Brain damage from large caliber?

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GHILLIE MAN

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This may be a completely stupid thread or question. But i have always been curious, can the repeated use of large caliber rifles throughout the lifetime of an avid shooter, cause any sort of brain damage:p ?

I know you're thinking, (this guy might be proving his thread right). There's a large amount of force generated in the recoil and your body is constantly cushioning it, taking repeated shockwave after shockwave, thousands and thousand of times. (mind you this is if you could afford the ammo). I know myself after shooting 50 rounds of .44 Magnum my body is aching! and seeing the Marines training with .50 cal Barret's the shockwave through their body is intense!

So, what problems could this cause, if any, later on in life. or has there been any studies regarding the subject?

Thanks
 
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The symptoms from repeated exposure are similar to "huffing paint":

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The biggest risk is that of retinal detachment with high powered rifles, especially for near sighted folks already at risk. Boxers damage the corpus callosum which can lead to movement disorders, just ask Ali about that. Football players are at increased risk of dementia after multiple concussions.

I haven't come across any studies showing actual brain damage from high powered rifles, but the liberals already believe we are brain damaged to start.:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
hahaha. So there is risks then. good to know. I dont think i'll be shooting, or can even afford any time soon, 50. cals or .338 Lapua Magums etc...
but i always wondered. After reading a bit it seems the detached retina seems to be not that uncommon...
 
The affect of "traumatic brain injury" caused by percussive exposure is still the source of some debate, but that would be in the case of much larger explosions like I.E.D.s and mortars. I would buy into the idea of cumulative injury over time in the case of soldiers repeatedly exposed to explosions, but large caliber gun fire probably wouldn't show up on the scale in comparison. I'm doubtful about any adverse affect other than to unprotected hearing.
 
Paging G.I. Cannon-cockers ;)

Those 155mm Howitzers gotta be pretty loud..
..or the 16" big guns of the Missouri-Class battleships

Imagine being in a WW2 T-34 or Sherman tank with that powerful 3" gun going off next to your head in rapid succession
 
Those 155mm Howitzers gotta be pretty loud..
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Yeah. Those would probably do it. Just a tiny bit bigger than what I was thinking about in terms of "large caliber." :D

I bet the guy on the bench next to a 338 Lapua with a muzzle brake is thinking about cumulative brain injury too. (Oy-freakin'-veh!)
 
It would be interesting to see if any medical journals have heard of a case like this. I think I'll search my univ. to see if they have something on it.

From personal experience the force on your brain when firing a large caliber weapon properly shouldered is very similar to just jogging or regular walking. Your brain is a lot more resilient than people think to shocks.
 
It would be interesting to see if any medical journals have heard of a case like this. I think I'll search my univ. to see if they have something on it.

From personal experience the force on your brain when firing a large caliber weapon properly shouldered is very similar to just jogging or regular walking. Your brain is a lot more resilient than people think to shocks.
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While this may be true, i have heard of several people's retinas detaching. I've never heard that happening to a jogger before?
 
I haven't heard of brain injury but I have heard of detached retina, neck injury , and shoulder injury.
 
Being in a SP 155 is a lot quieter and smoother, the targeting and command folks get more beating in their trailer than the crew. Nobody is ever allowed to stand forward of the hull.

.50 Barretts with semi-auto actions and muzzle brakes don't beat the user as much as is believed. In fact, The M107 cannot be shot without the muzzle brake, or it will damage the action. The user doesn't carry hundreds of rounds with them, either.

The average age of a NFL linebacker at their passing is 54. There are worse things than shooting a gun, people still line up to do it.
 
I don't see how shooting a large caliber rifle would cause brain damage...

Your head is free to move in any direction. It's not pinned against a hard object and then a hard-recoiling rifle placed against it for the head to absorb all of the recoil. The recoil goes into the shoulder and is disipated throughout the body. The joints in the neck limit the amount of "shock" from the recoil that will travel to the head. Most, if not all of the recoil will travel from the shoulder down into the back and abdomen...

A violent sneeze will cause more "trauma" to the head than a heavy recoiling rifle due to the "whiplash" motion...
 
Knew a guy who was going on a hunting trip to Africa and spent all day on the bench with his .458 mag. The next day when he came in to work he couldn't lift his right arm and showed us a BLACK area from his shoulder to the middle of his chest down to his waist and down to his hand. Totally black! Amazingly his eyes were still in their sockets.
 
While I never had a medical doctor diagnose it, my right elbow suffered internal damage from firing 44 magnums to excess back in the '70s and '80s. I was casting and reloading back then and routinely shooting hundreds of rounds on the weekend.Still will bother me if I do much shooting of heavier recoil revolvers.

If a high powered rifle could have the potential for causing physical problems in a normal, healthy human, which I doubt, I imagine it would take a heap of rounds thrown downrange to do it.
 
my right elbow suffered internal damage from firing 44 magnums to excess back in the '70s and '80s.
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That right there lends itself to what I was trying to get across in my other post. The Joints of the body are designed to minimize the "shock" received. I can see joint problems from years of heavy recoiling rifles, but not brain damage.
 
It's a good thing my .300 WM doesn't kick much....
 

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