Flintlock eye injuries?

[Gordon H.Kemp]

Like the others here,I wear glasses and have never had a problem.

[Tin Type]

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...

[Robert D Smith]

"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.

[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.

[Squire Robin]

...and don't shoot the left hand barrel from the hip unless your coat is thick. A shirt sleeve is not enough  

[butterchurn]

I wear glasses and I have never had a problem.  Now, I've received some nasty flint cuts.

[Wyoming Mike]

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.

[Uncle Russ]

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...

[Bucksnort]

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.