Short, true story: my brother came home from 'Nam on special leave for a funeral. He was 18, I was 21. A bunch of us guys, including 2 Marine friends who were also home on leave, decided that we would have a little "war games" episode in a wooded area in our neighborhood. This was pre-paintball, and being the macho guys we were, didn't want to play with no "sissy" weapons. So we went down to the local sporting good store and bought 8 cheap Daisy BB rifles - you know, the lever-action kind with a little wooden stock. We then separated into two teams, donned our fatigues, and disappeared into the brush. No "capture the flag" stuff, just hunting down the other team. No one was wearling any protection (heavy shirts, helmets or glasses).
I soon found myself in what looked to be an ambush set-up, and as I looked around, I saw nothing but a slight movement in the tall grass, so I brought up my Daisy, aimed in the direction of the movement, and squeezed one off. There was a scream - Damn! These BBs didn't hurt THAT much! Whatta wuss! - and I saw my brother flopping around in the grass, both hands over his face. And I knew immediately what I had done...the admonition I had heard over and over as a child - "Be careful with that thing, or you'll put your eye out!" And this was years before "A Christmas Story" was released. Sure enough, when I got to him and pulled his hands away from his face, all I saw was a blood-red orb where his right eye had been.
Now, I didn't actually put his eye out then and there. As a matter of fact, at the exact moment the BB hit his eye, he had blinked, and the BB hit his eyelid. But the shock wave caused instant internal damage that never could be repaired. After spending almost 8 months in Walter Reed, he was discharged from the Army as fully retired with an 80% disability. Never returned to 'Nam, and a few years later, his eye was removed and he was fitted with a prosthetic. So although I didn't "blow his eyeball out," my shot did result in his losing his eye. And as far as I'm concerned, the admonition was well-founded..."Be careful, kid, or you'll put your eye out with that thing!"