This must be a common problem. As I've gotten older, my near vision has gradually gone to hell, to the point that at an indoor range with low lighting, I can barely focus my eyes on the sights. If I try hard, I can do it for a little while and am accurate, but then my eyes get tired and my accuracy drops because the sights become little blurs and I have to guess where I'm aimed. This is less of a problem outdoors in bright sunlight. Short of a scope or laser, what do other folks do to help with this problem? Reading glasses would bring the sights back into focus, but then the target would become blurry - maybe that's still an improvement, I haven't tried. Bright headlamp? Fancy glasses with mirrors and diopters?
Old eyes and handguns
- Thread starter JeffK
- Start date
Sounds like you need glasses.
I used to have the same problem, where the reading glasses put the sights in focus but not the target.
So I went and got bi focal glasses, and now the sights, and target are both in focus, using the upper part of the glasses.
Just comes with old age I guess.
I used to have the same problem, where the reading glasses put the sights in focus but not the target.
So I went and got bi focal glasses, and now the sights, and target are both in focus, using the upper part of the glasses.
Just comes with old age I guess.
Have gun-will travel
New member
My eyes started fading about 6 or 7 years ago .I noticed that I could not focus on the front sight .So I asked my eye doctor who was also a shooter. He told me to just get a pair of 1 power reading glasses and it should help. It did the job for me. Back shooting like I use to.
Reading glasses will help but not as much as a good prescription set of glasses. I talked to my eye doctor and ended up bringing a pistol to my appointment and we used that to get the best point of focus, but just for my right eye (I shoot left eye closed). The left eye is set to help my distance vision so I can see what I hit. Best of both worlds. The lenses are safety glass and the frames are fairly large (think Tom Cruise in Top Gun) to give maximum protection. Not cheap but a really good investment for shooting enjoyment. Hopefully your vision won't change radically so they should last a long time but I guess if it does you could just have the one lens replaced.
Thanks for the tips, sounds like at least different reading glasses would help, with custom glasses being an interesting idea. My reading glasses are too powerful for shooting, but something weaker might let me focus on the sights without blurring out my distance vision entirely. Sucks that my eyes don't work like they used to, but comes with age I guess, for just above everybody eventually.
Cousin Pat
New member
old eyes
Decot (http://www.decot.com/) makes sporting glasses based on your prescription that you get from an eye doctor or local eyeglass maker. Most people have prescriptions for reading and (if needed, as many will eventually) for distance. For handguns, you need an "intermediate" prescription (out about as far as your thumb when the arm is fully extended) so that the front site is crystal-clear. Decot make me (right-handed and right-eye dominate) the following: A left-eye lens for long distance with a reading dot and a right-eye lens for intermediate distance with a reading dot. You would think this would scramble your brain, but I wear them for hours during cowboy action shooting matches where that right-eye lens makes the front sight very clear. (I also shoot skeet/trap -- then, because hard focus is needed on target, not gun -- I change out the right-eye lens for a distance lens).
Decot (http://www.decot.com/) makes sporting glasses based on your prescription that you get from an eye doctor or local eyeglass maker. Most people have prescriptions for reading and (if needed, as many will eventually) for distance. For handguns, you need an "intermediate" prescription (out about as far as your thumb when the arm is fully extended) so that the front site is crystal-clear. Decot make me (right-handed and right-eye dominate) the following: A left-eye lens for long distance with a reading dot and a right-eye lens for intermediate distance with a reading dot. You would think this would scramble your brain, but I wear them for hours during cowboy action shooting matches where that right-eye lens makes the front sight very clear. (I also shoot skeet/trap -- then, because hard focus is needed on target, not gun -- I change out the right-eye lens for a distance lens).
I did exactly the same thing ..as cousin pat....
DeCot .../ special lens, in light gold, for indoor shooting - for my right eye at focul length for my front sight ....left lens for distance....and bifocal elipse cut into the bottom of the lens...so I can see marks on my guns...
I carry 3 other colors for outside ( both long distance) ...on skeet, trap and sporting clays...
DeCot .../ special lens, in light gold, for indoor shooting - for my right eye at focul length for my front sight ....left lens for distance....and bifocal elipse cut into the bottom of the lens...so I can see marks on my guns...
I carry 3 other colors for outside ( both long distance) ...on skeet, trap and sporting clays...
Billy the Kidder
New member
I finally went to a doctor who shot and understood the dynamics of the whole thing. He set me up great. It's more complicated than what I can post here, but more or less he built me a bifocal that has a VERY weak reading prescription, so I can see the sights without the target getting ridiculously blurry.
SauerGrapes
New member
Getting old sucks! 
smokehouse4444
New member
Years ago, I had Lasix surgery. The eye doctor said that regardless of what he did, I would be getting presbiopia, that is, having to use reading glasses for near objects. I could have Lasix and in the future have to buy reading glasses, or I could not have the procedure and have to wear prescription glasses the rest of my life. I opted for the former. I don't have to drive or do any normal macro activities with glasses, but for reading, and intricate micro work I need reading glasses. While assisting during surgeries, I wear reading glasses under my large, dorky, radiation leaded glasses.
It is partially the same when I am shooting. When I am really aiming at something, I wear very small, thin reading glasses underneath my shooting lenses. However, a large part of my time at the range is spent double tapping and doing the Mozambique drill from 3-7 yards. I'm not really aiming, I'm point shooting with just the angle of the top of the slide or barrel as some sort of clue. Pointing and shooting...as I would in darkened, bad situations.
It is partially the same when I am shooting. When I am really aiming at something, I wear very small, thin reading glasses underneath my shooting lenses. However, a large part of my time at the range is spent double tapping and doing the Mozambique drill from 3-7 yards. I'm not really aiming, I'm point shooting with just the angle of the top of the slide or barrel as some sort of clue. Pointing and shooting...as I would in darkened, bad situations.
Presbyopia
JeffK: Right there with you.
The quick fix is to go to readers.com and get some shaded reading glasses (for outdoor)
The trick is to find the compromise strength. They have to be strong enough to bring the front sight into focus, but not so blurry at a distance that you can't see your target. Unfortunately, having the best of both worlds is no longer possible - there's no substitute for young eyes.
The long term solution (or as close to it as possible), is to consult with your ophthalmologist. I did. She said that she gets a lot of shooters looking for help. She gave me a prescription where my dominant eye is a 1.00; my recessive eye is 0.75; and there's a little prism built into them to enhance depth perception, and to allow the eyes to relax a little while targeting. I then got the prescription put into a nice pair of sunglasses for bright sun shooting. They work great.
Next year (insurance = one pair a year), I am going to have her add in a little more strength. I would like a slightly sharper front sight image, and will be okay with a slightly blurrier target in the background.
JeffK: Right there with you.
The quick fix is to go to readers.com and get some shaded reading glasses (for outdoor)
The trick is to find the compromise strength. They have to be strong enough to bring the front sight into focus, but not so blurry at a distance that you can't see your target. Unfortunately, having the best of both worlds is no longer possible - there's no substitute for young eyes.
The long term solution (or as close to it as possible), is to consult with your ophthalmologist. I did. She said that she gets a lot of shooters looking for help. She gave me a prescription where my dominant eye is a 1.00; my recessive eye is 0.75; and there's a little prism built into them to enhance depth perception, and to allow the eyes to relax a little while targeting. I then got the prescription put into a nice pair of sunglasses for bright sun shooting. They work great.
Next year (insurance = one pair a year), I am going to have her add in a little more strength. I would like a slightly sharper front sight image, and will be okay with a slightly blurrier target in the background.
Been there. Done that. The problem with progressives is that the magnification is on the bottom part of the lens. We shooters tend to look more through the top part of our glasses while shooting. In order to use the magnification, you have to rear your head back in an odd and unnatural way. If shooting a high recoil gun, this can cause neck discomfort - been there, done that too.
I suppose they could be made in an inverted configuration. ??
The Decot option is interesting, I'll keep the link. I've heard of people using different prescriptions in different eyes, with different patches of higher power for reading, sounds confusing to the brain but I guess you get used to it. I wear contacts now, for severe nearsightedness, and without them I still can't see gunsights because they're too far away - maybe next time I see the doc, I'll ask what my options are under insurance. Shatterproof prescription glasses that aren't quite powerful enough, at leaast in my right sighting eye, to bring infinity into focus but powerful enough that I can still focus on the sights. But to start with, I'll go to Walmart and pick up some weaker reading glasses. 
g.willikers
New member
As old age crept up, I gave up on glasses.
Too many shortcomings.
So I tried the reverse of what folks suggest.
Instead of letting the targets blur and focusing on the sights, I did it the other way around.
With still decent far vision, focusing on the targets and letting the sights blur worked better.
With good technique, as soon as the gun comes up on the target, the sights will be very close to where they need to be.
And the slight adjustment that might be needed can easily be accomplished even with blurry sights.
Of course this won't work as well for things like long range bullseye or something similar, but for defensive practice and the action games, it does.
What the hey, give it a try - what's to lose?
Too many shortcomings.
So I tried the reverse of what folks suggest.
Instead of letting the targets blur and focusing on the sights, I did it the other way around.
With still decent far vision, focusing on the targets and letting the sights blur worked better.
With good technique, as soon as the gun comes up on the target, the sights will be very close to where they need to be.
And the slight adjustment that might be needed can easily be accomplished even with blurry sights.
Of course this won't work as well for things like long range bullseye or something similar, but for defensive practice and the action games, it does.
What the hey, give it a try - what's to lose?
Deaf Smith
New member
I've always shot short barreled handguns better than long ones.
So as my eyes age I find more favor with Glocks like the 26 and S&W 66s like the 2 1/2 Combat Magnum & 2 inch J snubs as well as and Ruger 3 inch GP-100s.
So luckily I haven't lost anything!
Deaf