Concealled carry for person with bad eyesight?

Status
Not open for further replies.

rajb123

member
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
892
This person is a 70 year old diabetic but can qualify a drivers license but his eyesight is not very good.

what gun would be a choice for his CC license?

Would a laser sight be a good choice?

Should he avoid small guns like 380 auoto?
 
How bad is his eyesight? I gotta say, it doesn't sound like a smart idea for someone with really bad eyesight to carry a firearm.
 
The director of our local Chamber of Commerce is a diabetic who's legally blind, but she's still driving. I'd guess that the OP's friend would find seeing a laser dot easier than seeing his sights. However, the laser is just about worthless in bright sunlight. For up-close defense work, sights aren't needed anyhow.
 
Look at a Colt New Agent.

It works well close up, and that's where it is needed most.

Lasers work fine after the Sun goes down but are basically useless during the day.
 
I'd get any gun that your friend likes, rajb123. Then teach 'em to shoot by looking over the slide and not necessarily the sights at the usual self defense ranges of 10 yards and closer.

I wear progressive trifocals and when shooting pocket guns I do just fine by lining up the top of the slide with the target. The top of the slide will be blurry, but it is much easier to line up than some of those tiny pocket gun sights.

Lasers are okay too, but I find them to be difficult for some people to use if their hand strength isn't what it used to be. I say that because the laser will wander quite a bit when pulling through a long trigger pull with some people. In a situation like that, it seems easier just to align the gun. However, if the shooter wants a laser it will do the job.
 
...the issue is if he can shoot well enough for his CC license. In his home state, you need to hit a smallish target from 20 yards???

So a lazer would work for the CC test at an indoor range but would not be useful at an outdoor range in the direct sunlight?

His eyesight is not that bad and he recently got a driver license and his eyes were tested at the DMV....
 
I say let him excercise his right then. I have a Viridian green laser, and while it is much more expensive than a red laser, It is very visible in the day time to about 25 yards even on a bright day. This is because green is the most visible color in the spectrum, to the human eye.
 
Having to hit a smallish target at 20 yds. doesn't seem reasonable for obtaining a concealed carry license. That's tantamount to disqualifying folks from voting, years ago, because they couldn't read and interpret the Constitution.
 
Anything you can mount a Trijicon RMR dual illuminated dot sight on!

That and lots of practice "point shooting".
 
What ever type of pistol they select a laser may not be a bad idea and some XS Big Dot type sights.
 
It's said that 70% of defense shootings take place on low light. So IMO getting a laser and LEARNING HOW TO USE IT PROPERLY is a first step.

If he can see well enough to drive he can surely see well enough to shoot (with proper training).


I'm 74 with, I guess, normal 74 year old eyes. For the heck of it one evening I tried shooting without my glasses. Really no problem.
CTLaser38noglasses.gif


Just get him some good instruction.
 
M2, my mind was picturing that target smiling before your re-work. :D

Not all suggestions will work for all people but there are some combinations that work for most. First would be having a visible front sight whether gold bead, large white dot, red ramp or fiber optic. Second would be to open up the rear notch a bit. It will tend to be a bit less accurate at longer distances but will allow for faster target acquisition and some feel less fatigue at trying to align the rear sight perfectly. Playing with that can cause a loss of focus on the front sight which will result in a loss of accuracy.

If he need not qualify with the pistol he intends to carry I'd have him shoot a long barrel target pistol for qualification and do it slow-fire. This approach, if allowed will give him his biggest advantage and I'd also recommend it be a rimfire to avoid flinch.
 
I would think that glasses, contact lenses, or lasik would be the more important consideration here. You need good eye sight for more than just shootin'!
 
...the issue is if he can shoot well enough for his CC license. In his home state, you need to hit a smallish target from 20 yards???

So a lazer would work for the CC test at an indoor range but would not be useful at an outdoor range in the direct sunlight?

His eyesight is not that bad and he recently got a driver license and his eyes were tested at the DMV....
What state
Is it that requires hitting a smallish target at sixty feet for a CCW?
 
The permit classes I have attended did not let us use a laser during the range qualifing part of the class. But the targets were fairly big not hard to qualify at all for someone who has practiced shooting for a while. If he can see good enough to drive just have him practice his shooting, I'd suggest a 9mm or something else with low recoil for qualifing. Some places even let you use a 22.
 
I'd rather have this setup than a laser, but it is not particularly cheap. The RMR cost hundreds and it will cost near $200 to have the slide milled. That said, what works the best is rarely the cheapest.


View attachment 629310
 
For a Glock you can get a mount that replaces the rear sight, it sits a bit higher but you can restore the gun to its original config if you decide to carry something else and keep the expensive RMR for your new pistol. The mount is like $60-70 compared to $200 for the slide milling.

I prefer the "dual illumination" RMR as it needs no batteries. I just wish they had as good a selection of mounts as there are for the Burris Fastfire or J-point/Optima.

The RMR cost hundreds
More like $400 these days :(

Shooting steel plates I've always found a laser to be significantly slower than good irons that I can see (typically a fiber optic insert front sight and plain black rear) or a dot optic (RMR or Fastfire).


If he can drive, his eyesight isn't that bad.
Not necessarily, in Texas you can still drive even if you need a 4x magnifier to pass the test! Can you imagine driving while looking through 4X binoculars. These glasses are sort of like bifocals but with little 4X telescopes where the reading area would be.
 
For a Glock you can get a mount that replaces the rear sight, it sits a bit higher but you can restore the gun to its original config if you decide to carry something else and keep the expensive RMR for your new pistol. The mount is like $60-70 compared to $200 for the slide milling.

Milling the slide is IMHO a better way to do it and the way I would want on a carry gun. The milled slide not only puts it lower, it allows one to suppressor sights. RMRs are pretty robust, have very long battery life, and are not particularly prone to failure, but I still feel better having the BUIS. If one is going to go to the expense of getting an RMR and a holster that fits the gun, an extra $130 or so to have the slide milled would be worth it to be.

The dove tail mount might be a good idea for someone who just wants to put a dot on there to experiment with. Once one decides they want a RDS I think the milled slide is a better option and worth the money.

More like $400 these days

That is good clarification, I was not trying to say two hundred. I avoided a specific price as the price varies by the exact model. You are looking at $450 to $600-ish depending on the particular model of RMR.
 
Raj,

I think you could really do something nice for the guy and tell him that along with your advice of a handgun comes a couple training sessions wherein you and he both would know what he's capable of. I know your question was about a specific pistol, but it seems like a real good service opportunity to help him. 1) It would help him learn, 2) You would be able to help him find his limits, and 3)If God forbid he should ever have to use it to defend himself, you could testify in court that he was proficient with it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top