Ill tell you what happened to me first so you will know why Im making a big deal about saftey. Back in January I got shot in the eye by my buddy with his KWA M4A1. We weren't actually playing, we were just shooting at a tree in his field and then he turned around and said something, waved his gun toward the house, and the next thing I hear is the BB dicscharge and something spin my eyeball around. He didn't do it intentionaly but it happened. Now ya want the results from this right? Ill go into detail so you might be more persuaded to be safe and think before you act. I went to the hospital and luckily they got the BB out without surgery. It was a traumatic injury, so I threw up everywhere and it sucked. I couldnt see anything except lights and shadows. For the next couple weeks I was not allowed to be active. I had to sit in a recliner and I couldnt tilt my head any more than 30 degrees day and night, even when I was sleeping. I couldnt lay down. I wasn't allowed to get up to do anything except go to the bathroom. I had to take multiple eyedrops almost every hour. I wasn't allowed to watch TV or play video games. I wasn't allowed to look around with my eyes or make quick movements with my head. Sounds like alot of fun huh? I went to the eye doctor pretty much every day for those 2 weeks. After that came the painful part, Glaucoma. After my eye recovered from the initial injury it started to make fluids again. The problem was that the bb had ripped my natural eye drain and the scar tissue had closed it up to where only 60 percent actually drained. It also ripped my iris, so my eye will not dialate, and my pupil always looks huge. When the pressure started building up it hurt so bad that I started throwing up. It hurt alot more than the initial injury itslef. My eye pressure went up 4 seperate times before they could get it in control. Out of those 4 times, 3 times they had to poke a needle in my eye. Around the same time, I had to have a cataract surgery, which isnt uncommon for older folks that are in their 60s. But Im 17. I missed 2 months of school at that point. I went back to my normal lifestyle but my little adventure with my eye was hardly over. Eventually they had me on every pressure drop that is even made and I had to take 10 eyedrops every day, which was very expensive. Even then my pressure was too high so I had to have another surgery in the summer. They had to put a tube in my eye, and now it looks like someone put a bouncy ball in the side of my eye. I am still on 1 eyedrop per day. The hardest thing for me to do is accept the fact that I will never be able to do my dream job of going into the military and becoming a Navy SEAL. I will be lucky if I can even get in the Military as it is now. Yesterday I went to my first airsoft game since then. You may not see how many opportunites there are for something to go wrong as I do, but they are there. I want to point them out to you so you wont make or be the next UT Eye Surgeon's patient.
1. Don't point your muzzle at anything that you don't intend to shoot. I saw alot of people(mostly the younger people) waving their guns around as if they were trying to shoot a pesky fly that kept flying around them. I even had to grab a couple people's gun muzzles and shove them away from my face. Pay attention to what you are pointing that muzzle at.
2.Don't put your finger inside the trigger guard unless you are ready to shoot. I saw ALOT of that rule being broken. All it takes is the slip of the finger folks, and suddenly you have accidently discharged your gun. If you need a place to put your finger just hold it straight and rest it on the side of your gun on the magwell (for M4s and similar types) near the magazine realease button.
3.Use the saftey. Even though you need to go by the rule that safteys will always fail, it is better to use them anyway. They may actually work and if you break both of the above rules and may actually save someone from disaster. Don't be lazy, flick the switch or push the button if you arent going to shoot at something.
4. Wear your eye protection. This is probably the most important rule. I know that goggles fog up. DONT TAKE THEM OFF DURING THE GAME! Sit there and wait for them to clear up. If you just absolutely cannot bear it anymore, walk compleltely off the field and turn away from it before you take them off. It may even be a good idea to put your death rag on so that if someone is nearby they wont shoot at you. Keep in mind this little rule of thumb. You are only as smart as the dumbest person in your group. There is bound to be a dumb person breaking the saftey rules. So even when you are in the saftey zone its a good idea to wear your goggles. Remember, I wasnt playing when I got shot. If you see that dumb person, correct them. Tell them that they are breaking a saftey precaution and what they should be doing to correct it. Not everybody was taught the rules as a child.
Thats just the tip of the iceberg, but its all that I feel that was imperative for me to address. Just follow the rules, and remember to treat airsoft guns as if they were real guns. They may not kill someone, but they can hurt them mighty dang bad. Please remember this post when you are playing. I hope it saves someone from the predicamnet that I am having. If you read this thanks for doing so.
Sincerely, Cyclops( a little humor)
