seeking advice - sight picture for older eyes!

G

gggnva

Inactive
OK so maybe this is a lame question but I'm guessing there are others out there like me who are encountering this problem.

I am 53 and of course going through that stage where my eyesight is changing to the point where I need to correct for distance so I wear glasses or contacts.

Problem is this messes up my near vision and am finding it difficult to get a clean sight picture.

Add to this the fact that all my weapons have standard black blades or faded paint dots.

So I am considering changing out sights for illuminated - tritium sights to see if that helps at all.

But I thought before I go through the trouble and expense of doing so I would fish for suggestions from fellow shooters.

Thanks

Gregg
 
I found a combination of vision correction for the distance to the front sight & using fiber-optic "light up" sights worked for me.
It doesn't need to be over-complicated. Just the closest strength reading glasses from the supermarket do double duty as safety eye-wear & correction for tired old eyes.
 
your entire sight picture should be somewhat unclear. the focus should be on your front sight which will make your rear sight slightly out of focus.
 
How about this:
DSCF9009c_zps1de4cebe.jpg

In reality the "dots" are much brighter, drawing your vision in.
 
Fiber optics help a lot,But I tend to run with ameriglo sight with large bright front plain black rears with a wide rear notch so I have a lot of light around the sight.Makes for fast pick up a plenty accurate for the intended purpose.
 
In those sights, how do glock low set and glock high set sights differ?
Click to expand...
It's my understanding the "low" sights are for 9mm/40/357 Sig, and the "high" sights are for 10mm and 45's

There's a PDF chart on the Truglo site that may explain it, but I can't get it to open
 
Hi ggnva. I am the same age as you and am in the same situation as you. I have Presbyopia and need to wear bifocals. But I rather use contacts so what my doctor suggested was to use monovision contacts. I wear a reading vision contact in my dominant eye and a distance contact in my other eye. The front and rear sight of my handgun is clear and my my target vision is clear. Some people can't get used to monovision contacts so you might check with your eye doctor. Good luck.

BTW I do use Warren Tactical straight eight two dot sights on my handguns. I like them a lot.
 
My vision, especially night vision, is much worse than it used to be. As was said, night sights will only help in very low light conditions. I find that even in the dark I can't acquire a sight picture with night sights as easily as I would like.

I think the best solution depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want maximum accuracy for target shooting during the daytime I would probably just apply some dayglo paint to your front sight blade. I haven't done this but others report good results and it would seem you have nothing to lose.

For defensive shooting, not everyone adheres to the "focus on the front sight" axiom. One who does not is Grant Cunningham who has discussed sight picture in several of his books, including the Gun Digest's "Revolver and Pistol Sights for Concealed Carry". He talks about adapting to his worsening vision by focusing on the target instead of the front sight and found this to be sufficiently accurate for defensive shooting purposes. He maintains that if someone is attacking you your eyes will naturally focus on the threat, not your sights, and to try to train them to do otherwise is counterproductive, and might be impossible in an extreme situation. You can preview a few pages of that book here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=fc...page&q=Grant Cunningham sight picture&f=false

For defensive purposes in low light conditions I would consider a laser, or light/laser combo if your gun permits it. I find I can acquire a target in dim conditions much more quickly with a laser than I can with night sights, and the laser can be brought on target while keeping the pistol mostly out of the way of your eyes visualizing the threat.

Red lasers don't work all that well in daylight unless the distance is short. Green lasers are better but are more costly.
 
66 yoa and wear progressive lenses.

I still find that a square rear notch and partridge front works best for me in daylight…especially for target work.

Carry is still part of my "job description" and low light/tactical is more "target focus"….. what we use to call "instinctive" but never was instinctive at all. Really amounted to a lot of training/practice at... consistent grip/ target focus / consistent trigger work.

Mike
 
Aging eyes...

An optician can provide glasses with a focal point set at the length of your dominant hand which may help.

I ended up putting red dot opticals on all my target handguns and that made a world of difference
 
Welcome.
I have similar problems, a few that work for me on different weapons:
1) stick on ultra-bright glow dots help day or night
2) +1 on fiber optic sights, excellent in daylight
3) laser, lots of choices, you have to try the different variants

All have disadvantages/advantages, *you* need to just try them.

Good luck.
 
For the range, the method described above by mauiglide works well.
Otherwise, the method described above by michaelcj.
Works for me.
 
I'm in the same boat as you, try progressive lenses in your glasses. Bottom part of lense is for close, top part is for distance
 
For the range I simply put on a pair of reading glasses to put the front sight in focus.

$5 at your nearest drug store.
 
An optician can provide glasses with a focal point set at the length of your dominant hand which may help.
Click to expand...

That was my solution. These glasses are my "computer glasses" and I am frequently looking at the screen at arms length. They work of shooting and focusing on the front sight and blurring the target picture.

If you wear progressive lenses or bifocals, I would simply get a single pair of glasses for the special use and then carry your regular glasses with you while shooting.
 
Hi. Illuminated-tritium sights won't help you see them better. Just be a brighter fuzziness.
Talk to your optometrist/optician. They get this kind of question regularly. Even up here. Asked about prescription shooting glasses when I got specs. Near-sighted too. Didn't phase 'em a bit. They told me all lenses are impact resistant.
 
Finding an "eye doctor" or optometrist who is also a a shooter might be a source of good information.
 
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