I always wear ear and eye protection, with the exception of one recent occasion, which ironically was the time that I needed it most.
My son and I were out in the country, letting him sight in his new .22 rifle, and I brought along my .22 (Remington Speedmaster) as well. He challenged me to match one of his groups, and (not thinking) I grabbed my rifle out of the back of the SUV and proceeded to go to work (sans eyes and ears).
I got a kabloooey. Yup :yup:. At about the 4th round, it sounded like someone fired a .357 next to my head and my face and hands got sprayed with hot grit. For some dumb reason, I never would have expected that sort of explosion out of a .22. My son had his eyes and ears on, but was still amazed at what an ear-piercing 'crack' it was. I was shooting a box of old Remington LR hp's that I bought back in the early '80s, and apparently one of them was over-charged. It blew pieces of shell casing back around the bolt carrier and locked it half-way back.
The good news is that other than my ears ringing for the next day or two, that was the only damage. I was later able to detail-strip the rifle and verify there was no serious damage to it. It also really gave my son 'religion' about proper eye and ear protection.
'Just wanted to share a solid reminder that even with mild-mannered .22 rifles, don't be dumb like me.
Be safe. :smile:
