Cataract Surgury and Shooting

[PathfinderNC]

Exciting news for me- I will be having my first (of two) cataract surgeries later this week, with the second scheduled a couple weeks afterwards.
I am assuming my long gun shooting will be put on hold for a while, but that by mid to late October I can start again. I will be asking the surgeon of course.
I will need to ask him if pistol shooting can be an option in the nearer future? That might be an option I can certainly live with
Looking forward to clear vision, nonetheless

 

[wiscoaster]

That's somewhere in my not too distant future, so I'm watching your thread, hoping you'll post your experiences with how your surgeries affect your shooting. Thanks ...

 

[Kmcmichael]

I am guessing they set your vision for distance and you get specific readers for rifle and different for pistol? With a long enough barrel correction might not be needed for rifle. I would think+ 1.00 for pistol. Just a guess.

 

[GregK]

I've only had one eye done. I have a pistol shooting pair of glasses with the focal length set to see the front sight clearly.

 

[PathfinderNC]

I am guessing they set your vision for distance and you get specific readers for rifle and different for pistol? With a long enough barrel correction might not be needed for rifle. I would think+ 1.00 for pistol. Just a guess.

I’m getting the monofocal lenses. I think I may still need reader glasses but that’s fine. I don’t know what will be needed for shooting, if anything.

 

[Rustycorvair]

Exciting news for me- I will be having my first (of two) cataract surgeries later this week, with the second scheduled a couple weeks afterwards.
I am assuming my long gun shooting will be put on hold for a while, but that by mid to late October I can start again. I will be asking the surgeon of course.
I will need to ask him if pistol shooting can be an option in the nearer future? That might be an option I can certainly live with
Looking forward to clear vision, nonetheless

Best of luck to you for a successful outcome.

 

[64Springer]

Best of luck with your operation and recovery.

As amazing as the human body is, we have a damned unreliable vision system.

And I second the Readers. They've helped me tremendously over the years.

 

[skwerleater]

Good luck Brother, I hope it’s a total success. Eyesight is so precious!! Changing eyesight is very discouraging.
Stay well and let us know how you do.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Hope everything works out so you can shoot and see close up when working on those nice horns you make. An OptiVisor or Opticaid clip on really helps me with detail work but that front sight is almost impossible for me to see these days. Keep us posted on how things go.

 

[nchawkeye]

Best surgery I ever had! Wore glasses or hard contacts over 50 years, had this done about 10 years ago...All I did to adjust was widen the gap in the rear sight, to better see the front one...Hopefully your surgery will be as successful as mine...I do use readers 1.25 for reading, went with 2.50 for finer work, like carving..

 

[Jim K]

I had mine done 4 years ago. My eyes went from 20/100,000 lol to 20/25. I don’t wear glasses except to squirrel hunt and shoot. I can see my sights better without glasses but can see the squirrels and target better with glasses soooo, I have correction in my left lens and none in the right. Works real well.
I have readers stashed every where though.
To not wear glasses for most things after being virtually blind is quite a blessing. I wish the same success for you!

 

[The Miner '49er]

PathfinderNC, if your procedure is artificial lens implants, following laser removal of cataracts, you will be amazed at your vision improvement. Nothing short of incredible. No post op pain at all, and no prohibition on shooting very soon after (never forget to wear shooting glasses!). Of course common sense says not to shoot the big boomers for a while. Good luck!

 

[Eric Krewson]

My eyes kept changing as they healed, perfect vision in one, about 20/ 30 in the other, they swapped with the 20/30 getting perfect and the perfect one becoming 20/30. I bought glasses to do the final correction of the less than perfect eye and keep me from needing reading glasses which are pain.

After my eyes settled out, I found I couldn't see sights with my glasses on. I assumed this was my fate but, on a whim, I pulled my glasses off the other day and sighted down the barrel of my flintlock, I could see the rear sight fairly well without glasses, what a relief.

Here is a representation of what I saw before cataract surgery and after.

Before;

After;

 

[RMH]

I had the monofocal cataract surgery in both eyes. The difference is amazing. When you get the first eye done you can compare the difference. It was like someone lifted a dirty yellow window shade. That said, it isn't perfect. It did nothing for my astigmatism in my master eye. I had difficulty with the narrow Kibler SMR front sight. The heavier (wider) Colonial sight is much better.

For me Handgun sights and reading most size print require no glasses at all. In good light a newspaper is a breeze. I can handle open sights on most rifles, but to be honest my SMR is getting a peep.

 

[Piquant]

Good luck to you and a speedy recovery.

 

[user 31232]

Exciting news for me- I will be having my first (of two) cataract surgeries later this week, with the second scheduled a couple weeks afterwards.
I am assuming my long gun shooting will be put on hold for a while, but that by mid to late October I can start again. I will be asking the surgeon of course.
I will need to ask him if pistol shooting can be an option in the nearer future? That might be an option I can certainly live with
Looking forward to clear vision, nonetheless

You're going to love the results! Been there done that

 

[ETipp]

Best of luck to you on your surgery. I hope it helps a lot.

I have had cataract issues for several years. Its taking its time coming on but not bad enough for insurance to cover the surgery. It is restricting my vision big time, especially night time driving. Yet insurance will not cover it until it gets worse.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I've had both eyes done. The procedure is a miracle of modern medicine. Downside for shooters is the eye can no longer focus for short or long distances, it is fixed. Open sights become problematic. That is why many clubs now allow the use of peepers. As the ml population ages we would force people out of the game if only open sights were allowed. I understand the argument about 'traditional' for most style guns. But, I'm sure back in the day(s) many old timers had to go with smoothies and shot when accurate sighting became a problem.

 

[reddogge]

I just had my second eye (good eye) done last Thursday. I had the Toric lens which corrects for astigmatism but was recommended as the best bet for distance vision by the surgeon. I'll still need reading and computer glasses but grabbed the rifle today and thankfully I can see the sights perfectly along with the target. No need for special shooting prescriptions on the shooting glasses. BTW, I had the left eye done manually due to the amblyopia in it but had the laser procedure on the right eye. Both went very smoothly but the left eye took a couple of days for the scratchiness to go away and the right eye went away by the next morning. My distance vision is outstanding, better than it's ever been and the colors are amazing.

 

[R Ellis]

I have both eyes done and only need glasses for reading I can now see my gun sights with no problem My doctor sort of looked at me funny when he ask what lens I wanted and I said the ones to allow me to see the sights on my guns and he said you will be ok