Shooting Question

[Steve in Michigan]

I don't know if this is the place to post this and it is a little off-topic, BUT here goes. I have had detached retinas in both eyes. In both cases they were reattached with the use of a scleral buckle on each eye. My question is can I still shoot my military and big bore rifles, some with pretty heavy recoil? I am afraid I will detach a retina again from the recoil. Has anybody got some information on this? I'm afraid if I ask my doctor, he will just say "no" without really understanding

Thank you for any information. If you do have information, please mention where you got that information,

Steve in Michigan

[Dusty Miller]

If I  had detached retinas, shooting guns would be the LAST of my concerns. 

[Graybeard]

If you shoot anything with more recoil than a rimfire you're asking for trouble. Personally I'd not chance it, being blind really isn't fun from what I hear and I sure don't wanna find out first hand. Unless you do I'd not be doing it.

[Grumulkin]

I think your doctor would be the one to ask this question of.  Your doctor may not be as dumb as you think; believe it or not, some doctors shoot, hunt and have even had patients that do the same.

Rimfires would be safe.  I suspect many handguns would be safe as well since the recoil thereof is dissipated by the give of the arms.  A shoulder fired weapon will apply force directly to the shoulder which will obviously tend to jerk the head a bit more.  In addition to rimfires, there are centerfire rifles with good muzzle bakes that would have very little recoil; the Whisper series of cartridges comes to mind.

[SDS-GEN]

Ask your doctor.  I had detached retinas a few years ago and also had a scleral buckle installed in my right eye, laser surgery in my left.  Two days after my surgery the doctor told me I could go elk hunting.  I elected to pass on the hunt as I couldn't see squat out of my shooting eye(which looked like a half pound of raw hamburger).  I have been shooting ever since .22lr up 338 lapua with no problems.  The doc told me that I may have future retina problems, there is no way to know.  I just figured I better get out and hunt while I still can.  Avoid big guns (like the 50BMG) with large muzzle breaks, a guy at the local gun store was supervising people shooting a 50 one day at the range, the next day he had a bruised face around the eyes from the concussion.

[Steve in Michigan]

Thank you for the replies, especially SDS-GEN. I will ask my doctor, but information from those who have experienced the detachment and then repair is VERY helpful. Right now, the heaviest recoiling rifle  I have is a M95 Steyr. That light rifle with 8x56 full-house ammo really lets you know you are shooting.

If anybody else has had retina detachment/repair, I would very much like to hear your story as well. I'm not going to sell my rifles yet, but if there is a significant risk, they will be gone in a flash. I have plenty of handguns to keep me occupied. I can always use my .44 Blackhawk for pig shooting.

Thanks again,

Steve

[skb2706]

If it were me, and i thank god everyday its not, I would probably not chance it. But if you were to have built a heavy varmint caliber rifle, bench type gun and shoot it 'free recoil' you could still enjoy shooting. I would forever forget big boomers...but thats just me.

[gwindrider1]

Steve,

I've just been through the same thing.  It's a scary thing to face the possibility of blindness.

I haven't been able to get a reasonable answer from my retinal surgeon about shooting/hunting, as this guy is not a shooter, but since I am only three months past the surgery, I am not going to take any chances for now.  I have been shooting my handguns quite a bit, but can't see the sights, or targets very clearly as yet.  I have resigned myself to let the rifles rest through this summer, and give that eye time to heal. 

I will get after an Elk this coming fall, but I have decided to downsize for now, and use my 25-06 for this year's hunting effort. 

It is encouraging to read the post from SDS-GEN, and I hope that I can feel confident enough in the years to come to shoot my larger bores again, but I think we should be cautious about it.

Best of luck with your eyesight. 

[beemanbeme]

Blind is forever!  Tomorrow morning have your wife tape your eyes shut and put a blindfold on you and spend the day with her helping you do the most trivial tasks.  Making a mess learning to feed yourself; tripping and falling trying to find the bathroom --damn, who put that refrigerator there---; no working in the yard, nor shop; no TV, nor movies, no ball games, no little league. You get the picture.  Don't cheat.  If you're healthy, imagine spending the next thirty or forty years like that. 

While I like to hunt and to reload and shoot, there are a whole bunch of other outdoorsy things a fellow can do.

[Steve in Michigan]

gwindrider1 Thank your for your reply. It is VERY helpful. I will not be shooting any rifles through the summer either and when I see my vitreo-retinal specialist on July 6, I will talk to him about shooting centerfire rifles. i think I will have the same problem getting a straight answer as you because these doctors are not shooters and it is pretty hard to describe to them how recoil works without letting them try if for themselves. That is my main reason for asking on the forum to see how many others have been in the same situation and what the advise was from their particular doctor. I figured if I had some background information from others, that might help my specialist make an intellegent decision.

Believe me, I an not going to risk my eyes by shooting rifles if there is any risk, but that is the question. I have heard that after a period of time, the retina re-attaches and more or less goes back to the way is was before the detachment. Also, if a person has a victrectomy, the sticky vitreous which in many cases is the cause of the detachment is gone while the retina heals.

Again, thank you for your posts and please post more if you have any views/information.

Steve

[SDS-GEN]

The doctor who did my surgery does shoot, he actually has one of the most extensive collections of dueling pistols and Mauser pistols in the country.  If your doctor is looking for someone to confer with drop me an e-mail and I'll get you his name. 

[Steve in Michigan]

I went to my vitreo-retinal specialist yesterday and popped the question. He said I certainly have enough "glue" back there to hold them on and gave me a clearance to shoot anything I want.I guess I better get the reloading bench warmed up while we still have nice weather.

Thank you to all who contributed to this thread.

Steve

[gwindrider1]

Steve,

Your last post was great news!  Congratulations.

I saw my retinologist on June 21st for my final check up.  He said everything looked as good as it could, but also said that the healing process would continue for the next year.  As a side note, he also said that I have a cataract developing.  Yippie!  I am under the impression that this is a side effect of the surgery.  Do you also have this situation?  That's something I will have to deal with down the road, and I understand that technology has gotten much better at removing those things.

Anyway, I couldn't resist, so I took the 25-06 to the range last week to determine if I could see well enough through the scope, and to test a new load/bullet combination.  It worked out well enough to give me a bit of confidence, but I am considering selling the .458.  Damn, I hate to see it go!

Congrats again on the good check up, and take care of those peepers!    George

[SDS-GEN]

Good news for you Steve. 

I haven't had any sign of cataracts, my eye is dry though and cold windy weather blurs my vision sometimes.  Also I have a blind spot in my eye that vision never returned to.  The nerves were probably destroyed in that part of my eye by the laser.

[jamaldog87]

i have a heart problem and i can't shoot shotguns or anything heavy er than 300win.  Just ask you doctor. I do know people who have detached retinas, heart problems or other stuff like that should stay away from 12ga with 3'' turkey loads or 458win mags. I know a older man who used to shoot heavy 12ga loads all the time and he can't see at all on his right side. If it was me i would just just something lighter and put a recoil pad on it because guns can be replaced but you body can not.