What are shooting glasses for?

[hipower]

Ears and eyes are a must for me when shooting. Brought up that way and with rare exceptions, always use them.

 

Worst ever to happen to me is having brass bounce back on me from partions, other shooters, or just plain thrown in my face from the gun I'm shooting.

 

Only negative I personally have ever encountered was when a 9mm casing bounced off the leftside partion and went behing my shooting glasses. I couldn't get them off fast enough. Had a burn scar on my cheek for several years.

 

But better a small scar than that casing hit me in the eye. I would imagine a hot casing would do at least some minor damage to the eye. But I'm not going to risk shooting without some form of protection.  

[bvarnell]

Last Friday I was shooting and a guy shot a propane tank with a 12ga about 3 yards away. The blast came off the tank and hit me in the side of the face. I was far enough away from the tank that it didn't mess me up. My face burned like hell and the pellets streaked my safety glass. I would have had some major damage if I had not been wearing them. I should have got a picture but I sent them home with the jackass so he can remember how stupid he was. It was all I could do not hurt the guy. Never thought I would need those glass and now I know. It will always be the first thing I pack from no on. I fact have out 2 pair in my vehicles just in case.

 

Sounds like Prentice Cooper

[Oh Shoot]

So what brands do you guys like?

 

I just use my cheap Chinese reading glasses, since I need them to see front sights sharply anyway. Also have scope reticules focused for them.

 

They seem to be about as durable as the actual shooting glasses I have too.

 

I can shoot okay without them, but they're always around my neck anyway, so just use them all the time.

 

- OS

[Dolomite_supafly]

You can get most prescription glasses with ballistic protection. I think it only costs like $20 to add it. Those of us with an astigmatism can benefit a lot from the correct pair of glasses. I never knew how bad mine was or how good those red dots sights were until I had corrective lenses made. Before I had two little dots and I knew to always use the top one. Now the dot is crisp and ROUND.

 

You can get a cheap set of ballistic glasses with your prescription for under $50 these days.

[peejman]

I really need to get a good pair of impact rated sunglasses for shooting.  I'm kinda helpless in the bright sunlight without sunglasses. 

 

And on this topic... My 5 yr old tried out his new bb gun yesterday afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

Notice he's wearing glasses.  I was shocked that ye ole Red Ryder couldn't achieve reliable penetration on a milk jug at about 6 ft.  Yep, the bb's bounced off.  Eye protection.... yep, that's why.  Now Dad has to find some better targets.  Just like me, he got bored pretty quick just making perforated paper. 

[Guest confidence]

I really need to get a good pair of impact rated sunglasses for shooting.  I'm kinda helpless in the bright sunlight without sunglasses. 

 

And on this topic... My 5 yr old tried out his new bb gun yesterday afternoon. 

 

Notice he's wearing glasses.  I was shocked that ye ole Red Ryder couldn't achieve reliable penetration on a milk jug at about 6 ft.  Yep, the bb's bounced off.  Eye protection.... yep, that's why.  Now Dad has to find some better targets.  Just like me, he got bored pretty quick just making perforated paper. 

 

Yeah, we always use eye protection with my kid's BB gun. That's just because I've had so many BB's come back and hit me in the face when I was a kid. We use water balloons for targets. Lots of fun!

Edited April 10, 2013 by confidence

[peejman]

Yeah, we always use eye protection with my kid's BB gun. That's just because I've had so many BB's come back and hit me in the face when I was a kid. We use water balloons for targets. Lots of fun!

 

I thought about water balloons or just putting a little flour in balloons.  But since it wouldn't penetrate a milk jug with relatively flat sides, I have serious doubts it'll pop round balloons reliably. 

[Ted S.]

Rather have a hot casing hit almost anywhere besides my eyes if I had to have one hit me.

[Hi Point Hooligan]

+1 to glasses, +1 to hat as well. Be mindful of shirt collars too. I had a hot .40 cartridge pop out and land on my polo shirt collar against the side of my neck. Stung good and quick did the harlem shake to get it out, fortunately my shirt was untucked but what was the worst was the comments I got at work for a week & a half about that big hickey on my neck. I can tell you from them squinty eyed looks the women were giving me sometimes the truth won't set you free.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

That happened to me the first time I fired a pistol many moons a go  :rofl:

[MarkInNashville]

Kinda like wearing a seat belt. You ride a lot of miles without ever ending it. Then that one instance occurs...

More like carrying a concealed weapon - probably never need it but if you do...

[Spiffy]

Wearing Eye Pro......beats being blind for life!

[Cherokee Slim]

It's not so rare to get hit with lead splatter.  It happens to several people at just about every SASS match.  We try to angle down the steel targets but splatter happens.  We only use lead bullets.  Shotgun splatters as well.  Usually it's only just a sting but I have had blood drawn several times on my face.  I would never shoot without them.  You can also get glasses traditional style with a magnifying part on the bottom center to be able to see the front sight better.  It's an encouragement to use them all the time for older eyes.

Cherokee Slim

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I really need to get a good pair of impact rated sunglasses for shooting.  I'm kinda helpless in the bright sunlight without sunglasses. 

 

And on this topic... My 5 yr old tried out his new bb gun yesterday afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

Notice he's wearing glasses.  I was shocked that ye ole Red Ryder couldn't achieve reliable penetration on a milk jug at about 6 ft.  Yep, the bb's bounced off.  Eye protection.... yep, that's why.  Now Dad has to find some better targets.  Just like me, he got bored pretty quick just making perforated paper. 

 

Perhaps modern Red Ryders are less powerful than the old ones? The one I wore out in the 1950's, perhaps it wouldn't have pierced a milk jug, maybe the PTFE is tougher than one would think. But the old Red Ryder was "pretty strong" though not near as strong as a pump BB gun of the era. I dispatched a bird or two with it, though if one shot something like a crow it would only annoy the crow. That old Red Ryder had enough velocity to be pretty accurate out to 50 or 100 feet. Living out in the country, I would sit on the front porch plinking at the metal mail box 50 or 100 feet away. Never did damage to the mail box but it was easy to hear the "pling" when it got hit, and after awhile I'd hit it about every time.

 

 

I like this wraparound style of safety glasses. Maybe all the different brands are made in the same factory or perhaps some are built better than others. Generally made of polycarbonate. I used to get them from my eye doctor, and some of those were polarized molded plastic. Academy and other big-box sports stores generally sell them in gray, yellow, and clear. They are cheap enough to get all three colors.

 

My prescription bi-focals have the "best quality" shatter-resistant polycarb lenses, because I'm blind in one eye and don't have a backup. Shooting with the "wraparound" glasses slipped over the prescription glasses, supplies two layers of polycarb protection.

 

If it is real bright I use the gray style, but in most daytime shooting the yellow style reduces glare "good enough" and the yellow improves the eye's focus by restricting the bandwidth of light which must be focused. The eye's lens focuses red, green, blue at slightly different points, so with full-color vision the focus is always a compromise. For instance if your eye focuses the red component "perfectly", then the green and blue components will be "slightly out of focus" etc. Restricting the spectrum enables better focusing with less compromise.

 

However even the yellow lenses cut out quite a bit of light. It is better to switch to the clear glasses on overcast days or getting near dusk or dawn, or indoor use.

 

I keep meaning to get a nice set of fragmentation goggles but ain't got around to it.

[peejman]

Perhaps modern Red Ryders are less powerful than the old ones? The one I wore out in the 1950's, perhaps it wouldn't have pierced a milk jug, maybe the PTFE is tougher than one would think. But the old Red Ryder was "pretty strong" though not near as strong as a pump BB gun of the era. I dispatched a bird or two with it, though if one shot something like a crow it would only annoy the crow. That old Red Ryder had enough velocity to be pretty accurate out to 50 or 100 feet. Living out in the country, I would sit on the front porch plinking at the metal mail box 50 or 100 feet away. Never did damage to the mail box but it was easy to hear the "pling" when it got hit, and after awhile I'd hit it about every time.

 

 

I was surprised by how wimpy it is, but that's probably not a bad thing.  Cocking it takes a pretty heavy hand, he can't do it by himself (yet).  My hope was that it would penetrate the front side of the jug but not the back so I'd be able to recover the bb's.  Doesn't have anything to do with me being a cheap bast_rd.... it teaches the boy to not be wasteful... yeah, that's it.   

 

I've also got to cut the stock down a couple inches so it'll fit him a little better.  With it in his shoulder, he can't really reach the fore grip.  The stock has a longer length of pull than a typical cricket .22, which seems odd. 

 

I dispatched many a squirrel with my Crossman pump bb gun when I was a kid.  It was one shot, one kill accurate inside about 50 ft. 

[chances R]

I'm not saying it's smart, or the right thing to do, but I've hunted and shot for many years and never wore hearing protection, nor safety glasses....until I started shooting skeet about 7 years ago.  Yeah, I'm deaf, but a lot of that was from working in loud environments for many years before hearing protection was mandated by companies. Now I use both all the time except when hunting, and I even wear both when mowing the lawn. If I was a young man again, I'd wear hearing protection all the time, every time I was in a loud environment, and safety glasses when I needed them. 

Absolutely on all accouts.  I have been hit by various objects multiple times, even from other ranges with berms!  Whether just walking on the range, watching, or participating it is a good idea to wear glasses. 

[Guest Phizzle99GST]

lots of reasons... I lost an eye to shrapnel in Iraq... I had safety glasses on that wouldn't have stopped it.

but now, here at home I always where safety glasses when shooting. Ive felt tiny fragments hit my face when shooting steel targets and my glock would ejected the brass right back at my face once in a while. Safety glasses do wonders for those things. Gotta keep the one good eye I have.

I wear them for cutting the grass too.
 

[Guest Nunya]

The first time I took my wife to the range (our anniversary date), she was wearing a low-cut shirt and about the 5th casing landed between "the girls".  

 

But she had her eye and ear protection on!

[quietmike]

The first time I took my wife to the range (our anniversary date), she was wearing a low-cut shirt and about the 5th casing landed between "the girls".  

 

But she had her eye and ear protection on!

Same happened to my wife. Wish I had it on video. Brand new dance moves were created.

[chances R]

That is why shooting topless should be encouraged.........less likely for the brass to hang up :up:

[Lowpower]

We were out shooting a Desert Eagle .50 and when the rounds ejected they came straight back into our forehead and bounced off 

our shooting glasses. One guy had one hit his eyebrow and we had a heck of a time stopping the bleeding. It could have just as easily been his eyes. 

 

If you shoot trap or skeet try using purple or rose colored shooting glasses. it makes the orange of the clays stand out and pushes the green foliage

(read trees) into the background.  You can usually pick em up for around $10. We sell em for $9 at our club.

 

As far as yellow colored glasses. I've never seen them work worth a darn 'cept for bullseye shooting and I never saw it help me.

 

Lp 

Edited April 18, 2013 by Lowpower

[E4 No More]

I had the brass fail on a shotgun shell in a double barrel that blew unburnt and burning powder into the skin on my forearm. Not cool! I'd hate for that to have been my eye(s).