I have read on more than one occasion where someone will claim to have a detached retina because of their shooting big bore rifles,is there any truth to this? I am curious because I have had issues with the retina in my right eye & I have shot a lot of rounds.

B73,
For eyes that are near sighted, it is likely that retina detachment will occur naturally from 50 years on up. happened to me in both eyes.
Any additional shock to the head can also cause detachment. This includes car wrecks, falls, heavy long gun recoil (shotguns or rifles) a sucker punch, etc. If you see an outbreak of floaters in either eye, see your eye doc that day (also happened to me) A retina specialist surgeon can often patch things up.
If you are concerned about this, ask your eye doctor.

Cr,
I did mention it to my doctor in passing but he just blew it away & yet I still read about it on the forums once in awhile.

Have a good friend who shoots 500+ rounds of Sporting Clays a week Who had a detached Retina.. He asked his Dr if it was because of the amount of shooting he did, the answer was no... and after a suitable recovery is still shooting .....

I told my ophthalmologist that I had been shooting rifles with heavy recoil. He went back for another look and said that everything appeared okay. He also said that he would pay special attention to my retinas from now on.

FWIW: A couple of years ago, I noticed occasional bright flashes, and floaters in my left eye. Being concerned, I made an appointment to have my eyes checked with my local Dr. After he examined my eyes, he set me up with a specialist who deals with detached retinas. Long story short...I had detached retinas in BOTH eyes. I was scheduled to depart for Zimbabwe in a couple of months, and I wanted the procedures to be accomplished prior to departing for Zim. As soon as my retinas were "welded" back in place, I asked the Dr if I could shoot big bore rifles again. He said "Of course, no problem."
I've shot my .458WM, and .416 Taylor a bunch since the procedure, and have no ill effects.
Word to the wise: If you suspect you have a problem, have it diagnosed, and corrected ASAP.

Vitreous detachment happens to near everyone at some point. Floaters, mostly. Your brain learns to ignore. But sometimes you get flashing lights, especially in the periphery, for awhile.


Vitreous detachment is sometimes associated with a retinal detachment, so not to be taken lightly. Get checked out.

Controversial topic here, but it's another reason I like muzzle brakes (yes, I hunt alone and always wear MSA Sordins).

I have shot my 577 and 500 Nitro doubles for years, as well as the 505 Gibbs and 458 WM that reside here, no eye problems to date, that said, my 8 Bore black powder rifle with 300 grains of FFG under an 825 grain round ball will give me a recoil headache after six shots or so, and I understand those to be a mild concussion.

Because I shoot a lot of rounds with my Big Bores ... 700NE, 600NE, 577 T-REX, 475A&M, etc., I have my eyes checked regularly. When I asked my eye doctor if all this shooting could result in detached retinas, he said; "not likely" if your retinas are healthy. He said if they're bad, sneezing could detach them.

My father has retina problems and has been told not to shoot anything over about a .338. In light of that, I have my eye doctor check my retinas regularly and she says I'm good to go.
I think it is a deal if you have retina problems, but it's not going to cause it if you don't.

Regulating a 500 Jeffery double gave me peripheral flashes. Went to doc he said vitreous detachment. Said if you see a veil get to ER.

I sold my 505 Gibbs IMP to a gent, it weighed 7 lbs...I told him I was selling it because of recoil and it was unshootable IMO..He said he shot big bores and was immune to recoil, and traded me a really nice 404 Jefferys for the gun..It detached his retina, I told him we could trade back, but he refused much to my relief! It was truly a beast, its showed up for sale in the shotgun news about ever year or so, but I suppose at some point someone decided to keep it, must have been Chewbacki..

recoil can also mess with crystals in your ears causing equilibrium problems but you can realign them yourself

At my eye exam time before last I asked my eye doctor specifically if shooting heavy recoiling rifles could cause detached retinas and he told me no. I have a lot of floaters in my eye and that is supposed to be an indicator but he told me not to worry about it. It came up because I wear contacts and was having trouble seeing the open sights on my rifles. I asked him if there was anything he could do prescription wise and he suggested bifocal contacts. I was super skeptical but he said to take a pair and try them a week and if I didn't like them he would prescribe something else. Well, they are THE THING for me. I used to keep those little reading glasses stuck everywhere in case I needed to read something but was able to do away with those too. Hope they hold out.

I had spider web floaters in both eyes and went to a retinal eye specialist who operated and removed all of the floaters from both eyes by performing two vitrectomies. She indicated that the down side was that usually within a year or so, I would develop cataracts and would have to have cataract surgery. That happened almost a year to the date of the surgeries. I have had artificial lenses in both eyes for nearly a year now. Of course, I opted for the premium lenses for each eye. I could have had laser surgery for the floaties, but they were too close to the lens and I could have developed cataracts overnight from that procedure. I now have perfect vision and clear eyes(no floaties). My opthalmologist cleared me to shoot the big guns after cataract surgery. By the way, no pain with any of the eye surgeries that I have had, just a process of following the doctor's orders with eye drops, no heavy lifting, etc. etc. etc.

An M-class SC friend messed up his dominant eye vision by shooting the 12 too soon. He's going to get the lens surgically adjusted, doc told him he'd be fine. This time he'll follow orders, I imagine.

Most folks are not at risk for detached retina. The trick, I suppose, is to know whether you're at risk. Most people don't know.

I know for a fact that the buyer of my fwt 404 popped a retina in his eye, but I also know had eye surgery some 30 days prior to that??? I talked to two eye docs and both said its possible from heavy recoil or a heavy blow of any kind in or around the area. Also talked to a fellow I know who took a 510 whatever with a scope and the scope cut a big half moon between his eye and he claimed a retina break??

I don't have an opinion on the subject, just passing on what I have had, information wise, for what its worth..