Bump in the Night and Eye Glasses

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Exmasonite

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hey all...

hope this is in the right place. went back and forth on posting this in legal or S&T. mods, if you feel like moving this, feel free and i'm sorry.

So, who here wears glasses?

I do. My eyes aren't terrible. Borderline if anyting. I'm like 20/80. (just failed my DL eye exam, barely. passed it 2 yrs ago, failed it 3 yrs before that). I can watch TV fine but i like having them on if i'm sitting in the back of the movie theater. Get the idea?

So, just wondering about responding to something in my house and don't happen to have my glasses on... Is this going to be a huge legal pitfall for me? is some attorney gonna tear me up b/c "in theory" i couldn't properly identify the target, etc?

that being said, i do my best to keep my glasses handy. I wear them all the time (except when reading) so when i go to bed at night, they go right next to the XD 9 SC in the touchpad safe on the night table. It's a good reminder to a) open the safe at night and b) lock the safe again in the morning. When i get spooked at night and go to investigate (dogs barking, etc), i try to grab glasses, gun and surefire.

Anyways, just wondering how other people deal with this. What about people with much greater visual deficits? What if you only wear contacts? i doubt you take the time to put them in...

Thanks and I appreciate all your thoughts/input.
 
blinder than a bat when I'm without my glasses - at least bats have radar

I keep my glasses in the same spot so I can reach out and get them in the dark or with my eyes closed. If I don't (and this has happened), I need to turn on a light, find a spare pair and put them on (or ask my wife) to find them. Very unsettling to be so nearsighted as to be unable to find my glasses.

Without my glasses, I could not use a gun (except maybe to brandish).
 
my eyes are getting worse every day it seems.. i got new glasses a couple of years ago and i couldn't see through my scope or read the computer screen:what:.. so the optomitrist i do some things for said to come see him and bring my scope.. he made some lenses i use my scope with and behold i can read the forum again! things are really fuzzy anymore with my glasses so the first thing that goes on even before my jeans are my glasses... with the original glasses i can see the sight on a handgun and the target.. as for any kind of legal liability and not seeing your intended target i'm wondering what the others will say.. interesting question..
 
That's one of the many reasons I had LASIK eye surgery. It's very nice to wake up and see what time it is.

Before that, I kept my eyeglasses in the same spot on the nightstand every night. Not the best tactical situation, but I could see well enough without them to ID a bad guy vs. a family member. I never practiced shooting without my glasses, but that probably is a good idea - at least to understand your limitations.

Point shooting practice might be an answer.
 
I'm 20/40. I've just gotten the restriction put on my license (so I guess I'm 20/45 now :p ) However, I've learned pattern recognition very well, so I can recognize details or when things are 'off' better than my wife, but I can't read road signs as well as she (nor can I take eye tests as well).

In a case like that, reacting to a burglar in my home, I'd go without glasses. One less thing to worry about, for one, and in those conditions I'd rather have more peripheral vision, more object recognition (which is how night vision works anyhow) over acute vision.

If my vision were much worse, I might change my mind though. At that point I'd probably send my wife to deal with the bump :p
 
This should be a Strategies and Tactics thread ;)

Actually, I can see handgun sights much better without my glasses than with them. As far as the "target" goes ... well, I can still see without my glasses well enough to know whether someone in my house is my wife or somebody else :)
 
Glasses are always lying in the same spot on my dresser, which happens to be right next to the closet my gun safe is in.

I'm scared if I leave my glasses lying around on a nightstand or something low to the ground, my little rugrat will mangle them.

But, thinking about LASIK before I become a LEO... or contact lenses, but I really don't like the thought of touching my eye. Actually, it makes me want to hurl when I see someone lese put their contact lenses in. But I can look at blood and guts all day. Odd, no?
 
another thought...

if things go REALLy sideways and i end up in a physical altercation, glasses can be a huge liability.
 
I made the decision a couple of years ago that if I needed to get up, ready to go, the investment in Crimson Trace for my 1911 HD weapon was the best solution to my bad eyes.

My eyes are bad but with a Streamlight and the Crimson Trace I feel pretty prepared for just about any situation.

Just my .02 ont he issue.
 
I put my glasses on the nightstand in the same place every night, right next to my CZ75b. In an emergency I wont worry about the glasses, just grab the gun and fire. But if I am allowed the time to put the glasses on, to investigate a noise or whatever, then they are easily available. I am darn near legaly blind without my glasses, but in the dark glasses wont help much anyways.
 
Anyways, just wondering how other people deal with this.
Click to expand...

One way I deal with it is by having Crimson Trace laser grips or Streamlight TLR-2 laser/lights on all my defense guns.
And I practice with them.

CTLaser38noglasses.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I'm about "3 shades less blind than a mole" according to an optometrist about 15 years back. So, by now I'm probably 2 shades less blind . . .

But yeah, without my specs, doc says "read second line on the chart"
Me: "What chart?"
Doc: "on the wall"
Me: "What wall? Oh, that light blob on the dark space over there?"
 
First off, don't worry about what some lawyer will do - if you have to use a firearm in self-defense you're already gonna be run through a legal wringer. Save your life first. If you don't live through the encounter, there will be no point in speculating about the aftermath.

Second, my eyesight is bad enough that without my glasses or contacts, I couldn't identify a target beyond eight or ten feet. That said, there's only one person that belongs in my house at night that is over four feet tall, and that's my wife. If I ever point a gun at her, I better hope I don't live though it! :D I feel quite sure that in the ambient "night" lighting on at my house, I can tell "good guy" from "bad guy".

My advice is to not worry too much about thelegal wrangling, and concentrate on surviving the incident. Always put your glasses where you can find them by touch. Practice shooting both with and without glasses, reducing the distance to target as required. Get more comfortable with the idea of point shooting with no glasses on.
 
Like everyone else with glasses has said, I keep a pair of glasses on the nightstand. I usually wear contacts and my eyes are not real bad, but I find Target Recognition and night vision improves with my glasses on.

Your legal pitfall would be shooting someone who was obviously not a threat.
 
i recently had that revelation, about jumping out of bed to answer the bumps in the night. I used to wear contacts during the day and glasses at night, or days when I was to lazy to put my contacts in. I also routinely fell asleep with the contacts in, which resulted in less than pleasant mornings, let me tell you.
my solution was to get those night and day lenses, I put them in, and take them out 30 days later. it is nice to save those extra few minutes in the morning, or not having a "aim and hope for the best" scenario when i wake up for a little midnight target practice in the smallest room:D
I also thought this is a good move in a SHTF event, as I wouldn't have to worry about my eyes for an entire month.
 
The only way the investigating officer or anyone else is going to know that you didn't have your glasses on is if you inform them of that fact.
Click to expand...

Yep.

After any self defense shooting:

1) Shut the heck up
2) Ask to be taken to the hospital for medical checkup
3) Lawyer up
 
308win said:
The only way the investigating officer or anyone else is going to know that you didn't have your glasses on is if you inform them of that fact.
Click to expand...

on one hand, i totally agree with this statement. something goes wrong and i get through it, glasses are going straight on regardless.

only thought would be if for some reason BG survives. (honestly, i hope shot placement solves that problem but then again, i'm not going to "finish" anyboydy, either).

but yes, one of those "better judged by 12 than carried by 6 situations" to be sure.

thanks for the info on CTC, etc. My new P220 has them. I have no problem shooting w/o glasses. (3" group w/ my XD 9 SC at 10 yds, nothing perfect but working on it). sorta wanted a little legal input/thoughts (NOT advice b/c this IS the internet, yada yada yada).

I appreciate all the info, thoughts. I should probably do some more low light practicing with AND without glasses.
 
If you're getting on in years consider Crystalens or ReStor, which offer improvement at all distances. I didn't make this up- got it from my eye care professional.
 
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