LEWISTON, Idaho — Mike Rinard of Lewiston isn’t shy about his product.

“We make the finest shooting glasses,” he says. “We have been rated No. 1 in the world.”

Rinard, owner of the Optical Shop in Lewiston, founded Post 4 Optics about four years ago. The company makes titanium-framed glasses tailored to the needs of shooters.

More recently, the company has marketed its eyewear to anglers.

“It is the only titanium frame on the market with interchangeable lenses.”

His company makes 54 regular lenses and nine Polaroid lenses that cut glare, so shooters can more easily see their targets and anglers can see fish in the water or pick up their flies as they drift through a run.

All of the lenses can be custom made to the prescription needs of shooters or anglers. A pair of frames with one set of lenses cost about $175. Additional lenses can be purchased for $80. There is an additional charge for bifocal and other specialty lenses.

“They are not cheap, but they are affordable,” says Rinard. “Most guys that can afford to shoot and hunt need glasses. We are not kids anymore.”

Rinard is an avid trap and skeet shooter himself. For years his shop carried other brands of shooting glasses, but he became frustrated with the quality and set out to make a better product.

The primary goal of shooting glasses is to make the targets stand out.

“Clay target shooting is a game of one. If you can see one target better than somebody else did you can win,” Rinard says. “One target makes the difference even in 1,000 targets.”

He is proud that a number of well-known shooters wear his glasses. He says it’s the best advertising he could ask for.

“We have three all- American trap shooters wearing our products, two all- American sporting clay shooters and one hall of fame all-American trap shooter.”

But glasses also serve a second purpose. Rinard has heard from a couple of customers who say the glasses saved their vision following shooting mishaps.

“I have had guys with guns that blow up and say ‘I’m so happy. I’ve got pock marks all over my face, but you saved my eyes.’ “

Rinard is testing a new camouflage lens. The product is not yet available, but is designed for hunters who need to conceal themselves and also need to wear glasses to see.

“They wear camo head to toe, but they wear the same old glasses and they try to hide themselves and it just doesn’t happen.”

AP-WS-01-12-05 1931EST