Can't see sights

[Bob K]

I punched out a small disk of electrical tape with a hole punch, and then punched a tinier hole in the center of that as a peep hole. You can stick this to your safety glasses and it makes a poor-man's aperture sight. You get reduced field-of-view but gain sharpness of detail.

Lyman makes one you can buy for $25 but it's a rip-off for what you get. I actually like my electrical tape version better.

https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Products-EyePal-Master-Pack/dp/B01D1AJZ06

Thanks for the tip, going to give it a “shot”. Already thinking about a flip up/down version.

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

Im going through this exact same thing now. At 60 I need bifocals for up close reading. The rear sight on my Hawken rifle is just a black fuzz. I'm off to see an eye dock this week to see what they can do. I'm also getting ready to order a Kibler SMR and plan on having them move the rear sight forward for me once I figure out what distance is needed. I will need somone to measure a SMR from shoulder to front sight for me.

 

[ord sgt]

I know that it's not traditional but on my last build, I bought a matched set of fiber optic sights. Front sight is red and the two dot rear sight is green. I did this to make it easier for new shooters to align the sights and I can line up the sights easier now too. I have noticed it's harder to see the traditional sights on the rifles I built 40 years ago. Even with paint on the traditional sights.

 

[morehops52]

As mentioned moving rear sight forward toward muzzle may help. I struggled with sighting issues for years. My solutions have involved various forms of painting, filing and changing sights. My ultimate solution(s) were to add a peep sight in the rear and filing my front sight to a diameter that works for me. On my 54 I epoxied a small diameter fiber optic on top of the front sight. That helps in low light hunting situations but is not traditional of course. I found low light hunting to be so challenging that I adapted one of my rifles to accept a pistol scope. It works.
If you feel that current peep sights are a little too "new fangled" there is a fella on here that sells smaller hand made ones when he has enough for sale.

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

I'm trying to Shoot NMLRA so no fiberoptic or peep sights at most matches.

 

[Timber Wolf]

I bought a set of magnified safety glasses for shooting. They are rated in “diopter” and seem to do the job. They seem to work well for both pistol and rifle allowing me to see the front sight clearly. I bought these: https://www.amazon.com/Elvex-RX-500...pd_rd_i=B00KSJRHJA&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_1_i

 

[The Appalachian]

This is where shooting those unmentionable firearms will help you out. Anyone good with a handgun in a combat or competition situation will tell you front sight, front sight, front sight. Once you learn to focus on the front sight and let your rear sight and target blurr slightly, you'll exponentially increase your ability to put rounds on target.

Stay front sight focused!!

 

[Jake2454]

i use a combination of silver nail polish and eye pals

 

[SOLANCO]

There was a recent thread that talked about gold plating the front sight to help with these issues. Maybe I should call and talk with the jeweler before walking in with a long rifle............

 

[Trapper Scott]

Good morning all I have a question that maybe some old timers can resolve for me I have shot shorter barrels with no problem as aging eyes occur I just built a kibler 43" barrel having a problem seeing the rear site front site and my target it has a thin blade in the front I widened backsite any ideas to stay somewhat traditional

I started putting red model paint on my shooter's front sites and that helps some but with aging eyes, I haven't found any gadgets to completely clear up both front and rear sites the way they were before 40 years old.

 

[Trapper Scott]

I explained my sighting problem to my eye doctor and he gave me a scrip that was meant for a computer user sitting approximately 30-40 inches from the screen. The sights became clear again and the targets were just a little fuzzy. MUCH better scores!

I have a pair of those so I'll give them a shot.

 

[david w]

I have a gold dot front sight on one of my pistols. I like it.

 

[garypl]

I explained my sighting problem to my eye doctor and he gave me a scrip that was meant for a computer user sitting approximately 30-40 inches from the screen. The sights became clear again and the targets were just a little fuzzy. MUCH better scores!

I just got a new set of glasses that sound like yours - eyedoctor called them "computer glasses" that are supposed to allow good vision out to @24-30". I wanted them for pistol shooting - holding a pistol at arms length and it has made it much easier to see the front sight clearly.

Problem is that the SMR rifle barrel is too long and I can't see the front sight clearly using my "computer" glasses! Eyedoctor told me I'm 71 years old and what I want is the eyes of a 30 year old! I agreed that would be ideal!

 

[CapPopper]

I was always taught to focus on the front sight. I can see the blurry rear just well enough to be sure the front is in the notch. In fact I can't really recall paying much attention at all to the rear since your eye wants to center the blade and level it up instinctively. Peeps are great if you are having problems and then especially you should completely ignore the rear and just let your eye do what it does. Black marker on the front could definitely be useful though. Wetting the front blade and wiping a fine layer of dust or dirt on it used to be a common practice. Hollywood however screwed that up and it just appears that people are wiping spit on the blade lol

 

[Sun City]

The only item that needs to be seen clearly is the FRONT SIGHT! The human eye cannot focus on two different things at the same time. The rest sight should be somewhat out of focus as well as THE TARGET! Go see an eye Doc as they can help!

 

[Sun City]

The only item that needs to be seen clearly is the FRONT SIGHT! The human eye cannot focus on two different things at the same time. The rest sight should be somewhat out of focus as well as THE TARGET! Go see an eye Doc as they can help!

The rear sight….

 

[Snake Pleskin]

There was a recent thread that talked about gold plating the front sight to help with these issues. Maybe I should call and talk with the jeweler before walking in with a long rifle............

Go to a store Like Hobby Lobby and buy a small vial of "Gold Leaf" paint. Does the same thing.

 

[Frontstuffer3491]

Just for the sake of other options, one time I was shown a sight on a later 1800’s rifle where the top of the rear sight curled over the slotted blade. This seemed to act as a lens and brought things into better focus. Somehow it seems that Wyoming was a part of the name of the that sight. That has been now more than 30 yrs ago.

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Good morning all I have a question that maybe some old timers can resolve for me I have shot shorter barrels with no problem as aging eyes occur I just built a kibler 43" barrel having a problem seeing the rear site front site and my target it has a thin blade in the front I widened backsite any ideas to stay somewhat traditional

Fortunately my rifles have sights that are far enough forward so I can focus the whole sight picture. As I get older though I am thinking of having the rear sight moved forward. As I understand it, that's what was done in the 19th century.

 

[The Appalachian]

The rear sight….

Nevermind, I see what happened