20 Feb 02/20/2021
The Best Shooting Glasses and Gloves for You
When it comes to shooting, safety should be at the forefront of every shooter's mind. In considering safety, never neglect your eyes, as flying casings and cartridges can cause permanent injuries and potentially impair vision for life. All MCR Safety glasses are ANSI Z87.1 rated, which means they can stop a steel ball going 150 mph. Simply put, our glasses are tough and durable! Wearing them means your eyes are protected when those casings start flying.
Shooting glasses not only protect your eyes from accidents, but they also protect your eyes from outdoor elements. Some glasses can even improve your vision by color correcting what you see for better vision. We discuss some of the different lens options shooters have below.
Eyes need to be protected from flying casings, as seen in the image. And, as you'll learn below, those hands need protection too!
In addition to glasses, wearing gloves while shooting can protect your hands from potential injury. Together, glasses and gloves specially designed for shooting will cover some of your most precious physical assets. In this article, we will explore which glasses and gloves will work best for you.
Eye Protection While Shooting
The number one reason to invest in a good pair of shooting glasses is, of course, safety. Whether you're firing a weapon indoors at the shooting ranging or firing it outdoors at the club, your eyes need to be protected. Yes, shooting glasses can improve your shooting performance and metrics by enhancing your vision; however, keeping your eyes shielded is the core reason for wearing glasses.
No matter how experienced a shooter you are, accidents happen. Your eyes are susceptible to accidental injury from errant birdshot or a ricochet or extra powder that can blowback and burn your eyes. Glasses will also protect your eyes from spent cartridges as they are ejected from the firearm.
Additionally, your eyes are susceptible to the environment you're in while shooting. Since most shooting activities are outdoors, stray branches, twigs, dust, UV rays, wind, and other hazards could potentially harm unprotected eyes. Wearing safety glasses helps guard against these outdoor hazards.
Let's explore different lens options, as each one provides distinct benefits.
Which Lenses Are Best for You?
While shooting glasses physically protect your eyes from hazards, there's another reason they can be critical to a shooter - they can improve your sight.
What is the best color for shooting glasses? Different color lenses in your glasses will enhance your vision in different light conditions, improving clarity and depth. It is worth noting here that all MCR Safety glasses are 99.9% UV-rated. Three of the most common lens colors include yellow, orange, and clear. We cover each lens more in-depth below.
Amber or Yellow
Why are shooting glasses yellow? This type of lens blocks out "blue light" and work best in low-light situations around dawn or dusk. These lenses are also great for target shooting as they provide excellent contrast between colors, ensuring the target stands out.
Orange
Excellent for use in bright or hazy conditions, orange lenses enhance visual acuity and are a perfect lens for hunting.
Clear
Clear lenses don't offer any color contrast but are best for general eye protection and indoor target shooting.
There are other colored lenses to choose from, depending on the color correction and eye protection you want. We've only highlighted the top three here that shooters use. You can find descriptions for all of our lenses, however, on our Eye Protection resource page.
Other Important Features for Shooting Glasses
Besides the color of your lenses, there are other essential features to consider not only for your safety but for your comfort. Here is a rundown of some of the vital features shooters look for in their glasses.
Adjustable Temples
When you're looking up or looking down, you may need to adjust your safety glasses to align with your line of sight. Our KD314 features a 5-position ratchet action spatula temple, allowing you to easily adjust your safety glasses up and down as needed.
The KD314's temples have rounded ends to enhance your comfort. Another ratcheting-temple style you're going to love is our VL220PCPF. These glasses offer photochromic lenses. The auto-tinting technology applied to the lenses means you never have to worry about changing out your glasses due to different light environments.
Nose Piece and Flexible Temple
Safety glasses with adjustable nose pads help your glasses rest in their optimum position for sight and comfort. Our DM1334PF model features independently adjustable, co-injected wire core nose pads for your optimal level of comfort.
If you experience recoil when you're shooting, having flexibility in the temples of your glasses is important. Like the temples found in the DM1334PF discussed in our last feature, this extra flexibility will allow for extra give in the glasses instead of breaking them.
MAX6® Anti-Fog Amber Styles
Another feature you may want to consider is anti-fog lenses. While hunting or shooting outside, your glasses may be affected by changes in temperature. Anti-fog lenses may be the solution to making sure your lenses stay clear without having to clear them yourself. Our MAX6® styles feature a chemically bonded anti-fog solution built into the lens. This integration technique means the anti-fog solution doesn't wipe away. Plus, MAX6® glasses provide 6X greater anti-fog performance over standard AF styles. Our MOUD114PF is one of the top-selling shooting glasses for recreational shooting enthusiasts!
Foam Padding for the Shooting Range
Our RT114AF style offers comfortable foam padding around the glass's interior, which provides cushioning from recoil when shooting. It also helps keep out dust and wind. And, the RT114AF comes with an anti-fog coating!
Polarized Glasses
Polarized styles assist users with glare, often experienced in bright conditions, where everyday sports enthusiasts such as shooters often find themselves. More on polarized glasses can be found here. We've displayed all our most popular polarized styles below.
Memphis Camo Styles
MCR Safety's Mossy Oak® camo patterns are powered by advanced photorealistic 3D imagery and cutting-edge concealment technologies. Our new Memphis Series safety glasses sport this popular camouflage pattern! The image below shows all the lenses we offer in this series, including the popular amber lens that many shooters prefer.
Keep your eyes protected at work and while hunting by wearing the MOMP114AF.
Magnified Yellow Readers
All the anti-fog and adjustable nose pieces won't matter if you can't see your target. One feature in glasses such as the K3H15A is lenses that are already outfitted with magnifiers. Whether you use 1.0 or 2.5 bifocals, these glasses will make sure your eyesight is corrected for the best possible performance.
Another option you may consider is our polarized magnifiers made with MAX6® anti-fog coating. Our new DM3H20GZDC and DM3H25GZDC also reduce glare, an excellent feature for sports enthusiasts who spend time outdoors shooting. You can read up more on these glasses here.
Magnified Shooting Glasses
DM3H20GZDC - polarized shooting glasses with readers.
Prescription and OTG Over The Glasses
Those who wear prescription glasses every day need their eyes protected, too. ANSI Z87 safety glasses offer top-level protection. While MCR Safety doesn't offer a lineup of prescription safety glasses, we do provide a prescription insert that is designed to fit our KD310. An image of the KDRX insert and safety glasses are shown below. Also, we can get you in touch with one of our distributors to help you arrange ordering prescription glasses if you prefer.
The KDRX shown in the middle is easily inserted into our KD310 or KD314. You only need your optometrist to customize the insert to your prescription needs.
In addition, MCR Safety does offer over-the-glass (OTG) safety glass styles such as our OG110AF or OG112AF that fit over your prescription glasses and still have the safety and comfort features you require.
OG110AF and OG112AF are both excellent over glasses.
Tactical Shooting Gloves
Gloves protect your hands from blisters and injury caused by the recoil of your gun. While you should focus on protecting your eyes, you should not neglect your hands. Your hands can endure a lot of wear and tear during a day of shooting, and making sure you have the right gear to protect against that damage is essential to your safety and comfort.
Tactical gloves are designed to protect your hands while still being flexible enough to provide ample dexterity. They need to be comfortable, but they should also allow for the range of movement you need when shooting a gun. Shooting gloves are not the place where you want to try to cut corners by cutting costs. Lower-grade materials will not last long; gloves should be made with premium-grade materials to withstand the pressure and use they will get. Our 963 tactical gloves, shown above and below, are made with premium Hyperfit material on the back-of-hand, which easily flexes with your hand movement.
963
Common Questions
How do I shoot a pistol safely if I need reading glasses?
- The solution here is to see your optometrist for a single vision, aspheric, anti-reflective coated lens for the specific distance from your eye to the front of your handgun.
How do I keep my shooting glasses from fogging up?
- Outdoor and indoor shooters can find anti-fog coated lenses like our MAX6® series available in various colored lenses. These lenses are 6X more powerful than standard anti-fog styles.
Can I just wear my regular eyeglasses for protection during shooting?
- To ensure your safety and protect your investment when it comes to your eyeglasses, it's best to go with an over-glasses style that lets you wear your prescription glasses while still protecting your glasses and your eyes.
Can shooting glasses help improve my sleep?
- According to medical studies, amber lenses in your shooting glasses not only help improve your vision while shooting but, by blocking out "blue light," can also help improve your quality of sleep if worn in the evening.
MCR Safety Protects Your Eyes and Hands
Shooting is supposed to be fun! Our goal is to keep you on target while having fun and staying protected! When it comes to your safety, it's best to have all the information and not take shortcuts. That's why having appropriate shooting glasses, and gloves should be an essential part of your shooting style.
We welcome any comments, feedback, or suggestions for how we can best protect people at work.
For over 45 years, MCR Safety has proven to be a world leader in gloves, glasses, and garments. Whether it's on the shop floor, an oil rig, a construction site, or shooting outdoors, we are there to provide solutions to workplace (and recreational) hazards. It's all part of our commitment to protect people.
No matter your industry, we have the personal protective equipment you need.
Learn more about MCR Safety by checking out our most recent video. For more information, browse our website, request a catalog, find a distributor, or give us a call at 800-955-6887.
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