60 army/locust post

[Hawken50]

  Believe it or not,ol uncle Hawken's goin tell one on hisself.
Know what ya git when ya combine damp powder,an 1860 colt army, and a handsplit locust post at 10 feet. Ya gits bounce back,,thats what ya gits.Thank god it only resulted in a bruised chest and ego.That was many years ago when i first started shootin black powder.Didnt git chambers clean of oil.Twernt no infernet then an nobody to guide me in the ways of the dark arts.Sooo any noobies here ask all the questions ya can think of.There aint no stupid questions here.Shared knowledge is a woderful thing.Thus endeth the sermon.

[old salt]

To add to what uncle Hawken said, DO NOT shoot at a hedge post [aka Osage Orange]when dried out the are hard as iron. did not do this my self but was witness of the mishap, had a gallon milk jug set on top of post, at about 30 yards. Hardy fired his 50 cal and the ball came back and kicked up dirt between his feet. OK saftey lecture over

[beowulf]

been there ,done that ! only twere`nt a a locust post ! I was squirrel hunting ,with a smooth bore .50 cal ,( head shots ) and missed the wee nutcracker ,and hit the rocks behind him . the ball came flying back and whacked me in the chest right at the top of the sternum ,hard enough to knock me back a step or two ! left a knot as big as a goose egg !hurt like hell , and when the bruising was done spreading it looked like someone had parked a buick on my chest ! just wonder how many others have done this ? pretty sure that if`n the ball had hit me in the head or throat I likely would not be sitting here typing this ! ....so yeah ! be very careful what ye shoot at I was lucky ,and so was hawken 50  !

[Otter]

Got a face full of splatter during PD range training once. Would have blinded me had it not been for eyeglasses that day. Weapons and ammo used were not ones used on this site but point is it can happen anywhere and anytime. So to quote Mad Eye Moody 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!" Movies? Who watches movies??

[Red Badger]

Well i have (knock on wood) not been hit by a ricochet or bounce back, but I did see dirt kicked up about 20 feet in front of me after taking a shot at a steel plate...

[Hawken50]

  Well i tell ya when ya git thumped like that,and look down at your white t shirt and see a black spot what at first looks like a hole......the tshirt might not be the only article of clothing thats goin need washin.......

[kybackwoodsman]

please refer to the classic christmas movie...   "Youll shoot yer eye out kid!!" 

[snuffy]

I just read this and it brought back the time I took my newly aquired .36 navy pistol into the back yard while Mom and Dad were grocery shopping. Shot it into the end garin of a log in the wood pile and luckly for me DUCKED as I watched the ball bounce right back! The ball missed me but reached the next door neighbors porch window which didn't fair so well. Had the same bounce 20 yrs later witha .45 colt long derringer at a small tree!

[Hammerhead]

iv heard about this happening alot why does the ricochet always hit either the chest or the crotch area lol. and what does damp powder do to make it worse

[Red Badger]

iv heard about this happening alot why does the ricochet always hit either the chest or the crotch area lol. and what does damp powder do to make it worse

why? because the ones that get it in the head are not around to tell the story anymore.  as for the damp powder, my guess is that it does not burn so you do not get the penitration factor which might keep bouncebacks from happening....

[Hawken50]

  Also ifn ya notice its always a hard object.And roundballs are like Tiggers........they bounce.....sorry Mongrel couldnt stop meself.