Did you know that the legendary Peter-Paul Von Mauser, the master gun maker lost his eye after the bolt on his test rifle failed? He wouldn’t have if he was wearing safety glasses. It is not just that the gun may fail, the bullet or the pellet may ricochet and hit you in the eye. Even if you manage to save your eye, your vision may be severely compromised.
The bottom line is you need to wear safety glasses whenever you are handling a gun, shot gun or rifle whatever the occasion, indoors or outdoors. There are many shooting glasses available in the market. But many of them are not certified for safety. Others are made of soft plastic that are not impact resistant.
The choice in shooting glass shapes and sizes is quite good. Many shooters will wear ordinary glasses that will shatter on impact. The plastic may break into small pieces with sharp edges that may enter the eye. If you are assuming that those cheap plastic sunglasses you bought at the local shop can help, then you are wrong. They are not effective as shooting glasses and will never be.
Good shooting glasses have to confirm to the standards of the Canadian CSA Z94.3 or the American ANSI Z87.1. Many of the top quality shooting glasses feature a nose piece made of soft rubber, adjustable temple, safety lens made of polycarbonate and extended coverage. They are available in different colors like yellow, orange, smoke and clear. Others can be given diopters just like prescription glasses. They also come in anti fog coatings.
