Before you go · reviewed 2026-08-26

What to wear to a gun range

Closed-toe shoes and a high neckline cover almost all of it — hot brass is the reason. What to wear, what to skip, and what you need to bring to a class.

Two rules cover almost all of it: closed-toe shoes, and nothing open at the neckline. Everything else is comfort. The reason is hot brass, which ejects sideways at a few hundred degrees and finds any gap it is offered.

The two that actually matter

Closed-toe shoesFlat, laced, something you would walk a mile in. Most ranges refuse sandals outright.
A high necklineA crew neck, a buttoned shirt, anything that closes. This is the one people learn the hard way.

A spent case down a collar is not dangerous, but it is a burn, and the instinctive reaction — jumping, grabbing, turning — is dangerous when you are holding a firearm. That is the whole reason the rule exists.

The rest of the list

What to skip

Open shoesSandals, flip-flops, anything with a gap. Brass lands on the floor too.
Low-cut or scooped topsThe classic first-visit mistake, and an avoidable one.
Dangly earrings and loose scarvesEar protection has to seal against your head, and nothing should hang near a slide.
Contact lenses, if you have a choiceAirborne particulate and contacts do not get on. Glasses under eye protection are fine.

If you wear glasses

Range eye protection is designed to go over prescription glasses, and every range has a pair that will. Say so at the counter rather than trying to make a slim pair work — the wraparound style exists for exactly this.

Do I need to bring anything?

For a class here, no. Eye and ear protection, the firearm, ammunition and targets are all in your seat for both Intro To Shooting and the license class. Bring identification, your glasses if you wear them, and the shoes.

If you are booking a lane somewhere else, ask whether eye and ear protection are included or rented — it is the item most often assumed and most often charged for. Our range price breakdown covers what else tends to appear on the bill.

Dressing for a license class specifically

The class is four to five hours: roughly half classroom, then live fire on our range in the same building. Dress for the range half — you will not want to change, and a seated classroom is comfortable in range clothes but not the reverse.

For everything else worth having with you on the day, see what to bring to your LTC class.

What we do and don't do. We teach the state-approved class and the law Massachusetts requires you to complete before you apply. Applying is your own step with your own police department; we are not part of it. This guide is general information, not legal advice — the licensing authority and the statute are the final word.
The class

One four to five hour class. Live fire included.

More in at the range

First visits, what ranges charge, the rules, and how you actually get onto ours.

Elsewhere on the site: Getting licensed · Massachusetts gun law · Where you can carry · Your town · Who it's for