To those of us who depend on glasses......

[thegriz]

Call me crazy but...

My eye doctor ran a special on eyeglasses for $70 with purchase of contact lenses. I bought several pair because they had a set of frames I liked. I also bought a 1 year supply of contacts, which got misplaced so I bought another 1 year supply (and luckily found the others). Now I have spare glasses and contacts with supplies in several locations (both vehicles, the RV, my office and the house, as well as my range bag).

I can shoot without glasses without 2 much trouble out to about 50 yards. I do OK at longer range but cannot really identify the target accurately.

It was right after Katrina that I made this purchase and it's been very handy a few times.

I have a routine every night before bed, I put my glasses, flashlight, cellphone, and easy access pistol safe in exactly the same configuration and make sure the area is clear of anything else. I can be ready to go in a couple seconds. I got a test run the other day because an animal was trying to "break-in" where the window air conditioner unit is in my bedroom. I've been doing it long enough now I don't have to think about it.

 

[YK]

As a medical student, I've noticed my vision deteriorating, and it really upsets me. I have a pretty basic prescription, and am borderline now as far as needing corrective lenses to drive, but I'm still not that bad yet.

Sitting all day and night staring at a computer/books is horrible for your eyesight - pretty much all my classmates wear some sort of lenses now..

Speaking from authority of 8 PGY completed: just wait until you finish your residency...

Back on track: as TallPine noted above, myopia favors front sight attention by effectively cutting out distance vision. In this sense, shooting uncorrected forces you to look on front sight, and, therefore, leads to development of a good habit.

Another unexpected "benefit" of shooting uncorrected is that it may reinforce of good habit of shooting with both eyes open.

 

[HK G3]

I hope you're cleaning up all that broken glass out there! Have you thought about drinking canned beer instead?

As off topic as this is, I always bring a trashbag to the range, and clean up everything I shoot, as well as some of the trash that others leave out. I usually don't shoot that many glass bottles because it's a pain in the butt to get all the pieces. I've never trash on the range, unlike 90% of the people I see out here, just giving fuel to the people wanting to close/impose heavy fees on the ranges...

And that concludes my off-topic contribution to this

 

[teknoid]

My glasses are always on the night stand, right next to the gun. I like to see what I'm (not) missing. My eyes aren't that bad, but in low light conditions, I'm not taking a chance.

 

[Geronimo45]

To which I add 'glasses'. Otherwise I am shooting by braille.

Shooting by braille... I've got to use that as an excuse next time I do badly at the range.

 

[AndyC]

I can't have Lasik done - my glasses are the only reason people assume I'm intelligent - before I open my mouth, that is.

That said, I'm lucky - I wear specs fulltime but can see well-enough without them.

 

[gyp_c2]

well...

...all the time...
My vision isn't terrible without them. Astigmatism...I found out something interesting during my 27th year...I went on the road for a 9 week tour and forgot my only pair of glasses...By the time I returned home and put them on, my vision had partially corrected itself...Now I just wear them when I want to read the 20/10 print...at 100 meters.
I do wear them when I want to boost my ego though...and geez I'm really lookin' forward to tomorrow...This will be the first weekend in months that it'll be warm enough for me to enjoy myself...

 

[Top_Gunn]

A question about glasses for those of you with military backgrounds. My oldest son is an Army officer, currently doing a tour in Afghanistan. One of the reasons he's in the Army and not the Navy or Air Force is that his uncorrected vision is very, very poor. Why does the Army, which slogs around in all sorts of places that are really hard on glasses, not mind if its people have to wear them, while the Navy and Air Force, which are much more technology-oriented, insist on really good eyesight? Once upon a time, of course, pilots had to have good eyes to spot the Hun in the sun, but today, even that job often goes to a back-seater with radar, and there's really no good reason a pilot can't wear glasses anyway. And there's nothing people do aboard ships that can't be done wearing glasses.

Just wondering.

 

[BAT1]

Use the force Luke. Sense them. Going to the eye man next month. 60 yrs old and already needing glasses. With glasses, can you see both far and near?

 

[bwavec]

I am a firm supporter of the laser surgery route.

I just had it done recently, going from 20/100 L & 20/200 R, I am now 20/15L & 20/30 R.

Life without glasses is AWESOME......I will agree that it is the best $$$ I have ever spent.

 

[Doc Savage]

I'd never shoot with out my contacts/glasses, too much of a danger to those around me. Had my vision "estimated" at 20/1200 about 20 years ago (they had to have me get up and look at the image on the back wall to even be able to see that there was something, the big E, on the screen).

I'm wearing contacts right now that are -12 and -9 diopter correction. The -12 is a problem as it doesn't fit well and they don't make the curvature I need at that strength. We're in the process of saving up for surgery, but that's even iffy for me.

Robert

 

[MechAg94]

I guess I am lucky. I am near sighted with an astygmatism, but not so bad that I can't see across the room. I can't read much at distance, but I think could at least see well enough to I.D. a bad guy. For example, I can drive without my glasses, but my depth perception is poor and I can't read road signs until I am right on top of them.

I do need to get new glasses. I guess I'll have to keep these old ones and put them somewhere where I can get to them.

 

[MechAg94]

My suggestion is to make sure that you have noise makers or obstacles in your house such that you are more likely to wake up or get a warning if someone breaks in.

 

[hso]

Part of what motivated me to learn point shooting was that the front sight wasn't clear enough any more. I can ID a target and consistently make rapid accurate hits out to 20-30 ft. without having that clear crisp front sight image now.

 

[TallPine]

I tried shooting without my glasses again the other day ... improved my grouping considerably (everything going through a quarter sized hole in the can).

I had forgotten that handguns were supposed to have a front sight

 

[D.R. Middlebrooks]

In every street fight I've been involved in my prescription eyeglasses were the first thing to get knocked off my face. As a matter of fact, I never even found them after the last incident where I was assaulted...

That said, perhaps an alternative to the "Front Sight, Press" doctrine is in order. Here's some free video downloads for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=715980776&channel=429149807

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=715980776&channel=429149807

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=716123873&channel=429149807

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=715981062&channel=429149807

Cheers,

D.R. Middlebrooks

www.TacticalShooting.com

 

[rainbowbob]

That is some crazy good shootin D.R.!

I notice you point by using the top of the frame as a "sight". Do you close one eye or kep both eyes on the target?

Would you call that "Aimed Fire Without Sights" (AFWS? ).

I had always thought that point shooting referred to shooting without using the gun as a sight reference (i.e., from below eye-level). Perhaps I'm all wet about that. Comments?

 

[D.R. Middlebrooks]

I notice you point by using the top of the frame as a "sight". Do you close one eye or kep both eyes on the target? Would you call that "Aimed Fire Without Sights" (AFWS? ).

I had always thought that point shooting referred to shooting without using the gun as a sight reference (i.e., from below eye-level). Perhaps I'm all wet about that. Comments?

Yeah, people accuse me of that all the time...UNTIL they see me shoot in the dark, then they see the light (so to speak). In my Fist-Fire Instructor certification classes all my guys have to qualify in no light. It's really pretty easy when you know how to execute the techniques.

FWIW: Here's the shooting records of me and my FIST-FIRE Instructors:

http://www.tacticalshooting.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187

Cheers,

D.R. Middlebrooks

www.TacticalShooting.com

 

[rainbowbob]

Those records for FIST-FIRE instructors are pretty impressive - to say the least!

Shooting in no light? That too is amazing. Where are these classes located?

I really didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I'm just so freakin curious how you do it. What are you looking at? What do you see when you shoot like that? I guess I'll have to take the course to find out, huh? Anything in the Seattle area?

 

[D.R. Middlebrooks]

No Problem...

What we do is all based on upon Grip & Index, and then on the (3) Primary Levels of Weapons Presentation.

We use "Kinesthetic Awareness" which means we are INDEXING & DRIVING the gun by feel. This is based upon the methodology and science of the FIST-FIRE System.

Sights are great and glasses are, too. But total dependence on them can be an Achilles heel. That's why we train Fist-Fire.

Cheers,

D.R.

www.TacticalShooting.com

 

[bradvanhorn]

In my Fist-Fire Instructor certification classes all my guys have to qualify in no light. It's really pretty easy when you know how to execute the techniques.

The no light, night shoot was really good fun actually. I had six steel plate targets about 10 yds distant from me and evenly spaced about 2 yds apart from the adjacent target(s). It was nearly pitch black and it was about all I could do to make out a shadow of each target. D.R. blows the whistle, you come out of the holster and fire on all six targets... you either hit or miss . I did this drill a few times and managed to score a hit for every shot fired. I was shooting a completely stock CZ-75B SA and using a Cen-Dex Storm holster. I still have the video tape, though all you see in the dark is the muzzle flashes when I fired and then the flashlight shinning the target to show the hits. Learning to index and drive the gun rather than being a slave to the sights (I still use the sights when appropriate, but I can do without when necessary) is simply invaluable. It was certainly a great experience. Sorry for the thread drift, but I just had to chime in

 

[LegalAlien]

I have not tried shooting,or even just dry aiming without my contacts or glasses.
Because of my age and deteriorating eyesight, I fit CTC lasergrips on my bedside gun.
I can still see clear enough, even though more blurry, to make out enough detail without any assistance, but would not be able to use iron sights. The red dot let's me just focus on one plane.