doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Prescription Shooting Glasses

The eye doc (an accomplished Trap and Sporting enthusiast) sez I need prescription shooting glasses. I'm thinking he is right. Lately, I've been using Decot non-prescription shooting glasses. I didn't even understand the need for "shooting glasses" until recently when a friend gave me his old ones. I used Ray Bans, dime store sunglasses, prescription regular glasses--whatever was handy, not really understanding that the field of view was obscured often by the top of the frame. They all kinda worked, maybe not really, but I got by. Now occasionally, I see 2 birds emerge from the High House--have to decide which one is the real one, some other weird stuff. OK so maybe I hoist the white flag, think about laying out maybe $250-300, maybe more for a pair of Decots (they are in Scottsdale, may 3 hours from here).

I'd sure appreciate any thoughts you might have. Thanks, Gil

Unless you're going anyway, I doubt visiting in person will be any advantage. Just order the lenses and put them in your current frame? I think you'll like it, and along with your prescription, the right color tint will make targets pop.

Get your current prescription from your eye doc and email it to whoever you choose to make your shooting glasses. My choice will be Pilla. I have used their no-prescription shooting glasses for many years, with no regrets. When I decide to go with prescription shooting glasses Pilla will get the nod.

I agree, get your prescription and find the shooting glasses company that fits your sport and hunting style. I've used Decot Hy wide for as long as I can remember. They have a choice now on frames for shooting style but I still use my old frames and change the lenes when needed. Nice folks.

Craigd The reason for the trip up is that the person I spoke with at Decot said my current frames would likely not accommodate the new lenses (as they will be thicker than the non prescription lenses I have been using.)

Thanks Gil. I don't know if it would work, but I have seen Decot prescription lenses that just have a deeper angled notch in thick lenses, so that the same retaining wires hold them like thinner lenses. I think there are many really good shooting glasses, but I think Hy-Wyd's would serve you well. Maybe, if the gas and time buys the frames through the mail, just get the new set? You can try the new lenses in your old frames, if they fit, maybe you can get a second set of lenses, for brighter or lower light conditions? Anyway, best of luck with it.

craig: What about fitting? That couldn't be too difficult--right?

You might want to call Decot to confirm how they would arrange it but I suspect it would work this way: you go there and pick out the frames and lens, they would fit the frames while your there and when the lens are done mail everything to you. Any other color lens you buy down the road can be sent to you and will fit the frame. When I went there after a long hiatus for new lens after my eyes changed, they said their lens were a lot thinner now and I'd have to leave the frames to be adjusted for them.

Hey Gil, Fit to my face? I have two of them, and I ordered them through the mail. I had tried the feel of someone else's out at the range, so I really didn't have any surprises. Recently, I've been thinking about just lenses for hunting, maybe in one of their medium tint shades for when the contrast is low, lots of browns and tans, but I've been able to spot a fair number of incidental, hunkered down, upland birds with my light orange tint of theirs that I ended up with. I like having comfortable for me eye protection, but I suppose they are nice and crisp to look through.

In my experience it was very worthwhile to see a knowledgeable vendor in person. I am 64 and have required a significant correction since my late twenties, and can't get used to contacts, so non-prescription sunglasses were never an option for me. However, I was using prescription polarized sunglasses of the wrap style which never really suited me: The vision was not as clear in one eye compared to my regular prescription glasses, and my eyelashes rubbed on the lenses which were too close to my eyes. I went to Granny Sherman of PMS Firearms in Salisbury NC and her expertise in selecting the right Pilla shooting glasses was invaluable. She identified several issues which were important to getting a good result with the prescription shooting glasses. I have a significant astigmatism, which can't be adequately corrected by glasses with more than a certain amount of curvature, which explained why the wraps were not serving me well. Some of the Pilla lenses are more curved and some are less so, and she got me in the ones which were the right shape for my astigmatism. Also, I had wanted to get the type of shooting glasses which use a clear prescription lens behind a tinted non-prescription lens, so that you can get several different tints without bearing the expense of grinding the prescription into each set. However, this style brings the lens closer to the eye and my eyelashes are on the long side, which made this a bad choice for me and explained the problem I had with my eyelashes rubbing against the wraps. So, I got two different sets of prescription lenses, pink for cloudy days and reflective-surfaced dark lenses for bright sun. I only needed one set of frames as the lenses are easily swapped out of these frames. Pilla has a nice website which gives you a good idea of what various tints do for you, but in-person fitting is important for other issues such as those I described.
For something as expensive as prescription shooting glasses it is definitely worth finding someone with the expertise to help get it right the first try. Salisbury NC is probably not convenient for you, but I would definitely try to identify someone in your region with the expertise and interest to help you choose wisely. Since your eye doctor is a shooter, maybe he could recommend someone.