Help for Old Eyes

My eye doc did a good job with my glasses. He set them up where the focal point starts at 18 inches. They are poly carbonate lenses. Only regret was getting the photo grey. I made a discovery with readers the year. A number 1 power works good for shooting too. I can see far with them too.

Having done the glasses two-step for a lot of years I found that nothing equals having your cataracts removed. Before it was pretty good for a time and then the power had to increase and so on and on. Now I just wear safety glasses, dark or clear, depending on the day.

I am nearsighted and started wearing glasses at age 9.

Now at 55, I went through the whole gamut of vision issues after shooting USPSA matches in my 20-30s. In my late 40s, I started having near vision issues and quickly went from using bi-focals to progressives and it really helped that my eye doctor was a shooter and had my prescription adjusted so I could see sights of my pistols (If your eye doctor is not a shooter, you NEED to tell the doctor distance to gun sights or could even bring a toy version of your gun to eye appointment so you could see the sights clearly ... Really makes a HUGE difference).

But I chose the wrong parents and started suffering from cataract in both eyes in recent years with glaucoma to the point where things started to look blurry (Seeing pistol sights clearly became "No go").

In October of this year, I had cataract surgery in both eyes and after examining different intraocular lense implant options (I told the eye surgeon I needed to see my pistol sights and be able to drive at night), she recommended Vivity IOL implants which provides 100% light transmission for both near and far vision (After surgery in my first eye, I couldn't believe how dark the yellowing of my eyes had become).

I am happy to report that after surgery, I now have 20/20 vision in both eyes and can clearly see gun sights along with sharp targets and can enjoy shooting again without prescription glasses (I still wear eye protection when shooting) not to mention no "halo" effect around headlights driving at night. I recently tested Advantage Arms 22LR slide kit for my Glock 22 and had no problem producing 1" groups at 7-10 yards offhand consistently (Really ... brought tears to my eyes to be able to shoot clearly again). I ended the shooting session using shotgun shells as targets and it was nice to be able to hit every one of them. And as eye doctor predicted, cataract surgery helped my glaucoma in both eyes and lowered intraocular pressure from 22 down to 16 (Normal range).

Keep in mind that EVERYONE gets cataract, just at different age.

Paul7 said:

I'm 62 and recently got a pair of prescription shooting glasses from Jim Mulligan at Bouquet Mulligan DeMaio Eye Professionals in PA (I live in NM). They specialize in glasses for shooters and ship them all over the US and world. The difference is amazing, my first time to the range Saturday with 11 measured six-shot groups from a .22 and .38 revolver at 30', none were over 1" and the smallest was .68". This used to happen only occasionally. A range officer even commented on how often I was hitting the steel plates. The front and rear sights are still slightly blurry but the target is very clear. A side benefit is the lenses are completely safe, rated to withstand a shotgun blast.

Just thought I'd pass that along. I have no financial connection with this practice.

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As an eye care professional, it makes me very happy top hear this. I am glad that you sought out professionals who specialize and do things right. I am also in PA and know that group. They are very knowledgeable, have great people working for them and care for their patients!

Congrats!

Congratulations @Paul7
I am very happy for you. I also struggle with crappy eyesight. I am 60 and have worn glasses since I was 5. I am farsighted and it seems every year my sight changes a bit.
For years I tried to get the right lenses that would work for shooting. What usually happened is I ended up frustrated or with headaches. I cannot be corrected to 20/20. But I see good enough.
At some point I gave up and accepted my eyesight for what it was. I don’t break records or impress anyone with my handgun accuracy but I still enjoy shooting and my goals are to impress myself and have fun.

Paul7 said:

I'm 62 and recently got a pair of prescription shooting glasses from Jim Mulligan at Bouquet Mulligan DeMaio Eye Professionals in PA (I live in NM).

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What did you do, just send them a copy of your prescription?

Paul7 said:

I'm 62 and recently got a pair of prescription shooting glasses from Jim Mulligan at Bouquet Mulligan DeMaio Eye Professionals in PA (I live in NM). They specialize in glasses for shooters and ship them all over the US and world. The difference is amazing, my first time to the range Saturday with 11 measured six-shot groups from a .22 and .38 revolver at 30', none were over 1" and the smallest was .68". This used to happen only occasionally. A range officer even commented on how often I was hitting the steel plates. The front and rear sights are still slightly blurry but the target is very clear. A side benefit is the lenses are completely safe, rated to withstand a shotgun blast.

Just thought I'd pass that along. I have no financial connection with this practice.

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If you don’t mind can you share the cost

I can see the sights pretty well, and the target great now without glasses, but it's not as good as it was when I was 21, but nothing else is either.