I wonder how many folks wear a mouthpiece of some sort when they are shooting big bore rifles and heavy recoiling shotguns.

None that I have ever known or heard of. However AR's very own "Shootaway" has admitted he has used a snowmobile helmet in the past.

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Why would you need a mouthpiece? A PAST recoil shield, perhaps.

George

I've never even heard anyone doing that.

I know people who have cracked their teeth shooting rifles and shotguns. I am not so sure I haven't done it myself, which is why I now always chew bubble gum when I am hunting. Its the teeth jarring together that does it according to a dentist I spoke with.

I broke a large chunk off one tooth.Soon after I had pain and infection and had the tooth pulled.It turned out that the tooth was rotting for years and had an enormous cavity.I suspect it was rotting for about ten years because when I pulled it a pain I had in back of the jaw for about that time,went away.I now have a bone graft done and the dentist warned me not to disturb it through contact sports...I am also getting some crowns fixed so next time I shoot I will have a mouth piece.I also suspect that rotten tooth for other health issues but that is another story.IMO,teeth are very important and are more important than we think..so I am going to try and avoid cracking them in the future.

I use a molded mouth guard when testing heavy calibers. My dentist convinced me that it prevents your lower jaw from slamming into your upper jaw during recoil and radically reduces recoil headaches. At least it works for me and I use it all the time.

a medium duty punch hurts worse than a 500 jeffe...

no, i wear double ears, maybe a past shield, and polycarb glasses ... and a smile from ear to ear

I never have but it is a great idea. I finally got used to them for playing basketball, which was considered "odd" at the time, and find them not distracting in the least since. Sure cut down on the bloody lips and mouth. Also helped me to learn to breath through my nose more under exertion. Good form that.

When I sight in a heavy recoiler I use a moldable football mouth piece for Walmart. It really helps! No more 458 Lott head aches!

Yes, but only with the 4 bore.

didn't someone use a half helmet for his big bores?

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
didn't someone use a half helmet for his big bores?

Only when shooting Mike Jines' 500 NE!

Shootaway described in detail his "woodscrewing" his shooting helmet with mouth guard to the stock of his .458 win mag. This assured his head never coming off the stock particularly when his "screws came loose". He perfected his shooting abilities in this manner until his bore became fouled and he had to clean it destroying all vestiges of whatever accuracy he was able to produce in the process. I think he has gone back to .22s to eliminate his flinch!

My 458 rattles my teeth, so i make sure my mouth is open and tongue out of the way.

Like LiveOak, I use one of the cheapies from WalMart or Big5.
I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I see here that I am not alone.
L

The dentist told me that what you have to avoid is the front teeth hitting hard against each other as there are parts of those teeth that are quite thin and can crack or break easily.

I noticed that even with a .325 WSM in a very lightweight gun I experienced a bit of that.
I don't care to wear a mouth guard hunting, hence chewing the bubble gum. If you have enough of it in your mouth and bite down on it hard when you are shooting at a deer it prevents your uppers from smashing against your lowers!

I never experienced my teeth smacking together. But if someone else has, more power to them for finding a good fix. However, I did not shoot a lot of heavy bullet loads in my Lott. . When I had my 500 A-Square I was young and tough. I put breaks on all my larger cal rifles now so I don't get the boot as much and I don't shoot much heavy for caliber bullets either.

I wore a mouth piece but no headgear when I boxed. I don't shooting. I guess that explains a lot

My goodness!

Never heard of that.
If I have to start wearing a mouth piece to shoot bigger stuff, I am going to rim fires.

Jeez.

Do they come in a gift basket with lace panties and a tampon?

I think I'll stick to calibers I don't have to shoot in private.

+1!!

quote:

Originally posted by tygersman:
Jeez.

Do they come in a gift basket with lace panties and a tampon?

I think I'll stick to calibers I don't have to shoot in private.

A lady friend cured the problem by having all of her teeth extracted and full dentures made.

It has some incredible side effects...

And all this time I thought a Lawyer was a mouthpiece.

Love it when the "macho men" show up proclaiming their indignation on issue like this. (I always think of the Village People song when they type away so bravely...)
Let me know when y'all go back to curved steel butt plates on those big bores and surely we can find an appropriate award for you.

quote:

Originally posted by Fury01:
Love it when the "macho men" show up proclaiming their indignation on issue like this. (I always think of the Village People song when they type away so bravely...)

Its probably a good indication of who actually shoot big bores on a regular basis and who don't.

Actually ; if ya think about it, and it works for someone then more power to them. Not like they r gonna make you wear one. I wouldn't hunt with.one. But 90% of big bore rifle shooting should be done at the range so the shooter can hit what they need to when hunting. If a mouth piece helps some to do that, I think its a great idea. . A lot of guys about need a utv just to pack all their stuff to go to the range. A mouth piece is a lot smaller and lighter than a Past recoil shield. An item which.I have zero use for. And I have tried them several times with no benefit. Tho one may be useful for prone shooting as they basically lengthen.the lop.

I usually don't hurt enough shooting bib bores so I ask some one at the range to kick me in the nuts until his foot hurts. Like Robert Blake used to say in Baretta, " they're all tough guys, just ask 'em they'll tell ya'

Ooops sorry for the typo, a Leopard jumped on my back and while fighting him off I could only type with one hand

I had a guy actually break a tooth when shooting the .600 ok. Not sure what he did wrong but he had no idea what he was doing. One look and I should have said no, but live and learn. I always clamp my jaws tightly shut when setting up to shoot any big bore offhand. It's part of the ritual.

It is not that someone has there mouth open.It is just the acceleration of the head that does it,IMO.You will walk out of the range without any issues or clue as to what happened to your body.The next few days will tell a different story.In my case I felt the right lower part of my jaw really stiffen up.I dont think anyone shoots with there mouth open because shooting a big bore is not a relaxing thing.

That post deserves a LIKE!!

Pfffttt!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
A lady friend cured the problem by having all of her teeth extracted and full dentures made.

It has some incredible side effects...

A gentleman doesn't tell---

LOL

I have seen many folks wear this.
[URL= ]mouth piece[/URL]

I clinch my teeth and my butt cheeks and let er rip.

Wayne if you clench your butt cheeks then how do you let 'er rip at the same time?

I'm curious because I have two of your rifles and I want to use the right technique...

The 600 Overkill usually loosens "things". When I shoot that I wear Depends.

Now that is funny