Picture the scene: it’s a beautiful, crisp, winter’s morning, you are standing on number 4 peg, a peg that promises to put you square in all of the action, a cock bird breaks cover, gains decent height and heads right towards you. This is your chance to shine. You mount and start swinging. Before you can even think about pulling the trigger you are blinded by the sun! If only you had decent pair of shooting sunglasses that bird would be hanging in the game cart!
Sunglasses can not only help protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays, they can also save you being blinded by a stray pellet (game shooting is an incredible safe sport, but my eyes are important to me and I don’t fancy taking any risks!). Yes, a pair of cheap sunglasses bought from a petrol garage may help with the sun, but are they impact resistant? The sunglasses featured here are designed to not only help you see your quarry in tough conditions, but also offer you a level of impact resistance should the worst happen.
Oakley Split Shot
The Oakley Split Shot sunglasses are equipped with PRIZM™ Polarized lenses.
PRIZM™ is an Oakley lens technology designed to enhance colour and contrast so you can see more detail. Defined to increase depth perception and highlight features in the surrounding environment, great for picking out pheasants in woodland settings or partridges on Norfolk fields.
There are over 90 different styles in the PRIZM™ Polarised range (plus all of Oakley’s lenses are tested under extreme circumstances to guarantee uncompromising protection against high-mass and high-velocity impacts), so there is surely a style to suit you.
The lightweight frame material will provide all day comfort and the no-slip Unobtanium™ nosepad will ensure the glasses don’t slip down your nose even when you perspire. The detachable leash will be useful if you find your self needing to take the glasses off mid-drive and the high wrap frame is hat compatible.
Pilla Renegade
Pilla claim that their athletes hold more Olympic Medals, World Championships, and significant shooting sports victories than all others combined so you are in good company with this brand. Each product collection and frame geometry have been carefully developed with exact precision in order to provide the best field of vision, balance, weight, comfort, and performance to accommodate professional shooting athletes.
Whilst Pilla do produce a large number of frames and lenses for clay shooting, for this article the focus is on their Hunting Series. The Renegade has a high performance frame made from Surgical Steel with rubber temple tips to keep them secure. It is ultra-lightweight and is good for wearing all day in the field. This frame has a high degree of wrap ensuring protection from a range of angles. There are 7 lens options to suit a range of lighting conditions.
Purdey The Sporter
Purdey have been in the business of supplying best guns to royalty and top sportsmen for over 200 years. They know a thing or two about quality products. Their most recent range of sunglasses are all handmade and limited in number.
Designed for shooting, these sunglasses are as versatile as they are practical. Three sets of interchangeable Zeiss lenses, which have been treated with an anti-reflective and Ripel (keeps fog, dirt, grime, and water off) coating allow you to adapt to varying weather conditions. Two types of temple tips can also be alternated depending on style or function. The gun inspired chequered brow bar unclips and lifts to allow the lenses to be removed and replaced. Limited to 100 pairs, each pair is engraved with a unique serial number.
Edwards Eyewear Milan
Edwards Eyewear was created in 2019 by award-winning Optometrist Edward Lyons and World Champion Shotgun shooter Edward Solomons. Edwards Eyewear produce stylish sunglasses that will not only look good in the field when game shooting but also when worn in the city.
The Milan is handmade in Italy, the frames are bio acetate which are 100% biodegradable. The lenses are produced by Zeiss Vision Sunlens and are impact resistant and anti-glare as standard. They are treated with premium oil and water repellant coatings. The Milan can be bought with or without polarised lenses.
Beretta Mark Shooting Eyeglasses
The Beretta Mark Shooting Eyeglasses have been specifically designed for shooters to provide optical superiority and protection. They are made with polycarbonate lenses which come in four different colours:
Yellow: Designed for low light, it raises light values and offers true colour enhancement of targets. Perfect for fog or deep in the woods.
Light Purple Designed to kill green back. It offers true depth of the background. Enhances orange targets.
Scarlet: Designed for balanced colour enhancement. Good for bright sun, collecting clouds, and white sky. High resolution and crisp detail.
Light Fumè: For use in high or direct light. Balance colour enhancement.
All of the lenses provide you with protection from ultraviolet rays and reduce glare.
