It is a discernible truth that if the firearm and tactical community loves one thing, it’s a good debate on the best guns, gear, and ammunition. It doesn’t matter whether it is the classic AR vs AK schism or the rift between the Glock and 1911 community. If there is an argument to be had, it will be debated. However, far too many ignore the attire altogether. Given that gunfights have proven to be notoriously unkind to the second-place finisher, there is no reason to leave out any detail. What to wear to the shooting range? That’s the topic of the day. When visiting a shooting range, prioritize safety and comfort by wearing closed-toe shoes, long sleeves, and comfortable pants. Avoid loose clothing, low-cut tops, and jewelry that could interfere with shooting or snag on equipment. Essential gear includes eye and ear protection, and a hat with a brim can further deflect ejected casings. If we can borrow a few minutes of your time, we’ll break this down in more detail below.
Shooting Range Dress Code: Start With the Basics
Unfortunately, the internet is full of moto videos of hot women in bikinis firing at the cyclic rate on the range. We get the appeal of such a shooting outfit, but the first time hot brass falls into a place it shouldn’t be the video will come to an unceremonious end. Ask any Marine who has caught hot brass in the neck of his flak or body armor, it makes the strongest of men jump up and dance. We also recognize that many of you may be new to shooting and just searched “what to wear to shooting range.” We welcome all newcomers to the community and we want your first experience at the range to feel comfortable so that you keep coming back and keep training. So, we’re going to start with the basics of what to wear to a shooting range and then offer a few shooting sports apparel solutions.
Protect Yourself from Hot Brass
This is without a doubt the most common threat faced on the firing range. Major catastrophic weapons malfunctions like barrel obstructions or ruptured chambers are extremely rare, occurring only once every tens or hundreds of thousands of rounds sent down range. However, hot brass is flying with almost every shot fired.
This is the genesis of the recommendation of long sleeves, closed-toe shoes, no low-cut tops and certainly no bikinis. A good shooting range hat with a large brim is a good addition as well. Depending on how the range is set up, it is not necessarily even your own brass that you have to worry about, but the gentleman to your left playing Rambo at the range. Wincing from hot brass while you are firing could cause you to lose focus and discipline resulting in poor muzzle control and unsafe conditions.
Avoid Wearing Loose Clothing at the Gun Range
How in the world the Taliban fought wearing flowing pajamas and turbans is beyond us, but something tells us they weren’t quick to report safety violations regarding clothing. We’ve learned a great deal here in Ukraine from the warriors on the front lines and if you see them, they look the part like they are ready for action at all times.
Well-fitting clothing won’t get caught on the wire, snagged in a trench, or be used against you in hand-to-hand combat. We say wear well-fit clothing to the range because that is how you will fight. As the old adage goes: Train like you intend to fight. Most people think they will just rise to the occasion when a gunfight breaks out. Nothing could be less true. You will not rise to the occasion. Rather, you will fall to the highest level of your training and preparedness. Train like you intend to fight.
What to Wear: Dress for Performance, Not Fashion
Now let’s talk about a few suggestions and if we might be so humble as to suggest a few from our own line of shooting clothes that were born by revolution and hardened by war. After all, the United States is who we look to in Ukraine when we think of those who fought to free themselves from tyranny. You inspired us and we hope some of our products can return the favor forged out of our own war experience.
Tactical Pants or Durable Cargo Pants
Without a doubt, tactical pants or durable cargo pants deliver both the safety and tactical advantages one needs to excel at the range. In fact, among shooting range clothing options, the pants may be the most important. Transitioning from the prone shooting position to the kneeling and standing positions can very much be inhibited by restrictive clothing.
Tactical pants are most often equipped with rip-stop fabric that doesn’t allow a small tear to ruin the entire item. You should be rough on your pants at the range if you are training like you intend to fight. There is nothing delicate about moving from one firing position to as you want to execute that move with speed. Get into position, put rounds on target and avoid that costly second-place finish in a gunfight.
Finally, the 2nd Amendment is not just a hobby in the United States of America. Rather 2A is a lifestyle that can be embraced in all aspects of life. Find a set of tactical pants that you can wear at the range and look just as natural while walking through the grocery store. You don’t have to sacrifice style with modern tactical pants. We’re confident there is a set of pants that fits right for everyone who loves a little pew, pew, pew.
Tactical Shirts for the Range or the Street
What can be said of tactical pants can also be said about tactical shirts. They are great for the range and great for casual wear on the street. It is likely true that your first firefight will break out when you are not in full kit or body armor. It will break out when some scumbag tries to rob you at the ATM or threatens your family in a carjacking. The advantage to wearing a shooting range shirt to the range that you would equally wear in public is muscle memory. It feels familiar and when the fight or flight part of your brain kicks in, that’s one less element to process. We’re a fan of shooting attire men can be proud to wear anywhere.
Range Shoes - No Excuses
What we are hearing from the frontlines in Ukraine is that the ability to move is almost equal to the ability to shoot. Shoot, move, and communicate are the three elements that come up over and over. We’ve heard the same thing from U.S. warfighters and their experiences during the Global Wars on Terror (GWOT).
When it comes to offensive operations, it can be said fire, without some element of movement, is a waste of ammunition and movement, without some element of fire, is suicide. Training in your flip-flops is training to fail unless you plan to get attacked during your beach vacation. Not to mention, hot brass burns the toes the same as it burns the neck. No excuses. Good shoes for shooting are not hard to find. Grab the footwear you need to win the fight and train with them.
Gloves, Eye and Ear Protection
We understand that in a real firefight you will not have time to put in ear protection. However, if the reason some dirtbag sneaks up on you is because you blew your ears out after 20 years on the range “keeping it realistic” that doesn’t do you much good. Protect your hearing while you can, and if you need any encouragement, just ask the countless Ukraine and U.S. war veterans who will spend the rest of their lives with ringing in their ears.
Gloves and eye protection can also be important, but this is one that can be more optional. Again, catastrophic weapons malfunctions are rare. However, we fully support the use of tactical gloves and offer them. They do provide advantages in both protection and grip. Not to mention grabbing a hot barrel with bare hands results in a very bad day. Just be sure you make their use feel as natural as possible when training. The same is true for vision protection. Make it feel natural and not something you only do at the range.
Essential Accessories for the Shooting Range
When it comes to accessories for the shooting range, everyone has their own personal list of favorites. You could add weapons cleaning gear, minor first aid, chamber flags, speedloader, extra magazines and even a timer to improve your speed in certain shooting drills. Whatever you decide to bring, you’ll still need a good tactical backpack to keep your shooting supplies stored. If possible, we recommend using the range bag that you would use in a real tactical scenario or even to bug out. We can’t stress muscle memory enough when it comes to training. What to wear to a shooting range is an often overlooked aspect.
What Not to Wear and Conclusion
As we wrap up this article we’ll just quickly mention a few not to wear items and since we already covered bikinis, we won’t bring that up. Long jewelry like necklaces and long looping earrings are some of the most common mistakes we see. Sure, 99 times out 100 your earring is not going to get caught in a charging handle or bolt mechanism. It’s just the one time out of 100 that is going to hurt like hell and make you wish you had listened. Flip flops are also ill-advised as not only can the brass burn your little toes, but slipping and tripping in flip flops is more common. One negligent discharge on the range is one too many.
With that, we’ll wrap up and let you get ready for the range. As we mentioned, we know our community loves a good debate and there may be aspects of shooting range apparel with which you disagree. We fully respect that as, at the end of the day, we don’t so much care how you train so long as you are training. Remember, no one rises to the occasion during their first firefight. Train today, train tomorrow, and then train some more. As long as you train like you intend to fight, you’ll be holding that first place trophy during your next gunfight. If the team here at M-Tac can be of any help, just reach out and let us know.
