optical device for eye glasses

[27judge]

Has anyone had any experience with the Merit optical device that you attach to your eyeglasses for clearing up the sight picture. tks
ken

[462]

I've been using Lyman's Hawkeye device for a year, or so, and the front sight and target are much more clear and sharp.

[Norbrat]

Yes, I've been using one for 20 years.

Without it I couldn't possibly use open sights when shooting handguns, especially IHMSA silhouettes.

[Bzcraig]

Interesting, I had no idea such a thing existed! My shooting is going to improve.......or maybe not.

[JeffinNZ]

I have been using something similar recently. Amazing device but it can be hard on the eyes when not sighting. Vision tends to cross etc. Maybe that's just me.

[Bzcraig]

I have been using something similar recently. Amazing device but it can be hard on the eyes when not sighting. Vision tends to cross etc. Maybe that's just me.

Maybe just cause you are south of level? :mrgreen:

[Ramar]

I black tape out my shooting glasses and have a hole for sighting through. It removes the fuzzy around the front sight and really helps down range. . My non shooting eye gets scotch tape to let light in but no sight picture, both eyes remain open with no eye strain. I've got safety glasses set up for hand gun and another for rifle.
Ramar

[NSB]

I used one for years when shooting silhouette. I give credit to this device for allowing me to set a shooting record at the Region 1 championship in the early 90's. The shoot off chickens at 100 yds were rifle chickens instead of pistol chickens to make it more "challenging" (read impossible). I shot and missed the first one by the slimmest of margins. My sights couldn't be adjusted enough to compensate due to the small target and the amount of adjustment in each sight click. I knew from experience that the Merit would change POI minutely if adjusted a very small amount. I "tweaked" the Merit and proceeded to run the remaining nine chickens....with a Browning Buckmark and open sights! Great optical device and a great handgun. You will definately shoot better with it. I had 20/15 vision back then and it helped. As my vision changed with age, it helped even more. I'd say, get one!

[km101]

+1 on the Lyman Hawkeye! I have been using it for about 6 months now. Works great.

[375RUGER]

My lens' have hardened and don't focus/refocus like they use to. The Lyman or any other aperture really clears up the rear sight so I can now concentrate on the front sight and target the way I'm supposed to.
I recommend you try with black tape and a pinhole to see if it helps you, it's free to try unless you have to go out and buy tape.

[MtGun44]

I started with the Hawkeye about 4-5 yrs ago, and had folks at the range ask about
it and when they tried it, they were always "Wow, how do I get one of these!" I eventually
started buying them 10 at a time and keeping a couple extra in my range box. I have
sold about 20 of them without trying.

Merit is adjustable and expensive, Hawkeye is cheap plastic, not adjustable but works well.

Anybody over 40 that hasn't tried one, should.

Bill

[shooter2]

Has anyone had any experience with the Merit optical device that you attach to your eyeglasses for clearing up the sight picture. tks
ken

I've used one for years and highly recommend it. I use it only for testing of loads for pistols. It is easy. Just stick it on and turn it until the sights "pop" in sharp. Works for me.

[27judge]

Hey Guys many tks for the input. IT was so positive I ordered the Merit from Brownells yesterday KEN

[fishhawk]

So how does this work on rifles with open sights just as good?

[RobsTV]

Hey Guys many tks for the input. IT was so positive I ordered the Merit from Brownells yesterday KEN

And with Brownells great C&R discount, prices drops to $43.77 from $66.99. Nearly pays for the 3 year C&R with just this one deal.

[C.F.Plinker]

So how does this work on rifles with open sights just as good?

Yep. I use a peice of thin sheet metal (0.OO5 brass or aluminum) with a 5/64 hole drilled in it as my home made Merit Device. I have safety glasses that are whole lens readers and use the strength that allows me to focus on the front sight. The aperture gives me the additional depth of field that I need for targets out to 100 yards.

If you use the Merit tie it to your glasses frames with a piece of fishing line so that when the suction cup lets go the Merit stays with you instead of bouncing around in front of the firing line.

[MrWolf]

I had never heard of this until this post. From reviews I read, do you need to be a two eyed shooter for this to work? I shoot one eyed for everything, trap, pistol, and rifle. I do wear reading cheaters so anyone who uses the Merit in the same boat with me? If so, what are your thoughts? Thanks - Ron

[JWFilips]

I know this is a bit off the topic of Aperture eye lens devices but I had noticed that when I shoot pistols from a defensive stance (head down & a bit crouched) or if I shoot off a pistol rest, My regular glasses with transition bi-focals are no use because I'm using the top of my eyeglasses to look down the sights & they are for far vision!
Then I thought, if I could get a pair of glasses made with my bifocal prescription reversed to be in the upper part of the lens I would be golden! When I tilt my head down the close up parts of the lens would let me see the sights. Well If it could be done I just don't have the funds for a second pair of "Reversed glasses" so I went the cheap route and got a pair of reading glasses that are small horizontal shaped. I slide these on top of my normal eyeglasses which gives me the close up vision I need for "head down " sighting on a pistol. Yeah, they look stupid ..."Hey that guys is wearing 2 pairs of glasses! Ha Ha!" Well I don't really care anymore because they work great! Sharp front sight from the top of the glasses....... Clear far distance from the middle of my glasses....... and the plus is, my bifocals still let me see when loading the pistol!

[NSB]

Merit is adjustable and expensive

Not really. About the price of two bricks of 22lr. I've had mine for over twenty-five years now. I wouldn't call that expensive. I think right now they are around forty-eight bucks or so.

[MtGun44]

The concept is that a pinhole excludes light rays that are not accidentally and naturally
oriented to be in focus for your eye. It does something that NO other kind of optical
device can do, not your original, young lens in the eye or any kind of scope or lens
or glasses - it makes EVERYTHING in focus from zero distance to infinity. The cost is
the exclusion of a LOT of light, so the image is dimmer and has a limited field of view.
This means that it is hard to use on overcast days or late in the evening, and also
may not work well for moving targets. It is pretty much a trick device for target
shooting, but can work for hunting, too - although in dim light it can be a problem.

Rifles with aperture or peep sights are using this same effect, which is why they are
so much more accurate, in general, than notch type of iron sights.

Bill

[BruceB]

Yes, the adjustable apertures can perform near-miracles for aging eyes.

In our Bullseye competition days, my wife and I both used the Merit adjustable apertures with suction cups to attach it to our glasses. They worked perfectly.

One somewhat-smaller side effect was that with the aperture positioned on the lens of the shooting glasses, one HAD to maintain a consistent head position in order to align everything correctly..... and this greatly aided the consistency of stance and hold.

Several of my aperture-sighted rifles have iris-type apertures in their rear sights, and they too sharpen things a lot. For hunting, though, I crank the apertures as wide as they'll go in case of a quick shot.... just like keeping a variable scope set on its lowest power. If the shot has to be taken at longer range, there's usually time to play with the iris (or the power ring on a scope).

[NSB]

The concept is that a pinhole excludes light rays that are not accidentally and naturally
oriented to be in focus for your eye. It does something that NO other kind of optical
device can do, not your original, young lens in the eye or any kind of scope or lens
or glasses - it makes EVERYTHING in focus from zero distance to infinity. The cost is
the exclusion of a LOT of light, so the image is dimmer and has a limited field of view.
This means that it is hard to use on overcast days or late in the evening, and also
may not work well for moving targets. It is pretty much a trick device for target
shooting, but can work for hunting, too - although in dim light it can be a problem.

Rifles with aperture or peep sights are using this same effect, which is why they are
so much more accurate, in general, than notch type of iron sights.

Bill

Merit makes aperatures that "stick" on your glasses (suction cup) and they make adjustable aperatures that fit into a number of receiver sights, tang sights, soule sights, etc. They work well for any discipline since they can be opened very wide to almost completely closed. The eyeglass aperatures would be nearly useless for hunting as stated but are great for target shooting which is what they were designed for.

[DIRT Farmer]

I use the Hawkeye device and it works well for 64 year old eyes with early cateracts, but when I started shooting the Gibbs muzzleloading rifle with a hadly cup that has several sized holes in it I found the sights can pop with different sized holes in differing conditions. I may need to try the Merit device.