Wear your safety glasses at the range!

[dmurdach]

+1 for klcmschlesinger
It is easy to get everything all set and simply not think about eyes or ears on accident. When someone then reminds you you should be thankful. We have probably all forgotten to put ears on at some time and that first shot can be a harsh reminder if its a big boomer!

 

[El Tejon]

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.

I have expressed shock on THR before at being on ranges in Texas where shooters did not wear eye protection. I am still uncertain why this is so common there.

 

[Doug S]

Yes, for some reason I still never cease to be amazed at how many people don't uses eye or ear protections when shooting firearms. I belong to a small private gun club. There is no range officer. Members have a key to the property and facilities. Most of the time I'm there alone, and I like it that way.

 

[dodge]

At my range there was really no enforcement of the rules but since 3 of us are now NRA certified RSO's we will be enforcing the rules. The rules are now posted so hopefully everybody can see them. Everybody does pretty good with hearing protection but not eye protection. The real problem is we can't always be at the range to enforce the rules. It's pretty much open to the public although the rules state that you have to be a member but I know that there are people shooting there without being a member. The range is not privately owned but the land is leased from the borough with on
a 99 year lease.

 

[tuj]

I wear impact rated eye glasses all the time, so I never worry about safety glasses, BUT, I do shoot a lot on the indoor range and I've had brass come back and once or twice get behind my glasses. After that I started using side-shields. I don't use them all the time, but if I'm going to be shooting for a long time, I will.

 

[RustyShackelford]

Range wear....

I highly suggest wearing eye protection or eyewear that can cover your face/eyes.
In 11/2013, I was shooting reloaded wad-cutter 230gr loads out of my M&P Compact .45acp pistol. I'm left handed. One of the hot brass cases, flew up & hit the upper frame of my glasses, slowing down & sliding off my cheek!
It wasn't very painful but I did feel the heat of the metal. Thankfully I was not hurt but it shows that eyewear in important when target shooting.
Reloads or handloads need extra caution too. Always make sure you have proper ventilation, eye & ear protection and know the range.

Rusty

 

[btg3]

Son of a work associate was yanking to free a fishing lure hung in the brush. It released and came flying back resulting in a lost eye.

My mom's yard man got insect spray in an eye and did not seek medical attention thinking the irritation would subside. Lost that eye.

Safety glasses are not just for the shooting sports.

 

[gonoles_1980]

My wife learned to not wear low cut tops to the range

 

[Baba Louie]

My wife learned to not wear low cut tops to the range

Safety shirts as well.

Long sleeved & buttoned all the way to the top.

I too have done the hot brass down the front o the shirt dance thing before.

Kinda funny dancing there holding a loaded handgun, trying to be safe and yet still cool off or lose that darned hot piece of brass at the same time. (not really funny at the moment mind you, just reflecting upon it later provided a chuckle or three.)

 

[Prophet]

As someone who once had to have a stubbornly embedded and incredibly painful foreign object extracted from his left cornea (non-firearm related), I concur. I look for excuses to put on a pair of safety glasses now.

Eyes and ears, folks. They're worth it.

 

[JohnKSa]

Had an empty eject straight back at an eye once. The case mouth cut a nice little crescent-shaped divot in the lens. I was really glad I was wearing eye-pro that day.

It's a good idea to wear safety glasses while cleaning and working on guns too. It keeps solvents and springs away from eyeballs.

 

[Thermactor]

Ear and eye protection are just common sense. I'm guilty of not wearing eye protection sometimes due to range fog making it hard to see the target worth a darn, but it's my stupidity. Wear the protection, you won't regret doing it.

 

[Pizzapinochle]

Yup, took some brass to the glasses just today. Always on.

 

[tlatoani]

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.

A friend of the family has a glass eye from the s-hook on a bungie. It gives me the creeps every time I use bungies now.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

Your ordinary every-day wear eyeglasses are only truly safe if they are polycarbonate. That's the only thing I buy.

Mike

 

[RustyShackelford]

Massad Ayoob; eyewear.....

Author, reserve police captain & lethal force instructor Massad Ayoob, put out a great gun press article on why the use of protective eyewear is so important. Not only on the gun range or while hunting, but also if you do any first responder or security work.
My friend & co-worker often wore contacts but at work he wore regular glasses for that reason.
Ayoob noted how a few state troopers & law officers had felons shoot at them causing auto glass or sprawl to injury them.
I've dealt with violent subjects or accident victims who had blood/body fluids(spit, sweat, mucus, etc) flying all over.
Excessive glare & street lights can sometimes cause problems too at night.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Thanks for the thread, OP. Good to get reminded of the importance of eye safety.

I actually take it a step further. My daily sunglasses are actually rated/certified safety glasses with hidden foam cushions on the temples and outboard of the lenses.

I don't muck about with my eyes. I won't get another set anytime soon..haha.

 

[Outlaw Man]

Instead of buying "designer" sunglasses, I spent the money on a decent, yet good looking, pair of safety glasses with interchangeable lenses. I wear them almost everywhere (if it's sunny) with the dark lenses, like they're just a pair of regular sunglasses. I've actually come across instances where I was glass to have them, even when I wasn't shooting (and my range bag was miles away).

A couple years ago, ESS did a similar demonstration at the SHOT Show by shooting their glasses with what was essentially an air rifle. They had a mannequin head they placed the glasses on to add some resistance. A glancing blow will cause the glasses to move some rather than having to absorb all that energy. It was pretty impressive, though. Makes me glad I use something all the time.

As an aside, a lot of ranges, at least around here, allow regular eyeglasses instead of safety glasses. While it's certainly better than nothing (in most scenarios), it's hardly an acceptable substitute, in my opinion.

 

[GEM]

Yesterday at a match with some steel, one of our squad members had a round come back and hit him square in the classes. Given it was significantly slowed down, no damage but he was impressed.

 

[Scooter22]

Make sure your wearing glasses even if just handleing with live ammo. I was shooting a old Mossberg tube fed target rifle for the first time. I had a fail to feed problem and was standing over the gun looking at the round that wouldn't feed. I took my shooting glasses off because they kept slipping forward. I tried gently cycling the bolt forward and back to see if I could see the problem. On the back pull the base hit the ejector and it went BANG! Except for some powder in my eyes and nicks on my cheek I was very lucky. Protect your eyes.

 

[TIMC]

I have expressed shock on THR before at being on ranges in Texas where shooters did not wear eye protection. I am still uncertain why this is so common there.

Well maybe because we believe you are responsible for your own actions and don't need big brother telling you what to do. I personally wear eye protection and I respect someone's right for Darwinism to selectively remove them from the gene pool for their stupidity if they choose not to be safe. As long as you are not endangering me then have at it. That is how the world is supposed to work!

 

[tuj]

TIMC: While I respect your viewpoint, there is an interesting quandary here. See, ranges that require eye protection (which nearly every range I've been to in Texas that is open to the public *does* require, and at our club's private ranges, it is also required) are akin to seat belt laws for adults. The thing is, seat belt laws have been statistically shown to save lives. Are they right morally, imposing a "choice" on someone else? That's a really hard one to answer.

But at least where I have been in TX, wearing eye protection is common and usually required by the range rules. On our rimfire range, I have seen people without hearing protection (which I don't agree with, but understand).

 

[TIMC]

I have never been to a range here that did not have eye protection in their range rules but I have never seen it enforced even when there is an RO present.

For the record I am also against the seatbelt law for the same reasons but I do wear mine religiously; like eye protection I don't think there should be a law telling me to!

 

[leadcounsel]

I'm on the obsessive side about PPE (eyes, ears, seatbelts, helmets, etc.).

Anytime I'm working with high RPM saws, shooting, or when I was in the military doing various things like Airborne Ops, I would wear my goggles. I've been struck in the face/eyes so many times by flying brass, shards of lead spall, hot powder bits, splintered wood bits, and other random items doing various work/jobs/hobbies.

Here's a question though: How do most of you envision a self-defense situation where you may have to shoot but have no eye-pro, whether in your home, on public/private property, or maybe from your car (where glass bits fly everywhere). I realize that eye and ear pro may be secondary, but anyone take measures like the gentleman above who wears custom eye pro almost always, IOT prevent an injury?

 

[Ignition Override]

Of the many dozens of local kids and older guys who go to a local river area to shoot, I've only seen (maybe) one guy who wore safety glasses.

He was a soldier whose unit in Ft. Riley served in Iraq back in '09.