Deciding what to wear when going to the shooting range for your first time is important for a safe shooting experience. It’s a good idea to ask about the proper attire or dress code before you head to your range.

What to wear at the range:

• Comfortable clothes: You can’t do your best shooting in uncomfortable, or restrictive clothing
• Eye Protection: Either bring your own or rent substantial eye protection like safety glasses
• Ear Protection: Bring your own or rent earplugs or earmuffs with an acceptable NRR (Noise Reduction Rating)
• Closed toed shoes: Wear closed toed shoes like sneakers or boots for your best footing and foot protection.
• Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty: Grease and gunpowder aren’t the cleanest and you may get stains, especially on white clothes.

What NOT to wear at the range:

• Too loose or restrictive clothing: That old sweater is comfy, but it isn’t ideal for handling firearms safely
• Scoop or V-neck shirts: Hot brass casings can fly everywhere, and open shirts are the perfect target for them to give you burns.
• Cheap Sunglasses: Cheap tinted sunglasses will most likely not provide sufficient eye protection, and may impair your vision indoors if dark tinted
• Winter earmuffs: Earmuffs for winter do not protect your ears from the high decibel emissions of firearms.
• Flip Flops, Sandals, & Heels: Open toed shoes and high heels leave you vulnerable to hot brass casings and are a safety issue.

Looking for more info or hands-on training in gun safety? Check out our private gun training courses for more personalized instruction, or head over to our shooting range classes to view our regular training events.