Sunday 15 June 2014

Shooting / Range CLOTHING & shoes.

Believe me - in the twenty-five years that I've been shooting targets at pistol clubs - I've seen some bloody stupid dressers!
                     Very nice too (two!) - but painful when hot brass drops-in.

- Joking apart - I have had a hot shell-case flick down my open shirt neck and it's very distracting and fairly painful. You need to think about these possibilities when gun handling.

                          Great for hot weather at the beach - But NOT for shooting!

If a very hot .45" or 10mm shell ejects and bounces to land on your foot - how do you maintain a safe muzzle direction and finger-off-trigger hold while the hot brass is sizzling between your toes? - Seen it happen!

I've also seen a joker allowed to shoot a IPSC style club match while wearing loose 'jandals' or flipflops - who stumbled when they twisted sideways under his foot - and just managed not to shoot himself (or anyone else luckily) - he was disqualified from shooting for the rest of that day.

Basically - all you need is sound shoes that are suitable for running if you shoot IPSC style and tough wearing jeans that you may get muddied when shooting prone or kneeling, and a covering top/shirt that allows full movement without restriction. Shorts are fine as long as you don't mind gravel-rash when you go down on the ground.

Serious static 'bulls-eye' shooters can wear specially designed shooting boots or shoes:

 
 
                     European Shooting Boots.

-Flat soled and square toed for stability both standing and kneeling - stiffened at the ankle - and no doubt five times the price of ordinary footwear! - you'd have to move like a show-pony to avoid stubbing your toes. - My idea of good footwear is a "Timberland" shoe or boot with a grippy sole.

- For jeans I really like "Dickies" carpenters jeans. They are heavy 'duck' canvass - can be bought with double knees - and have very useful 'rule pockets' that are nearly perfect as magazine pockets for a left-hander.


                 'Dickies' "shooting" pants complete with sewn-in Mag pouches.

- here in New Zealand I import my 'Dickies' from Amazon USA - they end-up costing less than local shop-bought items and are much heavier material and better quality.

- The other option is 'Cargo Pants' sometimes called 'Combat Pants'  - These are baggy and  loose fitting pants having multiple flap closed patch pockets - some with accordion folds - and you can also buy shorts versions. Most offerings here in NZ tend to be offered as a style choice rather than a genuine heavy-duty wearing "tool". - Good tough items might make a great choice for shooting use..

                                                    Cargo Pants Shorts.

- EMT pants with multiple zippered pocket arrays could prove great too.




My shooting vest with trophy badges - I can still get the kepi (or is that a forage cap?) hat on - but the vest seems to have shrunk somewhat !!

And of-course - the wearing gear not so far detailed - good hearing protectors and safety glasses are essential - unless ..

                                          Surely this was not for real ?

Marty K








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