Amateurs and advanced shooters have to prioritize safety when it comes to using their weapons on the range, at work or in the forest. Taking proper safety measures is a must in gun usage. Regardless whether you are tackling targets or doing the hunting rounds, giving precedence to safety should be done because the reckless handling of weapons often leads to harmful results.
One item individuals should wear is a good pair of shooting glasses. But what are shooting glasses? Here is what you need to know about the item.
Shooting glasses are a kind of gear that is believed by many as the most important safety item a shooter must use. These glasses not only safeguard your eyes, but will also improve your shooting capacity.
Here are some of the factors that people have to take note of when it comes to shooting glasses.
Lens material
What a lens is made of is the most crucial component of shooting glasses. Polycarbonate is typically the most-used material when it comes to the manufacture of these glasses.
This particular material is also used in the manufacture of bulletproof glass. It is one of the best since it manages to put together durability, abrasion and impact resistance, and lightweight properties into one solid material.
While some shooting glasses are made with strong plastic lenses, in order to be taken as authentic shooting glasses, the pair should have a rating of ANSI Z87.1, a benchmark which is certified by the American National Standards Institute. If you are on the hunt for quality, always see to it that it has passed ANSI standards.
Impact resistance
Another important attribute of shooting glasses is impact resistance. The ratings for this aspect are regulated by entities or organizations like the aforementioned ANSI, the U.S. military and the OSHA, or Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The ratings provided will give the minimum suggested impact-resistance for shooting and safety glasses.
Lens colors
Colors are more than just style on a pair of shooting glasses. Several colors, in fact, provide benefits that can help improve your shooting abilities.
The colors gray and grey-green are the most common, and have proven to be effective when it comes to blocking glare without altering overall color, making them useful for all sorts of weather conditions.
Those with amber or brown tints are effective in blocking blue light that is usually present in diffused lighting, i.e. cloudy and overcast days. Amber is capable of enhancing both the depth and contrast of colors, so they are usually recommended for hunting and target shooting.
Orange and yellow tints are good for enhancing contrast and they provides a feeling of amplified visual awareness. They are capable of blocking blue lights and hazy surroundings.
Brighter yellow tints are really good for use in low-lit settings.
Lenses with purple or vermillion tints improve the orange color of targets set against a multi-colored backdrop. Vermillion is beneficial for highlighting conditions with mediocre backdrops like trees, and it helps improve targets set against such backdrops.
Clear lenses do not provide improvements for the user’s shooting capabilities; however, it provides protection. If you tend to shoot at night, clear shooting glasses would be the choice.
Lens coverage
What are shooting glasses without excellent coverage? Protection is always the valid reason why shooters are required to invest in quality shooting glasses. To further protect the eyes, the glasses should be able to cover the eyes correctly.
The pair should be wide enough to wrap the eyes so they will be safeguarded from flying fragments. A pair that wraps past the sides of the eyes will provide good coverage from all directions.
Fit and frames
In order to take advantage of the protective qualities of shooting glasses, they have to be comfortable. The discomfort that you experiences from wearing a pair is usually attributed to the frames, lenses or both.
There are frames that are intended to be stiff, while there are others that have flexible frames which can be fully adjusted. Adjustable frames offer extra options for fitting and they provide a customized fit for users.
The kind of nosepiece that the shooting glasses have is also important. There are models that are made from softer plastic material while some feature rubberized nosepieces.
Regardless what kind of frames you choose, you should always make sure that you are comfortable wearing them. What are shooting glasses for if the discomfort makes you cranky? Hence, prioritize comfort along with other important aspects as well.