Too much gun
Don’t let new shooters shoot hand cannons:
Corredor-Rivera died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Ralls County Sheriff Gerry Dinwiddie tells WGEM-TV that the woman was shooting a .500-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun when the strength of the gun’s recoil caused her to lose control. She was visiting family in the area.
The sheriff said the gun spun around in her hand, leading to a second fatal shot. No charges are expected in the case.
Seriously, leave the hard to control stuff out of a new shooter’s hands.
November 7th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
At the municipal range that I attempt to supervise, I was standing behind a gentleman shooting an S&W 500 magnum for the first time a few months ago. There were two shots. The first was intended, the second not.
The first went downrange somewhere. The second up at about 45 degree angle through the 2×8 baffles above the firing line. The only thing I can think of that caused the second shot is the recoil was so fierce that the revolver moved back far enough in the shooters hand to re-set the DA trigger & then forward enough to discharge the second round. The two rounds were like a VERY fast double tap.
I council new shooter with powerful handguns to load but one round before moving on to full magazines or cylinders.
November 7th, 2013 at 11:51 pm
I tell people to start out with .22LR. Regardless of what you want to own, you have to start with something that you can handle. After all, you don’t put a 16-year old in a Maserati. Borrow or buy a .22LR (there’s a lot of good ones out there) and learn on it – sight picture, hold, trigger, SAFETY. When you want to move up, you can either keep it or trade it in.
November 8th, 2013 at 9:36 am
They have a point. 500 calibers is way too much gun.
November 8th, 2013 at 10:00 am
I work a MG shoot during the Sturgis Rally and Races. We have, primarily for the coolness factor, a S&W .500 with an 8″ barrel.
Unless we are dealing with an experienced shooter, we only load one round at a time to prevent precisely what happened to the victim to our customers.
November 8th, 2013 at 10:02 am
I have seen this effect with a semiauto AK at a poorly supervised outdoor range. The novice shooter’s first shot went downrange and hit the ground halfway to the berm, and subsequent shots (he kept firing as rapidly as possible while his compadres laughed and hooted) went somewhere skyward, well over the berm.
I packed up and left within seconds. There is no helping some people.
November 8th, 2013 at 1:45 pm
First, start them off with something smaller and with less recoil. Second, only put one round in so there is no chance of reflex shooting while in an unsafe direction during the recoil.
Heck, and I don’t even teach new shooters (okay, I did teach one person), nor shoot in competition, and I’m smart enough to figure that out!