Gully Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 I've found myself getting a dodgy right eye after shooting more than about 30 carts in a short period of time. It feels like I've been poked in the eye a bit and my vision is slightly blurred. It lasts for about a day. Its obviously recoil causing this but should I be worried? I've never had any eye trouble before so I'm going to get them tested this weekend. A quick google though brings up stories of detached retinas caused by shooting! Don't fancy that much. If I do need to reduce the recoil what are the options? Gun fit? a semi auto? - I've never fired one so I don't know how much the recoil is reduced. I guess one of these recoil reducing pads won't help as it will only reduce the recoil to the shoulder, not the face. Any suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_HMR Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Gas operated semi should work for ya try before ya buy though Get a pair of shooting glasses just incase theres powder or gasses or something effecting you sligthly cheaper than a new gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 You are probably taking a small smack on the face sometimes which might be causing this, I'd get the fit checked and let them know about the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Not to be alarmist, but whislt recoil could and probably is the cause of it (as Pin said get gunfit checked), it has been known for excess recoil to detach retinas which is seen initially as blurred vision. Get down the opticians soon. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Get it looked at asap. My uncle was hooked on clays and had to pack them in completely after being diagnosed with a detached retina. His eye quack said the mainstay of his surgery was boxers and shooters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGalway Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Get it looked at asap. My uncle was hooked on clays and had to pack them in completely after being diagnosed with a detached retina. His eye quack said the mainstay of his surgery was boxers and shooters. I'm due an eye test (probably why I can't hit the broad side of a barn lately) must mention I do some shooting and ask for a discount Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted June 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Yup, I'm guessing a smack to my cheek. My mum always said my cheekbones were too strongly chiselled Apparently a detached retina starts by showing a shadow across the vision in one eye, so luckily nothing like that yet. Mine's more like having had a poke in the eye and that slight throbbing and bluriness you get when getting up too quickly. As luck would happen I got a voucher from Boots today in the post offering me a free retinal scan if I have an eye test. So, all booked up for Friday. Does a gas semi auto reduce the recoil that much? I'm going to try a round of skeet tomorrow but not push my head onto the stock so much onto the comb. When you start to feel recoil you realise how much worse fibre wads are than plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 A semi does do wonders for felt recoil. I fire 56g BBs through my Browning Gold Hunter and don't feel them, except the once when I pulled the trigger before getting it in my shoulder as I swung and got the top of my ribs. THEN IT HURT LIKE HELL. Strange you say about recoil difference between Felt/Fibre and Plastic. I don't notice any and I use Felt all the time for Pigeon and Game, and plastic for clays. Its what your used to I guess. Good move on getting the Eye check and retinal scan, can't hurt after all. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted June 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 No, I never noticed the difference before this all started about a month ago when I had a lesson at West London SS firing about 150 carts in an hour then went down the lane and had a few rounds on their compact set up. I got in the car and suddenly realised I couldn't see so well through my right eye. I've noticed it a bit after every shoot and last week I shot some ABT which is pretty intense - lots of shooting without much break between shots and then the next day shot 150, some of them with my wife's 20 bore s/s which is much more brutal for recoil than my 12 bore. Bad eyes again on monday. I'll be a bit peed off if they say I shouldn't shoot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Here's hoping they don't say anymore than have abit of a rest and get the gun fitted. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby t Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 in one of the Q & A columns in PULL there was a guy suffering from a similiar dizness and bluriness when shooting similiar to how you said when you get up too quick, the guy who answered said its all down to balance and that hiw swing was possibly throwing him off balance and hhe was too sensitive to this which gave hime the feeling of getting up too quick. hope this might help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 I don't know what they've been smoking when they make up some of these letters! My bad eye isn't caused by dizziness from my swing, its got to be recoil. The 'getting up bit' was trying to describe that my eye feels somehow swollen after a lot of clays. I played around with the gun last night. The way I've been mounting it to see along the bead, its quite high in the shoulder so maybe some of the recoil's being passed to my face, not to my body. I don't know anything about gunfitting - can they make any gun fit anyone or does it have to be close to begin with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 As long as the adjustments are not massive you can normally have a good quality wooden stocked gun altered reasonably easily and cheaply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Best bet is to get your eyes checked by the optician I used to suffer from bad eyes after shooting Large Calibre Rifles (itching and generally like someone had poked me in it with a stick.) It appeared i was not the only one and the cause was micro bits of carbon and hot gasses when the cartridge was being ejected blowing up between cheek and scope and entering the eye. But these were big calibre rifles (7.62 and .50) and not shotguns but worth a thought about cordite smoke drifting upwards when you break the gun to reload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Pudding Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 GULLY I've had a detached retina , and never relisied untill i went to the opticians !!! GULLY GET YOURSELF OFF TO A REALLY GOOD OPTICIAN , MY EYESITE WAS SAVED BY ONE! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAKE HEED MY GOOD MAN !!!! all the best yis yp Sorry for the caps etc . But it had to be shouted . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted June 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Having a retinal photo and an eye test done this afternoon. What were your symptoms YP? I shot some skeet last night, concentrating on reducing recoil to the eye. Had a chat with a few of the lads there about it - they all said the stock was too short on my gun. I put the thicker pad on it last night. Thinking about it this all started on the first day I shot without thick clothing on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badsworth Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 A semi does do wonders for felt recoil. I fire 56g BBs through my Browning Gold Hunter and don't feel them, except the once when I pulled the trigger before getting it in my shoulder as I swung and got the top of my ribs. THEN IT HURT LIKE HELL. Strange you say about recoil difference between Felt/Fibre and Plastic. I don't notice any and I use Felt all the time for Pigeon and Game, and plastic for clays. Its what your used to I guess. Good move on getting the Eye check and retinal scan, can't hurt after all. SS Sorry to go 'off topic' - but who makes 56g BBs??? Express used to make 53g BBs but have dropped the load to 50g now. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 A semi does do wonders for felt recoil. I fire 56g BBs through my Browning Gold Hunter and don't feel them, except the once when I pulled the trigger before getting it in my shoulder as I swung and got the top of my ribs. THEN IT HURT LIKE HELL. Strange you say about recoil difference between Felt/Fibre and Plastic. I don't notice any and I use Felt all the time for Pigeon and Game, and plastic for clays. Its what your used to I guess. Good move on getting the Eye check and retinal scan, can't hurt after all. SS Sorry to go 'off topic' - but who makes 56g BBs??? Express used to make 53g BBs but have dropped the load to 50g now. B 3.5" Remington Nitro Steel, bought them from John Forseys at Welling, Kent last september for Wildfowling along with some 3" 46g 4's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted June 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Well, the beautiful young optician I had today gave me the full works. Retinal photo, visual inspection, peipheral vision test. Nothing wrong with me, except that over the last 10 years my eyeballs have aged. I told her all about the shooting, recoil etc and then after the test she asked me why I thought archery would affect it :blink: Anyway, the long and the short of it is that my retinas are intact but 25 years of self abuse has ******** my eyesight. I'm off to get my gun fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Glad all is well with the peepers Nick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Yes, gunfit is so important, get yourself booked in with the top guy at Holland & Hollands in Northwood, he will sort you out and give you the ideal stock dimensions for your gun. Then get your gun altered by Ladbroke & Langtons in Radlett, and...... Volia..!!, you'll be breaking a lot more clays, because your gun should be shooting exactly where you think it is, remember to keep your cheek WELDED to the stock..!!. A lot of people simply don't realise just how important gun fit is. If you're happy to go out and and shoot 50 - 60%, then fine, don't bother, but if you want to do well in the very testing sport of clay shooting, get it sorted, it's well worth it. Having seen you shoot, I'd be surprised if your stock is too short, as you're what I would call "average" build, and most "off the shelf" guns nowadays are built accordingly, it pays to experiment with the left hand hold on the forend, (assuming you're a right handed shooter), I personally prefer a "long" hold, with the fingers right at the end of the forend, I can control the gun swing better that way, others prefer a shorter hold, which can generate a faster swing. Let us all know how you get on, Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted June 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Cheers lads. It turns out my cousin's being trained up as an instructor at H&H by Stuart Carrington there. He's excellent - taught me to shoot gun down. I'll book in a session with him and the fit gun. The optician thinks I'm straining my eyes. None of it explains the blurriness other than the recoil is disturbing 'floaters' in my eyes - congealed parts of the fluid in the eyeball. I'm going to get some specs and see how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 The fact there is nothing seriously wrong with your eyes, is good news indeed. Most shooters buy a gun off the shelf and if they hit a few things with it, are quite happy. Its worth getting every gun you buy checked and fitted, to get the best out of it (and yourself). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 After shooting today on one stand I came out the cage with blurred vision, which quickly passed after about 30 seconds. I think it was more tom do with the sunlight through the trees than anything else. I will keep an eye on it though and get it checked out if it persists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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