this morning, around 10:30 am, i was in my garage packing things up to head into town to run a few errands like getting salt for the driveway, gas for the snowblower etc. i know, i should have gotten them earlier in the week, but ive been sick, and if my driveway doesnt get cleared, then i only have to hear it from the fiance, i can still get my car out. anyways, i live in a nice narrow valley outside of bargersville, with a few neighbors somewhat close by, i have met the nearest, the next over houses have not. a lot of is in the general area shoot, and being in a narrow valley with nice till hills on either side, everyone who wants to shoot has access to some very nice natural backstops. well, as i am gathering my things, i hear a handful of shots that definately sounded like a pistol go off across the street, first thought, cool, the neighbor wanted to light off a few, no big deal. then i hear the nice scream of a bullet flying through the air and then the nice loud smack of impact, sounded at first like it hit the front of my garage, at this point, adrenaline spikes to 11 out of 10, my thoughts immediately change from "cool" to "INCOMING!!!!!!!!" and i bolt behind both vehicles into the house, grab my AR and post up inside the brick entry way of our side door listening for anything else going on outside. my first reaction is, oh sh*t i am being shot at, get to a better location and get a better weapon than your sidearm. after things calm down a bit, rifle still on safe, bolt locked back (i have the magpul BAD lever, so being ready to go does not take long), i start thinking about what i heard. the round was tumbling through the air, i have heard that noise before when working the pits at atterbury during appleseed events. only one of the handful of rounds came my direction, so i am almost sure it was not intentional, must have been a ricochet off of something. i was inside the garage at the time, so anything would have sounded like it came from across the street, as all the walls of the garage are brick, could have come from anywhere. i wait out inside for a bit, make sure there is no more noise then go inspect the outside of my garage for hits, none found. i know i heard it hit something, but cant find it. i go about my day, get my salt and my gasoline for the snowblower and come home. going through my garage this evening, i found a nice hole punched in one side and out the other side of a center console i have yet to install in my car and a nice dent in the particle board wall behind it. looking on the floor below i find a FMJ round, appears to be .380. i weighed the bullet, 94.3 grains, definately .380. judging by the holes in the console and print on the wall, it HAD to have come from across the street. i went over there to say something, noone was home. will follow up tomorrow. scared the crap out of me, looking at what happened, i was only missed by about 5 or 6 feet at most.
moral of the story: BE AWARE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE FOUR RULES EXIST FOR A REASON, AND BREAKING THOSE RULES COULD POSSIBLY KILL SOMEONE!!!!!!!!!!!
lessons learned: always be suspect of gunfire in your general vicinity, just because people have typically always been safe around you, does not mean someone will not have a lapse of judgement. my best guess at this point is that my neighbor got a new toy and decided to shoot one of the trees in his front yard which faces my driveway and one of the rounds kept going, even though he has a perfectly good berm in his backyard. when i seem them outside again, i will bring up my concerns and let them know what happened. i also learned that my brain seems to work ok under adrenaline and my first reaction of getting to better cover and better weapons knowing that the shots were fired at distance was correct and my gunhandling immediately thereafter was safe, thumb on safety and finger on receiver, not on trigger. think i am going to want to take a fighting rifle course of five at this point.
moral of the story: BE AWARE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE FOUR RULES EXIST FOR A REASON, AND BREAKING THOSE RULES COULD POSSIBLY KILL SOMEONE!!!!!!!!!!!
lessons learned: always be suspect of gunfire in your general vicinity, just because people have typically always been safe around you, does not mean someone will not have a lapse of judgement. my best guess at this point is that my neighbor got a new toy and decided to shoot one of the trees in his front yard which faces my driveway and one of the rounds kept going, even though he has a perfectly good berm in his backyard. when i seem them outside again, i will bring up my concerns and let them know what happened. i also learned that my brain seems to work ok under adrenaline and my first reaction of getting to better cover and better weapons knowing that the shots were fired at distance was correct and my gunhandling immediately thereafter was safe, thumb on safety and finger on receiver, not on trigger. think i am going to want to take a fighting rifle course of five at this point.
He pointed it directly at my midsection, muzzle sweeping me at least twice.
