Waterfowl Hunting Eye Protection

[Drakehammer]

What lens color do you use for waterfowl hunting eye protection?

As an avid clay target shooter, I have my favorite lens colors that make the clay targets “pop” for various background scenarios. I’m looking for suggestions for lens colors that work well for various waterfowl hunting environments. What works best for you?

 

[Gander]

Same here. For clays I wear vermilion 90% of the time. When I'm in the duck blind I wear yellow as most of my shooting is done under low light. If it's a blue bird day I may switch to vermilion if I'm out there later.

 

[bill cooksey]

I wear sunglasses when it's sunny and no glasses when it's not.

 

[sleeping_dogs]

I use to wear prescription sunglasses when its sunny and regular glasses the rest of the time. This season I switched to green tint transition lenses and found them to be great.

 

[wingmatt]

I've worn the prescription photo-gray (turn dark outdoors) for decades, and they work well for me. Here's a link that has good info on the different colors, and what they are best at:

https://www.vsp.com/lens-tints.html

 

[Dave in AZ]

I just wear regular glasses. I used to wear yellow Rayban Aviator lenses under low light, but the prescription is no longer very good so stopped... your thread has got me thinking about getting another pair-- they were very good for low-light, though I only used them for flying in low altitude marginal vis, not shooting. But they did make 1.5 nm vis look like 4 nm. If I wore something other than clear, it would be yellow.

 

[Ravenanme]

I wear RX glasses but they have transition lenses so they're clear at low light and turn darker the lighter it gets unless , I'm hunting or just shooting ,
then I go to my lense assortment and usually end up with a Yellow or Lt Rose color !

 

[jzee]

I wear RX glasses, and shoot a lot of clay, and my fair share of waterfowl. Before needing glasses I didn’t wear eye protection unless required to do so. I was going to order some Decots. Then one of my friends recommended Fluegge optical in Waterford Wi.

I went in anti glasses, and after being educated and fitted, I wish I could have the 2 or 3 seasons back that I refused to admit I needed them. They fitted me which is crucial, I have 6 different colors, but 90% of the time I wear my Polarized, photosensitive lenses. They made them to be my primary hunting lenses and are lined Bifocals. They are awesome to say the least, colors pop, and weather it pre dawn or a blue bird day, it doesn’t matter.

 

[Tuleman]

I've worn the prescription photo-gray (turn dark outdoors) for decades, and they work well for me. Here's a link that has good info on the different colors, and what they are best at:https://www.vsp.com/lens-tints.html

My experience mirrors wingmatt's. My hunting prescription glasses have come in both neutral gray and bronze tint. I much prefer the bronze for accurate color transmission. YRMV

 

[Squaller]

I am an eye doc…

First off, if you are hunting over water, I would strongly recommend a polarized lens… I find a significant reduction in eye strain…

My favorite all-around lens for hunting or fishing is a polarized copper or brown lens… Copper creates a bit more contrast, but some people find this contrast uncomfortable… Browns and coppers tend to have decent polarization qualities, but you do lose a bit of color representation. Brown verses amber is almost semantics... Amber has (or should have) be a bit more yellow in color than straight brown, and copper should have a bit more red...

Grey/blue lenses are probably the most popular (and they have the best polarization potential), and the most comfortable on the eyes, but you lose the contrast. Grey lenses have the best color representation.

Yellow lenses are great for contrast or in the fog, but they have almost no polarization ability… Do not waste money on yellow polarized lenses.

Rose lenses have even more contrast than brown or copper and almost equal polarization abilities… I find rose lenses a bit harsh… Some people love them…


Frames are also key in shooting… I like a bigger frame for hunting and shooting. I do not want to see the rim of my frames when I put my head down to shoot. I want something light and comfortable as well. Also, if you have a high glasses script, wrap in a frame will create more distortion… So I like a large flat frame…

Wiley X makes some decent frames, and they are all safety frames... I also like Oakley, and they have a wide variety of colors to choose from (but sending lenses to Oakley labs is more pricey as is Wiley X). I have a pair of Liberty Optical frames I really like, and they are one of few labs that will put a "fog coat" on the lens... You have to apply an applicator to the coating periodically, but I do like the fog coating...