Traditional Muzzleloading Association

Traditional Firearms => Flintlock Long Guns => Topic started by: dmf38 on April 02, 2009, 07:27:12 PM

Title: Flintlock eye injuries?
Post by: dmf38 on April 02, 2009, 07:27:12 PM: Hello everyone, I just joined the forum. I'm getting my first flintlock soon. A Lyman Plains rifle, probably .50 caliber. Just for target shooting fun! But I was curious to know how common it is for people to get eye injuries while shooting flintlocks, since the pan with sparks and smoke is right in front of your face. I don't want to wear those uncomfortable safety glasses if I don't have to. I wear regular eyeglasses already.
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Post by: rollingb on April 02, 2009, 07:33:53 PM: All I wear is regular eye glasses, and I've never had a problem.
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Post by: BEAVERMAN on April 02, 2009, 07:37:00 PM: If you wear eye glasses you should be 99.9% safe,
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Post by: jbullard1 on April 02, 2009, 07:37:59 PM: I guess I have been lucky, I've had no problems from my gun just have to watch the folks to my side
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Post by: Spotted Bull on April 02, 2009, 07:38:06 PM: That's what I wear as well, or my stylishly cool safety glasses...

Did have to scrape some flint specks off of them once when I had a really poor flint. Thankful I had them on too.
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Post by: dmf38 on April 02, 2009, 07:52:12 PM: Ok, it sounds like I won't have to worry much about eye injuries then. Thanks everyone!
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Post by: Captchee on April 02, 2009, 08:47:20 PM: nope not alot to worry about . just dont stand on the lock side and look at the flashole or lock when someone is about to shoot . even if your standing 10 ft away
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Post by: Chairslayer on April 02, 2009, 09:07:52 PM: I've even been sprayed further than 10 feet. Luckily I was looking downrange, not at the shooter. Learned my lesson there, now I make sure I'm behind the shooter too.
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Post by: Hank in WV on April 02, 2009, 10:06:00 PM: Same as rollingb,regular glasses and n problems.
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Post by: Craig Tx on April 02, 2009, 10:14:37 PM: I just use regular glasses as well.

I shot once without something in front of my eyes and got sprayed, and now I don't shoot without glasses.

Of course now that I no longer wear contacts I'm always wearing glasses...

Craig
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Post by: Fletcher on April 03, 2009, 01:29:03 AM: Captchee - listen to what he says.

A fair long time ago I got too close watchin' a guy shoot his Brown Bess. (on the lock side of him so I could see how it worked)

It only took about 6 weeks for my eyelashes and upper forehead hair to grow back :idea:

I think I still pull a fleck of black powder out of my cheek now and then.

OBTW - didn't hurt the guy shootin' the Brown Bess a bit
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Post by: Roaddog on April 03, 2009, 05:57:11 AM: I always have my glasses no when target shooting. How ever when deer hunting I don't. I will be shooting just one shot most of the time and I just need the glasses for seeing up close. Now if I am squirrel hunting I keep them on for I will be getting quite a few shots off.
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Post by: Gambia on April 03, 2009, 06:19:45 AM: Quote from: "Captchee"
nope not alot to worry about . just dont stand on the lock side and look at the flashole or lock when someone is about to shoot . even if your standing 10 ft away

A couple years ago, I was standing about 15 feet away from one of the guys I shoot with and one of the hot embers went right in my eye. It passed my eye glasses and hit my eye, Trust, I never had anything burn like that. The only thing that helped was, one of the guys carried eye drops and he stuck some in my eye, That put out the fire, OMGoodness....and no, I still don't wear safty glasses, I never said I was smart.
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Post by: Wyoming Mike on April 03, 2009, 07:41:32 AM: I too have been sprayed a few times but by other people and not by the rifle I am firing. I just wear normal glasses. One time the wind was kind of strange and it whipped an ember under my glasses but that could have happened with safety glasses. It was one time in 30+ years.

Other times I have caught a little spray on my forehead and the top of my glasses under windy conditions. Nothing painful but I could feel it.
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Post by: Captchee on April 03, 2009, 08:01:49 AM: i would also say that the oppiset is also true . when shooting , be mindful of the jet from your flashole . if there is another shooter standing to your lock side , call out Flinter so they know your about to shoot . exspecialy if its someone new that may or may not be knowlagable about flintlocks . if it takes actualy say ; aaahh could you please step back , i dont want to burn you . then thats what you should do .
most folks though quickly learn to not stand next to out locks when we shoot
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Post by: mark davidson on April 03, 2009, 09:59:49 AM: I do not wear glasses normally and have not been wearing safety glasses when I shoot my flinters. I ought to wear them and almost always do when I shoot centerfire stuff. I do not wear safety glasses when hunting. So far I have noticed the flash and felt the heat on my face but have not had anything come back and burn me. It seems that I (we) should always wear safety glasses of some kind or at least regular eyeglasses when just shooting for fun or while doing benchwork. Maybe I will go ahead and take my own advice! :-)
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Post by: tg on April 03, 2009, 10:51:42 AM: Most people feel that for safety glasses should always be worn, I have worn them for practice shooting from time to time, but never wear them hunting, time will tell wheather I pay the price for comfort or not, I would not allow yougsters under my care to shoot without them , if they grow up and choose not to wear them, the finger will not point in my direction.
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Post by: Fletcher on April 03, 2009, 11:00:32 AM: Yeah Captchee - what he says again. I ain't been burned since! I think the Brown Bess dude is still snickerin' cause he wanted to see the greenhorn 'light up'!

It is a very good courtesy to tell the folk to the lock side that you are a FLINTER!
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Post by: Spotted Bull on April 03, 2009, 11:10:42 AM: Quote from: "tg"
I would not allow yougsters under my care to shoot without them , if they grow up and choose not to wear them, the finger will not point in my direction.

Same here tg...I like them all to leave with all the body parts working that they came with!
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Post by: Three Hawks on April 03, 2009, 04:22:52 PM: In most States all eyeglasses must meet minimum safety standards. I worked in a shipyard and had to comply with Longshore and Harbor Workers Safety Act regs. Regular street glasses made in WA State meet requirements.

One caution I'll give about shooting flinchlocks is to keep your beard neatly trimmed.

I was shooting a flinter at a rondy some years back. Apparently my beard had gotten fairly well dusted with unburned powder dust, and upon firing another shot, caught fire. That pretty much stopped all other action on the firing line until I got myself extinguished. One guy was laughing so hard he wet himself. Kind of ruined his nice brain tan breeches.

Anyway, wear your glasses, and ear plugs and mind your beard.

I've heard and read on boards, some "Real Men" scoff at ear plugs. I suppose that for them, being deaf is manly. Not being all that invested in the appearance of manliness, knowingly doing something that causes me to lose my hearing isn't manly, it's stupid.

Slightly crispsy ol'

Three Hawks
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Post by: BEAVERMAN on April 03, 2009, 04:43:31 PM: course you can always do like most of the flint shooters I know do, just close your eyes when ya touch it off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!just make sure ya hold REAL STILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by: Kermit on April 03, 2009, 08:37:26 PM: Sounds like all have been pretty lucky--at least compared to me. I've taken my share of touch-hole wash from the occasional flinter that I've failed to notice (and had no warning from the shooter). I DID, however suffer two somewhat freakish accidents from my own fowler!

A wee flint shard broke off the rock and flew, either from the inertia of the moving cock or from the force of the open-air ignition. As bad luck would have it, it happened on a day when my glasses were not on my face. I took it in the left eye, cutting my cornea. Not a bad injury, but it took me off to the emergency room a half-hour away, and sort of spoilt the day for the two friends who spent a few hours of bonding time with me. I don't want to repeat that one, ever.

Ever since, I don't shoot without my glasses on.

Then once, even when I was so protected, I stepped back from the line after a shot to jaw a while, and was asked why that blood was running down my nose. Me fingers found, yup, another not-as-wee shard stuck right between my eyes immediately above the bridge of my glasses. It was about 3/16" square, and very thin and sharp, embedded right between my eyes. Just a little cut to my already somewhat scarred face.

So it's not the flash of burning powder I've come to respect when shooting a flinter, it's the durned rock shedding little pieces!

I wear earplugs too. My wife says I'm deaf enough already.
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Post by: FlintSteel on April 30, 2009, 10:33:27 AM: I've been shooting Flintlocks since about 1973. I usually always wear glasses of some type. Although I have never sustained an injury from the flash or flint chips I have noticed permanent pits burned on the surface of my glasses at times, both in glass lenses and plastic lenses. Those little sparks from flint and steel are very hot and I'd hate to see what those pits on my glasses would be like if it was my CORNEA instead.

My advice is to go without protective lenses VERY SPARINGLY. But I guess it's your eyes.

Michael
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Post by: tg on April 30, 2009, 11:17:21 AM: One thing you do not want to do is to dump the pan, roll the gun lock up and fire to see if you are getting any spark, one might just go down the vent hole, just maybe, just possibly...one...just one...it can happen, I'll leave it at that.
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Post by: Captchee on April 30, 2009, 12:28:35 PM: it does happen TG , with suprising regularity . anyone that hasnt had it happen just is lucky to this point
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Post by: Kermit on April 30, 2009, 01:27:13 PM: ...and try to imagine sustaining an eye injury while you're out hunting somewhere, far, far from any medical care.

Now imagining it happening when you're alone.

I wear glasses and ear protection. Can't afford to lose any more sight and hearing than I already have.
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Post by: Three Hawks on April 30, 2009, 03:10:03 PM: Something most folks don't think about is full beards. I have set my face on fire shooting flintlocks. Overpriming was most likely the main cause along with a rilly rilly kewl full furry Santy Claws beard. Flying black powder dust gets caught in the beard until it reaches critical mass, then all it takes is a single errant spark.

It ain't nearly as funny to the prime participant as it is to the spectators and other participants on the firing line. At least not until the fire's out. (Except for the guy about four shooters downline who wet hisself good. Ya don't wants to laff at ol' Three Hawks, the spirits don't like it!)

Flintlocks also throw enough sparks that a powder horn or powder tin with the plug out or top off can and has become a grenade on a rope hanging from one's shoulder or sitting on the shooting bench. If you think it can't happen, being in the area when a half pound of 3F goes off in a horn is a very memorable experience, believe me! The only thing that saved the guy from losing a substantial chunk of hip was his shooting bag clear full of gadgets and gewgaws between his horn and his hip. He did get a huge, nasty bruise, not unlike being hit hard with a baseball bat.

Three Hawks
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Post by: LRB on May 17, 2009, 05:53:31 PM: I had more close calls when I shot cap locks. Cap fragments. Most FL's have a sufficient rear fence that usually prevents problems.
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Post by: bluelake on May 17, 2009, 06:15:06 PM: Quote from: "Captchee"
i would also say that the oppiset is also true . when shooting , be mindful of the jet from your flashole . if there is another shooter standing to your lock side , call out Flinter so they know your about to shoot . exspecialy if its someone new that may or may not be knowlagable about flintlocks . if it takes actualy say ; aaahh could you please step back , i dont want to burn you . then thats what you should do .
most folks though quickly learn to not stand next to out locks when we shoot

It makes you think what went on during battles in the 18th and early 19th centuries--hundreds of men standing nearly shoulder to shoulder with each other and shooting. However, I doubt embers and jets were at the top of their minds at that time...
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Post by: Gambia on May 17, 2009, 08:25:52 PM: Eye and ear protection IMHO is the most important gear to have when shooting.I happened to work when they were not required as a result I wear hearing aids at about 2Gs per each that don't last forever.When I think of the custom rifles I could have bought! oh well water over the dam.Losing even partial vision unnecessarily is also just plain stupid.I didn't wear ear or eye protection in the Army either, yeah we did have other things to think about like survival.
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Post by: Gordon H.Kemp on May 17, 2009, 09:59:22 PM: Like the others here,I wear glasses and have never had a problem.
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Post by: Tin Type on May 26, 2009, 11:20:08 AM: Tin-Type here,

I have worn glasses all my life... Must wear to just see.. All of my glasses are of the safety kind of plastic lenes. I just get'um, you never know when something [anything actually] is going to fly into your eyes... As to the beard catching fire, that is a new worry fer me.. I will dust it out now and then when on the line...
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Post by: Robert D Smith on June 09, 2009, 10:58:30 PM: "Flint!" I thought that was standard procedure for a flintshooter to yell each and every time he is about to fire his smokepole on the line if anyone is on his lock side. In the concentration of competition the other guy may forget after a few rounds and my courtesy can save him an injury.

My own eyesight is too precious to risk losing - there are too many pretty girls out there to watch. Besides, at my age I need glasses for darned near everything.

Wearing earplugs is also a must for me. When I was a "young tough guy" I didn't wear earplugs as a soldier. Now I am more than half deaf and I have constant ringing in my ears. It's much better to be a smart tough guy than a stupid tough guy.

To put it another way, wise men learn from the mistakes of others; fools insist on learning from their own mistakes.
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Post by: James Kelly on June 16, 2009, 10:22:23 AM: My nice left plastic lens has a crater in it from something I watched fly toward me & melt into the plastic. Fouling? Burnt flint leather? Whatever, glad the lens melted & not my personal eyeball. Think it was Sunday's WoodsWalk by (not in, this time) the Clinton River.
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Post by: Squire Robin on June 16, 2009, 11:08:59 AM: ...and don't shoot the left hand barrel from the hip unless your coat is thick. A shirt sleeve is not enough
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Post by: butterchurn on June 16, 2009, 12:35:19 PM: I wear glasses and I have never had a problem. Now, I've received some nasty flint cuts.
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Post by: Wyoming Mike on June 17, 2009, 07:57:52 AM: Quote from: "James Kelly"
My nice left plastic lens has a crater in it from something I watched fly toward me & melt into the plastic. Fouling? Burnt flint leather? Whatever, glad the lens melted & not my personal eyeball. Think it was Sunday's WoodsWalk by (not in, this time) the Clinton River.

I have seen people who shoot flinters a lot and wear plastic lenses develop a foggy region on their sighting lens over time. I have been using glass lens all along and have never had a problem. Like Butterchurn I have managed to cut myself on flints when I have not been paying attention.
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Post by: Uncle Russ on June 17, 2009, 02:30:15 PM: After reading this I checked the lens of my "better" pair glasses...the ones I wear most when shooting.
After a good gleaning, and close inspection, I'll be dad burn if there ain't something going on with that right lens...nothing real serious, at least yet, but there is a lot of little tiny pitting going on that is not present on the left lens.....

Although I have never actually noticed any of this before, and certainly never anything while I was shooting, it was comforting to know I was in fact wearing glasses when these things did happen.
It also made me think back and wonder what the early folks did, and how many may have suffered eye injury.

Uncle Russ...
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Post by: Bucksnort on July 04, 2009, 01:57:04 PM: One more note of caution: I've sustained larger flint chip injuries, burned off half my mustache more than once out of ignorance (way too much priming in the pan causing slightly delayed ignition) and various and sundry little irritations. If you're wearing regular glasses that have polycarbonate or other plastic lenses, its a good idea to keep a small bowl of water with a very small amount (drop or so) of dish soap in it to dip your glasses in occasionally when firing in matches, especially lengthy multiple event matches. DO NOT WIPE THESE LENSES WITHOUT DIPPING IN WATER FIRST, especially if you have had them coated with anti glare treatment. There are near-microscopic bits of flint blowing around that readily adhere to the lenses and if wiped will leave permanent fine scratches on the surface of the lenses looking somewhat like fingerprint smudges. Your tear ducts produce enough moisture in most cases to clear the surface of your eyes and wash it out of the corners. If you suffer from "Dry Eye Syndrome" you probably already carry eye drops in your pocket. It's not a bad idea to keep a bottle of eye drops in your pocket or shooting bag especially when you're hunting; they can be a Godsend if you ever need it. Since carrying a dish around to rinse off your glasses isn't always practical, a high quality, optical lens brush from your local photo shop or the cosmetic section of Wally World, etc. (the kind women use to apply rouge/powder and what not) is a nice item to have in your possibles when needed. With the cost of bifocal/trifocals being what they are it only take replacing one or two pairs of glasses to spend enough for that new frontstuffer.