Shooting Glasses Lens Color Guide

Last Updated on Mar 14 2024

Shooting glasses can be a great tool for the beginner or experienced hunter, but many people don’t understand how they work and struggle to choose the right color. If this sounds like your situation, you’ve come to the right place. Here, we look at the different colors available and explain when you would choose each, to help you receive the maximum benefit from this amazing tool.

The Yellow Lens

A yellow lens is one of the most popular colors of shooting glasses, and many people purchase it simply because everyone else does. This color makes it easier to see orange targets, which is why it’s so popular, as target shooters use this lens when shooting clay targets. A yellow lens also helps improve contrast, especially in dim lighting.

The Orange Lens

The orange lens is an extremely popular choice with target shooters. The darker-than-yellow color helps them perform better in strong sunlight. The orange also helps reduce blue hues and glare, giving you a clearer image, and orange clay targets stand out especially well.

The Purple Lens

A purple lens is a good choice when shooting in bright-green environments and helps make other colors stand out better. It also helps filter out blue light, which enables you to see a better image when you are looking at the sky, and it also works well in a snowy environment. This lens is great for clay target shooting, and you can choose between light and dark purple.

The Red Lens

A red lens is ideal when you need to shoot on a cloudy day. It also improves vision in fog, but we recommend waiting for clear conditions before firing a weapon. The lens also helps mute blue backgrounds so other colors can stand out. It’s a good choice for someone with a red-green color deficiency.

The Blue Lens

People use a blue lens when shooting a green target to promote a high contrast with that color. Some shooters also use it in low-light conditions, but it can be difficult to use during the day when the sun is bright because the strong blue light can cause squinting and other problems that can distract you from your target.

The Gray Lens

A gray lens will help reduce brightness on sunny days and usually provides UV protection. The reduced light helps provide a better image, along with glare reduction. It’s also a good choice when shooting multiple targets because it doesn’t promote or hinder your viewing of other colors. It’s the perfect all-around lens for when you aren’t sure what kind of targets are in store.

The Brown Lens

A brown lens is great for sunny days, and it highlights earthy brown hues, so it’s ideal for game birds, deer, and other live targets, especially when shooting into the sky or a wooded area. Many people find the brown lens to be soothing because it filters more light, so there is less eye strain.

What Do Shooting Glasses Do?

Shooting glasses can better your shooting by providing a clearer image. Many colors reduce glare while helping the target stand out against the background. These glasses also help you see better in low-light conditions and can protect your eyes from harmful UV light and ricochets.

Shooting Glasses Lens Color Tips

Final Thoughts

While yellow and orange shooting glasses are the most popular, the other colors are also helpful. For example, darker colors like brown or gray are ideal on bright sunny days, while purple works well in blue or snowy environments. Red and blue are not as popular but can be helpful when you need them.

Featured Image Credit: GccDesigns Photography, Shutterstock