Why is one advised to wear safety goggles when target shooting? AFAIK, standard safety goggles aren’t nearly strong enough to stop a bullet.
Because stuff doesn’t only come out of the front. If you’re shooting a revolver, there is a gap between the cylinder and the breech. Gasses and particles fly out from this gap when a round is fired. With a pistol or semi-automatic rifle, the breech opens automatically to eject the spend casing. Debris can fly out at this time. Rifles with other types of actions can also allow junk to fly around, but I’m not familiar enough with them to be specific.
Remember: When you’re out shooting your trusty AR-15, your eye is only a few inches from the ejection port.
The glasses are to stop the flying shreds of lead and powder spray that you’ll sometimes get when firing a handgun.
More than once I have had the spent cartridge from an automatic pistol bounce off the wall of the lane I was in and hit me in the face. I think that answers the question right there.
If you’re smart enough to stay on the other side of the muzzle you needn’t worry about stopping a bullet with your eye protection. What the guys above me have said is correct; there can be quite a numbe of small fragments flying around when you shoot. You should think of it like you do when working with hand or power tools; it’s just a good safety precaution.
As others have stated that’s not why smart shooters wear safety goggles but in fact some of the better polycarbonate shooting glasses can stop a .22 long rifle bullet or shotgun pellets. The real danger though is fragments, gas and burning powder. When I shoot at an indoor range the dividing walls will often make part of the muzzle blast bounce back at me.
I was out in the back yard plinking away with the trusty Ruger 1022 when a fragment of spent charge flew into my eye. It looked like a flaming meteorite growing larger as it aproached. When it finally did hit it put me down onto my knees. It was not so much that it was hot, but more of a chemical burn. I was later told that it was nitrate that caused the ouch.
I now wear some kind of glasses everytime.
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- Bullet casings are hot when they exit an (autoloading) gun: when we’d shoot centerfires during the winter, the spent shells would make a “Ssssssss” noise when they hit the snow-covered ground.
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- People do get minor burns from shells bouncing off of range booth walls. Sometimes they gt it in the face. I got it in the arm once; I was observing to the right and behind with my arms crossed, and a wild one fell right into the fold of my elbow. YeeeOOUUUCHH!! - MC
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Anyone ever made the mistake of standing to the right of somebody who was shooting a semiautomatic? There’s a reeeaal steep learning curve on that move.
-LabRat
Everyone has stated very good reasons for wearing safety glasses when shooting firearms. There is another, just as important reason, for wearing them. If there is a malfunction due to faulty ammunition (primarily with handloaded ammo, but even factory ammo can cause problems) or mechanical operation, the glasses just might save your eyes. I have always advocated wearing proper personal protection equipment when shooting, and I have seen several cases of firearms coming apart. Glasses have been instrumental in saving the eyes of the shooters in every case. So remember, when you are shooting, wear proper safety glasses and hearing protection at all times. [end of public service announcement]