Odds are the bullet did come from the range, but I dont think the guy is going to be able to prove it!

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Wounded-R...-102183029.html

Dang, used to go there when I was a kid and shoot their Nylon 66 rentals.

hopefully this doesnt close em down, I use to go there before I lucked out and my sister married a guy with land...HA. There are not many ranges around DFW anymore.

That sucks. Its hard enought to find a range for us metroplex guys. Realy sucks for the guy that got shot.

Unfortunately, the wounded man doesn't have to "prove" anything in a scientific sense or beyond any reasonable doubt. He only has to convince a jury that it is more likely than not that the bullet came from the range.

It is a pretty easy investigation I would think

I think it's bull [censored] !!

That someone got shot?

How do the safey features compare to like Winchester/Elm Fork or Alpine? Never been to Garland Public before but I know you'd have to work real hard to produce a stray bullet at either of the two listed.

Its in Garland.. Enough said Due to the lack of places to shoot I hope the air gets cleared.

I have never been to either one of those but I do shoot at Garland every year. Just behind the 100 yard targets there is a dirt berm that is probably 20'-30' high and plenty thick enough to stop even the biggest badest bullets on the planet. Between the rifle and pistol range there is also a dirt berm as well. The range is good enough to contain some pretty wild shots, but if you really wanted to send a bullet over the berm you can do it with no problem at all. If a bullet goes over that berm you can pretty much bet it was on purpose.

Wonder if the shot came from the wooded area (mentioned in the article) behind the range . Its possible somone was out there shooting.

To me the berms look a little short at Garland, if figure erosion has probably taken it toll on them...terrible what happened if what they are accusing it true. That is a dang long way away for that to happen in my opinion. I don't want it to shut down but I have been over there about 3 times and every time have been nervous and saw someone do something stupid. I won't go back unless I have too.

Having said that I have picked up hulls at Elm Fork on Station 3 and 4 and had bullets from the rifle range hit either the ground or trees in the area. It happened twice and needless to say I didn't stay there picking them up.

Man that is some terrible news to hear this early in the morning!

I used to go to that place all the time. The range I go to here in Houston is much nicer in terms of ammenities, but the Graland public range has much better people and atmosphere.

I hope someone comes to help out on behalf of the range because I don't think they are a highly profitable range that can afford a team of lawyers. And what janie says is correct, it seems like they have alot more to disprove than the accusser has to prove.

It does not surprise me if it came from the range, as I shoot there several times a year and the burms are a bit low. Really would hate to see it close, as it is close to home, but it does need to do something in better containment.

I can relate a story about Elm Fork. I was sitting in my truck one day watching some guys shoot skeet. There wasn't anyone parked to my left. It was a nice day so I had the window down and my arm hanging out. After a while, I heard an odd noise to my left within a few feet of my truck. I didn't see what it was. In a few minutes, I heard it again. So I sat there looking at the parking lot outside my window. In a minute, a bullet hits the caliche about 4 feet from my truck and ricochets into the skeet range. I drove around to the rifle range, found the range master, and told him about it. He said "Somebody is shooting those **** full metal jackets". He stopped the firing to inspect weapons and I left.

So I'm not making any statement at all about what happened at Garland (my favorite range) but renegade rounds are possible even when you think everything is safe.

I go to this range several times a year as well. It wouldn't be impossible to send a round over the birm. However, in order to reach the housing addition, I suspect you would have to hold the gun up at a 45% angle. The distance from the bench to the edge of the houses is 1.15 miles, or about 2100 yds. I haven't been out there to confirm, but I believe someone would hit the roof of the shooting bench in order to get the proper angle to send a bullet that far.

Besides, based on the x-ray shown in the report, the bullet is solid and still intact, which would leave me to believe it is FMJ, which is outlawed on this range. Although I do understand that people try to sneak them in when they can.

In order to verify his claims, I would expect WFAA to do a full report and see what direction the tractor was facing to determine the direction of the bullet. It is my suspension that the bullet came from somewhere else.

I went out to Garland one time. The lack of a range master, and a few of the complete boneheads that were out there shooting that day insured I'll never go back. And that was several years ago. I hate to hear they are having these problems, and how it all came about is complete BS. But everyone saw this coming, it's no surprise to me anyway. I just hope they can get out of this with the clothes on their backs.

Yes the range lacks some things but if yall don't support these places where will be go?

I will go back because its in the middle of the city and easy to get to.

Well, no offense to anyone, but when I walk halfway downrange after an "organized" cease fire with the other shooters, and someone sits down and starts shooting, I'm loading my stuff up and leaving a dust cloud on the parking lot as I haul hiney away from there. And yes, that is exactly what happened to me and a buddy. Never went back after that. Everyone complains about Gibson's for this reason or that. But in a few decades of shooting out there, I've never seen anything like that happen. Might cost more, but at least I'm confident I'll come home alive.

I enjoy the Garland range which is three times farther from me than the than Gibson's......a place I will....NEVER....EVER....go to again and it has nothing to do with range safety!!!


Tbar

I just talked to a good friend of mine who lives in this same neighbor hood where the guy was hit by a bullet. He said he recieved a letter from the guys lawyer asking a bunch of questions about his concerns about the range and its proximity to the neighbor hoods and was asked to return the questionnaire to the lawyer.

One thing he said was that during the investigation Rowlett Police found at least two other bullets in the guys roof. That left me scratching my head a little bit.

Why is FMJ the culprit here? I'd think if it hits the berm, the round is dead.

Now i have been peppered by the sporting clay folks while on the skeet range.



Hopefully they meant to say long-range calibers here. I don't know where I can get that short-distance ammo.

I go there on occasion when I don't have time to get to one of my ranges.

About 4 years ago I was breaking my gear down during a cease fire. I was back against the chain link fence taking apart my chronograph and tripod. This Nazi Chick who used to work there starts wigging out on the PA screaming and yelling. I looked around to see who she was foaming at the mouth at and didn't see who it was and the noise had stopped.

So I go back to putting my junk in the bag and the PA erupts with Squaw Führer going ballistic again. I look around and still can't see who is making the blood vessel in her head erupt.... back to my piddly break down....

Then I hear, "YOU! WITH THE CHRONOGRAPH! STOP!!!" Which sounded more like, "ACHTUNG FRECKIN'ZE CHRONOGRAPH!!!!" or whatever Nazi's scream at people and I was like WTF, Over????

She starts screaming about how dissembling my chronograph is a safety hazard and I can get people killed.....

Yeah, death by chronograph has never happened. If it were possible, that is how I want to go.

Anyway, to make a long story short after I made it really long: She no longer works there and I'm pretty sure she staged this whole thing.

FMJ are prohibited at most shooting ranges. I think PH's point is simply that people have been known to break the rules.