For old guys - my eyes are shot...need help with sights, glasses, contacts - HELP!!!

[Rorge Retson]

If I can see the target, I can't see my sights. If I can see the sights on my gun, I can't see the target. Now that I finally have the resources and time to get into shooting as a hobby and a sport, my eyes are shot. Is there anything I can do??

Started needing reading glasses three years ago, finally bought some two years ago, started wearing them last year, still haven't started bringing them everywhere I go yet. That day is coming. I am guessing this is the normal progression of events??

Just got my first pair of bifocals to wear over my contacts. While my contacts correct for distance (-5.50 in each eye), my glasses correct for my astigmatism, and give me a 1.75 magnification for reading. I got them in polycarb so I could wear them to shoot with. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

The reading part works up to 24" or so...but my stance puts my gun at 36" to 38", so, no dice on the current bifocals to shoot with. The distance portion makes it so I can see targets perfectly!! But, the gun is just a blur. So, I am sad.

Has anyone else had this issue? What have you done about it? Trifocals? Are there optometrists who can help me with this issue? I don't even know what the issue is, except that I want to see both the target AND my gun!!

 

[barstoolguru]

Learn to point shoot, I have a laser trainer from laserlyte and it is helping me to point shooting. I can hit everything up to 40 ft. at a rapid pace without using sights at all

 

[9mmepiphany]

Try having the lens of your glasses made so that your dominate eye can focus on your front sight and your other eye can focus on the target.

The brain can figure out the two images...that is how bi-focal contacts work

 

[JohnKSa]

I've found that glasses work much better than contacts if you have contacts to correct for nearsightedness. What I mean by that is with my contacts in, I need reading glasses. However, wearing glasses with the same correction as the contacts, I can still read without needing any additional correction.

Sad news is you can no longer see both the target and the gun unless you can find an eye doc who is willing to see if you can manage one prescription to see the target with your non-dominant eye and a second prescription in your dominant eye that lets you see the sights. Some folks can manage that kind of thing, some can't.

If you want to stick with iron sights, the most common solution is probably to get a prescription, just for shooting, that keeps the sights sharp but blurs the target.

Another common option is to go to some sort of optical sight. They have very small, very compact optics these days. Just not cheap.

 

[mgkdrgn]

two words

peep sights

worked for me

 

[moonpie]

two words

peep sights

worked for me

great choice for rifles but on handguns you might try either HiViz or Williams Firesights . helps me to manage my pistols even without my trifocs



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[Centurian22]

There used to be a product called clear2target that was a stick on aperture for your glasses but they are apparently out of business. Here is a link to someone who made their own out of labels by cutting a hole with a leather punch.

http://www.sixgun-forums.com/ElmerKeith/content/sighting-aid

I tried something like this and it seems to work once you find the right sized hole and placement for your eyes (usually upper inside corner of dominant side).

There's always Laser eye surgery as well if you can afford and justify it.

Best of luck and hope the sticker idea helps!

 

[FreddyKruger]

tell you're optometrist that you want glasses for shooting and organise bringing a gun in and getting the prescription that works.

 

[jfh]

My optometrist optimized my prescription for shooting for years--but eventually, when I got to the pre-cataract stage, (mid-sixties) I gave up and had new lenses installed. That just about solved the imagery issue, but I did have to get used to fuzziness inside of +-40" away.

As 9mmepiphany said, the brain does adjust the two images.

Jim H.

 

[SunnySlopes]

This is a somewhat pricey solution.

There is a lens that golfers use that has a small circle on the edge of the lens that corrects for midrange vision that they need to eye the ball during their swing.

The rest of the lens is their normal prescription.

My eyeglass store is kind of high dollar and they offer it. They also told me they could fabricate such a pair for shooting glasses. I shoot left handed and use a "Weaver" stance, so the midrange corrective circle would be in the upper right hand corner of the left lens.

When I get around to doing it I'll call ahead and tell them I'm bringing a handgun into the store so that they can get some actual measurements.

 

[One_Jackal]

Peep sights have been a blessing for me since my eye sight has been failing. Once I get the rifle sighted in it's just like the old days.

 

[Sky]

I found a pair of 1.50 glasses; they look like sun glasses but only have a very light shading.
I have had to use reading glasses since I turned 44, 20 years ago.

The slight amount of mag brings the sights into sharp focus but also increases the crispness of everything at a distance. These are not granny glasses but normal size eye wear. I paid 6$ for the glasses overseas and just purchased another pair of unshaded glasses which are 1.75 only because I could not find another 1.50 pair. Bifocals had me doing weird things with my head during shooting; now it is back to natural sight and shoot.

 

[LouNC]

Here's what WORKS for me

I've always been nearsighted but the blessing is that my distance prescription is only 1.00 and 1.25, which may help with the following......

When I turned "40-ish" over 12 years ago, I started needing reading glasses for near work. Instead of going with traditional bifocals, I started wearing the progressive lenses for reading. It took a few days to get used to them, but since then it has been a blessing for shooting (over 10 years now). The major difference between bifocals and progressive lenses is that the near-focus doesn't change suddenly like it does with bifocals. I find that I can "nod" my head and get the front sight and then the target in perfect focus by only a slight nod of my head.

Here's how it works - I acquire the target first using the upper part of the lenses (distance prescription), then tilt my head back slightly until the front sight comes into focus, check sight alignment with the rear sight, and continue squeezing the trigger. This all takes a fraction of a second once you've practiced it. As you know, sight alignment is more critical than sight picture (using NRA instructor terminology here) so as long as your sights are aligned immediately before firing, you're going to be in good shape.

For ultra-precision shooting (NRA Bullseye), another solution is to equip your guns with red-dot sights, which many competitors do nowadays. Personally, I'm not that into NRA Bullseye, and I also own some handguns that just don't work well with red dot sights, and I have no intention of equipping that way.

Yes, the progressive lenses are slightly more than bifocals. But I've been buying my glasses from Wal-mart lately, and have been getting out the door for about $300 including frames. (That's about 1/2 the price of my optometrist, who I've put on notice that I will only be seeing him for prescriptions from this point forward, until he can offer affordable progressive lenses at some point in the future).

Good luck,
Lou

 

[bill in IN]

Peep sights are the best answer. The aperture will solve the problem just like a npinhole camera. Handguns can use them, but with the short sight radius they aren't generally that much of a problem unless your into serious target...

 

[HoosierQ]

I hear you brother. I'll never be known as "Hawkeye". It was a sad irony that the day I joined a great gun club, was the same day I was diagnosed with an eye dissorder called EBMD (Epithelial Basement Membrane Distrophy). Big fancy term for rough, irregular cornea surface. The patches move...so some days I see one way, others another. The good news for me is, now I know why it's been so hard to get glasses that work. Now I just have to wait for the bad patches to be off the focal point and I'm good.

Shooting then:

+1 on the peep sight. I have an AR and love the sights. Focus on the sights is a physiologically simpler process. One of the problems with EBMD is eye fatigue. After a day of shooting, I can't see nearly as well. Peep sights have remediated that a great deal.

I got a set of Skinner Lo-Pro sights for my 10/22. Not very happy with the results so I am going to upgrade to either a scope or Tech-Sights.

Peep sights or glass is all we old farts can do.

 

[shuvelrider]

Seems like you should be talking to your Optometrist about a solution, rather then internet opinions. You may even have some serious degeneration of the eyes sneaking up on you. A solution can be found, just throw enough money at it.
If you do have something serious going on, then a solution may just be temporary as the eyes worsen. Just putting it out there to be aware of. When that happens, let us know about a gun sale------ (joking of course)

 

[One_Jackal]

Everyone tend to shoot tiny targets with a 22. I used glass on a plinking 22 even when i had 20/10 vision. Now for hunting forget the glass. Small game seldom sits still very long even when the animal isn't startled.

 

[JohnM]

I had cataracts developing for a number of years.
When I got serious about deciding I better get them removed an optometrist found I had serious CRVO in my right eye.
Still waiting to find out what can be done, but for now my shooting days are over.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Rifle or pistol?

For rifle, go to a scope or peep sights.

For pistol, you've got a choice. A red dot sight is excellent if the type of shooting allows it - and the new generation of mini-dots can be fitted to your carry piece. If you're shooting iron sights, you should not be focusing on the target anyway - focus on the sights, set up your prescription to do that.

 

[doc540]

trifocals here

mid lens is computer monitor/front sight distance

upper lens is for target focus

slightly raise my head and front sight becomes clear

Then I dump a hi cap mag and lay down suppressing fire.

Seriously, I shoot pistols with both open iron and optics.

Micro red dot is the best thing since sliced bread.

I set the intensity so the dot is bright enough to be seen, but light enough to be seen through.

That way I can clearly see the target and the dot at the same time.

And we have Crimson Trace lasers on all our self defense guns. Yes, we practice with open irons.

Good luck!

 

[Captain33036]

I have been struggling with this very same issue over the past few years. After trying a number of things my solutions are:

For rifles, I use glass. Peep sights may also be good. I have a 4x Simmons on my lever gun that I just love. Makes shooting it such a pleasure. But, a peep would be fine.

I am near sighted and wear contacts. The contacts are not the bifocal type, thus I need reading glasses. And this is where I found the solution. My reading glasses are 2.0 diopter. For shooting pistols, I wear 1.0 diopter reading glasses, thus splitting the difference. This has turned to be the best solution overall.

At practical distances, 21ft, no issue at all. For distance shooting, 50-75ft, the target is not completely in focus, but it is not too bad. With 1.0 diopter reading glasses, the sights are perfectly in focus for me.

And the reading glasses, obviously, serve as my safety glasses. So, nothing extra there.

For sights, I have found that tritium night sights give me the best image and most contrast. They are, for me, the easiest sights to use.

I have 3 dot tritium sights and target sights on pistols. I can use them equally well. For the target sights (on my Springer RO), I have a black rear, notch type, adjustable target sigh with a tritium dot front sight. WORKS GREAT. I do bulls eye shooting at 25 yards with the Springer RO target sights and can shoot as well as anyone I shoot against (of course, since all my friends are older...that helps )

Finally, I also have used the new Burris Fastfire III mini red dot, 3MOA. I like that sight a lot. Easy to adjust, easy to use and no reading glasses needed. One thing, found it a bit obtrusive on my SIG, so I recently took it off and put the 3 dot tritium night sights back on.

Hope this helps you

Best

J

 

[Ramone]

first, I'd figure out what 'plain' reading glass correction you'd need for that distance, with contacts in, prescription glasses off.

Then, get a few pairs of these in that strength:

http://www.amazon.com/OPTX-20-Stick...TF8&qid=1343748682&sr=8-1&keywords=optix+2020

Stick them on regular non prescription shooting glasses- a little work will help you find the right spot- and go shooting!

your astigmatism may be an issue, if it's very bad, but a friend with a similar issue solved it in just this fashion.

 

[RainDodger]

Talk to your Optometrist. He can likely put together a set of glasses for you that will allow you to focus on both... a bifocal with the lower half set to focus at front sight distance... like reading glasses, but not...

 

[wrench]

I wear shooting glasses my optometrist made for me. I've been nearsighted since I was
a kid, and have started to need reading glasses since I turned about 40.
Normally I wear progressive bifocals, but they don't work too well for shooting.
My shooting lens is like a normal old fashioned bifocal, then I had 1/2 of my reading prescription ground into the top of the right (dominant) eye.
Result-my right eye can focus on the front sight, my left on the target, and I can shoot fairly acceptably.
You could try a pair of these...
http://www.amazon.com/OPTX-20-Stick-On-Bifocals-2-00/dp/B000W7HQCQ
stuck to the top of your regular bifocals....might be worth a try.

 

[Rorge Retson]

This is all excellent input, guys, thanks.