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Prescription Shooting Safety Glasses

4.1K views 42 replies 30 participants last post by  Phoenix.  
#1 ·
I'm a little up there in age and as you know the old eyes get worse as you go. I wear glasses, with bifocals, and wear over the eyeglass protection glasses when I'm shooting. I look like I'm about to perform surgery at a hospital when I shoot. This topic has been brought up before in this forum but the comments are a little older. I am hoping there is some newer members that have the same problem I have. I looked online at prescription safety glasses. But as with anything you search online now a days, there are soo many options and brands and different reviews, it gets confusing. I am wanting to know if anyone out there has purchased prescription safety glasses, how you like them, what brand you bought, and would you recommend. Also, if you paid a half way decent price for them. The ones I looked at were priced a little high. Hope to hear from you. Thanks!! PewPew.
 
#2 ·
All of us are different. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. This is as vicious a debate as caliber. For some, laser surgery has worked wonders. Others, various prescription combinations. My doctor actually had me bring in my AR-15 and measure the distance from my eye to the sight. It was kinda cool. The other patients didn't share my enthusiasm. I have a great pair or prescription safety glasses for a mere $765.00. I practice with my EDC without glasses for worst case scenario.
 
#6 ·
I practice with my EDC without glasses for worst case scenario.
^^^ THIS !!!

I wear glasses, but not all the time, so I practice without them. Figure in the middle of the nite, not going to fumble with glasses, will be grabbing the gun & trying to get a handle on what's happening and who/what I need to be targeting. I rarely wear my glasses at nite or around the house. I do have Rx sunglasses for driving & walking around outside during the day (my eyes are sensitive to bright light), but take them off (obviously) indoors.

So, figure if I can be accurate with diminished sight, if I do need to shoot during the smallish % of time that I do have my glasses on, it will be icing on the cake !
 
#3 ·
I am 75 and wear glasses- progressive- not bifocal. Never felt the need for safety glasses over the top of regular glasses.
I would think that the same place where you buy your normal prescription glasses could also make you safety glasses with your prescription and just wear that one pair.

I wore safety glasses many years.....when I was working- I would just get safety glasses with my prescription. And I used them for everyday wear.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I wear trifocals with lines. I have the center section made larger in both directions than "normal" trifocals because the mid distance is the one I use the most - for computer use and handgun shooting. (And for cooking!) I also have shooting safety glasses made with the trifocal (center) prescription only in the entire lens. But with the side "wing" pieces that attach separately on the safety frames, believe me: I look a lot more strange than you do with with your over the glasses safety glasses!

If the over the Rx glasses safety glasses are working for you and giving you the wrap around protection that you need, why not stay with what you have? No one should go to the shooting range to look spiffy. Of course that is only the opinion of one very old lady - who BTW has never worried about how she looks but just how she can shoot.

Best wishes.
 
#9 ·
I wear trifocals with lines. I have the center section made larger in both directions than "normal" trifocals because the mid distance is the one I use the most - for computer use and handgun shooting. I also have shooting safety glasses made with the trifocal (center) prescription only in the entire lens. But with the side "wing" pieces that attach separately on the safety frames, believe me: I look a lot more strange than you do with with your over the glasses safety glasses!

If the over the Rx glasses safety glasses are working for you and giving you the wrap around protection that you need, why not stay with what you have? No one should go to the shooting range to look spiffy. Of course that is only the opinion of one very old lady - who BTW has never worried about how she looks but just how she can shoot.

Best wishes.
Thank you Granny! I like your way of thinking.
 
#5 ·
I've got these... High-Quality Protective Eyewear | SSP Eyewear with the focal lenses in the upper quadrant of the lens. Works great for shoulder fired weapons where you need a stock weld, but also with handguns as well.
 
#7 ·
I would imagine prescription bi-focal safety glasses would be a bit pricey. Financially, you would be better to stick with over-glasses safety glasses. This way if something strikes your safety glasses you aren’t messing up expensive ones.
 
#39 ·
It's a trade off -- cost or better view
For prescription safety glasses, the lenses will cost the same as your current lenses. Depending on the frames, it may be more or less.
For over-glasses safety glasses (the ones that I have tried) have imperfections that distort the view. Unless, of course, one purchases the high quality ones which are around $100.
 
#8 ·
I got prescription single-focus ballistic shooting glasses optimized for the front sight from my optometrist. Paid $400 after my glasses plan rebate.
 
#10 ·
I wear my prescription glasses at range because if I have to defend myself that's what I'll be wearing. I need them for reading and distance isn't a problem but still a little burry as I get older.
 
#12 ·
I went a different direction than glasses.

I had my aging natural lenses removed and replaced with RXSight Light Adjustable Lenses.

After several adjustments my vision is now 20/15 without any glasses.

It was expensive, but hands down one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

 
#14 ·
I typically just use my prescription glasses, but I also invested in a pair of prescription Oakley sunglasses (Majority of prescription glass lenses are polycarbonate which makes them safety rated).
If you have vision coverage you can get a pair made for a fairly reasonable price, and if your company offers an FSA/HSA spending plan or account that they contribute to, you can use that to offset or negate costs entirely. My Oakleys cost me nothing out of pocket after I paid the remaining balance that insurance didn't cover with HSA money, and I use these everytime we go shooting outdoors.
 
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#15 ·
I used Ranger glasses when I did sporting clays.
Morgan Optical in NY took my Dr's prescription and made lenses for the Ranger.

Doing pistol, I used the same glasses.
Really happy with them
I have several colors for different light conditions.

Professional Shooting Glasses | Trap, Clay & Skeet


 
#16 ·
I practice both with and without my progressive no line (trifocals). I always get shatterproof lenses so that they count as protective eyewear at work and at the range. I also practice with both hands, and either eye. You never know how a defense situation might go or develop.

I find the progressives make it easy to shift between looking at a more distant target and the front sight.


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#20 ·
I wore prescription shooting glasses from Decot for years and have been very happy with them and their service. A few months ago I had my cataracts removed and the old lenses in my eyes replaced with a Toric lens for best distance vision only. I now shoot with only a protective pair of goggles or sun glasses with no prescription. I use drug store reading glasses for reading and close up work on firearms etc. I dont need any prescription for driving, and driving at night is great again. This is a highly individual decision that must include a good eye Doctor also. It was very much worth the cost for me due to the new brightness to the world around me now, and of course the vision is 20/20 now at 72 years old
 
#21 ·
I wear OTG safety glasses, so that I am training with my everyday wear glasses. (Train as you fight.)

Below are the two OTG safety glasses that I have used that work/wear nicely. The first one is my preferred.


 
#24 ·
Medicare pays for the surgery and one pair of glasses (THEIR selection, perhaps not your choice of frames). I think you pay the 20% like with other Medicare stuff. I think. Medicare pays for the "basic" lens replacement. If you want to actually see the way your would like to see, the extra cost out of your pocket ranged from $2,000 to $4,000 per eye. I chose to go with the standard lenses. That was a mistake! I still would have needed glasses BUT I could have chosen to get lenses that would make me very near sighted like I had been all of my life. I wound up being able to see a mile away, but can't read a book now or do much of anything at all without glasses. That was a horrendous shock to my system!

If, like my one friend, you have government retired employees insurance, you can windup paying a substantial portion of the total cost.

If you don't have Medicare yet - hold out until you do, if you can possibly wait.
 
#25 ·
Wife and I have been getting glasses from Walmart Optical for 20 years, same optometrist. I wear progressives, sun glasses, non-tinted glasses, and also safety glasses (OSHA compliant). No complaints. Last year they set me up with shooting glasses. All good.

Within next couple of years I plan to R&R lenses, due to onset of cataracts and dominant eye no longer correctable to 20/20 (20/25 is best she can do). I'll pay for the lenses that restore vision to 20/20. And of course I will do non-dominant eye first, just to see how things go.
 
#32 ·
I use generic reading glasses, and prescription glasses for distance when driving. But out and about usually not wearing glasses other than my Costas. It is more difficult for me to focus the iron sights on a target nowadays. This is the main reason I went with MRD's on all my guns. I have green dots on my everyday carries, which make it so much easier to pick up on a target.
 
#33 ·
I had a pair of glasses made with the right side focused on the front sight and the left on target. Basically same prescription as my bifocals. Best used with both eyes open. A little wierd at first. Switch back to regular bifocals during cease fire.
 
#34 ·
I used sport eyes dot com for prescription sunglasses about 15 years ago. They were awesome, I had frames I wanted them to put lenses in, they also have many brands to buy, too. They were just under $300, well worth the 10 years I got out of them. I ended up getting lasik 7 years ago, that was even better, 20/15 in my left eye, 20/20 in right. I wish I was eligible sooner… I believe that was $3600 total.
 
#36 ·
I am 70 and asked my opthomolgist about Lasik. She told me I was pre-cataract but it wasn't very far along. She told me that I should wait until the cataracts get worse, bc then Medicare will pay for the surgery as a medical necessity. Lasik is still seen as elective surgery. Maybe not by all insurance companies but Medicare is always behind the times.

I wear glasses for reading but when I shoot I wear a pair of glasses that i can use while driving. Getting behind a scope was always problematic trying to shoot precision. Works for me, but would still rather not need them at all!!

"AH FEEL YOUR PAIN!"
 
#37 ·
I wear Wiley X and Costa Del Mar, both are excellent options. If you fish, go Costa as their polarization is second to none. If you don’t fish, I would lean toward Wiley X with transition lenses… My Wiley’s are worn all day, every day…
 
#38 ·
Had cataract surgery in both eyes about 5 years ago. I chose intraocular lenses that allowed me to see distance, knowing that I would need readers for close-up. Post surgery, I have have 20/15 vision for distance and need +2.0 readers. For handgun shooting with iron sights and uncorrected shooting glasses, I can see the target beautifully but sights are difficult. When I tested sight picture with the +2.0 readers, sights were good but target was iffy. I went on Amazon and bought several pair of prescription shooting glasses (I think about $15/pair) from +.50 correction up through +1.75 and found that the best for my eyes was +.75 correction; good view of iron sights and target.