Oakley Tactical Eyewear: Ballistic Eye Protection (Eyepro) for Tactical Shooting

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by David Crane
david@defensereview.com

Click on images below to view them full-size. All photos were taken by Arnold Crane, Photographer, and are the property of DefenseReview.com.

I recently wrote several articles for a print publication after I test-fired a few weapon systems–the select-fire Lewis Machine & Tool Monolithic Rail Platform/Quick-Change Barrel System (LMT MRP/QCBS), Barrett M468-A1 subcarbine (6.8x43mm SPC), and Cobb FA50(T) "fast-action" .50 BMG anti-materiel rifle–at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) range at SWAT Round-Up 2004, in Orlando, FL. During my firing sessions, I was wearing Oakley Eyewear ballistic eye protection (or "eyepro") a.k.a. Oakley tactical eyewear. Actually, the specific Oakley eyepro I was wearing were Oakley Juliet sunglasses (with red lenses).

I’ve had these sunglasses for a few months, now, and I really like them, especially for shooting. When I’m wearing my Oakleys, I know that the sight picture I’m seeing is the actual sight picture, and not a distorted image, so I’m going to hit what I’m aiming at–provided I execute the shot properly. The only thing I worry about with my Oakleys is losing them. On a side note, two key fundamental shooting skills required for achieving fast multiple hits on target(s) are…


being able to "see fast" (being able to watch the front sight as it bobs up and down with each shot, and quickly see it on the target, once it comes back down) and utilizing proper trigger control (proper indexing and pulling of trigger). Both of these skills require practice. Properly indexing the trigger between shots is very important. No eyewear will compensate for bad shooting, no matter how good it is.

Now that that little disclaimer is out of the way, the following is what I’ve written in a previous DefRev article about Oakley eyepro:

"Oakley Eyewear has become the eyepro de rigueur for military SPECOPS, LE SWAT/SRT, PMC operators, and many civilian competitive shooters in the last few years. Usually, units/teams and individual operators who choose Oakleys choose some version of the Oakley M Frame (usually with grey lens) as the M Frames provide the highest lens surface area, or they go with A Frame Goggles. These give professional operators the greatest level of eye protection [combined with] peripheral vision, possible.


The reason why professional Mil/LE operators choose Oakley tactical eyewear is 3-fold:

1) Oakley’s Government Sales (military and law enforcement) division understands this market intimately, and caters to it intently.

2) Oakley’s lenses exceed ANSI Z87.1 industrial standards for impact protection, so they offer a high level of protection against shrapnel impact from overpressure detonations (of a gun) while shooting, as well as particle ricochet impacts.

3) Oakley lenses/optics don’t distort or blur one’s sight picture/point-of-aim while shooting, due to their employment of what Oakley calls “XYZ Optics” technology."

The bottom line is that professional operators (military, law enforcement, and private military company), the world over, rely on Oakley ballistic eye protection (eyepro) while conducting very dangerous missions–and for good reason. When it comes to ballistic eyewear (that won’t get in the way of accurate tactical shooting), right now, Oakley’s as good as it gets.

DefRev highly recommends Oakley Eye Protection (Eyepro), without reservations of any kind, to anyone looking for the highest quality ballistic eyewear/tactical eye protection available. Professional tactical operators rely on Oakley eyepro for their missions because they know Oakley’s work, and are battle-proven. As a side note, all models of Oakley sunglasses are available from the factory with prescription lenses, at extra cost.

Author’s note: Oakley Government now has its own website at www.USStandardIssue.com.  If you’re a military or law enforcement (LE) operator and want to acquire a pair of Oakleys, or if you’re an agency and want to outfit your people with them, then this is the site for you.

The following are more pics of Oakley ballistic eyepro (in this case, Oakley Juliet sunglasses) at the range:

Oakley…because only hits count.

To learn more about Oakley Eyewear/ballistic eye protection (eyepro), or acquire some for yourself, DefRev suggests that you visit the Oakley website. You can reach them by phone, toll-free, at 800-431-1439, or via email at info@oakley.com.

Oakley Government Sales:

Point of contact for Oakley Military/Government and Law Enforcement (LE) Sales is Marc Van Buskirk, who can be contacted by phone at 800-525-4334, or via email at oakleygov@aol.com. Again, the website is www.USStandardissue.com.

"Private Pilot Magazine" published a very informative article about sunglass optics in its September 2003 issue. The article is titled "2003 Sunglass Optics Shootout 2", and it’s worth reading.

Oakley Tactical Eyewear: Ballistic Eye Protection (Eyepro) for Tactical Shooting by

About David Crane

David Crane started publishing online in 2001. Since that time, governments, military organizations, Special Operators (i.e. professional trigger pullers), agencies, and civilian tactical shooters the world over have come to depend on Defense Review as the authoritative source of news and information on "the latest and greatest" in the field of military defense and tactical technology and hardware, including tactical firearms, ammunition, equipment, gear, and training.

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