Five Best Shooting Glasses and Sunglasses (Tried & Tested)

Gun enthusiasts are a unique bunch. We obsess over gear, spend countless hours at the range, and pour our heart and soul into perfecting our craft. But for all our dedication to marksmanship, there's one area where we often drop the ball: eye safety. Far too often, shooters fail to wear proper eye protection when on the range. This is dangerous and needs to stop.

One way to help promote eye safety is wearing shooting glasses indoors or shooting sunglasses while outdoors at the range. 

Why Wear Safety Glasses When Shooting?

Here are just a few reasons why you should always wear safety glasses when you're shooting:

They protect your eyes from debris:

When firing a gun, bits of hot brass or powder can fly into the air and land in your eyes. This can be painful and even cause serious injuries. But if you're wearing shooting glasses, this debris will be deflected away from your eyes before it has a chance to cause any harm.

They help protect your eyes from the sun:

When you're outdoors shooting, you're exposed to the sun's harmful UV rays. These rays can cause eye fatigue and even damage your eyesight over time. Wearing shooting glasses helps filter out these harmful rays, keeping your eyes healthy.

They can help improve your accuracy:

That's right - by ensuring that you have a clear view of the target. These glasses also help prevent "flinching," making it easier to hit your target. Flinching is that natural reflex that causes you to involuntarily close your eyes or turn your head away from the gun just before it fires.

What Is Considered Good Protective Shooting Glasses?

When it comes to protective shooting glasses, there are a few things you should look for.

Impact-Resistant and Shatterproof

First and foremost, you'll want to ensure that the glasses are impact resistant and shatterproof. Impact resistance is important because it helps protect your eyes from debris kicked up by the bullet, as well as from the recoil of the gun. The shatter-proof feature, on the other hand, helps prevent the lens from shattering if you are hit by a flying fragment.

UV Protection

Another important factor to consider when looking for good protective shooting glasses is the level of UV protection they offer. Ultraviolet light can be harmful to your eyes, and even exposure to low levels of UV light can cause eye fatigue. Therefore, choosing glasses that offer full UV protection will help keep your eyes healthy and reduce the risk of vision problems down the road.

Full Coverage

Full coverage means that the glasses should extend past the sides of your eyes, protecting them from all angles. This is important because objects can come at you from any direction while shooting. The last thing you want is for a piece of debris to sneak in through the side of your glasses and damage your eye.

Frame Quality

Frame quality is also crucial. If your protective shooting glasses don't have a comfortable, high-quality frame, they're not going to do you much good. So look for durable and comfortable frames with padding or other features that help them stay put when you're sweating or moving around. And, of course, make sure the frames fit your face well so that you have a clear field of vision.

Interchangeable Lenses

The ability to swap out lenses for different conditions means that you can always have the perfect lens for the job, whether you're shooting in bright sunlight or low light. And if your lens gets scratched, you can simply replace it without having to buy a new pair of glasses.

The Best Shooting Glasses

With so many choices on the market, it can be quite overwhelming to find the best shooting glasses for you. But don't worry, we've got you covered.

Below, we have compiled a list of five shooting glasses that are sure to meet your needs, whether you're a competitive shooter or a casual plinker.

The Wiley X WX VALOR

Talk shooting glasses, and Wiley X is bound to come up. That's because the company has been making some of the best shooting glasses on the market for years. The latest addition to their line is the WX VALOR, and it does not disappoint.

These glasses are lightweight, and comfortable and are designed to stay in place during intense activity. They also come with a sleek, wrap-around design that provides excellent coverage and won't interfere with your line of sight. The WX VALOR also features interchangeable T-Shell™ lens coating that helps protect against scratches and impacts. The lenses also offer 100% UV protection.

Wiley X Saber Advanced

That's right, another Wiley X on the list. Like the rest of the Wiley X line, the Saber Advanced boasts 100% UVA and UVB protection and surpasses MCEPS GL-PD 10-12 standard. What's more, these glasses feature interchangeable lenses, meaning you can swap out the clear lenses for the smoke grey lenses depending on the light conditions. And if that wasn't enough, the Saber is also compatible with the PTX Rx Insert, which means you don't have to sacrifice clear vision for safety.

The Saber Advanced also features an adjustable take-flight nose piece, so you can customize the fit to your unique face. And because they're made from durable polycarbonate, they're built to last.

Wiley X Saint

As Seen in American Sniper, the Wiley X Saint is designed to meet the needs of the most demanding shooters. They're tough, durable, prescription ready, and provide superior peripheral vision and crystal clear optics - perfect for those who need to make split-second decisions. The Saint also comes with a removable foam insert that blocks out wind and debris, making them ideal for use in any environment.

Oakley SI Ballistic M Frame 2.0

These glasses tick all the boxes when it comes to performance and style. They're also made with lightweight O-Matter material, so you won't even notice you're wearing them. The Oakley SI Ballistic M Frame 2.0 glasses have a rectangle shape, making them perfect for people with heart or square-shaped faces. Thes Oakley units also feature optical clarity and advanced HD optics, which help eliminate distortion. This in turn, provides better clarity and detail recognition at distance.

Oakley SI Shocktube

What's there not to love about the SI Shocktube? First of all, they feature PRIZM Lens Technology, a one-of-a-kind innovative tech that helps enhance color and clarity. What's more, the glasses are also made of lightweight, stress-resistant frame material. Worried about them slipping while you're sweating it out on the shooting range? Don't be - they come with non-slip nose pads and temple grips. Also, like all the other glasses on this list, they offer superior UV protection.

There you have it. Of course, this is just a small sampling of the many great shooting glasses on the market today. for a full list please visit our shooting glasses collection But we hope this list has helped you narrow down your choices and find the perfect pair of glasses for your needs. Happy shopping!