Samuel Adams Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I had a habit of constantly picking up my ejected rounds after finishing a stage. No longer. I picked up a .40 round that ended up with my 9mm ammo. I wasn't paying attention and it got loaded on the next stage. The malfunction cost me 4 places in my division at that match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewColonial Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I never worry about picking up my ejected round. Too much chance of getting the wrong one or at the very least dirt. At the last match the RO pointed it out on the ground, I ignored it, and was informed it was against the rules to leave a live round on the ground. So for the rest if the match, even if I didn't see my round, I picked *something* up each time. Then live round, or empty brass, it was heaved into the woods. Anyone ever hear of this "rule?" I know for a fact it's not a range or club rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 If you have a racker, and are left-handed, there's a slick way to catch the ejected round without needing to get the RO all riled up about the catch-n-flip.... FWIW, one range I know of has a 'no leaving live ammo' rule because they tend to go off when hit by the mower blades which irritates the guy on the mower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Adams Posted August 18, 2012 Author Share Posted August 18, 2012 FWIW, one range I know of has a 'no leaving live ammo' rule because they tend to go off when hit by the mower blades which irritates the guy on the mower. That'll leave a mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodfastc Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I remember when I would about cry because I couldn't find my round now I don't even bother watching where it falls im still the same old cheap person though somethings are just better left alone better than picking someone elses up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 With practice I can rack mine and the round will lay on my finger along the slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Adams Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 With practice I can rack mine and the round will lay on my finger along the slide. That sounds pretty sporty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuflehundon Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I pick mine up after a stage, but just keep it separate from the rest of my ammo. I won't use it for the match. I'll wait till I get home and can make sure it's one of mine, and that it's not damaged in any way from being stepped on or something. Then I'll clean it up and reuse it next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunguru Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 As up to now I used Blazer aluminium cased, I could pick my round with confidence... but NEVER pick the others rounds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Why would the Ro get upset about the rack and catch? If something like sweeping happens DQ and move on. If nothing bad happens all is well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 i just pick up my round, wipe it off and immediately put it into the magazine i just removed from the gun. Perhaps it's different in grass or something, but here in the dez you'd have to be totally blind to not see where your particular round fell. After each stage, I go back and pick up my magazines out of the dirt too. Does that make me weird? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleypilot Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 My gun is set up so when I rack the live round out, it rattles around in the mag well and falls out into my waiting left hand that I have had time to move from the slide racker to under the mag well. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 (edited) I always pick up my ejected round and just carry it around in my hand while I follow the RO around to see my score, then I just toss the round in a bag in my cart and use it during practice if it's ok ...I've also picked up this weird habit of collecting any rounds I find after a match while collecting brass. I don't do anything with them except keep them in a bag and see all the different types of ammo everyone is shooting ... The variety is amazing ... And the lawnmower guy probably appreciates it too ... Edited September 8, 2012 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davsco Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 when i started uspsa, etc a few years ago, i kept an eagle eye on the ejected round. in doing so, i took my attention off my gun and seeing that the chamber was indeed empty. RO said was it really worth it to pick up a now dirty round, taking the chance the gun wasn't totally clear. i agreed and now leave the rounds in the dirt, and focus on ensuring the gun is safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewColonial Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 when i started uspsa, etc a few years ago, i kept an eagle eye on the ejected round. in doing so, i took my attention off my gun and seeing that the chamber was indeed empty. RO said was it really worth it to pick up a now dirty round, taking the chance the gun wasn't totally clear. i agreed and now leave the rounds in the dirt, and focus on ensuring the gun is safe. One thing I've been noticing recently are ROs watching the ejected round hit the ground instead of watching the gun. Just saw a video from the NC Sectional today where the shooter was holstering and the RO was looking away at the round (but still giving the commands.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillChunn Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) When RO'ing a local match a few years back, had a shooter eject a round high into the air, attempt to catch it and missed. Round landed primer down on the point of a sharp rock and went off!! The chances of that happening are what... a million to one? The Match Director thought it was an AD and so did a few others. Luckily, no one was injured. I went to the bathroom and changed my shorts..... When 38 Super was becoming the "go to" caliber (yeah... I know, I'm frickin' old) fitting the ejector was still an art form. One lady RO had got hit with the results of a detonation during the UASC process, otherwise know as "Super Face". After that, if you flipped a round out of your gun when you were showing clear, she would DQ you for "Unsafe Gun Handling". She also told you that she would do that during the walk-thru. Ah, the good ol' days.... For everyone's safety I turn the gun so the ejection port is toward the ground and slowly pull the slide back until I see the round drop, then roll the gun back over so the RO and I can look in the chamber. At all times during this process, the muzzle is pointing downrange. To verify that I get my round back, I've picked up a tip from one of the local Master class shooters who colors the extractor groove in his ammuntion with permanent red marker. The round goes back in the gun bag for later inspection, making sure that it does not get reloaded into a magazine later in the match. Edited October 9, 2012 by BillChunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latech15 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Flip it and catch it and you never have to worry about picking up the wrong round or having it go off when it hits the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swhiteh3 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 When RO'ing a local match a few years back, had a shooter eject a round high into the air, attempt to catch it and missed. Round landed primer down on the point of a sharp rock and went off!! The chances of that happening are what... a million to one? The Match Director thought it was an AD and so did a few others. Luckily, no one was injured. I went to the bathroom and changed my shorts..... When 38 Super was becoming the "go to" caliber (yeah... I know, I'm frickin' old) fitting the ejector was still an art form. One lady RO had got hit with the results of a detonation during the UASC process, otherwise know as "Super Face". After that, if you flipped a round out of your gun when you were showing clear, she would DQ you for "Unsafe Gun Handling". She also told you that she would do that during the walk-thru. Ah, the good ol' days.... For everyone's safety I turn the gun so the ejection port is toward the ground and slowly pull the slide back until I see the round drop, then roll the gun back over so the RO and I can look in the chamber. At all times during this process, the muzzle is pointing downrange. To verify that I get my round back, I've picked up a tip from one of the local Master class shooters who colors the extractor groove in his ammuntion with permanent red marker. The round goes back in the gun bag for later inspection, making sure that it does not get reloaded into a magazine later in the match. Which brings up a question - is there significant danger to a round going off outside of a firearm? Can it build enough velocity to be dangerous without a barrel? Scary - yes. I'm NOT promoting trying this, or in any way taking away from the pucker factor of that moment. I'm just curious if anyone knows this answer - cause I'm sure not going to run an experiment! As an interesting note, I've had ROs actually yell at me for catching the round I eject. Apparently someone had a round almost get caught, end up back in the gun any somehow going off when the slide was closed - or some such story. Seems like no matter what you do, someone has a horror story about the way you do it is not safe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightFireJay Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 ...I've also picked up this weird habit of collecting any rounds I find after a match while collecting brass. I don't do anything with them except keep them in a bag and see all the different types of ammo everyone is shooting ... Ha! Do the same thing, I'd never fire them, but it seems like a good idea to pick them up. As far as primer ignition outside of a barrel, I don't think there is much danger as the pressure created from the powder dissipates as soon as the bullet has move out of the case so the velocity is actually quite low. Might feel like someone throwing g a rock at you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillChunn Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) Which brings up a question - is there significant danger to a round going off outside of a firearm? Something has to strike the primer with enough force to cause ignition. If that doesn't happen, obviously nothing detonates. Can it build enough velocity to be dangerous without a barrel? As far as the bullet itself, I doubt it. In the one instance that I described, the bullet was eventually found about two feet away from the case. When it went off, it was more of a loud "pop" than the sound of a round leaving a barrel. As FireFightJay posted, the gas pressure disipates fairly quickly once the bullet exits the casemouth. Edited October 9, 2012 by BillChunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyD Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) Flip it and catch it and you never have to worry about picking up the wrong round or having it go off when it hits the ground. Whats the general opinion about bullet flipping? Ive heard it go either way. Is this ever frowned uppon at major matches? Edited October 10, 2012 by TommyD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heckler Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 is there significant danger to a round going off outside of a firearm? Can it build enough velocity to be dangerous without a barrel? The experience I had with this, the bullet was not the danger. The little sharp pieces of brass that were flying through the air were. A box of ammo got knocked off a table and happened to fall just right, a round went off. One shooter got hit in the leg and it cut him, nothing too serious a band-aid did not fix though. I would think the real danger would be a piece of brass going up under someone's eye protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayK Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 when i started uspsa, etc a few years ago, i kept an eagle eye on the ejected round. in doing so, i took my attention off my gun and seeing that the chamber was indeed empty. RO said was it really worth it to pick up a now dirty round, taking the chance the gun wasn't totally clear. i agreed and now leave the rounds in the dirt, and focus on ensuring the gun is safe. One thing I've been noticing recently are ROs watching the ejected round hit the ground instead of watching the gun. Just saw a video from the NC Sectional today where the shooter was holstering and the RO was looking away at the round (but still giving the commands.) I'm shamelessly stealing your avatar..... Where'd you find videos of the Sectional? I suppose I could "use the search" on YT, but I'm feeling lazy today (hey, I'm honest). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latech15 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Flip it and catch it and you never have to worry about picking up the wrong round or having it go off when it hits the ground. Whats the general opinion about bullet flipping? Ive heard it go either way. Is this ever frowned uppon at major matches? There are lots of opinions. Most reasonable people will agree that it poses no more risk than any other method of unloading the gun. I would argue that it is safer due to the fact that a faster racking of the slide is more like the way that the gun was designed to run and eject a round. There are those that don't like it, but those are probably the same people who get out of the shower to take a piss. Bottom line is that there aren't any rules against it and as much as some RO's like to enforce rules that aren't in the rulebook, they can't. I flip, therefore I am a flipper. The only experience I have ever had with it was one time an RO told me that he wasn't comfortable with it and if I was going I do it, that he would like for someone else to run me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewColonial Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I'm shamelessly stealing your avatar..... Where'd you find videos of the Sectional? I suppose I could "use the search" on YT, but I'm feeling lazy today (hey, I'm honest). Seriously? http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=NC+sectional+uspsa+2012 I still haven't spent much time looking at them. That avatar will cost you, buddy. I'm thinking Chipotle. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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