Aiming with Prescription Glasses

[fishmusic]

This is a general topic but since I will be shooting a percussion rifle I'll ask on this forum. I currently shoot a percussion plains pistol. When I aim I find that the sights and target are out of focus with my glasses on. Even worse without them. I do have a pair of "computer glasses" where I can focus on the sights but not the target. I have done just OK with targets a 15 yards but when I finish my rifle and start to sight it in at 50 yards I think I will have problems. I can't be tho only one with old eyes so I am asking for y'alls input.

 

[Zonie]

Seeing the front sight clearly on both pistols and rifles is the first need.

Even those with perfect eyesight see a fuzzy target if they are concentrating on the front sight like they should. That's because it is impossible for the human eye to focus on two things at different distances at the same time.

Getting back to you (and me), the person with perfect eyesight often sees the fuzzy target much clearer than we do which usually ends up with them scoring a little better than us.

Anyway, if your regular glasses do not let you focus on the front sight so you can clearly see it, do as I do and go to a local drug store and look at their "Reading Glasses".

Choose the power that allows you to see the front sight clearly and distant objects best.

If you find two different powers that both allow you to see the front sight about equally well, choose the one with the lower "power" number.

As an example, lets say the +2.75 power is best at seeing the front sight but +2.50 and +3.00 both let you see the front sight almost as good.

Choose the +2.50 power. It will let the distant objects look clearer than the +3.00 power will.

After youve selected your cheap shooting glasses, the next most important thing is the rear sight (which will also be fuzzy).
Concentrate on keeping the clearly seen front sight aligned with the rear sight blade and notch.

With them lined up as well as possible, now think about the blob (bullseye). Fire when the front sight is in the center of it.

 

[jamieorr]

I have the same issue. I found that using my reading glasses sharpened up the front sight and made a definite improvement in my shooting.

I'm still a lousy shot, but it's me now, not my eyesight!

Jamie

 

[Alden]

Your eyes cannot focus on two things at the same time which is a little ironic because I have found they can focus on two thongs at the same time. In any case...

...when you are young your eyes change focus so imperceptibly fast that you can "see" the front sight and target at the same time clearly. That all ends about the time you'd stop staring at two girls in thong bikinis much anyway.

 

[jamesthomas]

I have the opposite problem, I need my glasses to see far away and while this makes the target in focus the sights are kinda out of focus. I see just fine up close without my glasses but then stuff 15, 20 yards away start to get blurry :surrender: .

 

[ohio ramrod]

My shooting went down hill as I moved from straight lenses to bifocals, into trifocals. Now for shooting I use a single long range lens and focus on the front sight.This is a big help especially when trap shooting Letting the rear sight "go blurry".For my personal use (not allowed in competition), I use a "third" fold down peep sight to act as a pin hole lens to put both sights in focus. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

I tried to search for old threads on this subject. It is important for shooters approaching the grey temple age. :shocked2:
Anyhow, there are devices which go directly on the eyeglass lens that will bring the front sight on your gun into sharp focus. A popular (and expensive) one is the Merit. I have made subsitutes from plastic that sticks by friction. Others have made their own from other materials. Since these go on the glasses they are considered legal under NMLRA rules and are not peep sights as on the rifle or pistol. http://www.meritcorporation.com/

 

[Kansas Jake]

I had cataract surgery on both eyes about 5 years ago and my eyes are pretty good, but I still could use some help with open sights. I did a bunch of internet research a while back and found a couple of good articles on aging eyes and glasses. (I know the internet can be dangerous) Anyway one of the optometrist suggested getting prescription glasses with the dominant eye corrected to a computer distance i.e. front sight distance and the other eye corrected for distance. This would be for a pair of dedicated shooting glasses. I have been meaning to try this, but haven't had glasses made yet. My eye surgery corrected my dominant eye for distance and my weak eye more fore reading. At times it makes shooting frustrating because my eyes want to shift because I can see the front sight clearly with my weak eye which in my case is the left eye.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Jake, there is a term for that. Using one eye for near, the other for distance.
My former (now retired) opthamologist, and a good friend and avid shooter, told me in his experience a low percentage of his patients had success with that choice. It did work for some but the larger majority couldn't handle it. Yer choice but glasses are expensive to be experimenting with.

 

[Sandan027]

I had the eye doc set me up with a multi focal soft contact for my shooting (dominant) eye. I brought my rifle and pistol into the office and tried a few different strengths. I picked the one that gave me the clearest front sight still allowing my other eye to "see" the blurry target. Got some interesting looks from the other patients when I walked in with my rifle and pistol case. Obviously the doc was cool with it.

 

[don hepler]

I was a machinist by trade, but worked for Johnson & Johnson, who developed the Difinity progressive lens. I was on the R&D team during the time of development. However Essilor eventually bought the Difinity line from J&J. They are without question, some of the best lenses, ever made. Prior to working for them, I wore flat top bifocals, and had all but quit shooting pistols. After wearing the progressive lenses, I found out that I can now shoot better than when I was young. They are pricey, but worth it. I actually had a pair of progressive safety glasses, but have no idea who made the lenses, and they were pretty good. I would imagine with todays technology, most quality progressives would be pretty good.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Jake, there is a term for that. Using one eye for near, the other for distance.
My former (now retired) opthamologist, and a good friend and avid shooter, told me in his experience a low percentage of his patients had success with that choice. It did work for some but the larger majority couldn't handle it. Yer choice but glasses are expensive to be experimenting with.

The term for that is monofocal. I have been using my monofocal contact lenses. I had my ophthalmologist use my right eye for near and the left for far. I found that my older contact lenses work fine for keeping the focus on the front sight. Especially good for my fowler as I shoot with both eyes open. My fight is in focus on the sight bead and my left eye is in focus on the target and it works just fine.

When older folks get their eyes surgically corrected, the doctor will make the adjustment for a monofocal vision. Bear in mind that sooner or later old eyes or presbyopia will catch up with us and we all will be wearing reading glasses.

 

[fishmusic]

Zonie does it again. He brings rational thinking from his vast experience. Again I am in your debt. my "computer glasses" will do the job.

 

[fishmusic]

I have had trifocal progressive lenses before. I suffer from occasional vertigo and all they did was make me dizzy. Glad they worked for you (actually I am kinda jealous).

 

[smoothshooter]

I have astigmatism and some far-sightedness.
Started using progressive bifocals about 15 years ago and am very pleased with the results. The thing with progressive lenses is that when trying to get the best sight picture you can " tweak " the focus, so to speak, by making minor movements of your head, usually up or down, until you get it just right. With straight line bifocals, it's either all of one, or all of the other. No in between.
Something else I have learned the hard way, is to have the center of the transitional area of the lenses two thirds or a little more of the way up from the bottom with the distance part of the prescription only occupying a narrow band at the top. This keeps you from having to tilt your head to far back to see the sights when pistol shooting.

 

[Vaino]

At the age of 35 I needed bi-focal lenses because of my job and never thought about any complications when shooting....just shot like I always did. A couple of years later went to lined tri-focals and again didn't experience any difference in shooting.

Tried progressive tri-focal lenses and for me they were lousy...too much periphial distortion.

Perhaps I was just lucky in that the glasses made no difference in my shooting....Fred

 

[Kansas Jake]

Yes, monofocal or monovision is the term for lenses that are corrected for different distance. Some folks adjust to it easily and others have a difficult time with it.

Regarding the expense of eyeglasses, in many areas you can go to a low cost place and get a pair of single vision glasses for around $40. That would not be a great expense if it worked and in most cases not break a person if it didn't. Your optometrist should provide you with a prescription to take to any glasses provider.

The last time I had my eyes checked about 4 months ago, I should have had them checked for a "computer" range script for my dominant eye and a distance correction for the weak eye. I wasn't aware of the possibility for doing that at the time and only found the information after the fact. I just shared here because it may be an option for some. My doc. didn't seem to have an interest or experience in providing special glasses to shooting. If I had a pair that worked for me, they would only be for when at the range or for hunting as I see fine for most things except extended reading or when the light is low. It is an age thing.

 

[Alden]

Kansas;
Can you expand on that "computer" range script and shooting please!?

 

[varsity07840]

I tried to search for old threads on this subject. It is important for shooters approaching the grey temple age. :shocked2:
Anyhow, there are devices which go directly on the eyeglass lens that will bring the front sight on your gun into sharp focus. A popular (and expensive) one is the Merit. I have made subsitutes from plastic that sticks by friction. Others have made their own from other materials. Since these go on the glasses they are considered legal under NMLRA rules and are not peep sights as on the rifle or pistol. http://www.meritcorporation.com/[/quote]

My merit set up.

Duane

 

[Kansas Jake]

I'm no expert and not an eye doc, but usual reading glasses or bifocals probably provide the clearest picture at about15-20 inches from the eye. Computer distance glasses are set up longer and is probably more like 24-36 inches from the eye. On the computer I am typing on right now the screen is about 36 inches from my eye. That would be very close to the distance of the front sight on a pistol when aiming and also in the ball park for some long guns. If you shoot a 44" barrel long rifle or fowler most of the time I would ask my eye doctor to regulate the lense for that distance. Again, I have no training in this area and am only relaying information that might help those of us with old eyes. I will probably have a set of shooting glasses made using these concepts. If it doesn't work I might be out $50-$100.

I use reading glasses at times and have found that a +100 helps the front sight picture for my dominate eye, but they over correct my weak eye, so it is very blurry at distance. I normally shoot with both eyes open.