Zinger

Talk about a real doozie. Working on retreat and advancing drills last night for Tac Tuesday. Some kinda fun, lemme tellya!

Darth Lord of the Range has seen fit to equip the C range, where we usually hold our class, with automatic target carriers. Now, that part of the range can be used for the regular schlubs to shoot on. He's also seen fit to retrofit A range with new carriers. While this is taking place, A range is our new 'hot' range. Problem is, the backsplash guard is not up to snuff. You know about backsplash guards, right? Those are the neat little carpet like pads that prevent bullet fragments from bouncing back and hitting you in the noggin.

Well, I seemed to be a bullet magnet last night. Caught two pieces of shrapnel in my left arm. Once as I was shooting a retreating target, and another time as an instructor. That one cut a dime size hole in my left forearm that required stictching up last night.

Hell, I've been cut worse shaving. This is no big deal for me to be hit by flying debris on the range. I wrote on the emergency room form that it was an open wound on my arm. I told the nurse that I was hit by a piece of flying metal...that just happened to be at a gun range. Ten minutes after they admit me, I am getting the third degree by some no-load "twice-a-year" detective trying to figure out who shot me.

"Gee, Ocifer No-load, no one shot me, this was an injury from a bullet fragment that bounced off the backstop. "

What really rankled me about this moron was that he had no mental acuity when it came to firearms and firearms training. C'mon!!! This is a cop who's primary tool in combating crime is his service pistol. He should have just a bit of brain cells reserved for the proper care, use and training with regards to firearms. It took me ten minutes to explain how the accident happened, another ten minutes to explain what Tac Tuesday is and my role as an instructor, and ANOTHER TEN MINUTES paitently waiting while he wrote down any word longer than two syllables.

For the three readers who don't know anything about Tac Tuesday, it is a tactical firearms class that I participate in once a week. This class started over a year ago, and I was there when it started. There were a few die-hard regulars who always attended and over time, the class grew into a major weekly production. Each week we focus on a different tactical training lesson. Force-on-force, low light, shoot and move, and basic firearms fundamentals are all worked on in this class. There are other classes spent in lecture on Concealed Carry, Basic Emergency Medicine, Self-Defense and Situational Awareness and other topics of interest. We don't just use our handguns. There are classes spent on carbines and shotguns, too.

I was just a little upset that they blew this out of proportion. I mean, it was just a dime size hole from a piece of flying debris. The fact that this happened in a gun range is what brought the unwanted attention to me. Instructor Greg and Felon commended me for being professional and also giving them a heads up. I hate to think what would happen if my injury (oh so minor as it was) caused any undue problems for the range or the class.