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August 11th, 2016
Think you can “get by” without protective eyewear? This story provides yet another example of why you should wear safety glasses every time you go shooting. You only have one set of eyes — they are much too precious to risk.”
Bad Primer Blasts Gas Through Side of Casehead
Our friend Grant Guess recently had a “close encounter” with a bad primer. An apparently defective primer caused part of the casehead on one of his rounds to blow out. This, in turn, allowed high pressure gas to vent through the damaged primer pocket. Take a good look, boys and girls. This is yet another very good reason to wear safety glasses. The cartridge was a 6.5-06, hand-loaded in necked-down Winchester-headstamp .270 Win brass. Grant reports:
“I had a blow-through between the primer and the primer pocket today. The action was really smoking and I got a face full of gas. This was a reasonably light charge. Thank God for safety glasses.
I should also mention that it appears there is a 3/64 hole that is halfway between the primer and the primer pocket. Like it burned a small jet hole through both of them.”
Could this happen to you? It just might. On seeing this damaged case, one of Grant’s Facebook friends, Chris D., observed: “Search the internet, you will see a lot of these pin hole ‘in the corner’ failures. Obviously Winchester has some issues with the LR primers.”
Careful Examination Reveals Apparent Primer Defect
After this incident, Grant examined the damaged case: “I pinned the flash hole and it is not over-sized or under-sized. The primer clearly has an area where it had a defect. At [50,000 CUP], it doesn’t take much of a defect to cause issues. There was a slight bit of pucker-factor on the next shot….”
August 7th, 2016
Shooting Sports USA has published an informative article covering prescription eyewear for shooters. In The Right Rx for Aging Eyes, writer Chris Christian reviews vision issues with Doctor of Optometry Alexis Rodriguez. Christian notes that many shooters have difficulty focusing on their sights as their eyes age. Even if you use scopes more of the time, we recommend you read this article, which explains the physiology (and bio-mechanics) of human vision.
Shooters experience vision issues as they get older, explained Dr. Rodriguez: “Presbyopia is the medical term that describes the natural deterioration of the eyes with age.” As people get older, the ability of the eyes to focus on near objects is diminished, due to the loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens inside the eye and the gradual deterioration of the ciliary muscles that help in bending the lens to focus. Rodriguez says the first symptoms usually occur around age 40, although some will experience them later. This normally starts with blurriness when looking at close objects. From that first point, this natural deterioration will continue to worsen until around the age of 65, where it normally stabilizes, and virtually all elasticity of focus is gone.
To overcome focus problems associated with aging eyes, Dr. Rodriguez often recommends a modified bifocal design for shooters. The lower insert is set to the shooter’s Sight Distance (SD) instead of a standard “reading” distance and the insert lens is moved upwards in the lens to a point in line with the bottom of the pupil. This allows the shooter to maintain a constant head position to access the lower lens and reduces image jump.
July 3rd, 2016
There is one subject as to which we should all be in agreement — the need to wear quality, protective eyewear whenever one uses a firearm. Sadly, it’s not uncommon, at the range, to see shooters wearing no eye protection, or wearing cheap, “dime-store” glasses that can shatter on impact.
This video from Luckygunner Labs shows what can happen with low-quality eyewear. When hit with pellets, the left lens came out and the right lens entered the eye socket!
Read Our Guide to Protective Eyewear
We’ve created a comprehensive Guide to Protective Eyewear. Forum member ChuckW2 told us: “That was the most important article that has ever been posted on this site. I am amazed how many people do not wear glasses while shooting or hunting. Great read….” If you haven’t done so already, read the story. We guarantee you’ll learn something new.
The Eyewear Guide explains the safety standards that apply to protective eyewear and reviews the best lens materials currently available including Polycarbonate, Trivex™, and SR-91. You may not have heard of Trivex, but it is probably the best material out there right now — it’s tough, lightweight, and has better optical properties than Polycarbonate. SR-91 is a good choice for those who need a polarized lens. Our Eyewear Guide also includes a section by Danny Reever on Prescription Shooting Glasses. Danny discusses the available options in lens materials and has many helpful recommendations.
Along with our reviews of lens materials, tint properties, and frame design, we highlight a study done by the NRA’s American Hunter magazine. 10 popular brands of eyewear were tested, with some very interesting results. The testers observed that price does not necessarily assure quality. Relatively inexpensive Bollé VX and Pyramex eyewear both worked better than some expensive brands.
On the other hand, don’t select eyewear simply because it’s cheap or easy to find. American Hunter editor Jeff Johnston observed: “It’s a mistake to assume that any plastic-lens sunglasses off the rack at the local 7-11 are made of polycarbonate and therefore are effective as shooting glasses—cheap plastics are not polycarbonates; in fact, wearing them could be worse than wearing nothing, as they can introduce sharp shards of plastic to your eyes in addition to the projectile(s) that caused them to break.”
April 12th, 2016
Have you ever left your plugs or muffs at home when you took a trip to the range? That’s happened to most of us. That won’t be a problem now, so long as you have your eye protection. Browning now offers ANSI-rated safety eyewear that includes corded NRR 25 earplugs stored in the frames. That’s a clever design — one less thing to worry about.
Browning’s new Sound Shield shooting glasses feature ear plugs stored on a retractable cord in the end of the frames. Now, if you have your shooting glasses with you, you will always have hearing protection as well. The end of each sidepiece opens to release the corded retractable ear plug. The ear plugs have a NRR of 25 dB and are replaceable and washable.
Sound Shield shooting glasses feature polycarbonate, wrap-around lenses with a frameless design to provide additional coverage and eliminate blind spots. The glasses are available in two different styles (Large/Medium) with either yellow or lightly-tinted indoor/outdoor lenses. All lens types exceed ANSI Z87.1 impact standards. A soft rubber standoff nosepiece reduces slipping and lens fogging. According to the Browning website, these Sound Shield glasses may be offered in a kit that includes NRR 27 ear muffs, but we don’t know if that is available yet.
September 14th, 2015
Our friend Grant Guess recently had a “close encounter” with a bad primer. An apparently defective primer caused part of the casehead on one of his rounds to blow out. This, in turn, allowed high pressure gas to vent through the damaged primer pocket. Take a good look, boys and girls. This is yet another very good reason to wear safety glasses. The cartridge was a 6.5-06, handloaded in necked-down Winchester-headstamp .270 Win brass. Grant reports:
“I had a blow through between the primer and the primer pocket today. The action was really smoking and I got a face full of gas. This was a reasonably light charge. Thank God for safety glasses.
I should also mention that it appears there is a 3/64 hole that is halfway between the primer and the primer pocket. Like it burned a small jet hole through both of them.”
Could this happen to you? It just might. On seeing this damaged case, one of Grant’s Facebook friends, Chris D., observed: “Search the internet, you will see a lot of these pin hole ‘in the corner’ failures. Obviously Winchester has some issues with the LR primers.”
Careful Examination Reveals Apparent Primer Defect
After this incident, Grant examined the damaged case: “I pinned the flash hole and it is not over-sized or under-sized. The primer clearly has an area where it had a defect. At [50,000 CUP], it doesn’t take much of a defect to cause issues. There was a slight bit of pucker-factor on the next shot….”
July 16th, 2015
There is one subject as to which we should all be in agreement — the need to wear quality, protective eyewear whenever one uses a firearm. Sadly, it’s not uncommon, at the range, to see shooters wearing no eye protection, or wearing cheap, “dime-store” glasses that can shatter on impact.
This video from Luckygunner Labs shows what can happen with low-quality eyewear. When hit with pellets, the left lens came out and the right lens entered the eye socket!
Read Our Guide to Protective Eyewear
We’ve created a comprehensive Guide to Protective Eyewear. Forum member ChuckW2 told us: “That was the most important article that has ever been posted on this site. I am amazed how many people do not wear glasses while shooting or hunting. Great read….” If you haven’t done so already, read the story. We guarantee you’ll learn something new.
CLICK HERE to READ Comprehensive Eyewear Guide
The Eyewear Guide explains the safety standards that apply to protective eyewear and reviews the best lens materials currently available including Polycarbonate, Trivex™, and SR-91. You may not have heard of Trivex, but it is probably the best material out there right now — it’s tough, lightweight, and has better optical properties than Polycarbonate. SR-91 is a good choice for those who need a polarized lens. Our Eyewear Guide also includes a section by Danny Reever on Prescription Shooting Glasses. Danny discusses the available options in lens materials and has many helpful recommendations.
Along with our reviews of lens materials, tint properties, and frame design, we highlight a study done by the NRA’s American Hunter magazine. 10 popular brands of eyewear were tested, with some very interesting results. The testers observed that price does not necessarily assure quality. Relatively inexpensive Bollé VX and Pyramex eyewear both worked better than some expensive brands.
On the other hand, don’t select eyewear simply because it’s cheap or easy to find. American Hunter editor Jeff Johnston observed: “It’s a mistake to assume that any plastic-lens sunglasses off the rack at the local 7-11 are made of polycarbonate and therefore are effective as shooting glasses—cheap plastics are not polycarbonates; in fact, wearing them could be worse than wearing nothing, as they can introduce sharp shards of plastic to your eyes in addition to the projectile(s) that caused them to break.”
August 19th, 2014
 In response to a Bulletin article about Protective Eyewear, one of our Canadian readers posted a personal story. His account demonstrates the importance of wearing eye protection whenever you shoot — no matter what type of firearm you are using — even air rifles. We hope all our readers take this to heart. All too often at rifle matches we see shooters, even some top competitors, risking their vision by failing to wear eye protection.
 Eye Protection — Lesson Learned
by Nicholas from Canada
As a boy on a mixed farm on the plains the first shooting stick I owned was a Red Ryder BB gun. My Dad bought it for me as I showed a keen interest in the shooting and hunting sports. I was about 9 years old at the time.
We had literally thousands of sparrows in our large farm yard and they liked to roost on the steel railings in the barn loft. I took to slowly thinning out their ranks by flashlight at night as these little winged pests settled in the farm buildings.
One evening as I slayed sparrow after sparrow in the barn loft — with about a dozen farm cats following me to consume these easy meals, I fired at another bird centered in my flashlight beam.
However, my aim was a bit low — and the copper pellet hit the steel beam square on. Instantly I felt a sharp pain as the BB bounced back and hit me squarely between the eyes on the bridge of my nose – drawing blood from the partial penetration into the skin. A half inch either way and I’d have lost an eye!
Never, never, never shoot at any target with a steel background with any firearm, even a BB gun – is the hard lesson I learned, and wear the best shooting glasses that money can buy!
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT!!
 Editor’s Comment: Among competitive pistol shooters, the use of safety eyewear is universal. You’ll never see Rob Leatham, Julie Golob, or Jerry Miculek competing without eye protection — for good reason. The handgun sports’ governing bodies effectively enforce mandatory eye protection policies. We wish the same could be said for competitive rifle shooting. We often see benchrest, High Power, and F-Class competitors shooting without eye protection. We’ve heard all the excuses, yet none of them trump the safety considerations involved.
We recommend that all shooters and hunters employ eye protection whenever they use firearms or are at a location where live fire is taking place. You only have two eyes. A tiny bullet fragment or ricochet is all it takes to cause permanent blindness in one or both eyes. As rifle shooters, we place our eyes a couple inches away from a combustion chamber operating at pressures up to 70,000 psi. I know quite a few guys who will religiously put on safety glasses when running a lathe or a drill press, yet the same guys won’t use eye protection when shooting their rifles — simply because it is “inconvenient”. That’s nuts. It doesn’t matter is you are a cub scout or a multi-time National Champion — you should wear eye protection.
Be wise — protect your eyes. To learn more about eyewear safety standards, and to learn about the latest options in ANSI Z87-certified protective eyewear, read our article on Eye Protection for Shooters.
May 11th, 2014
When folks inquire about shooting glasses, they often ask: “Should I get clear lenses, or high contrast lenses, or dark lenses?” The answer is “Yes”, “Yes”, and “Yes”. Variety is good — this lets you pick the best lens for the conditions and for the discipline you are shooting. In a 3-gun match in the summertime, you may want darker lenses. On a hazy day, when shooting F-Class, you may want a high-contrast lens (yellow or orange). When bench-testing rifles or competing at benchrest matches, under a roof or awning, most of the time we prefer clear lenses. This is especially true if the targets are in the shade.
So, there are good reasons to have a variety of lens types. But does that mean you must carry around a half dozen sets of shooting glasses in your range bag? Not at all. Many eyewear makers offer shooting glasses with interchangeable, snap-in lenses. This allows you to adapt your eyewear to the conditions. And now you can get a handy, multi-lens kit for under twenty bucks.
Pyramex 5-Lens Shooting Eyewear Kit
One of the best deals we’ve found is the Pyramex Ducks Unlimited Shooting Eyewear Kit, available now for just $19.30 at Amazon.com (with free shipping for Prime members). This Kit gives you a comfortable frame with five (5) different anti-fog lenses: Clear, Amber, Sun Block Bronze, Orange, and Infinity Blue. The interchangeable lens design lets you easily switch lenses for different lighting situations. Pyramex is a well-known manufacturer of safety eyewear. The Pyramex Kit meets ANSI Z87.1+ safety standards.
| Complete Kit with Five Lenses, Case, Retaining Strap
This versatile Pyramex Kit boast five (5) interchangeable lenses. The polymer frame features adjustable temples, rubber nosepiece, and temple pads. The Pyramex Ducks Unlimited Kit includes neoprene carrying case, neck cord, and microfiber lens cloth bag. All lenses exceeds ANSI Z87.1+ standards and provide 99% UV protection. This is a very good deal. Heck, you could pay $8-$9 just for a Croakies neck retainer.
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Verified purchasers of this Pyramex Kit have posted very positive reviews on Amazon.com:
“These glasses were really impressive. At the price I was not expecting anything this nice. I am in the military and my unit gets issued the Oakley M frames which go for around $120 if the government doesn’t give them to you for free and I like these better. They extend in length which one might expect but closer to the frame there is another joint that lets you adjust the angles of the [temple arms] separately.” — Zac
“I was surprised by just how many lenses and accessories come with this very complete package. The lens change out is a bit awkward, but with the sheer variety of lens choice which will cover just about any lighting condition you encounter, it more than makes up for that. Great packaging, I really do think the tilt feature is useful as hearing and eye protection at present isn’t really integrated. I use them for shooting, where cheek weld, eye relief and clarity are all important and these do the job well.” — Richard
October 1st, 2012
CDNN Investments has just released its new Fall 2012 Catalog (issue 2012-4). As usual, the Catalog contains impressive deals on handguns, rifles, shotguns, scopes, magazines, gun parts, and shooting accessories. CDNN acquires, at low prices, overstock and discontinued items from major manufacturers such as HK, Ruger, Sig-Sauer, and Smith & Wesson. CDNN then can sell this merchandise for well below typical retail prices. You can either view the CDNN Fall 2012 Catalog online or download a PDF version to your hard drive.
Among the very attractive deals in the latest CDNN Catalog are:
- Howa 1500 Varmint Hunter in .204 Ruger, .223 Rem, or 22-250, just $389.99
- Smith & Wesson iBolt Hunting Rifle in .30-06, just $349.99
- Walther SP22 .22LR Target Pistol (6″ bbl) just $219.99
- Sig SP2022 for just $389.99 (originally $613.00)
Bifocal Rx Shooting Glasses for Just $6.99
We saw something pretty interesting in this Fall Catalog — Prescription BiFocal Shooting Glasses for just $6.99. These Radians bifocals would be great for shooters who don’t want to spend $100.00 or more for prescription bifocal safety glasses. The magnification diopter is molded directly into the ANSI Z87.1-standard polycarbonate lens. Prescription ratings offered are 1.0X, 1.5X, 2.0X, 2.5X, 3.0X These shooting glasses can also be used when working with tools in the shop. The magnification would be handy when working with small parts. CDNN offers a wide selection of name-brand, non-magnifying protective eyewear as well.
April 20th, 2011
 Creedmoor Sports recently released its new 2011 catalog — with NRA High Power Champion SGT Sherri Gallagher on the cover. There is both a traditional print version of the new Creedmoor catalog, as well as a new digital version online. In the online digital catalog, you can flip the pages just like a real catalog, view page thumbnails, and print out pages for future reference. (Check out page 56.)
In the new Creedmoor Catalog, we found some cool products you guys may not have seen before. Of course this is just a small sample of the thousands of items in the current catalog.
 Blank Eyepiece
Item C1038, $6.95
This semi-opaque eye-shield clips on your shooting eyewear on either right or left side. This allows you to shoot with both eyes open, reducing eyestrain and fatigue. For cross-dominant shooters who don’t want to hold their rifle or pistol with their weak-side hand, this device can be very helpful.
 Holland’s Scope Level
Item HOL-LEVEL, $49.95
There are many leveling devices on the market, but we think this is one of the best designs yet (when mounted properly). The T-6 aluminum alloy level fits on your scope tube, with the bubble level set to the side for easy viewing when in firing position. The unit, offered in 1 inch, 30mm, and 34mm sizes, can be flipped so you can place the bubble on either the right side or left side. This unit is easier to see with your left eye than levels mounting in the center of the scope.
 The Score Keeper and Pit Puller (by Jim Owens)
Item JOSKPP, $11.95 (Book on CD/DVD)
Can you explain the 11 Hit Rule, the Excessive Hits Rule, the Insufficient Hits Rule, and what to do for a withdrawn target? If not, and you compete in High Power matches, you need this DVD. This useful resource can help match directors and score keepers, and it is an effective training tool for new pit workers. The DVD features over 300 color slides and shows scoring situations from both the Pit Puller’s POV and the Score Keeper’s POV.
 Anschütz Shaker Pellet Box
Item AHG-1001, $19.95
With this handy item airgun shooters can sort, count and arrange pellets. This is the best set-up for holding 100 match pellets in rows, and protected from damage. (It’s easy to ding the tails of pellets, which can really harm accuracy.) To quickly fill the box, just pour some pellets into the box, press down on the side tabs, and shake gently back and forth. If you sort pellets by weight (or other criteria), you can also place the pellets individually.
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