Retina problems from shooting ?

[GSample]

I just read something a couple of weeks ago that was somewhat of a surprise. Specifically, I ran across a couple of discussions on people who have ended up with retina tears or detachment to some degree due to shooting. I think most of what I read was tied to large bore rifles and shot guns and not pistols. Most, if not all of the people that suffered retina problems could NOT directly link their eye issues to shooting but it was highly suspect. Before seeing those discussions, I had similar thoughts about my own eyes due to my service in the Navy where I was inside a 5" x 38 gun mount (2 barrel). Every time the gun fired, my vision would blur badly for a second. We shot hundreds and hundreds of rounds. Since that time I have had several retina tears, detachment and glaucoma. The detachment led to a couple of pretty severe surgeries for correction as did the glaucoma. I enjoy shooting and until these articles, had never heard of this before. Knowing what I experienced in the Navy, the jolt from a rifle or shotgun makes sense as a possible way to suffer a tear.


Have any of you had retina issues or had your ophthalmologist tell you that shooting could bring on a tear? Have you heard of this elsewhere?


Thank you.


GS

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[Stomper]

You should look into a VA disability claim for that, based on what you said!

 

[GSample]

I may very well do that although it has been many years ago and proving the actual cause may be impossible. But, it doesn't hurt to check for sure. Thank you.

 

[Joe13]

I may very well do that although it has been many years ago and proving the actual cause may be impossible. But, it doesn't hurt to check for sure. Thank you.

Trust me, if my dad can get 70% disability from the VA then you can too.

He did it himself and got like 10-15%.

Found a good doctor and it was immediately bumped up too 70%.

This was from the Vietnam war and he only recently asked for benifits.

 

[GSample]

Thanks for telling me that. I'll sure give it a go. My time was also Viet Nam era but toward the end.

 

[mjbskwim]

Mike D was a janitor. But had a lot of guns.
He bought a 30/30. I asked him how many he had.
He came back a few days later and told me he had 27 lol
ANYway. He came to the store and his eye was bloody
WTF did you do?
I was shooting some 400+ caliber rifle. Scope hit you?
No.
Apparently the concussion from the rifle did this.

 

[GSample]

Yup. anything with the muzzle energy of a .375 H&H and more is suspect (4500ft-lbs). and it's not just retina detachment. It's concussion -- brain damage also. All of us can take a number of knocks. How many ..... depends?
Rifle Recoil Table
Actually velocity may be more important. see link. But energy correlates faily well with damage.

As a rule of thumb, I downloaded my .375 H&H to just 15-25% above .308 energy (2850ft-lb) for everything considered utilitarian 200gr or 235gr depending on avail.
I prefer < 2400 ft-lb as upper limit now for lots of practice, and I could not get that out of a .375 H&H so it's 7mm-08 now which is fine for N.A.

Interesting. I just had not heard of this before but certainly acknowledge the severity of the force caused from shooting certain rifles or shotguns. Inside the gun mount, it was a shock wave and I was roughly 3 to 4 ft. from the breech. Fortunately, I have not had any issues from rifle shooting but I do wonder if I may be more prone to further retina problems. My most "severe" shooter is my M1 which is not at all bad as compared to those you mentioned.

Thanks again.

 

[Kruel J]

That's why you should always close your eyes before you pull the trigger.

Not.

 

[Certaindeaf]

A 12ga will rattle your teefs.. especially a straight combed 6 lb gun

 

[GSample]

A 12ga will rattle your teefs.. especially a straight combed 6 lb gun

View attachment 323886

That's a great chart and speaks volumes when I look at the recoil energy. I forgot about my 12 gauge! Pretty amazing figures.

 

[smoothbore]

I have a friend who just had surgery on his eye. Retina detached! He shoots big bore rifle and hand guns and loves to load to max.I think all that is about to change.

My favorite rifle for shooting is a Handi rifle in 4570. I love loading for this cal. and nothing I load goes beyond the recoil of a an 06 with reduced recoil loads. Most of my plinking loads are with trailboss powder,340 gr cast bullets and loaded to max, only produces a recoil about like a 243 or less.

My tired old eyes are bad enough without adding to the problem with heavy recoil and muzzle blast.

 

[GSample]

Really sorry to hear about your friend's retina issue. Tears are pretty easy to deal with by way of laser "welding". It's the detachment that causes much larger problems (and surgeries). I hope all works out well. You are smart to stay low on recoil. It's interesting to how a light gun in a smaller caliber recoils. I shot a very light weight 20-gauge single a few weeks ago that really "surprised" me.

 

[eldbillbo]

Wow scary stuff got me all worried cause I shoot A LOT fortunately mostly .223 but I also shoot a lot of .308

Good thing the .300 Win mag is for hunting only..


I did once meet a guy who got cancer in his shoulder from shooting too much back in the day he used to work at a department store that got pallets of ammo and any thing with a dented box he got at half price not to mention this was back in the days of the $69 per 1000rds of 7.62 and he went through tons of it.

 

[Joe13]

my 12 gauge! Pretty amazing figures.

I've never hunted water fowl or turkeys so I've never even loaded up a 3.5 high brass shell...

Instead 90% 2.5" are clay shot and 10% 2.5" buck shot so I don't consider a 12ga a heavy hitter for my usage.

I ran my SxS 20ga with field shot non stop for hours.

 

[mrblond]

Recoil can be nasty. I was reading on one of the American Riflemen about the writer touching off both barrels of a double rifle. He said the next thing he remembered was being at the dead elephant.
Makes me glad my 338-378 has a good break on it

 

[transient]

I did once meet a guy who got cancer in his shoulder from shooting too much back in the day...

I few weeks ago I would have said BS, but my cousin-in-law just had three foot surgeries to remove cancerous tissue that formed after he stepped on a piece of lava rock on a beach a few years ago. Apparently, when you form scar tissue inside your body (like the tissue that forms around foreign objects like lava rocks in your foot), there's a chance that that scar tissue will be cancerous - it's basically melanoma, but inside your body. They also took out all the lymph nodes in his lower body as a precaution, but apparently the cancer hadn't spread.

 

[eldbillbo]

I few weeks ago I would have said BS, but my cousin-in-law just had three foot surgeries to remove cancerous tissue that formed after he stepped on a piece of lava rock on a beach a few years ago. Apparently, when you form scar tissue inside your body (like the tissue that forms around foreign objects like lava rocks in your foot), there's a chance that that scar tissue will be cancerous - it's basically melanoma, but inside your body. They also took out all the lymph nodes in his lower body as a precaution, but apparently the cancer hadn't spread.

Yeh thats what I though too but he did show me the scar . I know back in $69 per K days $69 was what We paid at gunshows. $79 at gun stores like keiths and 3 bears and NWA ( actually Clearview had it for $59k mail order ) I went through quite a bit of ammo but this guy would go out and shoot a 1000 rds in one day.
not uncommon back then to be honest but he was doing it weekly with a sks. and he was shooting shotguns and big bore rifles too.

I have come home many times with a sore shoulder all red colored from recoil this guy probably put more rds though his rifle in a year than most of use will in a life time with current prices.

 

[GSample]

It's probably safe to say that some of us are predisposed to come down with certain medical issues and others are not. The retina issue with shooting sure seems to be real but how much of a concern it is probably depends on the person, their guns, the frequency that they shoot, etc. Thanks to all for your replies. I for one have learned a lot but will certainly continue to shoot. It has been a part of my life since I was a very young boy (I'm 64 now). GS

 

[PaulB47]

Too many people buying short-barrelled rifles. And why are 12-gauges so popular? It's crazy.

I remember the first time I heard someone shoot a 16" AR-15; I thought it was insanely loud. I don't know if it is recoil or muzzle blast that causes the problems. Maybe the combination.

I have given up shooting my .338 Win Mag... my old eyes don't need any more punishment.

Maybe one of those rubber cushions on the cheek piece are worth looking at?

 

[Certaindeaf]

One of Elmer Keith's jobs in the war was to fire 12ga guns with proof loads and his only complaint was his hands would swell up by the end of the day.. and he wasn't a large man by any means. Technique is important.