Wear your safety glasses at the range!

Make sure they actually have an impact rating as well. Some cheap ones do not.

Nice results.

I did a similar test once, shot glasses with a .22, but they were just sitting on a ledge, so a lot of the force went into knocking the glasses off the ledge instead of into the lens.

If it is attached to my head, the glasses can't just fall off and more of the force will be absorbed.

Did you have the glasses backed by something, or were they free standing?

I wear glasses so have always had a prescription pair of shooting glasses. A few years back, I got hit in the face by some debris at the range that cracked one of my lenses pretty seriously. I don't even know what hit me but the damage to the lens was bad enough that I'm sure I would have lost an eye had I not been wearing them.

Are there any ranges that actually allow shooters on the line without eyes & ears protection?

I've shot on both coasts & in between, also in Europe and I've never heard of a gun range (public or private) that didn't have mandatory safety rules.

Yep! I had a kaboom 2 weeks ago and had powder burns and small pieces of metal all over my forehead around my glasses!

I've never seen anyone at a range - public or private - who was not wearing eye and ear protection while at the line. I cannot imagine that being tolerated. Even when shooting at our home range, we always wear the proper protection.

Several years ago while settling in my climbing stand, I put a rubber bungee cord behind it to snug it against the tree. It slipped out of my hand, flew around the tree and the "S" hook hit me square in my left eye. If I wasn't wearing eye protection I'm pretty sure I would have lost that eye.

Yep! I had a kaboom 2 weeks ago and had powder burns and small pieces of metal all over my forehead around my glasses!

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I had one too, think I double loaded a round or the casing gave out. Shattered my grips and blew out the mag, had a light powder burn to my hand. Shards of wood (maybe metal too) ripped my shirt. Around my eyebrows above the safety glasses was a little singed and I had couple of slight shard wounds on my face.

Bottom line I now wear my cap pulled down to cover the top of the safety glasses and have bought glasses that are more like small goggles, that cover more of my face. I had only been reloading a month when this happened.

dodo bird said:

Did the .22 pass through?

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No, but like I said, the glasses went flying. Nothing to hold them in place so the energy got translated into movement instead of damage. I'll try it again sometime with the glasses fixed in place.

Public ranges have a lot of stuff flying around. I get beaned by brass all the time at the bench (have had gun finish compromised, esp with steel case) and one in the eye could do some damage. Also, I find small rocks or bullet holes in the wrong caliber in my targets all the time.

Mike

I was at a range yesterday, and the RSO had to tell a person that they could not be on the line without safety glasses. The man had to go back and buy glasses! He had come to the range without any and was quite grumpy that they enforced the rule!

I don't shoot without them but.........Thanks for the reminder!

I never forget my PPE.....

I was at the range last night. Had my ears on, getting my gun, mag, targets organized. Busy and happy to be ready to shoot. Got the target on, pushed the button to push it downrange, got ready, mag in gun, rack slide, aim, fire, half way through the mag. Tap on my shoulder, range officer. "Sir, can you please put your shooting glasses on? If you don't have any I will be happy to provide you some."

I was mortified, thanked him profusely, put my glasses on, apologized a few times, and continued. I really felt bad because I usually make very sure I am fully equiped and ready to go before starting. Felt dumb, but by thanking the range officer, offering no excuse other than my own dumb brain fart, he and I talked quite a bit. Let me use his mag loader, shared some stories, had a great time. All ended well. Bottom line, admit your wrong, do better next time and move on.

I wear prescription glasses and have had polycarbonate lenses with a high index of refraction since I began wearing them in my forties. The tough lenses have protected my eyes numerous times at Habitat homes I've worked on and in a back yard junk yard when a rake flew back and knocked my glasses off and bent the frames. They are great eye protection and cover far enough to the side that I don't need other glasses to shoot with. I'm not suggesting any glasses will do - I recommend a good pair that wrap around and have the strength to offer true protection. I'm just fortunate mine provide that protection, although all of that comes at a fairly high cost.

Just curious what do most of you use for safety glasses? Right now I use my Oakley Flak Jackets when its sunny and a cheap pair I picked up at Harbor Freight for when it's too dark at the range. Need to replace the clear ones with something better soon.

When I first started shooting my wife insisted on safety gasses. I came to shooting in my 30s, she had been shooting since childhood. I didn't see the point and told her so, but wore them to humor her. Second range trip we went on a hot piece of ejected brass smacked into my glasses. I apologized and thanked her right away.

I've never seen anyone at a range - public or private - who was not wearing eye and ear protection while at the line. I cannot imagine that being tolerated.

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I see it all the time. The range I often go to does not have any range officers and almost everything is "tolerated".

I don't have great eyes and got the biggest pair of cheap prescription glasses i could, which helps me see the target but i am not 100% sure they offer the protection i want.

I never saw anyone on a range without protection until last week. I was finishing up and did a double take at a kid teaching his friend, neither of them wearing safety glasses. I was going to say something, but I decided they can do what they want with their eyes.

Range here provides free eye and ear protection, you'd have to be a dummy not to use it. I always have my own and extras since I don't like wearing stuff after others. Most people are pretty disgusting, I find.

+1

I am the safety manager at our facility and am amazed at how many men would rather be macho and injured than mature and safe. Safety glasses come in so many grades and often it is smarter to buy your own (better quality) than they cheap ones most check writers prefer. You can get cheater bifocal style safety glasses also fyi.

Safety first!