Wearing glasses and glare

[dapper]

On the 12th morning of a packin hunt last September, while in ambush mode at a saddle, I had a raghorn bull come past at 20 yards. A couple steps short of the ideal broadside shot he just spun around, running 20 yards to stop and stare back at me. Then he walked off. He didn't see me draw back because the trunks of three big pine trees allowed a perfect spot for my draw when his eyes went behind them. I had the wind, I smelled him and if the wind would've switched, he wouldn't have stopped so close, because it had been two weeks since I had really showered. The next morning I went back to the same spot and I noticed the sun would've been coming up of the horizon and the elk was up the slope towards the sun. So I believe he seen glare from my glasses. Next year I'll look into contacts, but that just means more gear to pack in, since the glasses would have to go in as backup.

So what do you more experienced elk hunters do that need to wear glasses?

Thanks
Dan

[>>>---WW---->]

The next time you have to buy glasses, have a non glare finish put on the lenses. Personally, I have a pair of readers in my pack for close work. Guess I'm still lucky to be far sighted and can shoot my bow just as well with glasses either on or off.

[cnelk]

Dan
what kind of hat do you wear?
i wear glasses all the time and have never had glare from them spook elk [that i know of]
i wear a floppy that seems to do a good job of reducing any glare.

but that said... check out my vid of my bull this year. [see link below]
watch my bow flash in the sunlight 40 seconds into the vid.

sure its just a brief moment, but maybe it could be enough to spook something

i always try to be in the shade, looking with the sun when calling or in ambush and now i will even try even harder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqvIRvw0BQo

[ElkNut1]

Actually there are tons of things that glare/shine in the woods, if elk, deer or any critter every time they saw something shine such as dew or rain on leaves they'd go nuts! (grin) I would not worry about your eye glasses at all. Animals have that 6th sense even if you had the wind, sometimes it's just something out of place or the slightest movement. Too, you may have called before this elk showed, when you did this he knew your location within a few feet, when he got there & spied the area there was no resemblance of an elk & that alone could have put him on edge! Bows, arrows, broadheads can all have some sort of glimmer, no need to be to anal about things, it's generally us that is the issue & not our gear! (grin) I know I've been guilty of unneeded movements that cost me an elk or two! Good Luck!

ElkNut1

[Swede]

I too wear glasses and never have had any problem. I agree with the above posts. Consider, two weeks without a shower would have me ripe enough to be smelled 20 yards up wind. It sure does not take much scent to send them off in a hurry.

[dapper]

Thanks for all the replys.
I was wearing a bandana, I had a hat with a brim on the hunt but my son lost his hat, so in the mornings he took my hat because he had no hood on his jacket and I had one. I didn't call, I was in ambush mode at a saddle and the spot was right next to a young pine. The spot was cleaned out for standing quietly. I know he never saw me move since I seen him coming and the bases of the trees covered his eyes when I drew my bow. Some times I get the shakes, but this time I didn't since he was walking at a good pace, generally the shakes come when I know I'm getting a shot and the animal takes forever to get there. I did shake alot once he bolted. The sixth sense deal makes sense cause my heart is pounding, I'm staring at him.
To smell me 20 yards from upwind, now thats funny and very possible because we did stink. This year we are taking a portable shower bag to use as a water container and to do a better job at showering.

Thanks again for the input.
Dan

[foxvalley]

I've had the same thing happen, I was behind a small pine,but had the sun in my face,I swear he didn't see me move,and also had the wind. I figured it was glare from something,and my glasses was my first thought.Who knows,when they get that close,could be anything.I do however,wear contacts most of the time,or when wearing glasses,pull my brimmed ball cap down if I'm in the sun,which I try to avoid at all times.

It's a pain to do,but we use the solar shower every night when we get back to camp.The water only gets to about 90 degress,so we add boiling water,and we get 2 showers out of the unit. We also wash our cloths every night,as we have a second pair of everything.No cotton ,all high tech stuff that drys fast.

Paul, I don't want to be the tail wagging the dog here, but I agree and disagree.Yes after a rain,a frost,or snow,on a sunny day there is glare everywhere.But....... a flash of something shiny,on a dry day, I believe,and this is just my opinion,and with the exeption of antler tines,is a serious red flag when seen by an elk.When Eric is with me, we do a lot of still hunting far enough apart just to hardly see each other,and every once in a while,we will see something flash on one of us.My glasses have been the culprit,along with other assorted gear,bare hands,wedding rings,bows, etc. With a partner,this is easy to check for,just stand in the sun.

[one_elk]

Last week, while eating lunch, I watched a group of 20+ elk feed across a hillside that also had a weather station, that has plenty of reflective surfaces, on it. The wind was blowing so the anemometer was spinning, we have reflective flagging tied on the weather station to keep birds off of the station, the flagging also blowing the wind. The elk feed within 10 meters of the weather station and did not seem to pay any attention to it….the weather station is on public land…

[pointysticks]

i am a sucker for a great sales pitch. for example: my wedding band.."made with the same technique as ancient samarai swords..........."..SOLD!!

my sunglasses..i was line/hook/sinker with the line, " military snipers wear them(or issued, honestly she had me at military), because they dont glare"...SOLD!

i bought them fast with my wife rolling eyeballs in the background. they are non polarized oakleys with a flat matte frame. havent spooked game yet. but that could be because i am extra stealty

[32hunter]

Last year while mule deer hunting i was waiting for my buddy to walk over to where i was at. he was totally camoed and i couldnt spot him but knew the route he would be taking. as i sat there glassing i seen a glare flash about a half mile away. i looked at it and found it to be the limbs of his bow reflecting sun light. i lost him again in the thick brush but every so often i would see the flash and pin point him again. It got me wondering if deer or elk notice these flashes and if they track hunters the same way. i have been on stalks where it seemed like i get busted for no reason at all but first thing i know a big doe is stairing at me and i havent moved an inch. who knows what they see but i try to dull down all my gear.

[T/H]

i think our skin shines more than our glasses if not covered or camo'd

[>>>---WW---->]

I've been thinking about this thread off and on for most of the past week. It got me to thinking about an antelope hunt a few years ago. There were probably close to a dozen different goats that came within shooting range of my blind that day. I was waiting for a nice buck that I knew was in the area. Unfortunately, he never showed that day. But that is another story. Anyhow, I took pictures of every one of them that came in for a drink. The pictures I took that day ranged from as close as 10 yards and as far away as 25 yards.

The little camera I have has an auto flash. It doesn't matter if it is dark thirty or a bright sunny day. That thing is going to flash every time you take a picture. Not once did any of the antelope run away as I took their picture. As a matter of fact, none of them payed any attention to the flash at all. So I really don't think the glare from your glasses had anything at all to do with that elk bolting away. Sounds more likely that he got a good wift of you or caught some movement.

[Lefty]

I had lasik done 15 years ago,.. great move for my outdoor activites

I am still trying to figure out elk,.. Ive had them inches and feet away sniffing me and not run, Ive seen trucks 2 miles away go over a hill and bust them.
Ive had game spook from my glasses , gun, bow, binos yet used the flash with bulls less than 35 yards away

[CrazyElkHunter]

Dan
what kind of hat do you wear?
i wear glasses all the time and have never had glare from them spook elk [that i know of]
i wear a floppy that seems to do a good job of reducing any glare.

but that said... check out my vid of my bull this year. [see link below]
watch my bow flash in the sunlight 40 seconds into the vid.

sure its just a brief moment, but maybe it could be enough to spook something

i always try to be in the shade, looking with the sun when calling or in ambush and now i will even try even harder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqvIRvw0BQo

I also wear glasses and never had any glare problems that I am aware of. Hey Brad, checked out your video and you had 13 likes and 1 dislike. Wonder what that person disliked? The fact that you got a nice bull and he did not probably.

[foxvalley]

We had this same topic last summer on a different thread, still find it interesting.

Maybe it's not the glare at all, or the flash of something shiny,that spooks animals, maybe it's just an attention getter,and they focus on the spot untill we move,see it's a human,then spook. All I know for certain is a flash of something is extremly easy to see, even from long distances,and can alert animals to your location.

The elk in my instance was coming right at me,I was behind a small pine,and I know he did'nt see my outline,and I know he didn't smell me,because the other elk next to him didn't react at all.Maybe I moved slightly, or he saw the glare from my glasses,but he saw something.

[dotman]

On the 12th morning of a packin hunt last September, while in ambush mode at a saddle, I had a raghorn bull come past at 20 yards. A couple steps short of the ideal broadside shot he just spun around, running 20 yards to stop and stare back at me. Then he walked off. He didn't see me draw back because the trunks of three big pine trees allowed a perfect spot for my draw when his eyes went behind them. I had the wind, I smelled him and if the wind would've switched, he wouldn't have stopped so close, because it had been two weeks since I had really showered. The next morning I went back to the same spot and I noticed the sun would've been coming up of the horizon and the elk was up the slope towards the sun. So I believe he seen glare from my glasses. Next year I'll look into contacts, but that just means more gear to pack in, since the glasses would have to go in as backup.

So what do you more experienced elk hunters do that need to wear glasses?

Thanks
Dan

Take a look at airoptix contacts, you can leave them in for a month straight with no issues and sleep in them. I have them just for use during elk season and glasses are in a case in the pack with a spare set of contacts.

[foxvalley]

I like to wear contacts as much as possible,but sometimes the dry mtn.air makes them irritating,so when I wear my glasses,I always wear my ball cap,and when I get close to elk,I pull it way down.Glare or no glare,my elk encounters come way to infrequent to take any chances.

[elkoholic]

I don't think it's not an unnatural ocurrance. A lot of things glare in the woods including some of our equipment not just a pair of glasses. I wear glasses and have no problems with spooking to my knowledge because of the glare off my glasses.

[TheBuzz]

After 40 years of glasses, fogging, not sure of center my peep, I finally switched to contacts, and love it! Left eye is a multi-focal for close up work and my right eye is distance....takes a little time for the brain to get used to it, but I personally like it as I have decent distance and close vision for tight small work, no bifocals and I can go straight to Bino's without the glasses interfering. Might not be for everyone, but works for me.