Aging Eyes

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ZPITA

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I have never been able to shoot with both eyes open but I have always done well with my dominate eye, the right, even for dynamic shooting exercises. Up until now I have been able to see the sights without glasses and have been able to use a weakend perscription for distance so that I could both focus on sights and have a reasonable view of the target.

This no longer works. I can see the sights ok without glasses but then do not have a good view of the target beyond 10 meters. I have tried to use my bifocals but they require such a strained angle to see the sights The lense for distance is useless.

I have tried to get a lense with a larger area of the reading lense, or even no perscription so that I can see the sights and have easy upper view of the distance lense for the target but so far told that was not posible.

Has anyone found a practical solution to the problem? Maybe a specialized shooting glass producer?
 
Have you tried progressive bifocals? I use them for shooting. As long as I remember to tilt my head back a bit so that the front sight is in focus, they work pretty well for me.
 
Same problem here. Went to contacts that adjusted my near-sightedness. Wished I would have switched years ago from glasses to contacts. Goodluck
 
I feel your pain.

Old eyes here too.

I just joined a range that economizes on back lighting on the range.:confused:

It gives you that 8 o'clock at night shooting experience.

I will likely be taking a powerful flashlight there and setting it up behind my shooting station,the next time I shoot.:rolleyes:
 
I also have went to progressive lense and they work fine.

I do know one shooter that went with having his bifocal lense both across the bottom and top of his glasses. That way he merely tilts his head down to see up close.
 
Old eyes here too. I am far-sighted. Went to using 1.25 diopter reading
glasses to see my front sight clear. I'm a Bullseye target shooter. This has
worked GREAT for me. I'm 65.
 
There are opticians who will grind customized lenses for target shooters, but I don't of any in Switzerland.

Also some people use a diopter on their lense, which affects the depth-of-field ( e.g. http://accurateshooter.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/diopter-devices-aid-old-eyes/ ). Or can buy specialized lenses w/ apertures mounted to them, though these are much more intrusive, and you'll look like a cyborg.

This is a common problem. I know that there have been several threads on targettalk.org that address these issues. That forum also has many members from the EU, so they may know of sources nearer your location.
 
I am an old fart also, and the eyes are going, I talked to my optomologest (sorry for the spelling) and what she had me do is bring in a toy gun and she had a special set of lens cut so that the “sweet” spot was where it needed to be for the weaver stance. Works OK, would rather trade them in for my 18 year old eyes that I lost some time ago.
 
I think special glasses for target shooting are fine. However, for SD, might be best to learn to shoot with your everyday eyeware. Or without, if you don't normally wear glasses.

Might even be some benefit to not having such a precise sight picture where one can easily jerk the trigger in what Clint Smith calls the "sights are on target, NOW! syndrome. Lot's of us ol' geezers shoot the fuzzy sights.

For target shooting, the glasses may be great.
 
Welcome to Optics 101 and this is going to cost you more than your reading glasses, lots more if you want to keep your nose in the woods.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with problems that I can't spell and barely understand. Baseline, I had to go optic or quit hunting. No options.

I started with buying cheap glass, want to buy a bunch of losers? I have them. If money is a factor, buy the best for your 'go to' firearm and fill in the rest later.

I'm still trying to figure out this 'Golden Age'. It must have passed me and my parents by.:confused:
 
I use progressives. With practice I have been able to hold my head so that the front sight is in focus. But downrange is a blur.

In the old days, the old guys (that's two olds in a row) would use a paper reinforcing ring with a small hole in the middle pasted to their glasses. It made a 'pinhole lens' - it has an infinite field of focus. But it really limits field of view so not real practical in serious social situations but good for the range.
 
I had my eyes lazik'd for motorcycle track days (no peripheral vision with glasses). Had it done in a way that I was able to get rid of my bifocals. I can read, drive and shoot without perscription glasses.

I recommend it for shooting too.

BCC
 
same problem here...................no fix with either my 9mm but put a red dot on my S&W 617 revolver and boy did that old .22 get accurate all of a sudden!:D:cool:
 
Try a search on Hansen's Eagle Eye shooting glasses.They have a website.
They start as a bifocal type of glasses,the upper part for distance.But,in the upper part of the lense of the dominant eye,they grind a little window with a shorter focal distance to sharpen the view of the sights with that eye.The other lense is normal so the other eye can see the target.They make a type for handguns and another type for scopes.
They are on my want list.
 
All great suggestions. I will continue to experiment. In the meantime please keep the suggestions comming.
 
I've spent quite a bit of time & money experimenting with this "aging eyes" issue and here's what works for me: bifocals with top lens set for distance prescription and lower lens set for "computer" distance, which is about twice that for reading and almost exactly distance for front sight. Lower lens is also significantly over-sized, about half of full lens surface, so that I don't have to strain neck and head into awkward upward position to look through lower lens in establishing sight picture. Important note that I'm sure everyone already understands: these specialized glasses are only good for bullseye shooting. For "real world" shooting, God forbid we should ever need, you would be on your own with whatever you normally wear. Moral of that is we ought to practice (at least some) at range with ouir "street" glasses. Make sense?
 
Absolutely makes sense. As for my needs, I do not carry but try to train dynamically/combat as if I did so there is no question of which glasses will be wearing at the time but of course they need to be practical even for the range.

Thanks.
 
There are some fine solutions above for solving target shooting eyesight problems, but they do not address (except for the laser surgery recommendation) home/personal defense situations. That is what I practice for weekly at my range. I am 77. Forty years ago, as a naval aviator, I had super-sharp vision (20/10). Now, without my glasses, I cannot even see the front sight, and the target just five yards away is pretty blurry too. I cannot expect to be wearing glasses when a SD/HD situation develops. My needs have been answered by Crimson Trace. I have their laser grips on my S&W 637, 686+ and 9mm Browning High Power. Don't need glasses to see that red dot dancing around on my target. I keep most of my shots within the nine ring, and that is good enough for a geezer. A real geezer, not one of you sixty-year-old whippersnappers!

Cordially, Jack
 
Crimson Trace Laser grips are the best thing I did for my 50+ eyes. They are a good learning tool for the yougsters who can see also.
 
There are a lot of us out here with similar conditions (i.e., old eyes...).

I struggled with the problem of fuzzy front sights for the longest time until I realized/accepted that I would never have a crisp front sight again (under practical conditions); I just had to keep going as best I could. And I shoot as well now as I have in years. How?

I started shooting longer barrelled guns, which improved the sight picture (not perfect, but better).

I started wearing progressive lenses, which included a focus at "computer screen" distances (not perfect, but better).

And then most importantly, I came to appreciate that trigger pull/control was a far more important component of good practical shooting than a crisp front sight. This is what finally did it for me.

I say all of that to say this...if you are interested in shooting for self-defense training or the "practical" shooting sports (e.g., IDPA, etc.), do what you can to get your front sight as clear as possible, and then quit worrying about it...spend you time working on improving trigger control.... It worked for me.

Boarhunter
 
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