TimBoettcher Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Well, I was in the first part of the stage and doing good. There were two shooting boxes, the first box you had to engage 6 targets freestyle and move to the other box and do the same strong hand only. On my way to the second shooting box, my left foot must have got caught on the (PVC tubeing) box and I lost my balance. I thought I would recover for a split second, but I fell pretty hard. The gun was pointed down range and I did not drop it but it bounced twice and turned a little sidways and the gun did go off down range. I am in no way disputing the DQ, it was justified in every way. I have been shooting for 16 years and nothing like this has ever happened, to say the least I was very embarrased. The MAIN thing was no one was hurt (a few people ran out of the way) but I got range rash pretty bad. That was only my 3rd match back after a 5 year "break", I guess I got to get right back on the horse as they say. Just wondered if anyone here has ever fell. Thanks for listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhurd Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Sux and I was grousing about gettin robbed of a hit on that stage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 That sucks Tim. Glad no one was hurt. ......I did not drop it but it bounced twice and turned a little sidways..... Just curious -- you didn't drop it but it bounced twice? Did it come loose when your hand/arm hit the ground? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Glad all is well & no one was hurt. Yes, I fell once last year. Took off sprinting (ok, for an old fat guy, I was sprinting) out of the box & just tripped on who knows what & started falling. It seemed in slow motion. If I would have had both hands free, I could have caught myself but my thought was "hold the gun, downrange, finger off trigger". I hit hard, right on my elbows but the good thing is it was in some soft sand. No rocks, no brass, no sticks. What a relief. I was back up & going again & actually wound up winning the stage, somehow. I am not sure why all the right thoughts went through my head but I am glad they did. It made me feel lots better about my safety training. Glad this first fall is over with & nothing bad happened. I hope it is my last fall & your last one, as well. Get back on that horse! Good luck. MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Everyone falls...sometime. Robbie Leatham fell at a Nationals a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 I've seen lots of folks fall, some do it more graceful than others but it is never a fun experience. You are not alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 At the 2005 NYS Rifle Championship I had the Mother of all Falls. I put one foot on the roof on the long range stage and both feet wound up about 3 feet in the air. I landed on my back, in the mud. Muzzle never came close to the 180. I did eventually time out on the stage since my mags were packed with mud from one end to the other. It was caught on tape. Makes for some memorable TV watching. On a slightly different note. If you held onto your gun and kept it under reasonable control, i.e. you didn't drop it, fire it or flail about covering the entire range, you did pretty good. True you admit to a 180 break and were DQ'd. You don't mention the degree to which the 180 was broken. If by a little, you had control and that is good, If you did a 360 sweep of the range, that is bad and would show a lack of situational awareness that needs attention. I have watched a shooter fall and do a full roll, sideways across the range, get up and keep going, didn't win the stage, but was not near the bottom. Excellent control of muzzle direction. Remember, it is not the fall, but what happens during and after that count. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSabbath Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 (edited) There are two kinds of shooters: Those that have been down.... And, those that are goin' down! When I was a kid, I was lucky enough too hang out in the pits of stock car tracks all over the southeast. My grandfather owned and sponsored race cars. I saw alot of big names run smaller events before they had really gotten famous, and some that were already famous and just did extra races for fun. And, I'm talkin' big time racers like Rusty Wallace, Red Farmer, Neil Bonnet(RIP), Mark Martin, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Davey Allison (RIP), Alan Kulwicki (RIP), Sterlin Marlin....just so many. When I was just a boy, I asked an old race car driver in his pit one time if he'd ever hit the wall....he looked at me with those tired old eyes, sorta paused, and said "Yeah son, I have... sideways, backwards, upsidedown, on fire and every other way you can think of..." After 17 years of shooting competition, I know what he means. Edited August 22, 2006 by BlackSabbath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimBoettcher Posted August 22, 2006 Author Share Posted August 22, 2006 That sucks Tim. Glad no one was hurt.......I did not drop it but it bounced twice and turned a little sidways..... Just curious -- you didn't drop it but it bounced twice? Did it come loose when your hand/arm hit the ground? Well, I knew I was falling so I strong armed it down range and being so tensed up is where I think (and a few others) is where the bounce came from. The second time it came down the gun canted a bit and when that happened, I am pretty sure thats when the gun went off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Damn. Gives me chills just to read it. I'm very glad it wasn't pointed at you or anyone else when it discharged. Get back in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Tim, Did the gun go off from the impact or did your finger land on the trigger? I don't know much about Single action guns but if it went off without you on the trigger, is that a sign something is wrong in your gun? I'm not pointing fingers, just wondering about the whole situation. Thanks, MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbadaboom Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I was running into a box once and as I went to plant my feet they slid out from under me and I hit on my butt/hip as if sliding into a base. The pvc box was not ancored so it slid up around my waist and I went ahead and shot the three targets as I slid to a stop. The R.O. didn't give me any procedurals because he said that I couldn't be more "Inside" the box than having it wrapped around my chest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimBoettcher Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 Tim, Did the gun go off from the impact or did your finger land on the trigger? I don't know much about Single action guns but if it went off without you on the trigger, is that a sign something is wrong in your gun? I'm not pointing fingers, just wondering about the whole situation. Thanks, MLM I did hit the trigger on the second bounce, the gun itself works great, its the guy behind it who is a dumbass lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezer-lock Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) Fall down at a match? More like prolonged aerial disaster! I rounded a prop on the way toward a “shoot on the move” target about 10 yards away. I really turned on the speed and the next thing I knew I was in the dirt. A shooting buddy said that the muzzle never changed direction as I sailed across the bay. In his words I “fell and fell and fell, hit the dirt and rolled, lost his hat, muffs, glasses, shirt, shorts, shoes, socks and skivvies, rolled upright, gathered up his gear and kept shooting”. That was a slight exaggeration; however I did finish the COF without penalty. It didn’t take long at all to quit bleeding but I really did hurt all over. Since our feelings are more sensitive to injury than our hide, I’m sure that the DQ caused you more pain than the fall. You are OK, everybody else is OK and now you have that behind you. Time to get back to the fun, runnin’ an’ gunnin’ an' strippin'! David C Edited August 24, 2006 by geezer-lock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Tim, Ouch! Glad all is well. Get back on the horse!!!! MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrguar Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Welcome to the club Tim, I lost my footing while turning a corner on a wet field course... leaning left a little I fell on my right side... had enough time to actually get the thumb safety on before hitting the ground...the two things I remember most were the RO telling me the CLOCK was still running (thanks alot) and cleaning grass/mud and slime out of my gear for the next 2 weeks... As an RO I had a shooter take a dirt dive on me ... after taking off for a short run on some wet grass the shooter lost her footing and took a face first trip down range....It took all I could do not to actually run past her ...(Wet grass isn't great for stopping on either)..since then on field courses that require running I usually allow a good deal of space between me and the shooter Thats my story and I'm sticking to it Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigj45 Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 I fell on the first stage of the day once, while the dew was still on the wooden shooting box. My feet flew right out from under me and I landed on my butt, right in the box and since it was the last position in the stage I just pulled my feet in the box and started shooting and won the stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now