Shooting Glasses

[taz_gerstman]

I am looking for some shooting glasses for my upcoming pheasant hunt but I don't want to break the bank. What does everyone here recommend and why? Thanks PS. and what about gloves?

 

[BritChaser]

I just wear sunglasses on sunny days and yellow "shooting" or safety glasses on overcast days. The yellow ones are cheaper at Home Depot or someplace like that.

For gloves I like Cabelas CamoSkinzII which are very light, have a gripping material on the palms and give good trigger feel.

 

[Dakotazeb]

Stihl, the maker of power equipment has some very nice safety glasses for $12 to $15. I buy mine at Runnings. I've got a pair with dark lens for the bright days and a pair with yellow lens for the overcast days. Here's a link to the glasses on Runnings web site.
http://www.runnings.com/search.aspx?tSearch=safety+glasses#page=1&brand=2205

 

[Chestle]

Check your local construction supply store for Gateway Starlite Safety Glasses. They can be had in several different colors, gray/amber/mocha brown/blue. They are scratch-resistant, hard coated and filter out 99.9% of UV-A and UV-B light. Different styles; rounded or squared off.

Optically I have found them to very good. No distortion that I can see.

Also: Independently tested to the ballistics impact section of the U.S. Military standard, MIL-PRF-31013, Clause 3.5.1.1.

Generally priced at $2 a pair or so. If you lose them/break them (hard to do) it's no big loss.

I've been using them as throwaways for years. When they get too scratched up, toss 'em.

http://gatewaysafety.com/products/eye/starlite-2/

Oh...I usually buy the rounded ones by the box. 10 in a box usually costs me around $15 (quantity discount).

 

[Chestle]

Gloves. This will vary depending on how cold blooded you are, how cold your hands get.

First of all, I _always_ wear gloves. Years and years ago I picked up a cripped rooster that was a young man 's first bird. While we looked for it his dad said they were going to mount it. When my Lab tracked the runner down and brought it in, I took it gently and it promptly spurred me and split my thumb. Gloves ever since. Plus, they're nice in the brambles.

Now, I don't use heavy gloves. I find if I keep my body core warm with clothing my hands don't get all that cold.

So, my choice: thin goatskin gloves, gunn cut, keystone thumb. These can be hard to find so when you find them and they fit, buy two pair. I pick mine up at a Cenex station in SD when I'm up there and I need some new ones. Generally $12-15/pair.

Second choice is the Plainsman Leather Gloves you can find at Sam's Club. $20 for two pair. They are cabretta (sheep skin) and don't last me as long as the goatskin ones. They are nice and thin though; great feel.

Either one of these are thin and flexible enough that manipulating safeties and triggers is not a problem.

I do have some thin silk glove liners that I will wear under the goat if it gets really cold. Generally though I can go with just the goatskin until it gets significantly below zero.

Just my two cents; your mileage may vary.

 

[mnaj_springer]

I generally don't use shooting glasses unless one of the two situations are happening: 1) I'm hunting in a large group, or 2) I'm hunting an area that has lots of hunters on it (doesn't happen often) so the only pair I have are yellow lensed safety glasses my dad gives me courtesy of public utilities. He gets them free, so I snag a pair when needed.

As for gloves, I use plain old deerskin leather gloves until it's around zero. I always wear gloves. When it gets colder I have a pair of underarmour insulated gloves that are warm but thin enough to give me full use of my hands.

 

[Chestle]

I was hunting through a field of native sunflower in Kansas, went down into a little depression and one sunflower stalk whipped back and hit me square in my right eye so fast I couldn't believe it. I knew I had something in my eye and the eye watered from then on. Had my hunting buddies pull the lids apart and look and flush with water...no help, found nothing. Kept hunting. Hurt like a SOB. Got back home 5 days later and to the optometrist. She pulled the lids WAY back and found just a small bit of dried sunflower "burr" ( I guess) way, way up under my upper eyelid.

Been wearing some kind of glasses while hunting ever since. YMMV.

Oh...yeah...I knew it was dumb to keep hunting but...I was young and dumb. Now I'm old and dumb.