User Panel
Posted: 8/30/2004 3:09:45 PM EDT
I honestly have to say I absolutely hate wearing eye protection when I shoot. Something about it, I don't know. I don't like wearing sunglasses or anything other goggle like devices. I have a nice pair of Smith & Wesson shooting glasses, but they are just uncomfortable and unnatural for me to wear (as are any goggles or glasses).
I know I should wear eye protection, but I just hate doing so. So, which leads to my question: Do you use eye protection when shooting? |
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Absolutely. I only have one good eye, and I intend on keeping it. I've had to extract a piece of brass from my cheek once, and that made a believer out of me.
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Used to not, now almost always do.
Think about how many rounds you are sending down range, and each one of those is like a lottery ticket or a bolt of lightning. Odds are incredibly in your favor that each one will go off without a hitch. But each one is another chance for something to go wrong. My eyes aren't worth the gamble, no matter how slight the odds. |
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Always. You lose an eye, it ain't growing back.
I have clear, dark grey, bronze, yellow, etc. for all lighting conditions. |
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I wear glasses, so for me it's no big deal. But the pair I just replaced carried a reminder of why I wear them - a nice little gouge from the mouth of a deflected .45 case that came back.
Hell yes, I wear eye protection! |
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Firm beleiver in eye and ear pro. Had my first 1911 (Auto-ordnance ) go high order on me due to a double stroked reload. I picked powder and brass outta my face for a week!
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I wear them religiously. Mainly because I have 2 pairs of Colt shooting glasses that look just about as good as some Oakleys and their lens tint is just about as good also.
What made me a REAL BELIEVER in wearing eye protection was right after I bought my 357 I was shooting-without eye protection-and a peice of shaved lead or copper jacket came back and got me REAL GOOD on the cheek about 1 1/2" below my eye when I shot. Now I even have a pair of yellow shooting glasses for those rare AZ days when it's cloudy. Dillon Precision has some Bomber brand shooting glasses that are light as a feather, cool design and only cost $9. Sure is a hell of a lot cheaper than an optometrist or losing an eye altogether. |
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I voted yes, but truth be told in the hot humid VA summary my shooting glasses fog up on me and I don't always wear them.
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Oakley M frames. I've got hot spots (melted) on the lenses where a hot piece of brass hit the glasses. Could have been my eye.
After seeing some of the pictures of KBs and rifles delaminating, I always wear safety glasses. |
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If I didn't I'd never see the target, I'm really nearsighted.
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+1 |
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ALWAYS ! i could never shoot a gun if i were blind. Plus i've seen guys peal hot brass off their eye lids. Didn't look fun to me.
J |
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I wear glasses so it's no biggie for me.
If I'm shooting a brand new gun, I'll pull the goggles out of the bag. When dealing with an unknown firearm, I'll take all the extra protection I can get. I've got a REALLY nice set of ESS shooting glasses that I need to get off my ass and get prescription lenses cut for. They've been collecting dust since Christmas. |
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Even a set of nice Oakleys seems cheap compared to eye surgery or blindness.
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I forgot to mention.
At an ARFCOM shoot I was priveliged to shoot a suppressed M16. I was glad I had eye protection on because it seems the suppressor forced a lot of hot gas back through the charging handle hole and right into my face. I shot the same weapon with a regular (unsuppressed) upper on it and that didn't happen. The gas was hot but I don't think it was hot enough to cause permanent damage. But I was still glad I was sporting eye protection. |
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I always wear shooting glasses and for extra protection close my eyes before firing.
Regards, Mild Bill |
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Almost always wear some type of eyewear.
I run my ARs wet, and the first few rounds splatter lube on my glasses, etc. Ricochets are pretty common, too. I was hit in the foot once with a .40 calibre bullet that bounced straight back. Never had a split case with a rifle, but it happens. Had it happen once with a revolver, which presented no harm to me, but messed up the cylinder of the revolver a bit. Some bad stuff will happen sooner or later if you shoot enough. |
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I always wear eye protection, even when big game hunting. The only time I go w/o ear protection when shooting is during big game hunting.
I have had a lot of shrapnel hit me while shooting and have bled from the neck, forehead, cheeks and arms after shooting. I am so glad my eyes can still see. |
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As near-sighted as they are, my eyes are the only ones I have and the only ones I believe I'll be issued. So, I always wear eye protection when shooting--generally goggles for training classes with centerfire weapons and glasses for shooting shotguns (sporting clays). Have to admit I don't wear eyes or ears with my pellet gun, though.
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Once a long, long, time ago, I was quail hunting using some Wanda all plastic (remember them) shotgun shells. One split when I fired it. After a face full of plastic and burning powder, Ive never shot without eye protection.
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I have seen a pair of eyes saved by shooting glasses. A buddy of mine was ripping through a 30 rounder with an M2 Carbine and had a case head separation (surplus ammo).
Only a fool would shoot without eye protection. |
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Only when I'm wearing sun glasses while shooting.
IOW, just about never. |
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Well, I wouldn't agree with that... Since doing so in combat would be a... very bad idea, to say the least. |
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Always. When I'm shooting or when I am using the grinder or the drill press or any one of dozens of other power tools. I've had ricochets go right past my head (.22) had brake cleaner splash in my eyes and have had drill bits break and countless other things where only dumb luck saved me from my youthful self. I also use ear protection with some of the pneumatic tools and the power driver. I do lots of non-tough guy things like put jack stands under a car I am working on. If that makes me a pussy then so be it. I'd rather be a pussy with full hearing & vision than a one-eyed deaf tough guy.
I guess I should go put killfashes on my shooting glasses for SHTF |
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For the same reason hearing protection is a bad idea in combat. |
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Absolutely, and I'll tell you why.
Around early 1996 I was assigned as a cherry E-2 automatic rifleman in my squad (I carried the M249, for those of you unfamiliar with the term). We were out on a live fire range working on trench/bunker clearing and I was assigned to a support by fire position. I had 1200 rounds of ammo, and I was instructed to use it all. So I'm hammering away at the targets, changing the barrel every 200 rounds. Regardless, the piglet was getting hot. Way hot. About halfway through my last box of ammo, the weapon jammed. I cocked it and tried to fire again... clunk. So then I open the feed tray cover and lift the feed tray to clear the weapon and *POW*.... The gun had a failure to extract, and left a cartridge in the smoking hot barrel. When I lifted the feed tray and looked into the chamer, the heat from the barrel cooked the round off. All that powder from the cartridge and shit from the receiver got blown back into my face, and I wasn't wearing any eye protection. I had powder burns on my face and and eyes, and brass shavings in my eyes. I got a nice little ride to the aid station and spent about an hour having my eyes flushed with saline. The contact lenses I was wearing were literally shredded. Then I was transferred to the field hospital, and had an opthamologist treat me. Eventually I made it back to the hospital on post, but basically I spent three days sitting in front of a slit lamp while an opthamologist poked and prodded me and stuck weird things in my eyes. I couldn't see right for a week. Sooo.. I wear eye protection every time I shoot. |
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Lets see now… cases bursts and loads of brass and shit blows out into your eye and blinds you… end of your shooting
Eye protection is a no brainer ANdy |
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I believe in eye and ear protection, but I've got to admit I haven't always subscribed to that regimen. Even today I sometimes take off one or the other and forget to put them back on before letting a round fly. I'm getting much better towards 100% compliance though.
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Normally I don't wear any sort of eye protection unless needed. Not even sun glasses (even when needed - Unless it's winter, but they're not exactly for the sun).
I know I should wear eye protection. It's likely that I'll wish I were wearing some, but by then it'll be too late. |
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Yes, I do. My dad lost an eye due to not wearing eye protection on a work site; eyesight is precious and we take it for granted til it is impaired or lost.
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I normally do not.
Don't really know why, just don't. I suppose it's sort of left over from the .mil. Never wore any there, so i just got into a habit of not wearing it. |
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Have you ever tried aiming through glasses with cracks, scratches, or debris on it? It's a one-way ticket to nuisance and detraction from concentration on aim. This is the #1 reason I don't wear eye protection unless I have to - it's annoying and just further hampers me. It's the same process of soldiers taking out NVGs on a day-mission (a'la Mogadishu) or leaving that mortar behind because it's just so fucking heavy. I have enough disadvantages with gravity, wind, and my opponent... Why should I add to it further with eye protection? Glasses keep falling off, getting scratched, dirty, ect... It's a pain in the ass hassle for little payoff. |
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I had a Colt Ser 80 KB about 5 yrs ago. (piss poor reload) It bulged the slide, blew the grips off the gun and I had a chunk of the case rim embedded in my Gargoyles. (It would have hit my right pupil) I was at a San Antonio outdoor range in mid summer and was only wearing the glasses because it was VERY sunny and the range faced east. I will NEVER plink without my eye protection again....I figure God only gives you one or 2 chances to learn from your mistakes, and I got lucky enough once. I ain't gonna push it any further.
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Always. If you shoot enough, sooner or later you're going to blow a case or have something come back at you. Mauser himself lost an eye when a semiauto he was developing KB'd.
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almost never.. Only time is do is revolvers.
Didn't wear them growing up, didn't wear them for hte Marine Corps ,don't wear them now for the most part. Normally when i do for revolvers it's my Oakleys. |
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Is this the result of military training and combat experience, or is this something you've discovered on your own? (Just curious - not intended as sarcasm or any kind of attack on you ror anything) |
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Wearing ear protection is uncomfortable also, but you wear it, so why not eye protection? I wear ear and eye protection 99.9% of the time. Other .1% because of brain fart/forgot. |
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Always, me ears were honked but usable coming off active duty. My eyes have now reached the stage I need my old man glasses for reading . Can't afford to speed up the process.
In combat the loss or degradation of peripheral vision would be the problem, if you can't see forward, I would hope you could get replacement lenses. Or is the suggestion that nobody wearing glasses should be in a MOS that requires rifle use. Whaadaya wanna bet neither the Army or the Marines are going to find that wearing glasses is a disqualifying defect? Having had to take one of my troops to the hospital with metal fragments in his eye was a practical lab session to emphasize the textbook. He was strapped down, I held his arms down and a buddy held his eyelids open because he kept trying to rub his eyes. |
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