Front sight/reading glasses

[glenns]

"Human vision being what it is, you can’t focus on the sights and the target at the same time. Actually, you can’t focus on both the front and the rear sight at the same time, either. Once the target has been identified as something you need to shoot, you no longer need your primary visual focus on it. Primary focus now goes to the aiming indicator, the front sight."

I wear reading glasses (1.75). Without my reading glasse on I cannot focus on the front sight. I tried shooting with my reading glasses today and seemed to shoot more accurately (20-25 ft).

Does anyone shoot targets with their reading glasses or have a solution to see the front sight without the reading glasses?

 

[rcmodel]

I wear progressive lenses bifocals, so it's just a matter of tilting my head to the sweet spot.

Reading glasses work too, but you can't see worth a darn at any other distance with them on.

Perhaps the best solution for range use is a Merit Iris lens attachment on your regular prescription glasses..

http://www.meritcorporation.com/

rc

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I shoot with reading glasses. 125 or 150, depending on what my eyes are telling me that day....lol.
If I'm shooting 15yds or closer I'll use the 150. If I'm shooting 25yds I use the 125. It's a bit of a balancing act to be able to see the sights and and the target clear enough to shoot. {It's hell getting old}
The 125s the sight picture is ok and the target picture is ok, but neither are real clear.
I wear progressives, but I can't seem to shoot with them very well. I'd like to start shooting "Bullseye" for fun, but I guess I'm going to have to get a red dot sight of some kind. I like shooting iron sights, but it's tough at 25yds.

Your not alone brother......

 

[PO2Hammer]

I used to wear progressives, but my latest glasses are lined bifocals, and my shooting has suffered. I started putting my large frame, progressive safety glasses in my range bag, and like RC, tilt my head up to get the sight picture I'm after.
I can't shift focus back and forth like I used to, so I just get the sights and target into a compromise blur.
I put a Trijicon Reflex sight on my single action .357, and I'm seriously looking into a mini red dot for my target .45 auto.
My serious 9mm wears Heinie sights, much better than stock for old eyes.

 

[451 Detonics]

I actually had a set of glasses made so I could focus specificly on the front sight at arms length...imagine me standing behind that big machine holdind a Model 15 in a Modified Weaver stance while my eye doc is going "better? worse?...click click...better? worse?".

 

[glenns]

Thanks for the comments. I'll try wearing a little weaker reading glasses and see how I do. Our next action pistol league shoot is this Sunday night.

 

[rcmodel]

You might take a stick with a nail in it or something, about the same length as your pistols front sight with you to the cheap reading glasses department.

Hold it out at arms length and pick a pair of glasses that will focus on the nail "sight" at that distance.

BTW: My optometrist said he could build me a pair of shooting glasses with the bifocal lens in the upper corner of the right lens, ground for the proper focal length for a sharp front sight.

He also does "upside down" bifocals for mechanics and electricians who work overhead all the time.
All it takes is money!

rc

 

[Mudinyeri]

Those of you who need reading glasses to shoot pistol, I'm probably getting close so I have a few questions.

1. Are you shooting with your arms fully extended? For me, that puts the front sight on most full-size pistols about 26-28" away from my eyes. Currently, my eyesight is only degrading (slightly for now) within about 8" from my eyes.

2. Are you shooting with both eyes open or just one?

3. If you've tried shooting with both eyes open and just one eye open, is there a difference in terms of your ability to focus?

Thanks.

 

[Mudinyeri]

Duplicate post.

 

[chicharrones]

I have multi-focal progressive glasses, too. The head tilt thing works when I remember to do it. Thankfully, the middle zone of the progressives is at computer/hand gun sight range.

Still, it is easier on my eyes with a red dot sight.

 

[tguil]

Because I got tired of taking glasses off and on, I bought "good/expensive" frames and had my reading prescription ground in as a progressive bifocal. The majority of the glass was just glass...no correction. For handgun hunting I don't wear my "specs". HIVis sights will get me into the kill zone at 40 yards. Sometimes "good enough" is really "good enough".

 

[hunt]

same here i wear reading only glasses
and i just asked the doc about this as well
lucky he is a shooter but cost wise was much cheaper
for me anyways to purchase some new williams firesights for my .357mag
on a long gun it has made a huge improvement

 

[19&41]

I tried my new prescription reading glasses at the range. Couldn't see either sight and could barely see the target. The target is no problem unassisted. Lasergrips are a great option.

 

[LightningMan]

I will tell you about what I did, as I'm getting older I'm finding it harder to focus on close objects & small print. Also finding it harder to see my front sight of my pistols too. BTW I wear contacts, so when I went to my vision center Doctor, I explained this to him, being I don't shoot pistols any further than 25 yds. the best thing to try was to lower my perscription in my right eye just enough to see my front sight clearly. This lowers my ability to see further distances with that eye compared with my left. My normal corrective vision No. is a -2.00, but for my shooting eye I use a -1.50, which is good enough to even read the newspaper without my reading glasses. Your brain will adjust as when looking for distance my left eye will take up the task, as my right will be called on for looking at near objects. LM

 

[glassman]

I wear my 2.0 reading glasses and can see the sights fine at arms length but have to drop my head and look over the frame to see where the shot hit. I have to go to the eye doc anyway so I'm gonna see if they make flip down doublers that can be clipped on safety glasses. That way, I can flip them down for sighting and then flip them back up for normal vision.

 

[glenns]

Lightning Man - your email triggered a situation I had with my contacts. My right eye correction is -8.0 and my left eye -6.0 (the result of being a CPA for the last 30 years).

A while back I mistakenly interchanged my left and right contact. I found that I did not have to use reading glasses to see close objects.

I tried interchanging my contacts a few minutes ago, got my SA .45 ACP and voila! I can see the sights!

I'll see how it works tomorrow.

 

[Mike OTDP]

You'll shoot best with a prescription set up precisely for the front sight distance. Remember, you don't need to see the target clearly, but the sights are critical. My advice is to get the kit from www.customsightpicture.com and get Dr. Toler to make you up some good shooting lenses.

 

[climbnjump]

For an inexpensive solution, there are stick on reading lenses that can be applied to your regular shooting glasses. These work well for me:

http://optx2020.com/p-38-hydrotac-stick-on-bifocal-2-pair-offer.aspx

They are easy to trim to size. I trim mine to fit in the upper left corner of the right lens of my shooting glasses. This allows me to shoot with my head tilted in a more "normal" angle than trying to find the "sweet spot" in my progressive trifocals. (My shooting glasses are wrap around style that fit over my regular glasses.)

 

[Sherri]

I'm having trouble with my vision at the range, too.

My reading/computer glasses are good for the front sight, but horrible for the target, and removing safety glasses to move my readers to squint at the target is a hassle.

I had an exam in late December, and my prescription hadn't changed much, so I decided to use my $200 annual benefit to try out a bifocal, hard cut, focused on the front sight, with the remainder of the lens for distance. The tech at the optical worked with me to move the bifocal cut up so I don't have to raise my head to see the front sight.

Picked them up Friday and used them at my reloading bench today (they're proper safety glasses), and was pleased with them. I'll get to the range in the next day or two and will post back here how it goes.

These are spendy, but very intriguing: http://superfocus.com/

And I saw news of a similar innovation a couple of days ago... can't find the link now.

Hopefully we'll have some good solutions for the vision challenged shooters in the near future.

 

[Sport45]

For an inexpensive solution, there are stick on reading lenses that can be applied to your regular shooting glasses. These work well for me:

http://optx2020.com/p-38-hydrotac-st...air-offer.aspx

I do the same thing. Trim the bottom of the lens to match the profile of the top of your glasses. I just apply the lens to my prescription glasses when I'm at the range. After a little bit I hardly notice it's there and have even driven home with it still on my glasses.

The reading lens is above my normal line of sight so when I aim I tilt my head down which I find to be more natural than tilting back to use the reading part of my progressive bifocals.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

I bought safety glasses with a bifocal cut. If you don't need correction for distance and both eyes are similar, they are far cheaper than prescription lenses.
www.safetyglassesusa.com/safreadglas.html