Protective Eyewear and should you use it

[Pandaz3]

The current edition of 'TFB" has an article that points to yet another website stating that the Armslist or whatever website shows their people in videos shooting without protective eyewear. the TFB author says that while he thinks that is okay, some of the other websites viewers have been vocally opposed. They go on to mention using protective eyewear when cleaning or working on your guns.

My own thoughts are varied, while shooting cartridge rifles and semiautomatic handguns by myself I don't care to wear the things. If shooing Black Powder, or cartridge based revolvers, or shotguns I do. That second set of firearms can throw debris back at me in my limited experience while the first set have never done that. If I am with other then I am usually to the rear, but sometimes to the side and Protection is necessary.

I wear regular glasses when cleaning or maintaining guns. I always use hearing protection when shooting or around shooting. At the occupied range I wear a billed cap also.

A sum of my thoughts at the moment, but not my last word on the subject.

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[Member 5605]

I had a bad .22 load once and it made me glad I had glasses on. Was not fully in battery or something on a GSG, blew crap back hard through the open breech.


Always glasses. Always ear protection. No exceptions. Eyes don't regenerate.

 

[Joe13]

Didn't wear hearing or eye protection for the first 20 something years of shooting. Some sort of close calls with the eyes and my hearing is glad that a 9mm was the loudest thing we took with us. We didn't were helmet or pads to do any of the insane stuff we did to stay occupied either.



Today, alway have hearing and eye protection but I'm too fat for a bike so helmets aren't something to think about (had one with my motorcycle though lol).


Had plenty of hot brass hit me in the face or non burnt powder catch an eye they the years but never enough to effect eye sight.




Yes, I think others should wear that level of protection as well but honestly, if your willing to gamble you will most likely only loose one eye and not both.


Shooting reloads would always make me consider that the gun could explode and maybe I should be concerned about shrapnel but I don't reload yet.



Side note: I would bet this is location based. My southern kin wouldn't hesitate to go out without ears or eyes and hunt birds or just go blast cans.

 

[Stomper]

Never wore safeties back in the day when in the Army, and we shot all kinds of ordinance.... a lot. I also did a stint as a logger, and never wore safeties (or ear plugs)... real men just squint to keep crap outta their eyes!


Now, I wear safeties and earplugs (because of tinnitus) whenever I work with most tools and the noise is over "talking levels" (lawn mower, hedge trimmer, chain saw, saws, etc)

 

[2A2Dend]

To each their own.
Disregard common sense in your early years, forfeit in the later years.
Young and dumb was/is the "in" thing
Later in life, you'll see.

Whatever!!

 

[Stomper]

Young, dum, and fulla..... er, never mind!

 

[Flopsweat]

Do whatever you like, but promoting not wearing eye and protection is a little ear-responsible, as eye see it.

 

[BlackRyder]

I actually have an injury (not a bad one by any means) caused by the use of protective eyewear, when a spent .22 cartridge ejected back into my face and got caught in between my glasses and my cheek! That sucker was HOT! Not saying you shouldn't wear safety gear- I just thought it was an ironic way to receive a little scar.

 

[Joe13]

I actually have an injury (not a bad one by any means) caused by the use of protective eyewear, when a spent .22 cartridge ejected back into my face and got caught in between my glasses and my cheek! That sucker was HOT! Not saying you shouldn't wear safety gear- I just thought it was an ironic way to receive a little scar.

Yea, only goggles would prevent that and I don't see that catching on anytime soon.

 

[Koda]

had a .45 case eject straight back and hit me square in the center of my safety glasses the other weekend. Didnt have time to blink, would have hit my shooting eye.

What is "TFB"?

 

[Stomper]

I actually have an injury (not a bad one by any means) caused by the use of protective eyewear, when a spent .22 cartridge ejected back into my face and got caught in between my glasses and my cheek! That sucker was HOT! Not saying you shouldn't wear safety gear- I just thought it was an ironic way to receive a little scar.

Then you shouldn't wear a BDU shirt when shooting either... when I think back on all the hot M60 machinegun and M16 brass that flew down the back of my collar and down the cuffs of my sleeves while shooting in the prone...

 

[Stomper]

had a .45 case eject straight back and hit me square in the center of my safety glasses the other weekend. Didnt have time to blink, would have hit my shooting eye.

What is "TFB"?

That FRAKIN Burns!

 

[BlackRyder]

Then you shouldn't wear a BDU shirt when shooting either... when I think back on all the hot M60 machinegun and M16 brass that flew down the back of my collar and down the cuffs of my sleeves while shooting in the prone...

Haha! Yeah, more than a few times I've had cartridges spill out onto the floor when flipping up my hoodie after a range trip. "No honey, I swear, I drove straight home after work! Traffic was just really bad! Oh, oops...."

 

[Joe13]

I'm surprised at the willingness (by some) to compromise basic safety standards. I've never gone without when target shooting. I don't hunt often, but I've always had eyewear and ear plugs (sort of half way in). I don't care if anyone thinks less of me for doing it, at least I will be able to hear them razz me, and watch them do it with both of my eyes.

I'm not much of a hunter yet but a couple things jumped out at me.

First is that you would only need glasses if your hunting with a simi auto - I've never had brass ejection issues with my bolt action.

Second, IF I had to have ear protection for that one possible shot then I would get the noise canceling ear muffs because sound seems to be very important in the woods and I can't imagine walking around trying to hear stuff with ear plugs half in

 

[BlackRyder]

Or, a suppressor! Too bad it's such a pain in the arse to get one, seems like that would be the best solution for being kind to your ears while still maintaining awareness of the world around you.

 

[Joe13]

Or, a suppressor! Too bad it's such a pain in the arse to get one, seems like that would be the best solution for being kind to your ears while still maintaining awareness of the world around you.

The bullet would still have to break the sound barrier to have enough velocity for a humane kill on big game. Would be awesome for little critters.

 

[Mor4us]

I'm not much of a hunter yet but a couple things jumped out at me.

First is that you would only need glasses if your hunting with a simi auto - I've never had brass ejection issues with my bolt action.

Second, IF I had to have ear protection for that one possible shot then I would get the noise canceling ear muffs because sound seems to be very important in the woods and I can't imagine walking around trying to hear stuff with ear plugs half in

I wear hearing aids and amplified shooting muffs while hunting. I can hear a fly fart @ 150 yards,, if the wind is not blowing.

 

[Joe13]

I wear hearing aids and amplified shooting muffs while hunting. I can hear a fly fart @ 150 yards,, if the wind is not blowing.

That's a nice setup for sure.

Are the hearing aids normal for you or do you add them just for hunting. I'm guessing the former but I am continually learning.

 

[Medic!]

I always have on glasses. It's just a habit. And in my line of work it was a must.

Once I had a ruptured primer on a AK-47. It sheared the firing pin cross retainer pin with enough force to shoot the firing pin out of the gun. It escaped the gun by bending the dust cover near the back of the action.

It hit sideways thankfully. And slapped my face and glasses.
It hurt but was no big deal. But I might not have thought this if my polycarbonate shades were off.

Just think. When you shoot a 1911. And many other guns. The firing pin is pointing right back at your eye.

Even with a retained firing pin. If it breaks at or behind the retention point. The back half could be a missile to the eye.

Or if you have an older Beretta. You could be wearing the back half of the slide in your eye hole!

 

[Mor4us]

That's a nice setup for sure.

Are the hearing aids normal for you or do you add them just for hunting. I'm guessing the former but I am continually learning.

I have hearing loss from all the years logging, mining, construction (heavy equipment/chainsaws) shooting etc and wear some very expensive behind the ear hearing aids and then i put on a pair of the Howard Leight amplified shooting muffs on top of it and wow.. Every step I take sounds like I am stomping on corn flakes. It is maddening at first, but then you have to think i am probably still at a disadvantage compared to the critters that live out there I am hunting. Especially the cats.. Now those guys are flat out sneaky and have this nasty tendency to always be behind you.. But, if a guy gets to a good spot and just sits and listens, it is really cool as pretty soon you can start figuring direction. Just yesterday I was wearing just the muffs and heard a chipmunk chattering about 40 yards away. If I have both on, I can probably double that range. I really like the setup for calling predators, as I can hear my caller further away and can keep my back against something so the lions cant get behind me..again.. Those lions will scare the crap out of you when they sneak up on you and then scream.. GAWD!