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Thread: old eyes and iron sights

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    old eyes and iron sights

    im 53 and wear glasses .im far sighted but here recently i cant see my pistol sights clearly.they just fuzz out at arms length.Same thing when shooting a venier sight in my 45/70.i can see those pretty decent but the bullseye disappears at 100 . What can help.....my glasses are only 6 months old.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

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    Might want to get your eyes checked again if it is a recent development.

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  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Progressive lens (no line bifocals) work very well for me.

    Winelover

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    barnabus,
    There a couple of things I would suggest... the first, talk to your eye dr and tell him what's giving you problems... if like mine, he will be very understanding and will allow you to bring in(discretely) your sporting arm to see if he can adjust your prescription for a clearer view... my dr actually said he has had patients even bring in pool cues in... I did it for my bow and it helped... the other is quicker, cheaper, but may not work for everyone...google a product named eyepal or go to their website www.EyePalUSA.com The product definitely worked for me and a few others I have shown it to.. it only costs $20 IIRC. It consists of two small plastic discs with an aperature in the center either for rifle or for pistol/bow that attaches to your glasses by static electricity... it's simple, but it clearly works... clears up front and rear sights for me
    Perhaps my learning skills have diminished in my senior years.. 50 years ago I could read something once and then "have it"... Now I read it about three times, do it a couple of times and then... "have it" only about half the time.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    I found a setup that works for me, but I am nearsighted. Just the opposite of your situation so I doubt my solution would work for you.

  6. #6
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
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    right there with you. i can wear glasses that allow me to see the sights or glasses to see the target. i just try to comprise and use glasses that allow me to see the sights ( no perfectly but good enough) and still see the target as best as i can. as you might imagine my groups are not what they once were but on pistol range 7-15 yards i can still keep them in the center mass. but thats about it. talk to the eye doctor as he maybe able to help. i use magnifying safety glasses for shooting and have 5 different strength glasses for different task.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master

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    Bigger Targets did the trick for me
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    It sucks getting old; even though eyesight problems aren't necessarily always age related.

    I had recently switched one of my military surplus rifles back to factory iron sights so I could try different suggestions that would allow me to see the sights and the targets clearly but, over time even those eye-glasses-mounted peep sights became more of a hinderance to me than a help. They really do work but I just couldn't get used to them.

    I've started drawing up another CAD model of the specialty scope mount I'll need to mount the scope back on this one particular rifle. I had that scope mount already modeled and stored on a little USB card but for some reason I can no longer retrieve any of that data off that memory card so I have to start from scratch. Now I wish I hadn't butchered up the scope mount I had previously made for this rifle. Oh well; I hope your search for a fix to these eye-sight problems works out better than you had imagined.

    HollowPoint

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
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    We are not the only ones who have had these troubles... Imagine those who came before us who did not have any glasses at all..

    I am unable to offer a solution myself, as I am like tazman...

    I hope you find a solution to this issue!


    Quote Originally Posted by tazman View Post
    I found a setup that works for me, but I am nearsighted. Just the opposite of your situation so I doubt my solution would work for you.
    I am nearsighted as well & would like to hear of your solution if you would be so kind as to share it.
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

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  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JBinMN View Post
    I am nearsighted as well & would like to hear of your solution if you would be so kind as to share it.
    As I said, I am nearsighted. I am right eye dominant and right handed. My right eye is the weaker of my two eyes. Fortunately, I learned long ago to shoot with both eyes open.
    If I wear my normal glasses, the sights on my handguns are a blur. Sight alignment is poor at best. I can see the target, but with poor sight alignment, my groups stunk. I could usually keep the shots on an 8 by 11 piece of paper at ten yards but not a lot better.
    I found out by accident one day, that without my glasses, I can see the sights perfectly while trying to focus on the target because that is the limit of the vision in my right eye. My left eye can see the target pretty clearly but not perfectly.
    Now I use a set of safety glasses with no prescription at all. I can see well enough that my groups have become quite acceptable. While not a good target shooter, I am more than adequate for what I am trying to accomplish. 3 inch groups at 12 yards has become the norm for me now.
    My objective wast to be able to shoot well enough to defend against a person in my home. The distance from my bedroom door to the middle of the living room where the front door is located is 30 feet.
    I am considering getting a set of glasses that has no prescription for my right eye but my normal prescription for my left eye. This might let me see both sights and target clearly which would be the best possible situation.
    With continued practice, I hope to get better since I know my handguns are capable of better than what I can do with them.

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    I am in the same boat I think. I can either see the front sight or the the rear sight on a pistol. I have progressive lenses in my regular glasses but have a hard time lifting my head to get both sights in focus and then the target is fuzzy. Probably a long shot but sometimes colored lenses can make a real difference. You notice that most trap/skeet shooters use colored lenses. And fast action pistol shooters have colored lenses in their shooting glasses. Hard to do or expensive when wearing prescription glasses. I will try and do a test with some of the colored sheets my daughter had for her dyslexia. Turned out she could read reasonable with the green sheets over her reading material. Glad you brought this problem up as I love shooting pistols and want to get back to being able to hit what I aim at. Will post back with my results trying colored film attached to my glasses and see if any improvement is evident. Woohoo another project to take up my time.

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oily View Post
    I am in the same boat I think. I can either see the front sight or the the rear sight on a pistol. I have progressive lenses in my regular glasses but have a hard time lifting my head to get both sights in focus and then the target is fuzzy. Probably a long shot but sometimes colored lenses can make a real difference. You notice that most trap/skeet shooters use colored lenses. And fast action pistol shooters have colored lenses in their shooting glasses. Hard to do or expensive when wearing prescription glasses. I will try and do a test with some of the colored sheets my daughter had for her dyslexia. Turned out she could read reasonable with the green sheets over her reading material. Glad you brought this problem up as I love shooting pistols and want to get back to being able to hit what I aim at. Will post back with my results trying colored film attached to my glasses and see if any improvement is evident. Woohoo another project to take up my time.
    If you have a set of glasses that are held together with screws, you could actually take one lens out check the sight picture. If you are right eye dominant and are nearsighted, remove the right lens and you should be able to see the target with your left eye and your sights with the right. This assumes things work as planned. Perhaps use an old pair that are close to what you are currently using.
    When you switch glasses, sometimes it takes a few minutes for your eyes to get used to the new situation.
    I put my safety glasses on and wait a few minutes before I start shooting.
    You would need to get a lens with no prescription in there for actual firing for safety reasons.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master Forrest r's Avatar
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    Put the $$$ down years ago for shooting glasses, worth every penny. The varga's are for pistol and the champion's choice are for rifle.
    [IMG][/IMG]

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    For precise work I've been doing the very thing Themoose mentioned for 15+ years. You can do it with a roll of blue painters tape and a leather punch or some other means of punching a hole in a roll of tape. Simply punch the size hole you find you need, through experimenting, and punch it all the way through a roll of tape. Then slice that out with your sharp pocket knife at about 3/16 square or diameter, whichever you prefer, stick on your lens where you need and you're done with it. I find for rifles it needs to go near my nose. For handguns, more in the center of my lens. I bought a couple different diopters, that's what they're called, and always went back to the tape. For target work the diopters are great. For hunting and woods loafing I think they're less than worthless.
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  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    Tazman,

    Thanks for explaining! I will give this a try!
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

    ~~ WWG1WGA ~~

    Restore the Republic!!!

    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

    President Reagan tells it like it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MwPgPK7WQ

    Phil Robertson explains the Wall: https://youtu.be/f9d1Wof7S4o

  16. #16
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
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    the problem is you can't look through both parts of your glasses at same time. i just use glasses that allow me to see sights and the target is a blur i just shoot at center of the blur. i have come to realize that it is the best i will do with my mr magoo glasses. depending on what i am doing i use 3x to 7x glasses.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JBinMN View Post
    Tazman,

    Thanks for explaining! I will give this a try!
    Please let me know how it works out for you.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by tazman View Post
    Please let me know how it works out for you.
    I will be trying it soon. Maybe by Sunday, if the weather here cooperates.


    I will let ya know! Thnx!
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

    ~~ WWG1WGA ~~

    Restore the Republic!!!

    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

    President Reagan tells it like it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MwPgPK7WQ

    Phil Robertson explains the Wall: https://youtu.be/f9d1Wof7S4o

  19. #19
    Boolit Master JMax's Avatar
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    I had cataract surgery about 8 years ago and had multi focal lenses installed. I love that I do not need prescription glasses for reading books or my phone, using iron sights on HG and rifles plus no glasses for driving. So if you are in need of cataract surgery consider paying the extra dollars for those lenses. I am just south of 71 and love shooting irons across the board.

    Prior to surgery I found reading glasses to meet my needs.

  20. #20
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
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    i was commenting on the no line bifocals .no matter were you look through them you are looking through a single magnification even if the transition is gradual . the gradual transition may help to find a area that might help. i have switched to optics for.most of my rifles and lasers and optics on my shotguns. got to do what you got to do. i have found that the cheap lasers from china work pretty well and if they mess up you trash them and spend another 20 dollars.
    Last edited by RED BEAR; 01-08-2019 at 09:38 PM.

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