What Not to Wear

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Day by Day comic strip and not just for its occasional gunnie content. Gun blogs have been all a twitter with the recent series because two characters Zed and Sam are taking Damon and Jan to a gun range. Jan is liberal and thinks she hates guns; we’ll see. If you need to catch up, click on March 20 and then keep reading.

This strip discusses what to wear at a range.

It brings up a very important point and I realized I’ve never addressed the dangers of hot brass and female flesh. I don’t want to leave such an important topic to anti-gunnies who might try to scare women away from shooting. They might preach about “dangers” of shooting and advise all sorts of impractical safety gear.

I’ve shot countless rounds in all kinds of weather and in all sorts of clothing. I found out that brass from your gun or someone else’s seems to have a mind of its own. Brass can get everywhere, particularly .22 brass. I’ve found it in my shoes, caught in my hair, almost everywhere (no further details guys).

In my younger days, I once wore a tube top as the cartoon says—once was enough. Hot brass found the first hint of cleavage and headed south from there. Watching me fish brass out of places I wish it hadn’t gone was way too entertaining for other people shooting that day.

I also remember wearing a sleeveless tee with a scoop neck. Two things plagued me--brass finding the ole cleavage again (see above) and other peoples’ brass bouncing on my bare arms.

I remember shooting on a cool autumn day wearing a high neck tee-shirt and a barn-type jacket. Damn if hot brass didn’t find it’s way inside my bra again.

What can I say, the “twins” are made to be brass catchers. It has something to do with the way a bra creates a funnel shape under clothing. I’ve gotten so used to shaking brass out of there that I just ignore it until I get home. It doesn’t hurt for long. Besides, on a cold New England day, you need all the warmth you can get.

There’s other places brass can go on women and men. I was shooting our AR-15s with Yosemite Sam (Bill) and his brass kept hitting me while we were in the standing position. One of his hot cases hit the top of my head and bounced down between my glasses and my left eye. Now that hurt and I had a loaded gun in my hands. By the time I safed my gun, the brass had cooled and I had a luxurious eye rub after I left the firing line.

On a serious note, brass rarely hurts beyond a sting, but there are things that can hurt you. I’ve had bits of bullets splash off steel targets and hit me with enough force to cause a bruise. If one bit had gone directly into an unprotected eye, I might be wearing an eye patch and saying, “Arrgghh, me hearties” today.

In summary, some sort of “Brady Bunch Armor” is not necessary, but ear and eye protection is mandatory. Your eye protection should have wrap around frames that prevent anything from coming between them and your eye. Wearing a long sleeve shirt with a high neck, pants, and a cap are good ideas. I always follow this advice now except for a cap, sometimes.

Shooting is fun and a safe activity for women (except for those who are pregnant). Yes, I’ve had a few “owies” while shooting, but I’ve never had one leave a scar, not even in my cleavage (no, pictures are not available).