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Man on Oxygen wants to take my class. This is my first experience with this. What kind of precautions should I take? We have an outdoor range if that matters.

Thanks.

Make sure no one shoots his tank.

mojo84 wrote:Make sure no one shoots his tank.

Ya, got that one thanks

mommagamber wrote:Man on Oxygen wants to take my class. This is my first experience with this. What kind of precautions should I take? We have an outdoor range if that matters.

Thanks.

Not an instructor but around people with oxygen before. If its a small tank odds are he's not in the best shape and may be getting around with some cart or wheel chair, so allowances need to be made for that. I doubt he's toting around a machine portably.
You might just ask him if needs extra space or anything special.

I wouldn't let him have it on the firing line. If he can't be without it long enough to shoot the course, then that's a significant problem.

Chas.

"Oxygen" doesn't tell you much about how it's packaged.
Is it a bottle on wheels?
Might be something that fits in a letter carrier type bag and is carried under the arm.
Could be a portable concentrator or generator.

Different methods will have different risks. All manageable.
IMO, none of those methods would be prohibitive, especially at an outdoor range.

First hurdle is: Does the range have a rule about it?

You're not going to explode the tank even if you shoot it. A hole in the tank will cause it to shoot off like a small missile, depending on how much pressure is in the tank when it's breached. The tank will not explode in a firey ball of flames, that's only in the movies. There's no greater chance of shooting a hole in a tank than of a student getting shot.

How many folks do you see toting around O2 while smoking a cigarette? It's a bad idea, but it won't catch you on fire or cause an explosion.

IMO, if the range is ok, I would not be worried about it.
-Is the student in sufficient physical condition to shoot?
-Make sure the tank is out of the way and that no plastic lines will interfere with shooting. (I'd be more concerned with the O2 physically interfering with shooting than anything related to explosions or fire.)
-Ready-Aim-Fire

Good discussion here: http://thefiringline.com/forums/archive ... 46920.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ter May 6, 2007, 01:16 PM
I have been on oxygen, 2½ litres standard flow, 24/7/365 since 1985.

I have shot thousands of rounds both on inside and outside ranges and, until a couple years ago, still hunted and filled the freezer each year with venison. After a move to a new state, I have not been hunting, mainly because I wasn't familiar with the facilities available or with areas that will allow one in a wheelchair to hunt. This will be corrected by next fall.

There has never been any problem nor do I envision one ever developing. In fact, I don't see why the question was ever raised.....

I am a retired Jurist, thirty-five plus years on the bench, who is totally disabled by my heart and lung conditions but am still independent and active as I was before retirement. Oxygen has never stopped me from doing anything, with the possible exception of swimming..... :)

BTW, my wife and other family members joining us, shoot quite often in a nearby National Forest facility, including high power rifles, clays with 12 ga, handguns, being 44 mag revolver, .38 Special revolver, Hi-Power 9mm, 1911s, several, in .45 acp. I know it is safe and, besides, I don't have time to worry about the oxygen or to let it control my life, other than being sure I have it flowing all the time.

You see folk with the little O2 breathing tanks in the stores, churches, eateries, etc. all the time. I suspect it ain't no big deal unless he's in an iron lung or something.

Oldgringo wrote:You see folk with the little O2 breathing tanks in the stores, churches, eateries, etc. all the time. I suspect it ain't no big deal unless he's in an iron lung or something.

They haven't used "iron lungs" in probably half a century or more.

Thanks all. We shoot on my range so I make the rules. I only shoot 3 shooters at a time and have 2 RSO's. Thinking about having him shoot by himself then sending him on his way. I love that we have that option now since shooting time is not counted now. Thanks for your input.

sjfcontrol wrote:

Oldgringo wrote:You see folk with the little O2 breathing tanks in the stores, churches, eateries, etc. all the time. I suspect it ain't no big deal unless he's in an iron lung or something.

They haven't used "iron lungs" in probably half a century or more.

I thought that was a rock band. oh wait, that's Iron Maiden.

jmra wrote:

sjfcontrol wrote:

Oldgringo wrote:You see folk with the little O2 breathing tanks in the stores, churches, eateries, etc. all the time. I suspect it ain't no big deal unless he's in an iron lung or something.

They haven't used "iron lungs" in probably half a century or more.

I thought that was a rock band. oh wait, that's Iron Maiden.

It's a band, too. A very versatile machine…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Lung_(band" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQqG-ppGo4I[/youtube]

WildBill wrote:[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQqG-ppGo4I[/youtube]

So after watching that I'm trying to decide whether, or the extent to which, I was wrong above...

Would we call that "exploded", as in a bomb?
Or, would we call that "explosive decompression", as in a rocket?

I'll not try to hide behind the probability that the shot was from a rifle and not a handgun.

RoyGBiv wrote:

WildBill wrote:[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQqG-ppGo4I[/youtube]

So after watching that I'm trying to decide whether, or the extent to which, I was wrong above...

Would we call that "exploded", as in a bomb?
Or, would we call that "explosive decompression", as in a rocket?

I'll not try to hide behind the probability that the shot was from a rifle and not a handgun.

Whatever you want to call it, it wouldn't feel good close up.

You really should have no problem letting him shoot if he's running low-flow O2 (anything less than about 3 liters/min).
The little O2 that'll escape his nasal cannula will not raise the O2 saturation in the immediate area enough that flash would be a problem. If he's running 5 lpm or higher, I doubt that he's in any shape to move around without the aid of an electric chair or with an assistant.

I've transported hundreds of patients who had their own O2, either in bottles or carrying a battery operated concentrator (pulls the O2 out of the air and sends it up the connecting tube to a nasal cannula). The only time I got nervous was when one of them would pull out a cigarette and light up (yes, people still do smoke even though they're on supplemental oxygen). But, like one of them told me... "Sonny, if I was going to blow up, I'd sure as heck have done it a long time ago!". They always had to put 'em out when we loaded them in the ambulance, but more than once we'd be at the back of the truck waiting for someone to finish their cancer-stick.