Eye injuries from flintlock?

[Louisk]

Fairly new to flintlocks here. Took the new (to me) Brown Bess Carbine replica out shooting a few weeks ago. My wife was watching and said she was quite bothered by the big flash right next to my face. I assured her that I'd be protected by safety glasses and I hadn't really heard much about shooters getting injuries from the pan flash.

Any thoughts/experiences with this?

Thanks.

 

[Tumbledown]

The glasses are sufficient. If you get powder burns, you're way overcharging the pan.

 

[bpd303]

I shot for years using just my bi-focal glasses as they were also safety lenses. Never had any sparks hit my face. I've now had my cataracts removed with lens implants, so I no longer need glasses but I still wear safety glasses and to date nothing has hit my face, but better to be safe than sorry.

 

[RiverRat]

There are some really fine pictures of flintlocks being fired. The flash in the pan is a real explosion happening a few inches from your eyes. I wear some safety glasses whenever I shoot my flintlock. It might not look period correct, but my 70 year old eyes are worth the protection.

 

[SDSmlf]

Fairly new to flintlocks here. Took the new (to me) Brown Bess Carbine replica out shooting a few weeks ago. My wife was watching and said she was quite bothered by the big flash right next to my face. I assured her that I'd be protected by safety glasses and I hadn't really heard much about shooters getting injuries from the pan flash.

Any thoughts/experiences with this?

Thanks.

First muzzleloader I ever shot back in the 1960s was an original Brown Bess. Needed cross sticks and couldn’t reach the trigger with the butt plate in place. Shot muzzleloaders while in Scouts during the 1970s. Probably didn’t consider safety glasses until the early to mid 1980s. Ear plugs, cigarette filters pushed into ears were as good as it got. Muzzleloading and flintlocks just weren’t that ‘dangerous’ back then. Didn’t need seatbelts in vehicles. No helmets when on a bike. Medical doctors endorsed their favorite cigarette. The good old days.

Today I wear safety glasses when shooting any type of gun, just because. But honestly believe any real potential hazards or dangers are from the other shooters. I’d suggest you wear safety glasses (don’t forget hearing protection) and pay attention to who you shoot with.

 

[bpd303]

The closest I have come to an eye injury was in 2016 shooting a Navy Arms 1864 Springfield 3 band rifle musket, that I had won in an auction. One of the musket caps flew apart and one of the wings embedded in my cheek, just below the rim of my glasses after hitting the rim.

Edit: Add the caps were very old Navy Arms Wing Musket Caps.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Is there any documentation as to how often soldiers, or anyone else, suffered eye injuries in the flintlock period? I'm not making a statement here on safety glasses but it is something I've always wondered about. I'm thinking there must have been quite a few cases of eye injuries even if they were minor ones. I've seen folks who got something in their eyes shooting percussion guns.

 

[wiscoaster]

Tell her that the fire from the pan ignition blows out to the side AWAY from your face. (Unless you happen to be a lefty shooting a right-handed rifle).

 

[DixieTexian]

I worry more about cap fragments from a percussion gun. But I'm also a lefty, so it is probably a bigger issue for me.

 

[deerstalkert]

The closest I have come to an eye injury was in 2016 shooting a Navy Arms 1864 Springfield 3 band rifle musket, that I had won in an auction. One of the musket caps flew apart and one of the wings embedded in my cheek, just below the rim of my glasses after hitting the rim. bpd.

gentlemen, and ladies! I hereby nominate and award bpd303 as the recipient of the Muzzleloadingforum.com purple heart.

 

[kyron4]

Is there any documentation as to how often soldiers, or anyone else, suffered eye injuries in the flintlock period? I'm not making a statement here on safety glasses but it is something I've always wondered about. I'm thinking there must have been quite a few cases of eye injuries even if they were minor ones. I've seen folks who got something in their eyes shooting percussion guns.

I'd like to know the data from the period.

As far as eye injuries form flintlocks; I'd say compared to daily chores like weed wacking, chainsawing, grinding metal, etc. it's probably at the bottom of the list.

 

[Louisk]

Thanks, folks for all the great feedback. It seems to be mostly encouraging, at least there weren't a bunch of posts from one eyed shooters.

I'll definitely point out to the wife the above mentioned observation about the pan ignition getting blown away from the shooter. She is very supportive and isn't going to tell me "no" but it would be much better if she wasn't worried about me getting hurt. I would very much like to get more involved with flintlocks.

That is very true about all the other things that can get you hurt. I was working on our camper a few weeks ago and just about put my eye out when I went to scratch my face forgetting that I had a large screw held in my fist. It's the boneheaded things that will get you. I've found that a calculated risk is somewhat less apt to get you hurt than not paying attention to what you're doing.

I will continue to wear safety glasses. Probably will be shooting with prescription myself before too much longer. Cataract surgery is coming in the not too distant future as well. At least with the Bess I'm not having to deal with those annoying blurry sights!

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

In 40+ years of BP shooting, even with me being LH'd and starting out with RH'd flintlocks, plus also shooting all earlier ignition types that are all RH'd arms ... and I've never even heard of anyone having an issue when shooting a flintlock or earlier arm, if/when wearing eye protection that is.

The only thing I can add caution against is being 'splashed' by the touch hole flash by another shooter adjacent to you. But you too, as a shooter, need to be cognizant of those standing off to your right whilst shootin', especially if they are loading. A polite verbal 'warning' notice is advised.

 

[Poguetx]

Shooting glasses are a must, and your range master should check that everyone has them. I've definitely seen folks get debris in their eye, but thankfully no damage. And it's not just flintlocks. I've had cap shards hit me in the cheek and draw blood! It's a common courtesy for flintlock shooters to call out "FLINT" just before the shot to warn their neighbor.

 

[wiscoaster]

Shooting glasses are a must, and your range master should check that everyone has them. ....

As far as that goes, I think personal protection is a personal responsibility, it has no adverse effect on any other individual, and any range with an RSO who would kick me off the range for not wearing safety glasses would be a range I wouldn't patronize again.

I generally wear prescription glasses with lenses that are "safety" rated, but they may be on or off at any given time depending on whether I need them on at the moment.

 

[French Colonial]

You'll put your eye out!

Those BB guns are dangerous!

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

You'll put your eye out!

 

[EC121]

On occasion I have had to scrape powder bits off my glasses and forehead. Not often but it happens.

 

[wiscoaster]

You'll put your eye out!

Those BB guns are dangerous!

That was what the rationale always was when I was a kid, and maybe partly why my parents wouldn't let me have a BB gun. Funny thing is, there were no one-eyed kids in my town, though there were plenty of BB guns. And one summer when my folks farmed me out to my grandparents for a couple weeks, my uncle took me out to shoot rats in the local dump with his .22 rifle, and I became a closet gun freak. To be realized much, much later as an adult. Go figure.

 

[springfield art]

Fairly new to flintlocks here. Took the new (to me) Brown Bess Carbine replica out shooting a few weeks ago. My wife was watching and said she was quite bothered by the big flash right next to my face. I assured her that I'd be protected by safety glasses and I hadn't really heard much about shooters getting injuries from the pan flash.

Any thoughts/experiences with this?

Thanks.

Yes, you did good with the necessary glasses! That's a must-use thing!