A couple of years back when I still shot MLing rifle events I used a one power reading glasses to clear up the sights. Then I shot just tradegun events where only a front sight was allowed so I didn't have the same problem. I recently purchased a 43 Spanish RB. Can't see the sights and don't want to change em. They have a cool rear sight adjustable for I don't know how many yards. It's a military rifle. Anyways, one of the guys at the club suggested buying some cheap readers from Wal-mart. Think he said they were 3 for $10 and he tried 1 1/2 power. As I remember, it'll clear up the sights leaving the target cloudy. Has anyone else tried this ?
How old geezers see sights
- Thread starter paul harm
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Mike OTDP
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Not with cheap readers. I use a dedicated set of shooting frames with a prescription lens from www.customsightpicture.com.
expat_alaska
Member
Those readers will clear up vision 2' or less away. Good luck acquiring the whole target, let alone the bullseye. I use WalMart +3.0 readers for computer work but have bifocals for everything else.
Jim
Jim
entropy
Member
The problem with 'store-bought' readers (Disclosure; I work at Walmart, at the vision center.) is that the PD (pupillary distance) is not set for you. Unless you get lucky, or find the few that have the set PD marked on them and can match yours, it will create unwanted horizontal prism. Add that to the unwanted vertical prism induced from lowering your head to the stock, and it makes seeing anything correctly difficult. As Mike OTDP says, the best solution is single vision glasses made for the specifice focal distance you will be using them at, with PD and OC set accordingly.
Please, for this uneducated one, what is " unwanted prizm", be it vertical or horizontal ? And PD ? Do they mark that ? How are my bifocals different ? When getting a eye exam, when is the PD measured ? I thought the power number on the glasses related to how far, or should I say close up, you could see things clearly. Now I get PD thrown in there. And here I thought I could just spend a couple of bucks and solve my problem. I expected the target to blurry if the sights are clear, so how do these other things matter ? Educate me. Thanks for any info.
ThomasT
Member
I have some of the 1.5 readers from WM that cost $8 for 3 pairs. I have them stashed around the house. I had cataract surgery a couple of years ago and now have great long range vision. But 20" or less I need readers for close in work. But I can see the open sights on all my guns just like when I was young. I had two long range lenses installed. The doc was going to do the normal long and short combo but I didn't want that. I also fly RC models and being able to see at distance is super important.
But for any distance at all the readers are useless. Four feet away and things are starting to get fuzzy. Across the room, forget it. My best advice would be to go see a real eye doctor, not just an optometrist and see if he can do anything for you.
And I have none of the prism stuff entropy mentioned.
But for any distance at all the readers are useless. Four feet away and things are starting to get fuzzy. Across the room, forget it. My best advice would be to go see a real eye doctor, not just an optometrist and see if he can do anything for you.
And I have none of the prism stuff entropy mentioned.
k4swb
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I use 1.5 readers but found that .5-.75 works better for shooting. You can get below 1.0 on Amazon, full lens and safety rated. Not expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013XSD156/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Nothing is going to allow you to have everything in focus at once, not even perfect vision. You just need to find a compromise you can live with.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013XSD156/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Nothing is going to allow you to have everything in focus at once, not even perfect vision. You just need to find a compromise you can live with.
J-Bar
Member
I'm lucky that at my age I can still pass my driver's test without corrective lenses, and just need glasses for close work. I can shoot without corrective lenses, and I like a ghost ring rear sight on my muzzleloader.
So I have not tried these, but they intrigue me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_glasses
You might try to experiment with the pinhole effect by masking the lens of your shooting glasses with tape, and putting a single pinhole strategically placed in the tape so you can see the sights easily. It might work or it might not, but it shouldn't cost anything.
So I have not tried these, but they intrigue me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_glasses
You might try to experiment with the pinhole effect by masking the lens of your shooting glasses with tape, and putting a single pinhole strategically placed in the tape so you can see the sights easily. It might work or it might not, but it shouldn't cost anything.
entropy
Member
When the Optical center of the lens is not centered over the center of the pupil, this creates prism. Prism 'pulls' the eye towards the base of the prism. Sometimes it is prescribed by the doctor to correct eso (inwards turning) or exo (outwards turning) eyes, or to correct hyper (upward turning) or hypo (downward turning) eyes, usually caused by muscular imbalance in the six muscles that control eye direction. When the prism isn't prescribed, it is 'unwanted' prism, and can cause the aforementioned problems, or at least eyestrain.
PD is pupillary distance, measured either from center of pupil to center of pupil (binocular PD) , or out from the center of the bridge of the nose. (monocular PD, which is more accurate) The PD is one of the two measurements used to set the optical center of the lens, the other being the OC height.
Your optician, if they are competent, will measure your PD with a pupilometer, a device that looks like Luke Skywalker's binoculars in Star Wars. They then will measure the OC height, which is done by marking the center of the pupil on the demo lens and entering this number into the lab instructions.
The question is unclear. Bifocals have 2 different focal lengths; one for distance, usually at the bottom, and the rest of the lens is distance vision. Trifocals have three; Full reading, an intermediate segment above that that is 1/2 the power of the full reading power, and distance. Progressive addition lenses (AKA no-line bifocals) have a point (usually 2-4mm below the OC) where the add power gradually increases from 0 to the full add power.
Some doctors will measure PD during an exam, and note it on the Rx, not all do. The Optician should always measure the PD for an adult the first time they see them; adults' PD rarely change. Kids PD's should be measured every time.
It is, but it is expressed in Diopters, not actual focal length.
Readers usually have the focal length set at 16 inches on down. For distances from 16 inches to 20 feet, this is termed intermediate vision, and commonly referred to as 'computer glasses'. Distances for 20 feet on is referred to as, not surprisingly, distance vision.
Hope this clears things up for you. (pun intended.)
whughett
Member
Entropy...………………….you the man...…………………
. I've used tri focal for decades.
. I've used tri focal for decades.k4swb, thanks for the link, I found single vision sun glasses there.
I take a red headed pin with me to the store when I try on/buy "readers" for shooting.
I put the pin in the display and back up from it, a distance my front site will be from my eye, and try different powered glasses.
I usually find glasses a half to one diopter WEAKER than my reading correction put my front site "pin" into focus.
jmo
I take a red headed pin with me to the store when I try on/buy "readers" for shooting.
I put the pin in the display and back up from it, a distance my front site will be from my eye, and try different powered glasses.
I usually find glasses a half to one diopter WEAKER than my reading correction put my front site "pin" into focus.
jmo
rpenmanparker
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Entropy, suppose you find reading glasses at the drugstore or similar that are a width that centers your pupils in the lenses horizontally. Isn’t it likely the OC is centered in the lens and will therefore be right on your pupils? Not for sure, mind you, but likely? My progressive readers from www.readingglassestogo.com are like that. 46 mm lenses and a 15 mm bridge. So if the OC is centered the PD is 61 mm which is a perfect match for me. Seems to be. Pretty good for all day wear. Totally comfortable sightwise.
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Mike OTDP
Member
One of the great advantages of full-house shooting glasses is that they are highly adjustable. My Knoblochs have a holder for a circular lens...which can be adjusted for horizontal position, vertical position, and tilt in both axes.
entropy
Member
Sounds like you found the right size;
When the Frame PD (A measurement +the Bridge measurement, 46+15=61 in your case) equals the Patient's PD, this is ideal, assuming the eyes are symmetric horizontally. Usually there isn't a lot of difference even if they aren't symmetric, they are usually within 2mm, which is OK with reading add powers. Knoblochs are excellent; almost infinitely adaptable.
Tilos, that sounds like a good plan, but I was trying on old reading glasses we have laying around. They are different powers as our eyes got worse. I found a pair that make the sights clear and the background isn't real bad. I'll be trying them and a old pair of prescription glasses with a piece of electrical tape with a small hole burned in it. I'll see which one I like better. Thanks to everyone for their input.
Good for you, finding something you already have that will work...
Keep in mind the safety aspect here, you might want to buy some glasses in that power that are safety rated.
Like the one's linked above:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KSJNLO0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
(OOPS looks like the shaded glasses are all bifocals
)Edit: some tinted:
You may need to adjust your sites because the target remains a fuzz ball wearing these glasses, but you'll see the same thing every shot.
With all my previous glasses advise applicable to handgun shooting, for rifle I turn my glasses upside down...
This raises the lens center up to about eyebrow height, perfect for rifle/shotgun iron sites.
I'm serious here, try it...
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Gordon
Member
Adjustable Diopter inserts are great as are a proper tang sight with one , but a set of Foster Grants in 1.75x you might find are the bomb for those repro Hawker style buckhorns. The front sight will be nice and sharp at 30-36" from your eye unless you are not the average old coot like me.
A friend who shoots a lot of rifle and pistol said his friends use to punch a small hole in a milk carton jug, cut out what was necessary with some left over so a piece of jug could be folded over the glasses. The good part is it doesn't matter if you loose it, it doesn't cost anything, just make another. Foster Grants ? Us guys from the mid-west don't like spending the high dollar. Three for ten is more up my alley.
robhof
Member
When I want to make the one ragged hole at 25 yds or insure a humane kill; I go for a scope or red dot sight, I've got progressives and can keep things in the 10 ring at 10 yds with them, but when things need to be as good as it can be, scopes and red dots do it for my old eyes.
I am traditional from the get go. I've never hunted with anything but longbows or muzzle loaders with hammers on them. I just couldn't get myself to put a scope or Red Dot on one of my guns [ they're all flintlocks or my one matchlock that I made myself ]. I bought the rolling block because I thought they look cool and it was a Remington. Other than a couple of Remington model 12s [ pump 22s ] I've never bought a modern cartridge gun. If worse came to worse, I'd buy a peep sight. I'm kind of done hunting now, just paper punching.
270WSMANIC
Member
I can get by with a rear aperture on a rifle but its better with 1 or 1.25 readers rear site front site and target acceptable clear, use stronger ones and target blurs a bit.
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BigSteve57
Member
There was a discussion about this in this thread:
Old eyes + small sights = blur
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/old-eyes-small-sights-blur.844783/
Loyalist Dave
Member
Eyes have different needs as they age, and sometimes multiple things going on, but have you tried a simple tange sight from Marbles? I know that sometimes looking through a small peep set in a large outer "shield" acts like a lens. Some folks have reported good results with longrifles fitted with a tang-peep-sight for older eyes. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/135512/marbles-tang-peep-sight-remington-1-2-5-steel-blue Especially if you don't want to re-engineer the original sights on the rifle.
LD
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