Hi guys. I dont post messages very often, but this one struck a nerve. I'm an optometrist and spend lots of time trying to educate my patients about the need for eye protection during shooting,especially when hunting in the bush. We all can easily realize the eye hazards in shooting, but do you think about the eye hazards while hunting. I live in a forest industry town and see lots of eye injuries from sticks etc in the eyes. Many times, these injuries dont properly heal (especially from pine needles) and recurrent corneal erosions can occur where the corneal surface falls off repeatedly (even 2 years after the injury). The result is a painful eye that doesnt seem to fully heal. This is a simple type of eye injury. The penetrating ones are scary as hell to deal with.
Our local search and rescue group now has a policy that during a search, everyone wears some kind of eye protection. This developed after one searcher got a stick in the eye and it took a whole team to ensure he got out of the bush OK. Summary: one search team lost due to an easily preventable injury.
How many of you have walked into a branch while going to your standbefore dawn or walking back to the truck after dusk?
One more positive side of wearing eyewear while hunting, certain tints will enhance contrast and you may be lucky enough to pick up those almost invisible deer a little easier.
One more thing. If you are going to wear specs while hunting or shooting, make sure they are polycarbonate lenses. Polycarb is the most impact resistant lens available. That's why we use it for hockey face shields and safety specs. Glass lenses are out of the question, they are brittle and can shatter if broken. Plastic is more shatter resistant than glass, but still doesnt offer enough impact protection. Beware of cheap plastic sunglasses which may be make of acrylic and wont protect your very well. If you do get polycarb lenses, take good care of them because they are a softer material and can scratch easier.
Good hunting to everyone this year.