I'm pretty new to shooting, i just got my LTC this year. If you wear glasses, how do you shoot? Contact lenses? Rx Shooting glasses? I know some ranges allow you to shoot with your regular glasses if they are shatterproof or something like that.
-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
Shooters with Glasses
- Thread starter Cixic
- Start date
nightpoison
NES Member
I use a pair of Ruby glasses, think Oakly, and they have a Rx insert frame that I use. This works fine, but honestly just go contacts with shooting glasses or go all out and get Rx shooting glasses.
I liked the insert frame for awhile now it's getting old. When I go back to the doc's ill be getting the removable lens set up with my Rx.
Sent from my T-Mobile HTC One S via tapatalk
I liked the insert frame for awhile now it's getting old. When I go back to the doc's ill be getting the removable lens set up with my Rx.
Sent from my T-Mobile HTC One S via tapatalk
Here is an honest question or two to go along with this- 1. Are there any ranges out there actually checking whether or not your prescription glasses are shatter resistant? 2. Has anyone ever had their non shatter resistant glasses busted by flying brass?
I ask not to troll but because the more I shoot the more I'm thinking I should go get my eyes checked out.
I ask not to troll but because the more I shoot the more I'm thinking I should go get my eyes checked out.
Lasik...one of the most life changing things I've ever done...
I had 20/400 in each eye and it's now 20/20ish...the first thing I did after I had it done? Bought a pair of nice, non-prescription sunglasses.
I had 20/400 in each eye and it's now 20/20ish...the first thing I did after I had it done? Bought a pair of nice, non-prescription sunglasses.
Last edited:
All U.S. made lenses are strong enough to protect your eyes from stuff flying back at you (I don't know the correct terminology) so they are fine to wear instead of safety glasses.
You either wear safety glasses or your normal glasses when it comes to eye protection. Both are OK
You either wear safety glasses or your normal glasses when it comes to eye protection. Both are OK
I wear my glasses with safety goggles over them. This makes it easy to switch from shooting with my Rx glasses, to shooting without them. You should train shooting without your Rx glasses as well. You can't guarantee that in a self defense situation you'd have your glasses or contact lenses on.
scatter
NES Member
I am 20/400+ uncorrected and have worn gas permeable contacts since I was in grade school. Glasses that correct my vision are so thick that the distortion is intolerable, but I'm 20/15 with my contacts. So I necessarily wear the contacts all the time, and when shooting I wear my uncorrected, non-bullet-proof Ray-Bans on sunny days and some cheap Remington shooting glasses with multiple lenses (using the clear) on cloudy days or indoors. My wife's pair has had a recent failure of the nose rest pads (they fell off) so I can't really recommend them, but otherwise I like them pretty well.
I used to use over-the-glasses safety glasses, but they're just not comfortable compared to the normal ones. I finally broke down and got some of these prescription glasses with Transitions lenses and a scratch coating. While my wallet may hate me, it was quite worth it. However, since they are large, curved bits of polycarbonate, there is a little bit of parallax that takes some getting used to.
quincy
NES Member
Just did this as well. And, if you're old like me, the front sight is always out of focus unless I have some "close-up" correction. Thus the transitions with a bifocal lens (not the no-line type).
Work requires me to have a pair of perscription safety glasses with side shields, but the lenses are 3x as heavy as my regular glasses.
Alternately, feather weight polycarbonate lenses for standard perscriptions are as shatter and impact resistant as commercial shooting glasses, you just need to pick up some add-on side shields to prevent debrie from going around the lenses (and make sure you pick a set of frames that have full coverage lenses)
As an added bonus, untinted polycarbonate lenes are block 100% UVA and 98% UVB - so you get the UV protection of good sunglasses in your untinted RX glasses.
Alternately, feather weight polycarbonate lenses for standard perscriptions are as shatter and impact resistant as commercial shooting glasses, you just need to pick up some add-on side shields to prevent debrie from going around the lenses (and make sure you pick a set of frames that have full coverage lenses)
As an added bonus, untinted polycarbonate lenes are block 100% UVA and 98% UVB - so you get the UV protection of good sunglasses in your untinted RX glasses.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2012
- Messages
- 405
- Likes
- 87
Interesting that you brought this up today as I was just thinking about it. I'm a new shooter and I wear glasses as well. I'm not able to do contacts (just never could get the hang of them) and I'm not ready/able to have someone laser my eyes. Here's what I did:
1. When I started, I went to Home Depot and bought a pair of cheap $2 safety goggles that are designed to fit over eyeglasses. These scratch up pretty quick with use so I have two pairs and consider them to last about six months with my infrequent range trips.
2. I just got done ordering prescription safety glasses from greateyeglasses.com. The cost me a total of about $35 for polycarbonate prescription lenses with a light tint, scratch-resistant coating, and side cups. Having seen brass fly up and back a few times in person and online, I'm not willing to take the chance with just my regular prescription glasses. I doubt the brass would shatter a lens, but a solid nick or scratch could suck and something clearing over the top of the glasses to come down behind them (it happens) would ruin your day. Once these prescription safety glasses come in, the Home Depot plastic will be a backup set for me or any friend I take to the range. Should be here in 2-3 weeks according to the web site.
As for practicing shooting targets without my glasses on as someone mentioned above, I suppose I could try that, but really, if I'm without my glasses I'll just be shooting toward the vague shadow and I don't think that counts as knowing your target and what's beyond either at the range or in a self defense situation.
This is something I do practice regularly, switching from my glasses to a pair of non-perscription safety glasses, but I have the advantage of having 20/30 - 20/40 vision without my glasses, so it's something I can get away with much easier than most shooters. (My vision is still good enough that I have an unrestricted license)
I also have teh Revisions. I got the inserts, gave them to my Optometrist and he put lenses in them for about 75 bucks. They work great and I have a pair of the clears and the darks so I just pop out the inserts and move them back and forth between pairs depending on the lighting outside.
LittleCalm
NES Member
I wear either contacts with safety glasses you can get anywhere, or my regular glasses with over-the-glasses safety glasses (which are still inexpensive). Do not just wear your regular glasses b/c you risk a case hitting them and scratching the hell out of them, requiring you to replace the lense, which can be expensive (I have progressive lenses). Ask me how I know.
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
My regular, everyday glasses are made with polycarbonate lenses. Having once learned the hard way that so-called "safety glass" isn't, I'm not willing to chance ever again having a lens broken on my face. Eye surgery sucks.
For shooting, I do have ESS ICE glasses with an insert but my prescription is so extreme it's very difficult to find a lab that can actually DO the correct prescription with how curved the frame is... and the lack of depth perception with them is very disconcerting. I'll get used to them, I guess.
For shooting, I do have ESS ICE glasses with an insert but my prescription is so extreme it's very difficult to find a lab that can actually DO the correct prescription with how curved the frame is... and the lack of depth perception with them is very disconcerting. I'll get used to them, I guess.
Why do you care? Wear good gear and screw what anyone else thinks. Don't cheap out here; I can tell you for a fact that wondering if your new name is going to be "Old One-Eye" sucks great big green and red rocks. Get good safety gear. Bad safety gear will only make you feel good about saving a few bucks right up until about 10 seconds after that "Oh, F*CK!" moment.
You are so wrong here it's not funny. Wear safety glasses OR get your regular lenses made of something that will not shatter - like the poster below.
This is a smart man.
This is the right answer, I bought a second set of glasses with polycarbonate lenses and side shields. I think they were around $100 or so with some buy one get one free promotion.
I never shoot with my regular glasses since I think the blowback from my AK-47 ruined my primary glasses last year.
radioman:2387811 said:
Thanks! Didn't realize that was an option. I went to about 6 places to see if they would make me prescription safety glasses. All said they can't. And the trouble with lasik, I was told by my doc., is you need to have the same prescription for at least two years before they will do the surgery. But then again, I never followed up with any other research.
Me too. 2nd best thing I've ever done.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2012
- Messages
- 405
- Likes
- 87
Bolded the important bit for you here. If you're going to use your regular glasses as safety glasses (and you can with polycarbonate lenses) ALWAYS get side shields. I work in the occupational safety field and I can tell you that objects flying over regular glasses lenses or in from the sides happens more often than you think and can do a lot of damage. It's worth the extra $10 of $15 of plastic to not be Willie One-Eye the pirate.
Alex Cannella
NES Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2006
- Messages
- 374
- Likes
- 139
All eyeglass lenses sold in the U.S. today have to meet impact standards for being shatterproof. This includes prescription (and non-prescription) lenses made from glass. Unless spectacle prescriptions are very exotic or complicated, most today are made from a polycarbonate plastic (including safety, non-prescrition eyewear that you might by in Home Depot or Walmart), because it is tougher and lighter than the type of glass that they used to use for prescriptions.
If you want to confirm this, ask your optician or optometrist.
If you want to confirm this, ask your optician or optometrist.
I saw my Ophthalmologist yesterday afternoon and got a copy of my script for the purpose of getting polycarbonate glasses for shooting, with the distance part on the bottom of the lens and the reading/closeup on the top. He warned me this will be very expensive with my prescription. I'm going to be looking into this next week.
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
Eye surgery is more expensive. And you don't even want to know the cost of needing seeing eye dogs for the rest of your life.
Similar threads
