Channel Your Inner Fighter Pilot With A Pair Of These ‘Ball And Buck x Randolph’ Hunter Leather Aviators

In what appears to be the perfect brand symbiosis, hunting and fishing clothiers Ball and Buck have teamed up with Randolph Engineering to create the greatest aviators ever produced.

These unique shooting glasses are the brainchild of two brands every bro should know: ‘Ball and Buck’ and Randolph Engineering. The former is an outfitter based out of Massachusetts, who specialize in hunting and fishing outdoor apparel that every bro needs to have in his wardrobe. The latter is the company behind our military’s finest eyewear, producing the lenses for our Air Force’s aviators as well as the M-17 chemical-biological masks during Desert Storm.

When you wear these aviators you’re wearing the same lenses made for the US Military, on sunglasses handmade in America, with leather hand-stitched in Massachusetts. So much ‘MURICA I can’t even contain myself.

Yes, that circle in the center was in fact designed to hold your cigarette while you shoot

These days some bros tend to be dismissive of aviators, pushing them aside for the trendy wayfarers. But YOU can end that. In fact, YOU SHOULD end that. These lenses were designed for performance, in fact the Olympic shooting team will be using these very lenses come next Winter Olympics, but for me it was more of a lifestyle decision rocking these around NYC.

During yesterday’s snowfall (we’re not calling it a snowstorm anymore, because 7-inches is not a blizzard), I wore my new pair of ‘Ball And Buck x Randolph Hunter Leather Aviators’ around SoHo, and even as I was leaving the BroBible offices I was hit with an audible ‘whoa’ from a colleague. You see these glasses and you’re imbued with the impression of ‘there’s a man who knows exactly what the fuck he wants out of life’.

But if the orange hunting lenses just aren’t your thing, know that you can also pick up these glasses in a polarized tan lens, as well as in a gray polarized lens.

And I’m here now with a call to arms for bros everywhere to reclaim the je ne sais quoi of 80’s Fighter Pilot fashion. Channel your inner Maverick, Ice Man, or Goose and pick up a pair of these shades. Make that statement none of your bros are willing to make themselves.

Nowadays it’s absurdly easy to brush past how and where your clothes are made, to just take things for granted and buy something off the rack that you deem worthy. It’s so easy in fact that’s how the overwhelming majority of shopping is done nowadays, myself included. Unless you’re in the fashion industry, chances are that you are not seeking out American made brands, and paying a premium for quality over convenience.

Well, last week I had the chance to skip out on work for a few hours and go clay pigeon shooting with the founder Ball and Buck, and it’s rare that I come across a brand and immediately think ‘that, that’s exactly what a company should be doing’, but this was one of those moments. This was one of those eureka moments where I’m learning about ‘Ball and Buck’ and thinking to myself “Holy shit, this guy’s living the dream. He’s producing American made clothing at a higher quality than you’d ever find in a typical department store, he’s getting to go on hunting and fishing trips to shoot the photos for the brand’s look book, and he’s making a product people actually want.”

The latter is actually something that hit me hardest, because any company can make a product that will sell, but in my mind a good company is one that finds a need and fills that void. Whether that’s a need in the market, or a personal need for something that doesn’t exist, that’s how some of the greatest companies/inventors made their way. And I know this all sounds like hyperbole when talking about a clothing company, but check it out, and maybe you’ll see what I mean, or maybe you won’t.

But back to the shooting….

We took off to Griffin & Howe Shooting School at Hudson Farm out in Northern Jersey, and I wasn’t previously familiar with Griffin & Howe so needless to say it was quite a surprise when I found out we were shooting at what is basically the Augusta National equivalent of shooting ranges.

At any given time there can only be 90 members (99 maybe?), the property was once owned by the founders of the Pennsylvania Railroad, but the family later donated the roughly 4,000 acres to be used as an extremely exclusive (and private) shooting club, with countless shooting stations and courses throughout. So yah, this place was the teets.

I came to find out that the only way non-members can shoot on the Hudson Farm property is through the Griffin & Howe Shooting School, which is taught by military trained snipers, and is basically the coolest way anyone could ever hope to spend a work day. They’re bookable for corporate events, so bros, if you have the discretion to book an event like this you should highly consider it. But I digress, we took off to the shooting stations after some safety training and the rest was history.

Growing up the only shooting I’d ever done is rifle and pistol shooting, but never clay pigeon shotgun shooting. After one call of ‘pull’ I was hooked for life. That 12-gauge just felt right in my hands, and I’m already looking into getting together a trip through Orvis (if any bros are interested, hit me up!) because I’ve found my calling in life.

And aside from safety, accuracy, and form, one of the things the instructor really stressed is that shooting is a sport. Because people tend to lump it in the category of hunting, and those people also tend to associate it as barbaric, when in fact it couldn’t be further from that. It’s a hand-to-eye skill, hinging on reflexes and accuracy. It’s a skill that can be honed over time, and one that every bro should test out at some point in his life.

Back to the sunglasses at hand. Features include:

Antique Brass Finish Frame
57 mm HD Polycarbonate Lens for Optimal Protection
Hand-stitched Premium Leather Sports Brow Bar
Blaze Orange Stitching
Cable Temples
Adjustable Silicon Nose Pads for Customized Fit
98-100% UV Protection
Case, Microfiber Cleaning Cloth, and Small Maintenance Kit Included
Lifetime-warranted Solder Joints
Made in Randolph, MA
Only Available at Ball and Buck

For more on Ball and Buck you can check out their flagship store in Boston, or their online store HERE, or you can find them on Facebook and Twitter. For more on Randolph Engineering eyewear you can check out their online store by clicking HERE, or find them on Twitter. And if you’re interested in checking out the Griffin & Howe Shooting School you can do so by clicking HERE.