competition sight. I took a brief period of time to drive around to look at the configuration of the various shooting stations and also to find the competition site. My first impression was that the range was not laid-out in a straight-line configuration. The shooting stations were laid out at various twists and turns off the access roads.
I put on eye and ear protection and began watching the shooters compete. I stood approximately 12 to 15 feet behind the competitors as they fired at the various stations. I was standing behind a large earthen berm, observing the second shooter at the last firing position, when I felt this significant jolt which knocked my hearing protectors from my head and flung them out to my front. My left ear was ringing and I had a minor grazed cut on my left temple. A bullet had apparently ricocheted from an another shooting station. The bullet entered the bottom of my left ear protector and then exited through the top creating about a 1 and ½ inch gash through the plastic. If the bullet had been just a short space to the right I could have been killed or seriously injured. There was no protocol for stopping the competition to determine if there was an undiscovered hazard or construction flaw. One of the owners of the range was actually competing and he handed me his ear protectors to replace the ones that got shot off my head. The competition then continued as if there had been no critical incident.
I never got to see my son shoot. I felt it was best to leave the shooting range immediately because I did not know if it was just a freak accident or if there was some type of undiscovered hazard that could cause another injury. I have had some close calls in my life but that was certainly the worse.
Can a range be too large for safety, especially if a straight-line configuration of shooting station is not utilized? I think so especially during high usage like competition events. I know that I never plan to use this range again after my experience and encourage anyone who does to be on high alert for personal safety.da
It was raining the morning I left for the range but it had slowed to a drizzle by the time I got to the competition sight. I took a brief period of time to drive around to look at the configuration of the various shooting stations and also to find the competition site. My first impression was that the range was not laid-out in a straight-line configuration. The shooting stations were laid out at various twists and turns off the access roads.
I put on eye and ear protection and began watching the shooters compete. I stood approximately 12 to 15 feet behind the competitors as they fired at the various stations. I was standing behind a large earthen berm, observing the second shooter at the last firing position, when I felt this significant jolt which knocked my hearing protectors from my head and flung them out to my front. My left ear was ringing and I had a minor grazed cut on my left temple. A bullet had apparently ricocheted from an another shooting station. The bullet entered the bottom of my left ear protector and then exited through the top creating about a 1 and ½ inch gash through the plastic. If the bullet had been just a short space to the right I could have been killed or seriously injured. There was no protocol for stopping the competition to determine if there was an undiscovered hazard or construction flaw. One of the owners of the range was actually competing and he handed me his ear protectors to replace the ones that got shot off my head. The competition then continued as if there had been no critical incident.
I never got to see my son shoot. I felt it was best to leave the shooting range immediately because I did not know if it was just a freak accident or if there was some type of undiscovered hazard that could cause another injury. I have had some close calls in my life but that was certainly the worse.
Can a range be too large for safety, especially if a straight-line configuration of shooting station is not utilized? I think so especially during high usage like competition events. I know that I never plan to use this range again after my experience and encourage anyone who does to be on high alert for personal safety.da
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