..There is a First Step..
Hi JeffK, you said:
"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? "
There have been some interesting replies; However, the very first thing you
should do is have your eyes examined by an Ophthalmologist. This exam may reveal
other issues related to your vision besides the loss of flexibility. You may have
astigmatic issues that impair best focusing. If you primarily shoot paper bullseye
targets at your range; then focusing on the front sight blade is what 99% of all
Bullseye competitors do while aligning the front and rear sights. There is no exception
to this mandate. NRA match shooters lift and then hold the pistol in their Aiming Area,
waiting for the commence fire command. The black bull is ALWAYS a dark gray
fuzzy or blurred blob.
So, what you must do, is tell the Ophthalmologist that you want to have a prescription
for the distance from your eye to the front sight blade when in your shooting stance.
This being while holding the pistol with your outstretched hand, or both hands;
it depends on how you shoot. I have done this; having the optician tech cut
lenses for some older discarded glasses frames. Obviously you only need one
lens for your dominant eye. I've also had a lens cut for my Vargas shooting
frames for 10M air pistol and 50M(Free Pistol). There is a negative aspect to
using something as an iris to sharpen up your sights, it also sharpens the target
which has a very bad distractive affect on precise bullseye shooting.
Of course, if you plink more than you shoot paper bull targets, then AFTER you
get a prescription for a corrective lens for your dominant eye; the diopter is a
fun thing to use. There is a commercial adjustable diopter available from the Merit Co.
It sticks onto the glass lens with a suction cup and rotates into and away from
your line of vision. I wish you good luck and successful shooting.
Tony(72 years old and still shooting Bullseye)