Just this past weekend, a father took his 14 year old son out to an indoor range in Sarasota Florida to celebrate Independence Day early.  You can read about it here. They were using the far right hand lane. The father was shooting a handgun when the brass ejected and hit the wall. It bounced off and went inside his shirt. Nothing out of the ordinary there. What happens next is the problem. The father reaches back with his right hand to pull his shirt so he can get the hot brass out. The handgun was still in his right hand. He had a negligent discharge and his son was shot. I am sad to say that son died due to his injuries.

There are plenty of hilarious videos of the “Hot Brass Dance”. I am sure some of us have experienced it as well.

I cannot fathom killing my own child. The loss is too great. However use this as a lesson of what not to do. Brass down a shirt is not a life threatening crisis. Composure is critical when utilizing firearms responsibly. Try not to be complacent. This can be applied to any endeavor where a mistake can take the life of someone. If there is an issue, compose yourself. Stop what you are doing. Put the gun down safely and deal with the brass.

There have been success stories as well.

Back in 2008 I took my friend to an indoor range in Dallas Tx. We were shooting another friend’s FNX 45 tactical. We were positioned in the right hand lane and a similar situation happened. Brass ejected and bounced off the wall. Instead of going into my friend’s shirt, it fell in between his glasses and eye brow. It hurt but he stayed calm and put the gun down.

A recently read about a woman who had a round detonate and blow a hole in her hand. She remained facing down range with her injured her hand raised in the air waiting for the RO to come and make the gun safe.

Strive to be better shooters and safer shooters every day. My condolences to the Brumby family for their loss.