I was at my land shooting this weekend and got a call from the neighbor. He said he heard me shooting and heard a bullet hit his barn. I was shooting steel targets at 500 and 700 yards. His barn is 600 yards away from where my target was at an angle back to where i was shooting from. I find it really hard to believe that it would ricochet that far. I was shooting right over a barbed wire fence. It is possible that I could have hit a barb wire instead of the target but I still dont think it would ricochet that far. The fence was about 30 yards in front of the 500 yard target. I attached some pics of where i was shooting from, the target and where is his barn is. The red circle in the pics is the target. The 2 non google map pics are from where the target was. You can see the clearing at the top of the hill I was shooting from. The other one is at an angle back towards his bar. There are some trees in the way.

Anyone have any experience with bullets ricocheting off steel targets? I am wondering if he heard me hit the steel target and think it was something hitting his barn instead.

The bullet splatters (not a technical term) and I would imagine those fragments would go perpendicular when hitting ballistic steel. Your 3rd pic shows the barn perpendicular to your target. Not sure how far these fragments would travel. Just a theory.

No way a bullet ricochets and goes that far. Tens of thousands of rounds have been fired on my range, with zero ricochets off steel. When bullets hit steel they shatter in a circular pattern. The fragments go maybe ten feet in a 360° area from where they struck steel. When we've had prairie dog poppers on the ground you can see a little 1/8" wide trench in the dirt below the steel. And it is about 18" long

That would be near impossible to ricochet that far. Bullets can ricochet off of edge hits, as I have a hole in my feeder from it. The edge hit in my case was a portion of a Berger 115VLD that hit a feed bin about 10 yards off to the side.

I have had the exact same call from a guy 900 yards to the side of my steel rack, he also claimed he could hear splatter hitting his blind roof while he was in it. Not sure what they are hearing but it isn't likely a bullet.

If your targets are static, that could make a difference, but still extremely doubtful. What ammo?

6.5 CM. SST and ELD match. Its a steel plate chained to a target stand so they do move when hit

He's full of it. He just doesn't like you shooting. No way a ricochet travels that far at that angle. It would not have the energy. Especially since you say your targets are hanging. What's behind your targets? He probably wants some new metal on his barn.

Well, it wouldn’t take much to put up a 4’x8’ piece of plywood 10-15 ft. from the target so that any ricochets in that direction show up.
1 range session would prove you’re OK.

I call bs on him. Your shooting towards the red and the barn is back next to you? You'd have a better shot of getting ricochet back at you then his barn. We had the same issue up in farmersville shooting the same way. Except the one we were accused of shooting was about half a mile behind a forest of trees.

He either made it up, or heard his barn steel "pop" from temperature change, which all metal barns do several times a day.

You could offer to come help him find the dent or bullet hole so you can repair it... That may make him rethink things.

He’s lying

I stacked up round nails due to something similar happened at my place the steel target is surrounded by about 8’ worth of hay. It was a cheap easy solution.

I call BS because the bullets splatter and basically evaporate on impact.

Good luck with your neighbor.

Do this.

He believes what he’s saying. He hears the boom from your rifle the the delayed hit on the steel from.... the barn. His barn is directly between his house and your target. Assuming that’s a house and where he was when heard it.

Here in Phoenix we used to pistol shoot paper at the National Guard range pretty much in the middle of town. It was shut down because of a neighbor who said his house was hit by bullets. What he presented as evidence was a couple of 22LRs unfired with cases still attached. It was totally bs but the club was shut down anyway.

M

Did you go over and see any holes in the barn?

Beware of anti-gunners.

I wouldn't put it past any of them to go shoot a hole in their own stuff, then call the law, and claim you did it.

Nothing surprises me anymore. Especially the gall some people have, and their lack of truthfulness.

You just never know anymore.

He couldnt see my set up. He thought I was shooting in his direction. I was set up behind some trees at the top of a hill shooting down a lane. From his barn I dont think he could see me or the targets I was shooting at. I explained to him later how I was set up. He said his buddy who was a marine was standing by the barn and heard something after I shot. Most have been something else that caused the sound near him.

Here you go.

He probably heard the pop then hit on your steel

He played the marine card, clutch

I’ve encountered ricochets before on steel but they have always been pistol or shotgun shot and seem to always come back towards the shooter. There is a video that’s been around for years of a 50 BMG round ricocheting straight back and knocking the ear pro off the shooter.

I’m of the opinion that anything is possible. You may think you know where a bullet is going but when it leaves the barrel anything can happen.

I’d call the neighbor and ask to come over and look for the impact. It shouldn’t be hard to find if it exists.

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I’ll bet he’s a democrat, seriously

It would hit the ground before it hit that barn due to it losing all its velocity. Gravity is a constant and that bullet is getting closer to the ground by the milliseconds. That would be an 1,100yd shot. Not sure on 6.5 trajectory but you’d have to be shooting probably 40” upward for it to hit his barn. Doesn’t seem realistic.

No way in hell.

In the legal world; you’ve been warned and it’s on record. Remember the Dallas lawsuit where that bullet left a gun range. The word is “impossible.” You must make it impossible for that to happen. Like others have said; berms, tires, whatever. And if you do it perfect, and this guy is really good and a crook, you still lose in the courtroom. Been there and done that.