My 1903 Remington and Old Eyes

[guicksylver]

Well ..guess we’re all getting older..for me it seems like every minute..enough of that..

So this spring I was on a roll…shooting all my guns with iron sights..turning in sub MOA and even ½ MOA groups at 100 yds…then slowly between now and then it seemed like I was increasingly having difficulties getting a good sight picture and the groups were opening up…u-u-u-g-h…REALLY..

Like I said… REALLY…in a couple of months?...could just be a “shooters block” I suppose…had those before…

But this time my eyes were getting strained….

OK so what ..besides me.. is different..well the light..it’s much brighter this time of year..D-U-H-H-H

Got to wondering what could possibly help the situation besides some anti-ageing potion …well maybe different apertures…another d-u-h-h-h

Well it’s worth a try ..right..?

So that’s what I did…I took my collection of apertures out with me this morning and just tried different combinations on the rear and front sights…got one that looked pretty good ..I still had a tiny “eclipse” on the front circle but nothing much different than years past…

My target is a cut out B-16 that I place on a piece of white paper..that’s my aim point..the point of impact is below that on another piece of paper..saves the target and I can get a “collection” of groups on the lower piece by working the sights..

I had chosen my Remington 1903 for this task..it has a shot out USMC barrel but just loves CB’s sized .312..it’s equipped with Lyman 48 rear and Lyman 17 front Globe sights…and a very nice “C” stock

Here’s some pictures of groups shot today with different apertures than a few months back..and some groups shot earlier this year and years past..

MAY BE I''ve still got it..!!!!

Keep'm flying..Dan

Today..



Past..

[Eldon]

Great shooting with "irons" !

[guicksylver]

Thanks Eldon..these are great old rifles...

A guy sold it to me 'cause ...."it wouldn't shoot anymore"

And it didn't for me until I went up to .312 from .311..and then starting shooting groups like these with just about anything I put through it...

The throat is so worn I can't even find it with a 299 that has a .304 nose and seated so only about an 1/8" is in the case......!!!!

Thank God for cast boolits!!

[ukrifleman]

I had similar problems using iron sights as I got older.

On the recommendation of a shooting buddy, I bought the EyePal shooting aid www.eyepalusa.com and now I can see both rear and front sight and the target.

ukrifleman

[Scharfschuetze]

Yep, Presbyopia is lurking around the corner for all shooters. It's a sad day when it rears its ugly head. Being an inveterate service rifle shooter and collector, being able to use the issue iron sights is important to me.

I've been fighting it for a few years now and I've taken a few steps to fight it. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Aperture front sight. Your Lyman 17A is an excellent choice, although I still use the blade front sight in mine.

2. Variable diopter rear disk for the sight. I really like the Merit disk, but I also use the high end German Gehman unit on my match rifles.
http://www.eabco.net/Merit-Peep-Sigh...s_p_13475.html

3. Visit the optometrist. Explain your shooting needs and the distance to the front sight (thankfully it's about the same for handguns and rifle) and have him add a diopter or thereabouts to your prescription. Also have the eye glasses made with shatter proof material and treated for UV rays and if sunglasses, add polarization.

4. Handguns in particular benefit from an eyeglass mounted aperture such as the Merit
https://www.meritcorporation.com/

5. Get the Miso lens and disk for your sight. It places both the front sight and the target into the same focal point.
http://ironsightoptics.com/

A recent poll here showed that over 60% of the members here are in their 60s or older and susceptible to the onset of presbyopia; but by getting proper shooting glasses or other aiming aids, we can all shoot well long after our vision starts to go.

[guicksylver]

just having to much coffee in a 3 hour period can do you in.

Ditto for adult beverages...

LOTS OF GREAT INFO HERE ..CHECKING OUT THE MISO LENSES.....THANKS GUYS

[Scharfschuetze]

I guess I'm the odd person out when it comes to coffee. During my LE career, I often worked the Midnight watch. When there was a match within a hundred miles or so, I'd go end of shift a bit early and drive to the match fueled by black coffee. At the match, I'd suck a quart size thermos dry and shoot on. I often shot in the 1480s (out of 1500) in the PPC course sustained pretty much by coffee.

It's now a habit and I drink the stuff whether I'm competing or just shooting recreationally.

The adult beverages we save for after the shoot. We have a native German who shoots skeet with us every Thursday. True to the Teutonic stereotype and form, he always has a cooler full of beer in the back of his SUV for after the shoot.

Good stuff!

[gnoahhh]

I adapted my 64 year old eyes to iron sights and pistols with the simple expedient of using 1.00x reading glasses over top of the contacts I wear to correct myopia. They sharpen the sights enough to present good definition, and the target remains relatively sharp also. (I normally wear 2.50x readers over the same contacts for reading and such.) I even wear them when hunting, perched down on the end of my nose, and pushed up with my "gun hand" thumb while shouldering the rifle. It didn't take long to get used to doing that. That trick kept me in the iron sight/aperture sight game long after I was tempted to go the scope route on all my rifles (some of which it would have been a cardinal sin to drill and tap for scope mounts).