Caution when using the talon range in tallahassee, florida:

[MONTANA]

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

 

[aacx22]

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, 2014. 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.

I think you should be telling this to the police more than to usacarry. If they are so unconcerned about ricochets like that, it's only a matter of time before someone actually does get hurt or killed.

 

[MONTANA]

You are probably right. However, I'm not sure my state of mind and common sense were fully functional immediately after the event. But would the police really pursue a charge of reckless endangerment when there was no intent, no serious injury, and safety berms being in place? I'm just not sure how much even well-informed people are about a bullet's capacity to tumble and skip. Thus the configuration of berms and shooting stations are really important.

 

[aacx22]

You are probably right. However, I'm not sure my state of mind and common sense were fully functional immediately after the event. But would the police really pursue a charge of reckless endangerment when there was no intent, no serious injury, and safety berms being in place? I'm just not sure how much even well-informed people are about a bullet's capacity to tumble and skip. Thus the configuration of berms and shooting stations are really important.

Honestly I am not sure ... Maybe its more of an ATF or OSHA thing?

 

[R&M]

"Maybe its more of an ATF or OSHA thing?"
Those would be about the last 2 choices I would have.

 

[aacx22]

"Maybe its more of an ATF or OSHA thing?"
Those would be about the last 2 choices I would have.

Well, I dunno what the right choice is, but if it were me that just about got my head blown off, I'd take some sort of action further than chatting about it on a forum.

 

[tcox4freedom]

Unfortunately, the incident happened over a year ago (Jan 3, 2014). Your time window for getting any action out of anyone is probably closed. You should have at least reported it to the county sheriff's office and filed a report. The range where it happened should have also paid for your medical bills. Right now, the only thing you may be able to do is consult a lawyer to see if there is any civil action you could take.


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[Quiet Observer]

Montana,

If you believe an unsafe condition exists, you should report it. Write a letter to the club explaining the occurrence. Send copies to the local governmental bodies that licensed or approved the business, as well as any organizations that authorized or approved the matches. The layout should have been inspected by at least one of them before the club was allowed to open to the public. Sometimes things are missed or changes are made after approval. All shooting organizations emphasize safety. There could have been an accidental discharge on the firing line or at some other location.

I assume you mean Jan 3, 2015 since you say it was Saturday.

 

[MONTANA]

I apologize to readers. It did not happen over a year ago. I made a typo. It was in January, 2015 and I have corrected the mistake. I really gave this whole incident serious thought after I left the range. I'm not an attorney, but I just didn't see any legal action I could take. There were safety berms in place. There was no intent. I chose to discuss it here just to give a heads-up to readers that this happened. Is it a design flaw in range construction? Is the range trying to conduct too many competition events simultaneously? Or was it just a freak accident? Anyway, I went away with an attitude of thankfulness and that's where I am at this moment. I would be interested in knowing if there have been other dangerous incidents from folks using the range.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I don`t shoot at a range, but if I did safety would be my main concern. YOU were almost killed, or at the very least seriously injured (you have your damaged hearing protection to prove this), this serious safety issue needs to be brought to someone`s attention. Either the police, ATF, or OSHA, or all three, and corrections made to fix the safety issues at this range. Or the range needs to be shut down until they are. As we all know, shooting is a fun sport, but not at the cost of ones safety or life.

 

[Kramer1113]

I don't know the answer, but the buck wouldn't stop now.
Contact the local Sheriff and see who they feel you should contact.
The story made me a little sick as the last time I was at the range I could hear ricocheting rounds coming and going somewhere. I could not figure out the direction.

 

[S&W645]

That sounds more like the shot came from behind you than from in front. Knocking the hearing protection forward with a bullet from the front would be difficult to do. Need a picture of the muffs. As an RSO, you could call a halt to the shooting till it was figured out what had happened. I hope you also will report this incident to the NRA. Sanctioned events normally mean they were inspected at some time.

 

[festus]

Thank you for the heads up

 

[BC1]

It's negligence, pure and simple. The job of the RSO is to oversee the competition and ensure safety is in place at every turn. It is the job of the CRSO to ensure his course meets safety standards and doesn't endanger the public. I tell students to observe the other shooters before they decide to shoot. If you don't feel safe then leave. There' always another day.

 

[JGT74]

Interesting. I don't know how the competition areas were set up, but the range IS set up in a straight line, with a 15' tall berm behind it. Down the back side of that berm is a 100/200 yard rifle range with a whole lot of woods behind it. So, I'd be interested to find out what changes were made for the competition.
Aside from that, both owners of Talon Range are veteran Law Enforcement Officers, and have never behaved in anything other than a professional manner during my several experiences there.
In fact, as far as I've seen, everything about Talon has been nothing but respectful, safe, and professional. So, I hope you'll understand WHY I have a difficult time believing that your ear protection was shot off your head by a ricochet while there... Much less that you did not report the incident to a single on-duty officer anywhere. What kind of Certified Instructor/Safety Officer can just let a thing like that "slide"???

 

[therewolf]

If you don't find out what happened, it's going to happen again. The next person

may not be so lucky as to only lose an ear protector.

 

[mrwesson]

If you don't find out what happened, it's going to happen again. The next person

may not be so lucky as to only lose an ear protector.

Not to crap on this thread but how often do you guys shoot USPSA or steel challenge?

Ricochets happen all the time and after shooting at over a dozen different ranges all over the state i've seen it happen at all of them.

I'd like to see a requirement of non FMJ projectiles in competition to reduce ricochets but there's not much you can do(other than keep steel a minimum distance but its still going to happen). It is odd that it knocked your protection forward though. The worst ricochet i've seen pretty much mirrors what happened to you. Broken skin and a welt. I've been hit 5-6 times by them and only had one break the skin.

Eyes and ears serve a purpose.

Talon is a top notch facility FWIW.

 

[Sgt. Pop]

at age 70, 25 years on military ranges, Nat Guard Rifle team, currently shooting NMLRA, SASS, and GSSF, have never, ever, seen a range or shooting event of any kind, ever, that the command "CEASE FIRE" CEASE FIRE" was not the appropriate response to a situation as described, if it happened. Normally, shooting steel relatively close, one will eventually get splattered (shooting safety glasses). Any range officer, shooting coach, participant, or spectator has the right and obligation to halt an unsafe act! CEASE FIRE, not that really hard to shout.

 

[Sheepdog1963]

Having never been to talon range but planning on becoming a member you do not sound like any RSO or FIREARM instructor I have ever met. Your memory is foggy, you stated one of the owners gave you his ear protectors after witnessing yours being shot off. 1) he would have called a ceasefire and provided medical attention. 2) as an RSO/ INSTRUCTOR YOU should have called a ceasefire. In the whole time they have been open for business this is the first bad publicity I have heard about them. They are very strict on safety. Your rambling does not help your cause at all

 

[SeniorChiefZ]

I have been a member at this range for a number of years. They are all about Safety and Security. Had you discussed any of this with the owners I am sure that it would have been taken care of immediately. I find it a little suspect like many here that you're hearing protection got knocked forward off your head seems like the shot came from behind not from in front. Standing rule at Talon if you see something unsafe calling Cease Fire is always the order of the day. Given That these are Leo's that own and run this business I highly doubt that they blew it off. They don't take anything safety related lightly.