ericm Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I have worn polycarbonate safety glasses outdoors (and at indoor events) ever since I wore Gargoyls at SOF starting 1995 (STYLIN'). My current clears are nothing special, Genisis II by Pyramex, but they ARE ANSI Z87+ rated for impact. I have lost track of how many bits and pieces have come back from downrange and hit me in the face or glasses, but I can say one thing: I have never had a "breech" and gotten something in my eye (knock on wood). My one positive "save" (I am absolutely convinced) was when I was hit full in the face with a Stanley 25' tape measure (no, not Zorro whip style, the full housing) wielded by a moron "protecting" his "free spirited" free-running dogs from me in the middle of the street. The glasses are marked "Cold Steel", Taiwan, ANSI Z87.1 rated (I still use them for jogging - they're lucky ; )). The blow gashed my eyebrow and nose on a perfect line with my eyeball and broke my nose, scratched the glass only slightly on the lens (!!!) and were slightly split in the nose bridge. He went "downtown" with the PD and I drove myself to the ER after the FD rolled in HOT and gave me first aid. NO EYE DAMAGE! ...so let's hear about your best safety glass save (or damage not wearing safety glasses) and what everyone is using for shooting (or just jogging on the street). The story or glasses name could even have the word "tactical" in it..... ericm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co-exprs Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 While at a steel challenge match once, I took a sizeable chunk of a 45 slug in the glasses. It hit hard enough to crack the glasses, right in front of my right eye. I was totally unharmed and I stopped by the MRO crib at work the next day and asked for a fresh pair of safety glasses. I left out the part about not being at the factory when they got broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Fresh Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I have had the same pair of wiley-x romers for many years, bought them in a 5 interchangeable lens set and have worn them till the last set of lenses are getting ugly. Caught a chunk of gravel right to the glasses one day riding on the highway passing a big truck doing a bit over 70.................. vision is too precious for cheap eyewear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double_r76 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 (edited) While replacing the alternator under my old Chevy Tahoe, it broke loose and I caught it with my face. Cracked the Oakley M-Frames and scratched the clear lens. Bruised my cheek, but no eye damage. Oakley replaced the frames for free, but wanted to me to buy new lenses since scratches weren't covered. Still wear those new frames and scratched lenses while reloading and doing stuff around the house. -Randy Edited August 20, 2012 by double_r76 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Fresh Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 randy I have guys I shoot with that buy their oakley's from Academy Sports and file the receipt away. Academy accepts and exchanges oakley's with scratched lenses for being defective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I have been wearing Oakleys for many years and like the fact that they cover up a bit more of my body than some glasses. A few years ago I had the hammer on my Facotry SV open gun come apart as I was shooting and the piece hit me just at the bottom edge of the lense over my right eye. Put a big ding in the lense of my glasses but I was unhurt. If I had been wearing glasses with a smaller lense I would have taken a bad hit right on my cheek bone. The pic of the piece is blurry but I outlined the piece that came off in red in the second pic of a stock hammer. Neal in AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Schmitt Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I was setting steel right next to a fella who was leaning over and setting a clay on a flipper. The popper came down and shot that clay straight into his face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericm Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 I was setting steel right next to a fella who was leaning over and setting a clay on a flipper. The popper came down and shot that clay straight into his face. .....AND?........AND?......YER KILLIN' ME!!!! Was he wearing glasses? Did he have cuts, etc.? Were his eyes OK? Don't make me come down there and......beg..... ericm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Schmitt Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Sorry, The title is 'safety glasses "saves" ' So I just put a 'save' in. He was wearing his glasses and the clay "detonated" right in his face. Bruised and battered but his eyes were OK. I cannot remember any cuts, If he had them they did not require medical attention. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 20 years ago I had the screws shear off that were holding the Bomar rib on my dad's old Bullseye gun. (was shooting factory ammo). I thought the gun exploded when it happened, but just the rib came off and hit me in the face. Rear sight hit me above the upper lip. Front sight hit me in the forehead. The glasses didn't protect my eyes, but they did absorb a lot of the energy. The left lens had a crease pressed into the whole lens where it hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landshark45 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) Oops double post had something in my eye. Edited August 24, 2012 by landshark45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landshark45 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 No its gotta be way better like... The clay was permanently embedded into his skull and a piece bounced off his glasses and took out a horse or something... But he still wears the same glasses and catches giant fish while choking out a grizzly... Sorry that's the alcohol talkin lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericm Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) ...I hope you're wearing safety glasses as you drink... ericm Edited August 24, 2012 by ericm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Snyder Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I haven't been able to obtain a pair of polycarbonate or insert glasses that work with my astigmatism... I've tried.. so wear large format 56mm standard lenses... years ago while shooting skeet in preparation for the Chevy STC, was shooting the low house in reverse order... high house first, then a falling away shot on the low house, a large piece of the high bird took of the glasses from my head... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I had a 38 Super casing fail (unsupported chamber - LONG time ago - "super face") - I was wearing safety glasses and they saved my eyes from the brass piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lange22250 Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 About 7 years ago I asked to see how the Beretta Storm's trigger/sear worked and when the Gun Counter Monkey field stripped it the recoil assembly shoot out and hit me in the right eye. Vision saved by my glasses, which are also my shooting glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rishii Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 a few years ago, a friend of mine showed up with a 1903 springfield in excellent condition, nicest one I've ever seen. looked it over, turned around and took a couple of steps, heard a shot, and a whole bunch of yelling. turned around, my friend is layed out flat on the deck, blood all over his face, his 1903 is destroyed, the receiver let go with part of it going thru the plywood roof of the range, some of it hit him square in the face, his glasses saved his eyes. we later figured out that when he reloaded his 30-06, he mistakenly grabbed a keg of titegroup, instead of W748 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepswithdogs Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Doing a lot of grinding porting heads and making different things out of metal I have had glasses keep more stuff out of my eyes than I could count. However... Doing some grinding with one of those thick grinding wheel I had a piece of steel hit me in the cheek, it had so much spin on it that it ran right up my face, went under my glasses and right into my eye. $400 got it out. Ended up having to sell my '47 Studebaker pickup to pay for getting the eye fixed. Ran into a friend last year shooting. He was using a 4" cutting wheel and it exploded on him. His safety glasses saved his eyes, but his face got really, really cut up. Think it best to use a face shield when doing cutting with one of those, glasses just don't seem to be enough. At least they weren't for him. Tar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bacus Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 2009 IDPA S&W Indoor Championships. I was shooting a stage were the backstop was fairly close downrange. A full 38 Special bullet came back on my third or fourth shot of six and struck me in the face just under my eye. Prescription plastic lens stopped the bullet enough that it did not penetrate, although the bullet did penetrate the lens. This picture is immediately after it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romans 13 4 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Waaaaaay back in the day, had a piece of .45 ACP brass eject and hit the left lens of my Oakley's. Left a half moon scratch in the lens. Did it save my eye?? Don't really know. But what I do know is I've worn glasses ever since and 90% of the time they are Oaks. Gordon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co-exprs Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Friday night steel challenge, two day ago. A competitor had the slide on his Walther break in half. He too the back half if the slide in the safety glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericm Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Unfortunately, I know of a case of rifle Kaboom where the KIND of glasses worn did not help and may have contributed to the loss of an eye. The man was wearing very old 70's style lab type "safety glasses" WITH GLASS LENSES (tempered safety glass). At a prarie dog shoot in a remote area, he was having trouble extracting cases from a .22-6.5X55 wildcat in a Mauser action and was having to tap the cases out with a cleaning rod for each shot. At some point a new round was chambered and the cleaning rod was still in the barrel. The resultant Kaboom sent a piece of the action through the left lens of these lab glasses, forcing all kinds of glass shards and particles into the left eye (along with the steel piece, IIRC). I can only wonder if modern polycarbonate, impact rated safety glasses would have saved his eye. ericm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericm Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 ...and a test VNGunfighter and I did recently.... The text on the card says "SHOT @ 15 YDS - BEN. NOVA, MOD CHOKE, FMP 7-1/2-1-1/8-3 DR, LENS BROKE IN MIDDLE AND AWAY FROM FRAME - NO PENETRATION OF LENS, NEMISIS Z87+ RATED" The glasses were placed on a carpet roll (similar in size and weight of a human head). These were just inexpensive Sam's Club safety glasses WITH A Z87+ IMPACT RATING (emphasis added)!!! ericm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grouse Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 This has been an eye opening discussion. Safety glasses will be a part of my routine for a lot more than just shooting sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outbreak Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Local indoor has a .22 two-gun match. It's shooting gallery style with steel targets on racks from 25yd in to about 7yd. Tons of frag coming back off the targets, racks, and backstop. I wear whatever cheap clear glasses I have on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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