Archery with Glasses: Tips and Tricks

By Andy Ryan

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I am going to show you the options you have with your glasses and give you some advice and tips I have acquired regarding this topic. Archery with glasses can be an issue when shooting. It can cause a blurry sight and make it harder for you to aim. But don’t you worry there are luckily a few good options to use.

Get optimized shooting glasses

Getting a separate pair of shooting glasses would be my best tip. It’s affordable and works great. What you need to do is go to the optometrist. If you can, bringing your shooting gear will help in making the most helpful glasses for you.

If that is not possible for you, you can do your shooting stance without a bow and the doctor will measure on the lenses and find where the aiming is taking place. The optometrist will then offset the optical focus center on your new lens to match your aiming

The reason I suggest you need two pairs of glasses is because of this. The glasses the optometrist will make for you will be perfect when you are aiming, but when you are doing your daily activities your optical focus will be different than when you are aiming causing a blurry image. But when you use those glasses to aim with your sight will be on point!

Use contact lenses Instead

If you can use lenses, I would suggest you do so. They are very practical to shoot with and can save lots of headaches. They cost about 50 to 70 USD per box. This is a little pricey, but if you use them only when you shoot with your bow. Then they will last for a long time.

Contact lenses can get fuzzy late in the evening. At least if you don’t bring your eye drops and in the dusk I have a hard time seeing anything. This is something I have experienced at least and I found that I would get a better sight using custom glasses instead. 

Get Lasik surgery and never use glasses again

Lasik, eye surgery. Doing eye surgery can save you a lot of time and hassle. Not only in your shooting life, but also in your everyday life. I am not going to sit here and advertise for it, but I really think it’s a great option for those who can afford it. It’s a big investment hovering around 2000 USD for a surgery. My friend did this and was very happy with the result. Personally, I choose to go to the optic.

Additional tips

How to prevent fog when shooting with your bow

Fogging on the glasses is not optimal when shooting either, there are a few ways to prevent this from happening. Its something that happens all the time, but there are a few ways to stop it.

  • An anti-fog wipe is a good option, they are easy to carry around and can be used when needed. 
  • A home DIY method is to use shaving cream. Wash your glasses with some shaving cream.
  • Anti-fog spray or paste. They cost about 10 USD and can help you out. 
  • You can purchase the antifog I use here Antifog-Spray 

If these tips don’t do it for you, then don’t worry. I got another one for you. Making a gap between your glasses and your skin should do it. Maybe everyone knows this, but I didn’t. I became a victim of this. I squished the glasses in my eyes and not long after fog started to appear. This was something I did too often and ruined a few too many of my shots. Having the advantage of seeing the target is always lovely, so they fog-free!

Use straps to prevent the glasses to fall off

If you decide to get a new pair of opticals purchasing a strap for the glasses would not be a bad decision. Setting up a strap on your new pair of glasses will prevent them from falling off. If you are hunting or in a competition, spending time having to push the glasses up to your eyes all the time is not what you want. These are the straps I use; you can check them out on Amazon here Eyeglass-Straps

Don’t cover your face with clothing

If you wear anything that heats your face, for example, a mask you should think again. This cause is fogging on your glasses. When you are using the cover try to put it below your nose. This will warm your lower face and at the same time prevent your glasses from fogging.

Tips for using your regular glasses

If you choose to use your glasses, there are ways you can make your vision better. Since the optical focus on your regular glasses is in the middle of the lens, the distance of your sight has a major impact. 

When you have a sight that is very close to your face, you are forced to turn your head slightly to the side and this affects your vision and makes your vision blurry because the optical focus on your glasses is not on the side. 

What you can do is to buy a sight that is either adjustable or further away from your face. This will make it better for you to aim because you will use more of the center part of your glasses. I have seen and tried this adjustable sight, and it worked great. Adjustable sight-link