Eye and Ears....Do you use them while shotgunning?

PJR · July 13, 2001, 12:34 PM

At our regular Thursday night trap shooting, I noted that several shooters weren't wearing eye and/or ear protection. Frankly, I think a person is foolish not to wear both. I've had shot bounce back and hit me while shooting sporting and been hit by pieces of target while shooting skeet.

At this particular club, the rules say shooters must wear both but it's a rule that is not enforced. I'm not about to become the self-appointed equipment monitor but it does make me feel uncomfortable to see shooters without proper safety equipment.

What's it like where you are and do you say anything to another shooter who isn't wearing his eyes and ears?

David Scott · July 13, 2001, 04:21 PM

We ALWAYS use 'em! There's too much crap that can happen to eyes and ears.

I think it's the club management's job, not yours, to go up to people and tell them to put on their safety gear. If you quietly get the word to them, they should handle it.

Suggestion: Carry a spare set of safety glasses and ear muffs in your range bag. They can be low-cost; I've seen both at the $10 level in Lowe's hardware. When you see someone without, offer to loan them your spares. Maybe they'll get the idea.

Dave R · July 13, 2001, 05:27 PM

Absolutely, every time, without fail.

MiniZ · July 13, 2001, 10:26 PM

For ears I switched from muffs to plugs(the muffs ride up when I mount the gun). I wear glasses to see more than two feet in front of my face, so I am covered there as well(OK, I don't have side sheilds, but the plastic is up to safety spec).

Zane

k77/22rp · July 13, 2001, 10:48 PM

Should never go without them theres been times when i have shot without eyes (not at a range on my property) but i never shoot for an extended amount of time without ears.
I know that i should also wear eyes all the time but they seem to bother me maybe its because i have all cheap pairs. but i still wear them for the majority of my shooting.

July 14, 2001, 01:39 AM

What?

Dave McC · July 14, 2001, 07:27 AM

When I started shooting, back around the time Mastodons went on the Endangered Species list(G), we knew little about the importance of protecting sight and hearing. Still seeing out of both eyes, but I hear crickets, whistles and hums that do not exist.Following a conversation in a restaurant is difficult.

Last hearing test the Doc summed it up nicely. " You're 54 but your ears are 75".....

K80Geoff · July 14, 2001, 06:52 PM

After misspent years in my youth hanging around the L105 tank cannon what little hearing I have remaining I guard jealously.

Since I am blind anyway (army doctor when I applied for flight school "With your eyes the only thing you are qualified to fly is a shovel") I always wear glasses.

When at the range before I shoot I always call out to other shooters to put on their eyes and ears, especially indoors.

Have a lens from my Randolph rangers with a chip missing courtesy of a dufus trapshooter using #4 shot

Learned my lesson.

If one of those guys looses sight in an eye at the range, bye bye range

Geoff Ross

C.R.Sam · July 14, 2001, 09:52 PM

I've worn eye protection forever, started usin archaic ear protection in the 40s. I just can't recall eye protection not being mandatory. A quiet word to the PTB at that range just might save someones sight and as noted before, might save the range.

Sam.............eh ?

cuerno de chivo · July 15, 2001, 01:10 PM

Tinnitus (sp?) sucks. Mine isn't all gun related but it is from not wearing hearing protection when I should have.

Anyone notice on the History Channel when they Russian small arms on the History of the Gun that the Russian test firers were not wearing "eyes" or "ears"?

DOCSpanky · July 15, 2001, 04:19 PM

Eyes always, earmuffs when practicing rifle or pistol, quality plugs when sporting clays, trap, or skeet is involved due to the ride-up on mounting.

Coronach · July 16, 2001, 10:38 PM

Reminds me of firearms training in police academy. We're all on the line, ready to go...and the officer giving the course of fire gets on the PA:

"Hey, Mike. Tell us how loud it gets, OK?"

Oops. Ears. Damn.

Mike

Sea Bass · July 18, 2001, 12:16 AM

I wear ear plugs and muffs when shooting. Double protection for the ears. I also wear safety glasses as well. Have to protect thoes eyes and ears. I knew someone who used to be in the FBI for close to 30 years. He has poor hearing now because back in the early days they didn't believe in hearing protection. Now he is paying the price.

Alleycat · August 10, 2001, 11:04 AM

I thought I'd bump this back up with a story:

I've been after my wife to wear her shooting glasses every time she shoots trap--she hates 'em becuase she has a little nose and prominent cheekbones and therefore every brand we've tried rides on her cheeks and fogs up. Her prescription glasses work, though, so she's foregoing contacts for trap night and wearing those.

Last night she started giving me flak for wearing my prescription lenses after the sun went down. I have a pair of Bolle Parole glasses with the prescription insert that I wear for everything else because they have better (read, "some") side coverage than my prescriptions, and they have multiple lenses, including clear. Her logic was that if I had 'em I should wear 'em, especially if it was so important to me that she wear hers.

So I did. And, as so often happens, she was right.

Last night, playing Annie Oakley, the first shooter in line shot at a low, distant bird...and got the trap house. AS the last shooter in line, I was in the perfect spot to take the reflected shot as it came off the house. I got multiple hits in the legs, torso, and the side of my face, several of which hit the glasses. Not much energy, just a sting, and no blood---but I'm sure glad they got me in the glassses and not my EYE! The wrap of the lenses saved me.

I'm converted. Safety glasses every time for me!

Steve

Dave McC · August 10, 2001, 11:22 AM

Amen, Steve, your story says it all....

K80Geoff · August 10, 2001, 12:22 PM

Had a similar problem shooting Sporting Clays. The target was a rabbit that was rolled along a rubber mat, the shot was bouncing back and hitting the other members of the squad! Range owner got an earfull about that one.

I have had splash back at an indoor range from lead pistol ammo. It can happen anywhere.

Geoff Ross

CONFEDERATE · August 12, 2001, 05:42 PM

well i have always used ear protection and i am going to start wearing eye protection to so far i have been lucky but you never know when something could happen.

July 13, 2001, 12:34 PM	#1
PJR Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2000 Posts: 1,127	Eye and Ears....Do you use them while shotgunning? At our regular Thursday night trap shooting, I noted that several shooters weren't wearing eye and/or ear protection. Frankly, I think a person is foolish not to wear both. I've had shot bounce back and hit me while shooting sporting and been hit by pieces of target while shooting skeet. At this particular club, the rules say shooters must wear both but it's a rule that is not enforced. I'm not about to become the self-appointed equipment monitor but it does make me feel uncomfortable to see shooters without proper safety equipment. What's it like where you are and do you say anything to another shooter who isn't wearing his eyes and ears?

July 13, 2001, 04:21 PM	#2
David Scott Senior Member Join Date: February 11, 2000 Posts: 2,456	We ALWAYS use 'em! There's too much crap that can happen to eyes and ears. I think it's the club management's job, not yours, to go up to people and tell them to put on their safety gear. If you quietly get the word to them, they should handle it. Suggestion: Carry a spare set of safety glasses and ear muffs in your range bag. They can be low-cost; I've seen both at the $10 level in Lowe's hardware. When you see someone without, offer to loan them your spares. Maybe they'll get the idea. __________________ "As I looked at my two young sons, each with his gun, and considered how much the safety of the party depended on these little fellows, I felt grateful to you, dear husband, for having acquainted them in childhood with the use of firearms." -- Elisabeth Robinson, in The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

July 13, 2001, 05:27 PM	#3
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 6,073	Absolutely, every time, without fail. __________________ I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).

July 13, 2001, 10:48 PM	#5
k77/22rp Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2000 Location: Michigan Posts: 577	Should never go without them theres been times when i have shot without eyes (not at a range on my property) but i never shoot for an extended amount of time without ears. I know that i should also wear eyes all the time but they seem to bother me maybe its because i have all cheap pairs. but i still wear them for the majority of my shooting. __________________ JeFF D on The High Road

July 14, 2001, 06:52 PM	#8
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	Say what! After misspent years in my youth hanging around the L105 tank cannon what little hearing I have remaining I guard jealously. Since I am blind anyway (army doctor when I applied for flight school "With your eyes the only thing you are qualified to fly is a shovel") I always wear glasses. When at the range before I shoot I always call out to other shooters to put on their eyes and ears, especially indoors. Have a lens from my Randolph rangers with a chip missing courtesy of a dufus trapshooter using #4 shot Learned my lesson. If one of those guys looses sight in an eye at the range, bye bye range Geoff Ross __________________ I am no longer a member of this forum. Bye!

July 13, 2001, 10:26 PM	#4
MiniZ Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2001 Location: SLC, UT Posts: 517	For ears I switched from muffs to plugs(the muffs ride up when I mount the gun). I wear glasses to see more than two feet in front of my face, so I am covered there as well(OK, I don't have side sheilds, but the plastic is up to safety spec). Zane __________________ Seven- Six- Two Millimeter....FULL METAL JACKET!!!

July 14, 2001, 01:39 AM	#6
PreserveFreedom Guest Posts: n/a	What?

July 14, 2001, 07:27 AM	#7
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	When I started shooting, back around the time Mastodons went on the Endangered Species list(G), we knew little about the importance of protecting sight and hearing. Still seeing out of both eyes, but I hear crickets, whistles and hums that do not exist.Following a conversation in a restaurant is difficult. Last hearing test the Doc summed it up nicely. " You're 54 but your ears are 75".....

July 14, 2001, 09:52 PM	#9
C.R.Sam Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1999 Location: Dewey, AZ Posts: 12,858	I've worn eye protection forever, started usin archaic ear protection in the 40s. I just can't recall eye protection not being mandatory. A quiet word to the PTB at that range just might save someones sight and as noted before, might save the range. Sam.............eh ?

July 15, 2001, 01:10 PM	#10
cuerno de chivo Junior member Join Date: July 6, 2000 Posts: 919	Tinnitus (sp?) sucks. Mine isn't all gun related but it is from not wearing hearing protection when I should have. Anyone notice on the History Channel when they Russian small arms on the History of the Gun that the Russian test firers were not wearing "eyes" or "ears"?

July 15, 2001, 04:19 PM	#11
DOCSpanky Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 1999 Location: Ashland City, TN Posts: 779	Eyes always, earmuffs when practicing rifle or pistol, quality plugs when sporting clays, trap, or skeet is involved due to the ride-up on mounting. __________________ "Government is not the solution to the problem, Government is the problem!"--Ronald Reagan

July 16, 2001, 10:38 PM	#12
Coronach Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 1999 Posts: 3,147	Reminds me of firearms training in police academy. We're all on the line, ready to go...and the officer giving the course of fire gets on the PA: "Hey, Mike. Tell us how loud it gets, OK?" Oops. Ears. Damn. Mike __________________ The axe bites into the door, ripping a hole in one panel. The maniac puts his face into the hole, cackling gleefully, "Here's Johnny...erk." "And here's Smith and Wesson," murmurs Coronach, Mozambiquing six rounds of .357 into the critter at a range of three feet. -Lawdog "True pacifism is the finest form of manliness. But if a man comes up to you and cuts your hand off, you don't just offer him the other one. Not if you want to go on playing the piano, you don't." -Sam Peckinpah "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -Robert Heinlein

July 18, 2001, 12:16 AM	#13
Sea Bass Senior Member Join Date: December 11, 1999 Location: CA Posts: 176	I wear ear plugs and muffs when shooting. Double protection for the ears. I also wear safety glasses as well. Have to protect thoes eyes and ears. I knew someone who used to be in the FBI for close to 30 years. He has poor hearing now because back in the early days they didn't believe in hearing protection. Now he is paying the price.

August 10, 2001, 11:04 AM	#14
Alleycat Member Join Date: April 24, 2001 Posts: 90	I thought I'd bump this back up with a story: I've been after my wife to wear her shooting glasses every time she shoots trap--she hates 'em becuase she has a little nose and prominent cheekbones and therefore every brand we've tried rides on her cheeks and fogs up. Her prescription glasses work, though, so she's foregoing contacts for trap night and wearing those. Last night she started giving me flak for wearing my prescription lenses after the sun went down. I have a pair of Bolle Parole glasses with the prescription insert that I wear for everything else because they have better (read, "some") side coverage than my prescriptions, and they have multiple lenses, including clear. Her logic was that if I had 'em I should wear 'em, especially if it was so important to me that she wear hers. So I did. And, as so often happens, she was right. Last night, playing Annie Oakley, the first shooter in line shot at a low, distant bird...and got the trap house. AS the last shooter in line, I was in the perfect spot to take the reflected shot as it came off the house. I got multiple hits in the legs, torso, and the side of my face, several of which hit the glasses. Not much energy, just a sting, and no blood---but I'm sure glad they got me in the glassses and not my EYE! The wrap of the lenses saved me. I'm converted. Safety glasses every time for me! Steve __________________ "Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws." --- Publius Cornelius Tacitus

August 10, 2001, 11:22 AM	#15
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Amen, Steve, your story says it all....

August 10, 2001, 12:22 PM	#16
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	Had a similar problem shooting Sporting Clays. The target was a rabbit that was rolled along a rubber mat, the shot was bouncing back and hitting the other members of the squad! Range owner got an earfull about that one. I have had splash back at an indoor range from lead pistol ammo. It can happen anywhere. Geoff Ross __________________ I am no longer a member of this forum. Bye!

August 12, 2001, 05:42 PM	#17
CONFEDERATE Member Join Date: August 10, 2001 Location: seward, N.E. Posts: 18	well i have always used ear protection and i am going to start wearing eye protection to so far i have been lucky but you never know when something could happen. __________________ (and jackson stood like a stone wall)Robert E Lee