Below is a 95gr .380 FMJ. Due to a negligent discharge, it ended up plowing through two plastic rifle cases, a wooden 2×4 bench, two layers of drywall and a chunk of carpeting. Though it was robbed of most of its energy, it still bounced hard enough to cross ~35 feet of a retail sales floor and lightly impact a wall.
Notice that it’s still largely intact and quite capable of rending flesh and bone.
This isn’t a post about ballistics. It’s about carelessness.
The shooter claimed to have had a “malfunction” with a Kel Tec P3AT. Said malfunction occurred while either loading or unloading the gun. The shooter was facing opposite the firing line and towards the wall separating the range from the sales floor.
He claims not to have understood how the gun fired, as the “clip was out” of the gun when it discharged. He attempted to pick the gun up before I stopped him, but his finger was inside the trigger guard when he did so.
It’s my belief that he dropped the magazine and, thinking the gun to be unloaded, pulled the trigger.
Fortunately, nobody was standing in front of the wall through which the bullet exited. It traced a 45 degree angle downward and struck the floor roughly 10″ ahead of the wall. Observers on the sales floor noticed a “ting” sound when the bullet hit the opposite wall, but the cause was not immediately apparent.
What we’ve got is a violation of the first three rules of gun safety that could have ended in tragedy if the angle had been slightly different. Instead of patching a hole in drywall, we could have ended up dressing wounds and calling lawyers.
This is why Range Officers get ornery, people. Next time you get all huffy for being dressed down about breaking the 90° rule, stop and imagine that bullet tearing through your fibula or femoral artery. Then ask yourself if “oops” is an acceptable answer.
Nobody cares that you didn’t mean to do it. The results are the same, regardless of intentions, and “sorry” doesn’t take back a bullet.