Rx Shooting Glasses

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Remander

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I would like to find some quality shooting/safety glasses that can be made to my corrective prescription.

I find that my ordinary Rx glasses are (a) not large enough to offer enough protection when shooting and (b) do not offer enough correction when shooting. The lack of correction is because the smaller glasses that are in style today do not offer full correction unless you are looking straight ahead.

The slight tilt of the head for rifle or shotgun shooting causes me to lose full correction. (You can tell when looking in the rear view mirror of your car and tilting your head as you try to read a license plate behind you that the lense correction fades as your head turns.)

I realize that I could buy a set of larger lense Rx glasses to perhaps assist on the correction issue, but while I'm at it I'd like to get glasses that offer good safety protection.

I would appreciate it if someone could point me to a retailer (with whom you have positive experience) who sells quality shooting/safety prescription glasses.

Thanks
 
Hi. When I got my first glasses, I asked specifically about shooting glasses. They told me that all glasses are made with impact resistant lenses. The specs I bought are aviator style. I wouldn't think twice about shooting with them. Go anywhere and tell them what you want.
"...The slight tilt of the head for rifle or shotgun shooting causes me to lose full correction..." That tells me you need to have your eyes checked again. Or your glasses. Either way, tell them what you want. They'll help you .
 
I believe you can have lens's ground with the prescription in the upper quadrant specially for shooting. You can also get seamless lens's with multiple corrective grinds in them - but they aren't cheap. My 'reading' glasses have three corrective grinds in them - none at top, computer screen distance in center, and book reading distance at bottom. I think they cost me about $400 when I bought them several years ago (however the frames were about $100 IIRC) and I haven't had to have them changed so they must work. I am sure they are cheaper now. The only thing is you have to be careful going down stairs when you first start wearing them as they mess up your depth perception a little until you get used to them.
 
I am an optician(make and sell glasses to a Dr.'s rx). First and foremost, I must ask if you have had your eyes examined recently. If not..please do. This is not only for the prescription part , but to insure that all is healthy and well in and around the eyes. And with that out of the way... There are a lot of ways to go with "shooting" glasses. Please give some more info. A shooter who does mostly handgun shooting versus someone who only does flintlock have different visual demands. Its sound like your present pair of glasses may be of the "progressive" design, or "no-line". These are hard to shoot with. Give some more info and I would be more then happy to make suggestions on theat info. Thanks.

Mr. Tettnanger
 
Sounds like you're getting some good advice. After my recent eye exam (my Rx is changing quickly at age 54) I was looking for a. polycarbonate lenses, b. good coverage and c. adaptability for shooting and bicycling. I ended up with glasses from Rudy Project that seem to work well for me. Small RX lenses inside, polarized polycarbonate wrap lenses outside that flip up or dismount entirely if I want. I can change out the outer lenses to suit different conditions, and the inner prescription lenses can be changed if my Rx changes. Spendier through my local opto than I'd like, but my eyes are pretty important.

If you're in a dirty environment (don't want to clean multiple lenses) or find the style offputting, Randolph, Decot and Zeiss make more conventional shooting glasses. I do think polycarbonate lenses are a big deal, however, and I like 'em polarized, especially when I'm on the water.
 
I'm kinda in the same boat. I've just purchased my newest perscription and they are Tri-focals. I went to the Tri-focals because I couldn't see my pistol sights. But I shoot rifle and shotgun too. I look over the glasses when using a scope, and sometimes a shotgun. If anyone has websites of Rx shooting glasses I'd really appreciate it.
 
Fyi

I find that "progressive" lenses cause my groups to move around depending on how I'm sighting and which spot I'm looking through the lense at any given time. I now use single prescription lenses in my reading prescription without any bi or tri focal and my grouping is much more consistent. The target appears blurry but that is as it should be.
 
The company's US site is here Rudy USA

I have the Rydon, but there are many models. If one interests you, Google it and you should come up with quite a few potential sources. I got mine from my local optometrist, but shopped the prices and was able to negotiate a bit off the tab. Online bike and recreational equipment outlets like bike nashbar and REI have many varieties at many price points.

Needless to say, the marketing folks get a little carried away in their terminology and hype. If you can get beyond the BS, you may find something that works for you. Bolle and other makers have Rx inserts, but Rudy seems to execute it better than most. Very unobtrusive, and works like it says, in my 4 months' experience.

Good luck! Let us know what worked for you.
 
I had a set made by my optician, who is a shooter.
He has a target t at the end of his hall, you bring your pistol or in my case, my M14 i use in the high power league at my range.

He put the headgear on me and set up a nice set of glasses for me. He explained that due to your head canting on the gunstock, you have to change the optical center of the lens.

They work great, but were not cheap!
 
Mr. Tettnanger:

Thanks for an optician's input. You asked for more info about my shooting and glasses.

I currently wear single vision (not bifocals) in a small rimless frame. These are stylish but (a) do not provide good coverage for safety purposes and (b) result in less than perfect correction when you tilt your head to aim a rifle and end up looking out of or even over the corners of the lenses. Thus, I want to get a new pair of larger frames for shooting.

I shoot handguns and rifles. I can see fine for handgun shooting, so I just need new glasses for safety on that front.

Most of my rifle work is at 50 yards (rimfire) and 100 to 400 or so yards (centerfire). This is my primary area where vision correction needs help. The principal problem is the canting of the head to aim decreases the correcion of my vision as I look thru the smaller glasses that I ordinarily wear. I am thinking that merely going to larger frame/lenses will help a lot there.

Thanks for any tips or suggestions, and thanks to the many other folks who posted advice.
 
A larger frame would help. Also, an experinced optician could measure and adjust the optical center(area of purist vision) of the eyewear to more correctly be positioned where you peer thru the lens while aiming. Be sure that any eyewear that you have made up has SAFE lens material. The only 2 options would be the already mentioned polycarbonate and the newer Trivex/Trilogy lens material which has some advantages over polycarbonate(better optics, lighter, and some would argue=more scratch resistant). Some of the frame manufactures that have been mentioned are very good. Randolh Engineering has a very good reputation. Good luck
 
Call Oakley and see if they can get clear and dark Rx lenses for the HalfJackets or M-Frames for your eyes.
 
I had a pair made with combat frames from www.uscav.com and polycarbonate lenses.

That frame is ugly as sin, but works well. It's made of nylon and is nearly indestructible. The lenses are large enough for good view and decent protection. The thin rubber strap allows using various gear over them, like gas masks and large goggles. I haven't used a gas mask in years, but I've been told it should work. I've also been told that these glasses work well with things like periscopes.

Best of all, they are cheap.

22714L.jpg
 
I spoke with an optician (who is a shooter) today, after my eye exam by an opthalmologist, and he said the super-thin polycarbonate lenses and small-round-frame combination I have now "cheats the curve" and does not provide as good of correction when looking through the outer edges of the lenses (as happens when you tilt your head to aim a rifle).

That stacks up with my experience with my current glasses being 100% only when looking straight ahead. Looking through the outer edges is a bit fuzzy.

He suggested that a less expensive, though a bit thicker and heavier, kind of plastic lens (can't recall exact name) would actually provide better correction at all points around the lens.

He also suggested frames that are not so small and round and that have that rounded upper-inside "corner" that pokes up to fully cover the spot you look at when aiming a rifle. I currently look through the uppermost part of my small lens (and can even see over/around it) when aiming.

I plan to work with him and try to select some shooting-specific glasses for the range, and save my super-thin, super-small, and super-light glasses for other uses.

Thanks for the great vendor-site tips and optical advice above. Keep it coming if anyone else has experience or knowledge to share.
 
I've seen WH in his combat glasses, :barf: ! :neener: :D I had a pair when I was in the Army, worked great. And yes, WH, they work fine with the M17 gas mask; You'll have to try it next time you come out here. ;)

I was an optical lab tech for ten years, and because I was a shooter, was often asked to fit customers for shooting glasses.
Yes, the current styles have a small 'B' measurement, (The height of the lens from the top eyewire to the bottom), and are not the best for shooting.

Use your regular glasses for pistol shooting, particularly if you carry or use your pistol for HD. You won't have time to switch glasses mid-gunfight.

Though not the most stylish, for shooting a rifle or shotgun, the Zeiss are excellent. They have a large 'B' measurement as well as the nosepieces are set lower than most, allowing aiming a long gun with the len's OC (optical center) instead of the edge of the lens, where there is distortion, particularly in high power lenses.

The plastic material your optician recommended is called CR-39®; it has much less chromatic abberation than polycarbonate. It is also more 'forgiving' with scratches and dents.

When your optician fits you, it would be best to have your rifle with so he can measure the OC and PD's (pupillary distance) correctly for shooting. If this isn't feasable, a broom or stick will have to suffice. (Worked for me.)

Sounds like you have it well in hand; 90% of the battle is finding a good optician that shoots (new shootin' buddy? :) ) and knows what is needed.
Good Luck, Remander!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice, Entropy. That assures me that I am headed in the right direction.

It looks like the Decot Hy-Wyd glasses have all the features recommended, and they even come in transition lenses (which I really like). If I can't buy some suitable frames from my local guy, I may go with Decot.

http://www.sportglasses.com/
 
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