Shooting w/ Reading Glasses - Old Eyes?

[Welding Rod]

I am most likely well over the hump age wise. My vision, particularly my near vision, has been deteriorating over the last 8 years or so.

I have been using regular and progressive bifocals for sometime, but my shooting has still been degrading. I haven't been able to get a good focus on my pistol's front sight. Bifocals put the correction in an area that isn't suitable for my pistol shooting stance.

My last two pistol matches I shot wearing my reading glasses. Wow, that helped! I could clearly see the front sight. Got a first place (first one in years) and a third.

I know my vision has been screwing with my Hi-Power rifle scores too, so I will be trying my reading glasses in my next match there too... don't know if I will even be able to see the targets at 200 yards though with them.

Anyone else have any experience and insight with getting your aging eyes to work their best for pistol and rifle shooting?

 

[Onewolf]

I found +.75 reading glasses great for rifle iron sights but still being able to clearly see the target.

 

[Welding Rod]

I don't know what diopter my reading glasses are, but I use a 2.0 set of safety glasses most of the day for welding at work. Hard to walk around, but I can see what I am doing with my hands quite well.

 

[heycods]

I noticed after missing a deer a few years back (that <removed> dont happen) with my trusty pre 64 mod 94 that something was wrong, so I went to my range with it, I couldnt hit broad side o barn at 100yds, so I moved target back to 50 yds to try that old burnt out gun again. Low and be hold it came back to group. Realizing eyes were going I went to shooting with my normal eyeware. It helped but still aint what it once was.

 

[rcmodel]

Try this on your regular prescription glasses.
It's a major miracle for old eyes and iron sights

http://www.meritcorporation.com/products.html

The stick-on iris that is.

I shot against a 60 year old half blind coke bottle lens guy 40+ years ago that used the Meiet Iris in competition.

And I hardly ever beat him with the 28 year old 20/10 Chuck Yeager eyes I had then!

rc

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I have some type of peep sight on most of my rifles except for the WWII European stuff. I find it much easier to hit 100+ yard targets looking through the top of my glasses as the close focus is not critical with the peeps. I don't shoot a lot of pistol but my bifocals seem to do okay. How big are your lenses? I see people with the narrow "Ben Franklin" style glasses and wonder how they see at all. I don't have the big "grasshopper" lenses but mine do cover the area from my cheek to my eyebrows pretty well. I only have one working eye and that may make it easier for me though.

 

[DBR]

Duluth Trading sells "cheater" safety glasses. I think they range from about 1 diopter to about 3 diopter. They have side shields and large lenses. The last pair I bought cost about $20.00. I highly recommend them for iron sights.

Last I looked they were a bit difficult to find on their website. I will try to get a link.

Here it is:

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...6802.aspx?kw=safety glasses&processor=content

It looks like the style has changed a bit but the price has also gone down.

 

[owlhoot]

I've had to wear tri-focals for the past 30 years. And reading glasses that permitted me to see the front sight, rifle or pistol, worked fairly well for me. I had to use a 3.75 lens which are hard to find and impossible to find in safety lens. And even then, they wouldn't allow me to shoot open sights at long range. Ten years ago I did the sensible thing and had a pair of prescription glasses made with my normal script in the left lens and the entire right lens ground to give me a sharp focus on the front sight. I have to keep both eyes open for long range rifle, but that's a good thing anyway.

For people who carry a gun for defensive purposes or keep a gun handy to protect the home, it must be remembered that those special shooting glasses probably won't be available if and when you really need them. Consequently, I do all of my defensive shooting practice wearing my regular glasses.

 

[vaupet]

this is what worked for me and 100's of competition shooters: http://www.knobloch-schiessbrillen.de/wp/en/
They are 'prescription' by a specialised optometrist, special for shooting (different glasses for pistol and rifle)

have fun

Peter

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I use reader "cheaters" with my iron sight guns. What works best for me is using a set that is a couple diopter numbers less than what I need for reading. I just keep some of the older pairs around for that.
(Course, I need the newest pair to read the number on the older pairs..) :banghead:

 

[sig228]

I Have a Different Problem

I am nearsighted. My closeup vision is perfect though. Seeing those front sights at arms length is becoming more difficult each time I go to the range. I need good midrange vision.

Without spending hundreds on a dedicated pair of midrange shooting glasses, I am thinking about getting some stick on "readers" (neoptx from amazon, maybe?) for my regular prescription glasses which would effectively "reduce" my dominant eye vision letting me see the front site while letting my non dominant eye continue to see the target clearly.

Anyone out there doing this already? Am I off base on this?

 

[dexter]

I have a pair of ESS safty glasses with an insert ground to my script.Left lens a reading lens
(dominant eye) for front sight. Right lens is for distance. Didn't take long to adjust to them.

 

[UKWildcats]

I found stick on magnifiers from Amazon.com (also available on Ebay) -- I install on regular safety/shooting glasses I picked up at Wal-Mart.

For Pistol Shooting -- I only install on Left Lens (I am left eye dominate but right handed) -- center of the lens so the the sights are clear and I do not have to do any special head tilt to shoot.

Link -- http://www.amazon.com/OPTX-20-Stick-On-Bifocals-2-00/dp/B000W7HQCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392651526&sr=8-1&keywords=stick+on+magnifier

Helpful Hint -- the stick on lens work best (or only) on Safety Glasses that have a relatively flat shape -- does not have to be perfectly flat but about 1/2 way between head hugging and flat.

For Rifle Shooting -- I cheat, all my rifles (or at least most of them) have an optic so correction is not needed. However all my iron sighted rifles also have rear peep sights so not too much of a handicap.
-- but will investigate a glass solution for this down the road.

The advantage for me is that my distance vision is not horrible so with my right eye not being corrected I can still see the target relatively well.

UK

 

[Tom609]

For me, I found that bifocals work best with rifles, but progressives work better with pistols. It's hit and miss trying to find the right combination and script, but such is the dilemma of aging eyes. Peep sights on rifles make a world of difference.

 

[DaBruins]

I use Dual Reader safety glasses. They have diopter lenses on both the top and bottom areas of the lens. The top diopter is excellent for seeing the front sight by simply dropping your head a smidge- much more comfortable than lifting your head to see out of a bifocal, and they are available in different diopter strengths'. Normal vision is unaffected when looking between the upper and lower diopters.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Readers-Diopter-Safety-Glasses/dp/B005YS520Q

 

[huntsman]

I need bifocals to read but not to shoot, I guess my long arms get the gun far enough away so that I can pick up the sights with a bit of white on the front.

 

[wally]

I am nearsighted. My closeup vision is perfect though. Seeing those front sights at arms length is becoming more difficult each time I go to the range. I need good midrange vision.

If I understand what you are saying, you'll need negative diopters to move out your near point. I don't believe these are available as stick-ons or inexpensive "cheaters". A trip to an eye doctor that understands shooters' needs would seem in order.

The normal age related progression is the near point moves out with age and positive diopter correction is needed to bring it back into "reading distance".

I've basically given up and gone to red dots for recreational shooting, except for a few rifles with nice aperture sights. I still put the effort in to practice some with iron sighted handguns where its more "aided instinctive shooting" than carefully aimed fire. If sighing in with irons off sandbags I break out the reading glasses

My main carry gun wears a Trijicon RMR dual illuminated optic (no batteries), but for the backups and "have a gun" alternatives it'll be my "instinctive" point shooting skills that save the day or not. Practice what you might need to do.

I need bifocals to read but not to shoot, I guess my long arms get the gun far enough away so that I can pick up the sights with a bit of white on the front.

My Glock 17L and RIA "long slide" 1911 are by far my best iron sighted pistol options -- that extra ~1.5" distance makes a disproportionate difference!

 

[sig228]

Wally, what I am saying is that my normal eyeglass prescription say is -3.50. If I get a +2.00 reader stick on, I would "think" that this would bring my lens to a -1.50 which is the midrange correction that I need to see the sights.

C'mon you eye docs out there, help...will this work? Or does it not work that way.

BTW, I AGREE on the red dots. Keep the fun in shooting right now.

 

[scaatylobo]

Older than me ?

I am 66 and had cataract surgery about 2 years ago.

I shoot now better than I have in decades ,WITHOUT glasses = except safety glasses of course.

Look at having it done,I was told I 'could wait' and boy am I glad I did not.

 

[wally]

Wally, what I am saying is that my normal eyeglass prescription say is -3.50. If I get a +2.00 reader stick on, I would "think" that this would bring my lens to a -1.50

I though your "normal" near vision was without glasses -- I've a friend like that, he needs glasses to walk around & drive, but takes them off to read a menu.

Easy enough to try at the drug store reading glasses display.

I am 66 and had cataract surgery about 2 years ago.

I shoot now better than I have in decades ,WITHOUT glasses = except safety glasses of course.

Cataracts are totally different, glasses, contacts, lasik, apertures, etc. are no help its like putting bits of wax paper on the back of a camera lens, nothing you do in front of it will help.

 

[Frosty Dave]

I am 66 and had cataract surgery about 2 years ago.

I shoot now better than I have in decades ,WITHOUT glasses = except safety glasses of course.

Look at having it done,I was told I 'could wait' and boy am I glad I did not.

That's interesting. I was diagnosed with a list of visual problems last year and one was cataracts. I was also told I didn't need anything done yet but I have been wondering if my definition of "need" was different than the doc's definition. Time for a second opinion I think.

I have also used the adhesive pin hole lens that rc spoke of. That was quite an improvement in my sight picture acuity too. It was pretty easy to experiment with electrical tape and find out the concept helped me.

 

[hso]

I had my optometrist make a pair of large lense safety glasses just for this purpose. It doesn't hurt that the serve for my computer glasses.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

The optometrist I use ground a small lens in the upper inside corner of my glasses. It requires the head to be down a little to use but doesn't bother me when shooting. He too is a hunter and had me bring the pistol to the office to get the focus correct at the front sight. It wasn't hard to learn to use.

 

[Krogen]

Like the rest of you, I have this trouble - "short arms." I use a pair of flip down magnifiers over my regular shooting glasses. I am nearsighted and have astigmatism, so there's no way I can use simple readers in place of my glasses. The flip down lenses are +1 diopter, I'll probably go to +1.5 soon. I flip them down when shooting and back up when they're not needed.

I found the right strength by going to the local Walgreens and looking through the lenses of various reading glasses while wearing my regular shooting glasses. I'm sure I looked like a doofus wearing glasses and holding up readers in front of them. Holding my fingertip out where the front sight would be added to that image, no doubt. But, that little exercise told me what diopter flip lenses I needed.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Vaupet is right. Most of the high-end competitors in the precision events are using specialized shooting glasses. I'd recommend contacting customsightpicture.com - they have a trial kit they send you that will let you fine-tune the prescription, then make a lens to give you best performance.