Mr claybuster,
you have assisted me on many an occasion (especially in patterning shotguns) so now i feel i need to comment for you. Realize that i am not a competitive shooter and that i don't have access to a sporting clays facility - so take it for what it is worth.
I flubbed around with progressive lenses for about 2 years and could not make them work for shooting, in fact I could barely walk down a flight of stairs safely. i finally gave in to the ophthalmologists recommendation and bought the best Nikon lenses at the time called "C-Max" lenses. the peripheral vision was increased so much that all the problems vanished and i found that 1.) my handgun accuracy improved immediately 2.) i was able to use open sights again for the first time in years, hence a stable of unused .22's is back in action........ and 3.) my pitiful trap shooting got a little less pitiful overnight. the progressives were great for having a much better idea of where the bead of the gun was and i could see the damn clay simultaneously! last year I had a chance to put them to the real test and made some real clean kill pass shots on fast flying honkers that i normally never make. actually , this is not a fair thing to say as i switched to the fed "black cloud" ammo
the point is, i think the really expensive progressives (I see Nikon has another even more better lens out now) are beneficial - for me
it sure would be nice if they had models to test drive, I just finally bit the bullet and i am happy. For MY eyes (it is so individual) the distance only lenses did not cut it.
I am saving my pennies for the laser surgery as GP suggested.................
All the best and good luck!