A hunter wearing shooting glasses while aiming

If you're an avid hunter or target shooter, you already know that shooting glasses are necessary every time you handle a firearm, whether at the shooting range or in the field. There's no mystery why shooting glasses are a critical accessory – your eyes are precious, and you must protect them. Yet, there can be some confusion around the many lens color options available for your shooting eyewear.

Lens Color Matters

All of the eyewear in our shooting glasses section are ANSI Z87.1-2015 certified, so does it really matter whether you want amber versus gray lenses? Oh, yes, it does! Different safety glasses lens colors enhance your vision in various lighting conditions, improving visual clarity and depth perception. Two characteristics that every shooter needs.

Let's break down your shooting glasses lens color options:

Yellow/Orange Lenses: Yellow and orange-tinted safety glasses block out "blue light," such as the diffused haze on a cloudy day, and enhance the orange color of a practice target or clay pigeon. In addition, these colors increase your contrast and depth perception, which improves accuracy.

Amber Lenses: Amber lenses are a popular choice for shooting glasses. They also block blue light and work best on low light, cloudy days. In addition, the amber tint creates an excellent contrast between colors, helping the target's orange stand out to you, even on those dreary days.

Purple/Blue Lenses: If you're at a shooting range with a backdrop of beautiful green trees around you, you'll want the help of a purple or blue lens tint. These colors improve contrast, particularly against greens (trees/grass) and oranges (the target), keeping your eyes focused on the target and only the target.

Brown Lenses: Some hunters and target shooters prefer brown lenses because they increase the contrast of orange and red targets. They work best in fields or other open areas with exceptionally bright sunlight. In addition, many hunters find brown lenses are "soothing" and reduce eye strain, keeping them alert.

Gray Lenses: Gray is the "all-around" color. Gray lenses reduce the amount of light around you, allowing you to see a balanced tone of color. It's ideal for sunny conditions and reduces eye fatigue from excessive sunlight. 

Hunter wearing Wiley X Saber Advanced Shooting Glasses

Lens colors can have a direct impact on a hunter's vision. Choosing the correct lens tint for your environment and light conditions can improve your accuracy.

To Each His Own

Which shooting safety glasses lens color is perfect for you, and why? Every shooter has their preferred color they feel most comfortable with and would recommend, and we'd love to hear from you on the lens colors that work best for your shooting conditions.

Start taking notice of the different lighting and landscape conditions around where you shoot and match these characteristics up to the lens color that would be just right for you. Then, let us know what you discover in the comments section below.

Lens colorsSafety eyewearSafety tipsShooting glasses

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