Grandpa didn't need no stink'n batteries...

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doubleh said:
(Not sure if you can compensate for an astigmatism though)

Apparently you can. My daughter is near sighted and has astigmatism and has worn either contacts or corrective lenses since she was a child and has no problem.
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I was informed that glasses would correct my astigmatism as well. It actually did help a lot, except the glasses mess with my good eye and make everything look warped. Great for shooting with a scope though, just gotta remember to take them off before I try to check targets.
 
.308 Norma said:
Whatever kind of batteries are in your muffs, I'll bet they're cheaper and easier to replace than hearing aid batteries.;)
Not that I would know - I don't wear hearing aids. But I should, because in my younger years I wasn't smart enough to make use of the hearing protection "technology" even back then - ear plugs and non-electronic muffs.:oops:
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Sorry, what'd you say, could you please repeat that?

I always used hearing protection when shooting, but I also ran sound for bands and my Harley had straight pipes for years and years and then there was the time with the NHRA press pass. The guys on the starting line wore muffs but what the heck did the rest of us guys know?
 
Wow three pages and still running. Lots of folks on lock down it seems.
Would seem like most things in life it’s a matter of choice then we justify that choice.
As just an observation as far as eye sight there are several choices with none involving batteries. I’ve worn trifocal lenses for years primarily for hand gun shooting.
 
Trying to shoot hogs at night is kind of tough without spotlights, weapon lights and batteries.

My paternal grandfather was also deaf. Lifetime of shooting and driving heavy equipment. Being able to operate more efficiently in those environments makes a huge difference.

I mean I get the spirit of the thread. You shouldn’t be completely dependent upon them, but they definitely help.
 
Howland937 said:
I was informed that glasses would correct my astigmatism as well. It actually did help a lot, except the glasses mess with my good eye and make everything look warped. Great for shooting with a scope though, just gotta remember to take them off before I try to check targets.
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I believe you need to find a different eye doctor. There is quite a bit of difference between my eyes and mine manages to make a different lens prescription for each eye.
 
doubleh said:
I believe you need to find a different eye doctor. There is quite a bit of difference between my eyes and mine manages to make a different lens prescription for each eye.
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No doubt. I had an appt scheduled 2 months out...for last week. Eyes are considered non-essential so I'm 2 more months out. Weird part is, I didn't need any corrections in my left eye. If I look through one lense at a time, I'm good. Both eyes open and everything falls off to the left. Floors, roads, and all my shots went 3" left at 25 yards. I inquired about just getting either one contact lense or a monacle, but no luck so far.
 
If your earmuff batteries die, you have... non electronic muffs, just like grandpa.
If your red dot battery dies (if you don't proactively replace it every 3-5 years) you have back up irons, just like grandpa.
If your illuminated scope battery dies, you have... a non illuminated scope, just like grandpa.
If your chrono battery dies, you have no chrono, just like grandpa

I think you see a pattern here... what was the problem again?
 
ny32182 said:
If your earmuff batteries die, you have... non electronic muffs, just like grandpa.
If your red dot battery dies (if you don't proactively replace it every 3-5 years) you have back up irons, just like grandpa.
If your illuminated scope battery dies, you have... a non illuminated scope, just like grandpa.
If your chrono battery dies, you have no chrono, just like grandpa

I think you see a pattern here... what was the problem again?
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Lazy and/or cheap people, who dont pay attention. :)
 
I have never liked having a firearm that would be unable to be fired accurately without a batteries. Red dots are nice but IMO you need to have the iron sights usible with the battery reliant optic mounted or have a QD mount. Call me old fashioned but that's the way I have all mine set up.

I am a big fan of optics that don't require batteries to function. I really like the prism scopes and 1- 4+x scopes. Only catch is they don't have unlimited eye relief. But if mounted in the correct position and the firearm is operated properly it won't matter anyhow.

My life is already complicated enough, I don't want to have to remember to change batteries on this and that optic as well. Simplify.
 
"Simplify" is exactly what a red dot does. ;)

A once in 5-10 year battery change with the newer sights these days, seems like a simple trade off as well.
 
I appreciate battery powered stuff, but...
I always also have old school ear protection, and fluency with irons must come before any other fancy doodad sights.
 
12Bravo20 said:
Along the same lines, I cringed when I read years ago that the military went away from training troops how to use iron sights since everything has some type of electronic sight on it now. Optics are great and make it easier but one still needs to be able to use iron sights proficiently.
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It seems like most military guys don't get a huge amount of firearms training and don't have a high proficiency with a rifle to begin with (in relative terms, and it seems like the Marines still train folks to shoot). There's only so much time and money available to train a soldier and a modern soldier probably needs to know how to use 100 things that didn't even exist in your grandpa's day! Given the amount of time available it might make more sense to use those resources to teach stuff a soldier needs more and rifles are not as big a part of modern war as they were at one time.

Olon said:
Unless it's too dark or too sunny, depending on the finish of the gun.

as much as I love irons, there are some visibility issues for me depending on the lighting.
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I have this issues with a few guns. The finish wore off my old Ruger Standard Model (aka MkI) and I had it parkerized. The finish is the precise, exact color of the grey/black used on targets! My sights are as invisible as you can imagine against an NRA target but they stand out okay against a tennis ball or tin can.

460Shooter said:
Consequently, I have a slight astigmatism in my dominant eye. This leads to red dots being somewhat blurry and with a star burst pattern. I do better with iron sights. I've learned to push through the issue and simply accept that my sight picture is weird while using my one electro optic, but it's not ideal..
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I have astigmatism and the dot looks a little like the Budweiser crown laid on it's side. Some are better than others (for whatever reason I get less "starburst" effect through an Aimpoint vs a Sig ROMEO). Despite the minor artifacts I've found it doesn't affect my ability to get fast and accurate hits. It's more of an interesting data point than actual problem at least for me.


ny32182 said:
If your earmuff batteries die, you have... non electronic muffs, just like grandpa.
If your red dot battery dies (if you don't proactively replace it every 3-5 years) you have back up irons, just like grandpa.
If your illuminated scope battery dies, you have... a non illuminated scope, just like grandpa.
If your chrono battery dies, you have no chrono, just like grandpa

I think you see a pattern here... what was the problem again?
Click to expand...

That pretty much nails it. To this I'll add that if you don't check your gear you'll get burned no matter what you're using. If you take off on a 200 mile trip without checking your gas gauge you might be walkin'. If you enter a gunfight without checking that your mag is topped off you might get a CLICK when you expected a BANG. Batteries should be checked periodically just as you'd check all your gear. The battery in my Aimpoint lasts at least five years and even then it dims pretty gradually so there's no good reason to get caught flat footed.
 
Phaedrus/69 said:
I have astigmatism and the dot looks a little like the Budweiser crown laid on it's side. Some are better than others (for whatever reason I get less "starburst" effect through an Aimpoint vs a Sig ROMEO). Despite the minor artifacts I've found it doesn't affect my ability to get fast and accurate hits. It's more of an interesting data point than actual problem at least for me.
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Yes that’s more or less the same for me when I push past it. I can still get fast hits, it’s just not ideal. I find I struggle a bit to hit where I want, but in a SD or HD situation it wouldn’t matter.
 
Actually it doesn't take much more time to train troops how to shoot with iron sights along with using an optic. they all ready have to sit through classes and be on the live fire range anyway.
 
For my EOTech 512 check
Red Dot check
Timer check

Too much gear for less than 120 minutes range time, I had better time plinking rats on the trail road or cans in my back yard as a kid.
 
The military trains redundancy. Red dots on rifles, back up iron sights. GPS, but everyone has a map, protractor, and compass. At least when I was still in.... Electronics are designed to make things easier or faster when the batteries work, used correctly etc. The buzzword is "force multiplier."
 
ny32182 said:
If your earmuff batteries die, you have... non electronic muffs, just like grandpa.
If your red dot battery dies (if you don't proactively replace it every 3-5 years) you have back up irons, just like grandpa.
If your illuminated scope battery dies, you have... a non illuminated scope, just like grandpa.
If your chrono battery dies, you have no chrono, just like grandpa

I think you see a pattern here... what was the problem again?
Click to expand...


Yup.
Pops was born in 1927. Never had a scope mounted on any of his rifles, save one. A Winchester mod 70 from '51.

But he had a walmart cheap electronic hearing protection, a cheap rangefinder and a new LED flashlight. He'd climb the tech tree as far as he needed. And most of his friends were just like him.
(Don't get me started on the money he spent on battery powered beer coolers, fishfinders, quiet trolling motors, led lit lures, lite up bobbers and the like)
 
I have one red dot on a MKII. That battery puked one day at the range so back in the bag it went. I now carry a spare and I've used it. I've even given my shooting pard a battery as he's been caught without one. Just more stuff to keep track of. I'm slowly teaching myself to use iron sights. I don't mean that I can't shoot without them, just that I never really trained myself to use them like the old timers. I've always relied on optics on my rifles but I'm slowly learning that I don't even need those under 100 yds unless doing some precision shooting. Red dots and lasers have their place but they have a down side. The truly only dependable sight is irons. Optics is #2 and anything with a battery is #3.
 
792mauser
I'm not as old as your dad. Just fresh 60 even I do enjoy some gizmos nowadays.
However, shooting iron sight put good smile on me when leaving the range.
 
I'm 'only' 50 but my days of hitting anything with iron sights are long gone sadly. I can do okay with peep sights in rifles out to 100-300 depending on how big the target is.:rofl:
 
Being dependent on a battery, long life or not, is somewhat disconcerting. Still, the electronic sights are MUCH better for many situations. So long as there is a non-electronic backup built into the device so it's not DOA without a battery is the way to go.

Years ago when fiber optics sights came into vogue with the bowhunting crowd I didn't think was a big deal. Man was I wrong! First time using fiber pin sites at last light in the woods absolutely changed my opinion. Found a good set of williams firesights for my slug guns, too. The illuminated reticles found in most lower priced scopes are great for daytime use when looking into a shadowed area (most are much too bright for nightime use making it impossible to see through the optics in the dark even on the lowest settings). Small lit chevrons or aiming dot in center of the crosshairs like the acog are really helpful and work great. Keep the battery powered stuff coming!
 
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