The old saying “In the land of the blind, the One Eyed Man is King,” sounds kind of mystical and philosophical, but having only one eye is no fun! While not very sexy, perhaps the most important pieces of range gear are eye and ear protection. You were only born with two eyes and two ears, so you need to protect them at all costs.
If you have older members of your family who have been shooters for a long time, more than likely they have suffered some measure of hearing loss; hearing protection was not in vogue for a long time. It was believed that ears would just “toughen up,” when actually, they just went deaf! The effects of shooting on unprotected ears are well documented nowadays, and to go without is simply stupid. Ear protection is widely available. Everything from foam plugs that cost $0.50, to electronic ear muffs that allow you to hear normal sounds but shut down at loud noises (like gunfire.) You can also get custom made ear plugs that are made to the shape of your ear canal.
Electronic muffs start at about $60, and you go all the way up to almost $400, depending on the features you want. The electronic muffs allow you to hear range commands easily, reducing the chance of misunderstanding the instructor. This is more important than most people know. The human reaction to sounds they can’t identify is to turn towards them. If you do this with a gun in your hand, you’ll end up sweeping everybody else on the firing line. This will make you very unpopular, very quickly. Electronic muffs are cheap insurance, and will make your class time and range time more safe and enjoyable. The custom plugs are very compact, and comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They can also be made to hear normal sounds and block out louder noises, as well. “Doubling up,” or using plugs and muffs, is a great way to protect your hearing, and I advise it, especially when shooting at an indoor range. This may all sound like a lot of money and effort, but it’s better than being fitted for hearing aids or getting booted off a range because you couldn’t hear commands.
Believe it or not, sometimes, guns DO have what we call catastrophic failures. Meaning, sometimes they blow up in one way or another, and the shooters face is on the receiving end. If you’ve never seen someones face after they’ve had a rifle bolt blow up in their face, think tenderized raw steak…straight off the cows backside. It’s ugly, and sad. The only thing that can make it better is for your shooting glasses to take the punishment. I don’t go near a firing line without eye protection on, and you shouldn’t either.
I’ve worn Oakley protective eyewear since the mid-90s, and haven’t seen any reason to change. I’ve worn them all around the world, and to more firing ranges than I can remember. They’ve never let me down, and the lenses are easily changeable for shooting in lowlight, overcast or sunny conditions. Oakley isn’t the only company out there, obviously; protective glasses are made by a variety of companies, and are available just about everywhere. It’s important that they have a wraparound feature, to prevent foreign objects from coming in on the side of your glasses. Nothing is more annoying than getting something in your eye while on the firing line, especially when you still have a gun in your hand. Good shooting glasses will also be able to resist severe impacts from flying brass or ricochets. Having been hit in the face from ricocheting bullet particles, I was extremely thankful for the eye protection I had on. Most instructors won’t allow you into class without eye or ear protection, and that is with good reason.
Scrimping on good eye and ear protection is like scrimping on a good holster. Find somewhere else to save money; don’t sacrifice your eyes and ears just to save a few bucks.
