Can't see the front sight post

Prescription shooting glasses. That's what I wear. I wear Oakleys


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Your optometrist can set you up with a prescription for any specific distance you choose. I have a set of (pistol) shooting glasses that double as computer glasses, since both require a similar distance of focus.

Reading/computer glasses will focus at distances different than shooters require for front sights.

Computer screens usually are positioned 20 to 26"
Laptops at 15-18"
Reading glasses at 12-15"

Shooters need 30-31", ...whether in handguns or rifles

Another thing to try is to make a 1/16-5/64 inch diopter in a thin piece of metal. Tape it to your shooting glasses and see if the small aperture gives you enough additional depth of field to let you see the front sight.

Don't worry. You were never able to see both a target that's 100 yards away and a front sight post 30 inches away clearly at the same time. But as we age, our eyes lose the ability to quickly change focus from near to far and back to near.

Even after my recent cataract surgery, I use progressive bifocals while pistol shooting to see the front sight clearly when I have my head level and the target clearly when a bend my head down a few degrees and look through the upper half of the lenses. However, progressive bifocals may not be conducive to rifle shooting when you keep a cheek weld and can't move your head very much.

A set of non-progressive glasses may help you see the front sight, but the targets in the distance will always be blurred. This might be fine if your shooting does not require rapid acquisition of distant targets.

An old pistol shooting drill to emphasize front-sight focus can be adopted to rifle shooting. Set up a plain piece of cardboard 20-25 yards away. Don't put any aiming points on it - no circles, dots, Xs, or anything. Aim at the middle of the target and focus solely on the front sight. (Don't look for the bullets holes.) Watch how the sight moves during and after each shot and keep the front sight completely in focus.

Then next to the plain target set up another cardboard target with circles or squares about 4" in size drawn on with a marker. Aim so your sights are just below the circles or squares (pumpkin on a fence) and keep your front sight in focus. Then change your focus to the target circle or square and then back to the front sight. Press the trigger when you have good sight alignment and the front sight in focus. Follow the front sight throughout the recoil cycle.

Once you have mastered this drill, move the targets out to 50 yards, etc.

I like my progressive no line bifocals. They helped me see the front sights better. My shooting did not really improve though. I don't like scratching the lenses with the occasional brass to the face. I might get the Radians Coveralls. They look funny though.

old eyes.

You did not say if you wore glasses. Your vision is ok far, blurred near. Try a small amount of correction. I would suggest a pair of cheap reading glasses, lowest power you can find. A peep sight with small aperture will help depth of field but it will darken the target and front sight. As posted before, an aperture on your sighting eye will help. You can buy these.

I'm not too keen on an optometrist unless he is a rifle shooter. The problem is that the optometrist has no 200 yd target. After you determine if correction can help, then go to the optometrist and have a special pair of glasses made. There is a web site called Zenni, which sells glasses for under $20, complete.

If the cheap reading glasses are too strong, you can buy some weaker ones at a vendor like Edmund.

Again, you are not focusing on the target -- no matter WHAT the distance... 25 yds or 200.

Focus on the front sight and front sight only... and that's roughly 30" no matter what you shoot.
The optometrists I've worked with have no problem with setting up for 30" fixed-focus.



postscript: Try an aperture first.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/978528/merit-optical-attachment-with-suction-cup
(assuming you already wear glasses)

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MEHavey said:

Again, you are not focusing on the target -- no matter WHAT the distance... 25 yds or 200.

Focus on the front sight and front sight only... and that's roughly 30" no matter what you shoot.
The optometrists I've worked with have no problem with setting up for 30" fixed-focus.



postscript: Try an aperture first.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/978528/merit-optical-attachment-with-suction-cup
(assuming you already wear glasses)

.

Click to expand...

If I wore glasses that focused at 30", I could not see the target at all.

I wear glasses that focus at 30" and I see the target just fine -- and the front sight even better.



I wouldn't tell y`all somethin' if I hadn't altready proved it out.
Honest....

(That goes for long guns as well)

I am 66 wear BiFocles. I really like the XS Big Dot Sights (Both in bright day light and low light.


My other choice would be the Trijicon HD Sights

A bullseye target doesn't need to be in sharp focus for precision shooting. When the aiming eye's focused on the front sight, or close to it (or a few feet past it), the bullseye will appear as a fuzzy round blob. Aligning the front sight on it as that fuzzy round ball appears to sit atop the front sight is more repeatable than any other method.

it's called a six o'clock hold. And the black pumpkin seems to set atop a fence post; so to say. Here's a front sight picture with a Garand: the bullseye's a tiny bit to the left, so I'd call that shot an X at 3 o'clock.



An optometrist can also have a corrective lens made that'll clip on your shooting glasses to enable your aiming eye to focus closer to the front sight. A .3 diopter lens focuses 3.3 meters (about 11 feet) away and a .2 diopter lens focuses 5 meters (about 16 feet) away. I've used a corrective .375 diopter lens in rear aperture sights to enable better focus on rifle front sights 38 inches away from my aiming eye. Or an adjustable one like this made by Anschutz:

You can also get teeny little lenses that attach to the rear sight aperture itself. Available for AR and M1/M14. Probably adaptable to any peep sight if you went to the trouble, but might not be allowed for a stock military rifle match.
http://www.bjonessights.com/index.html

There are multifocal lenses that claim to sharpen both sight and target.
http://ironsightoptics.com/index.html

I cannot find the Micro Sight lens that claimed the same.

I use Sight Black it is a spray you put on the front sight ( makes it more visible )
And I also use a Marine corp. front sight hood ( it helps )
( the Marine Corp.hood is smaller in diameter in comparison to the standard front sight hood
and therefore part of your sight picture, where the standard hood is not )
The hood will fit the 1903 & 1903A3