old eyes and shooting

[farmbif]

had a long discussion with eye doctor today and she was fantastic. said there are options for prescriptions for old eyes with normal aging no special conditions or eye problems she said my eyes look healthy and she gave me three prescriptions for glasses if I decide to try them all. she suggested the first one to get filled is a pair of bifocals and there are three options for this. line, no line and graded or transitional line. I decided to try the ones with straight across line first. then two other prescriptions if I wish to try for close up and distant viewing. she said she can try some other things if I'm not happy with any of these options.

[Delkal]

For long distance shooting tell your doctor you want your prescription optimized for distance. A lot of times they compromise the prescription so closer object are in better focus but that means for long range it is not as clear as it could be.

[farmbif]

with no glasses I can still shoot 3" iron pipe at 75 yards with original iron sights on my marlins and winchesters. things are a bit fuzzy but I can make the shots. it will be nice to have a clearer view like it was 30 years ago

[M-Tecs]

If using iron sights your focal distance is the front sight. The front sight must be crystal clear if you want your best accuracy.

[NSB]

M-Tecs is totally correct about the front sight if you’re shooting iron sights. The front sight must be very, very clear. That’s true with young eyes also. Get a set of glasses that allow you to see your front sight. I’d suggest the progressive lenses. That way you can see the front sight clearly, and if you want to see the target you can do that also. Lined bi-focals don’t really do this unless the bottoms are set for “intermediate” distance (your front sight) and the target.

[Hick]

There are other alternatives. You can put aperture sights on both front and rear. The eye naturally likes things centered. With apertures front and rear you do not need the front sight to be in sharp focus, and can focus on the target. That's what those of use with artificial lenses (cataract surgery) do. The drawback is that a front aperture makes target acquisition a little tougher in hunting.

[dverna]

Agree with M-Tecs and NSB. If you do not see the front sight clearly, you are never going to shoot well.

My rifle and pistol shooting glasses are set up that way

[gc45]

I'm with Hick, hard to beat apeture sites. My Ruger 45 Colt became the most accurate big revolver I own when installing these sites and wearing my distance glasses. For me, progressive lenses work best, so much so, I never wear the lines lenses I once had. For close up targets, say 25 yrds or less, I use computer glasses, these lenses are progressive but set for close up reading plus distances of about 6ft, no long range though. I got these for my computer screen but they work very well for some handgun shooting. I see very clearly at the front site with small revolvers like J-frames with targets not to distant I see them well enough to get pretty good accuracy.
As we age, things can no longer be as they once were but we can still find some happy shooting when not using a scope, apeture sites do that. To switch gears, The red dot scopes are wonderful for many of us older gents The 617 smith I had stopped shooting became a favorite again when installing the one inch ultra dot scope; I now have a 60 yard squirrel gun with my distance glasses on and who doesen't like an accurate 22Lr in a handgun..

[poppy42]

I have no opinion on what been previously posted. What I do know is at one time I had a rifle that between my ability and the rifle’s precision I had no problems putting 10 shots within the diameter of a dime at 200 yards! I did it many times and actually one bets doing it. Don’t get me wrong it’s not that I think that that was some fantastic feet of marksmanship I know there was awful lot of people that were far better than I was. But today, at 67, I’m lucky I can see a target at 200 yards lol! Getting old ain’t for no damn sissies lol

[M-Tecs]

For iron sights (when allowed) aperture sights on both front and rear dominate serious competitions. Type of sight does not change the fact that regardless if it the front is a post or aperture the front sight is the focal point and must be crystal clear for maximum accuracy. The human eye can only focus at one distance. As we age the deep of field does decrease.

[kevin c]

I shot irons most of the time in action pistol, and my basic prescription contact lenses correct my dominant/aiming eye to front sight distance and the non dominant eye to distance (infinity). I can both read and drive with these contacts, being one of those folks who can tolerate what they call “monovision” without getting a headache, but it’s harder now that I’ve aged and have presbyopia. Now I have noline transitional bifocals to wear over the lenses for reading and driving. This also lets me use scopes and dot sights, though I haven’t found a combination or correction that works for rifle irons (though it makes sense what is being said here for aperture sights).

[Delkal]

The front site is always going to be a little blurry if you are focusing at 100 yards and it doesn't matter if you wear glasses or not. And as you get older this difference gets more pronounced so that is when people should think about getting a scope or a red dot on their firearms.

But needing the clearest vision at far distances is very simple. If you can't see a 1-2 inch dot at 100 yards you will not be able to hit it!

[Rickf1985]

Something I have used is Eye-Pal. It is a vinyl stick on that you put on your glasses wherever you comfortable sight picture is. It is an aperture and there is no adhesive to mess up the glasses. This makes seeing the front sight much better.

https://eyepalusa.com/

[MaryB]

No line bifocals is the way to go... transition is gradual so I can adjust my head and look thru the part of the lens that makes the sight the clearest...

For pistols.

Rifles I went to scopes on al of them!

[M-Tecs]

The front site is always going to be a little blurry if you are focusing at 100 yards and it doesn't matter if you wear glasses or not. And as you get older this difference gets more pronounced so that is when people should think about getting a scope or a red dot on their firearms.

But needing the clearest vision at far distances is very simple. If you can't see a 1-2 inch dot at 100 yards you will not be able to hit it!

Again, the front must be crystal clear to see proper alignment. When the front sight is not clear you do NOT see minor misalignment of the sights. A clear front sight on a burry target works well. A blurry front on a clear target not so much. Don't take my word for it. Do some research on the top NRA Highpower service rifle and match rifles. They use iron out to a 1,000 yards.

On the flip side the speed pistol guys do tend to focus on the target. In that game speed is generally more important than precision.

[NSB]

Again, the front must be crystal clear to see proper alignment. When the front sight is not clear you do NOT see minor misalignment of the sights. A clear front sight on a burry target works well. A blurry front on a clear target not so much. Don't take my word for it. Do some research on the top NRA Highpower service rifle and match rifles. They use iron out to a 1,000 yards.

On the flip side the speed pistol guys do tend to focus on the target. In that game speed is generally more important than precision.
This is the CORRECT advice to follow. No doubt about it, he’s totally correct. Back in 1991 I went to the IHMSA Region 1 shoot held in NYS. For shoot-off targets they used 10 NRA rifle small bore chickens. These targets were at 100 yards and everyone was shooting iron sighted rimfire handguns. I had a Merit Aperture on my shooting glasses and using it I could get the front sight in total, vividly clear focus. Using a 10” bbl Browning Buckmark semi-auto handgun, I missed the first chicken, adjusted the Merit for even sharper focus, and ran the next nine in a row. I’m not telling you this to brag about what a good shot I used to be, I’m telling you this because it couldn’t be done without a very sharp focused front sight. The little chickens (which you could barely see with the naked eye) were little blurs at 100 yards. FOCUS ON THE FRONT SIGHT SHOULD BE SHARP AND CLEAR. THE TARGET WILL BE BLURRY. THAT’S OK

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Here is my 2¢
I have astigmatism in my right eye only. I prefer single vision glasses, my usual prescription is distant, for driving and watching TV. Then I also get a pair for reading. My optometrist says he can adjust my prescription for reading glasses from focusing around the usual 12" to what they call computer glasses which focus's around 18" ...then after my talk with him about pistol shooting and rifle (iron site) shooting, He and I, did a little guesstimating and came up with 25" to 26" for a focus point (Front site) for shooting glasses for me. Without those glasses, I would have been forced to stop shooting iron site rifles.

[NSB]

Here is my 2¢
I have astigmatism in my right eye only. I prefer single vision glasses, my usual prescription is distant, for driving and watching TV. Then I also get a pair for reading. My optometrist says he can a just my prescription for reading glasses from focusing around the usual 12" to what they call computer glasses which focus's around 18" ...then after my talk with him about pistol shooting and rifle (iron site) shooting, He and I, did a little guesstimating and came up with 25" to 26" for a focus point (Front site) for shooting glasses for me. Without those glasses, I would have been forced to stop shooting iron site rifles.
At 75, I have glasses just for shooting. I also have a lot of glasses….you got to do what it takes! My shooters are set for 27” (the front sight). Your $0.02 was well spent.

[TurnipEaterDown]

Again, the front must be crystal clear to see proper alignment. When the front sight is not clear you do NOT see minor misalignment of the sights. A clear front sight on a burry target works well. A blurry front on a clear target not so much. Don't take my word for it. Do some research on the top NRA Highpower service rifle and match rifles. They use iron out to a 1,000 yards.

On the flip side the speed pistol guys do tend to focus on the target. In that game speed is generally more important than precision.

I get "free" safety glasses from work - I pay for progressive, tint, "fancy frames" (i.e. non BC frames).
So, I get an untinted pair, with "upside down" progressive prescription to put the big center field at just past arm length focal distance. My surgeon/opthmologist (rebuilt my LH eye after accident: new lens, stitching, impaired pupil function, etc.) understood what I wanted and wrote it. Makes all the difference needed when OS handguns are used.
If your employment has such a program - take advantage.

[brassrat]

I just bought my first pair of progressive glasses and although it was a, short, range trip my vision was better than ever. I am, extremely, near sighted, and only used contacts, my whole life. I have great vision, but not the front sight, without cheaters. These leave a blurry target. These progressives have everything very clearly seen. I guess the line less glasses mentioned may be similar

[jsizemore]

I had an optometrist that was a rimfire position shooter from way back. He still had his canvas shooting jacket, Win 52, and a case of 10x he bought for $95. WOW!

I was shooting NRA and IHMSA silhouette and I "specialized" in the standing positions. When I hit my later 40's my vision went from 20/10 to 20/40 in a year. Then 20/60 the following year with an astigmatism thrown in the mix. As my sight changed my doc had me bring in my guns and he made me glasses. Every 4-6 months was a new lens. He'd make sure the lens kept me focused on the front sight. As the blur got worse for the distant targets I added a merit adjustable aperture to sharpen the target in my sight picture as I focused on the front sight. As my sight got worse and the astigmatism came to be, I changed to a Knobloch setup with a larger lens and aperture with eye blind for the non-sighting eye. About that time I was shooting at 100, 200 and 500 yard matches. One day at a rimfire match I started to shoot turkeys at 75 meters and I saw 3 turkeys where there should only be 1. I shot at the middle turkey and missed. Next set of 3, I shot at the left turkey and missed. Next set of 3, I missed the right. I set my gun aside and waited for the line to be called. There's too many scopes out there to worry about what my lying eyes are tell me. Other than I got old and it's time to move on. Put a scope on it and see perfectly clear.

I do shoot pistols with irons but that's at 50 yards max and it better be at least 10" across. I'm actually getting ready to use a red dot and a reflex sight.

[hc18flyer]

I am trying to remember where I read about using a 'stick on magnifier, that allows you to see your front sight? My 65 year old eyes don't focus well any more. I have been following this thread, and considering a set of lenses that allow me to focus on my front pistol sight. I will likely have to go back and search thru a few of my favorite shooting forums to find it? hc18flyer

[TurnipEaterDown]

I am trying to remember where I read about using a 'stick on magnifier, that allows you to see your front sight? My 65 year old eyes don't focus well any more. I have been following this thread, and considering a set of lenses that allow me to focus on my front pistol sight. I will likely have to go back and search thru a few of my favorite shooting forums to find it? hc18flyer

Maybe you are thinking of the Merritt stick on apperature? - not a magnifier, but a device that does tend to sharpen the image.

I think it was Merritt.

[hc18flyer]

I have read about the Merit aperture device. But I also read about the 'stick on magnifiers? Tom

[jsizemore]

Merit made one with a suction cup with a arm to the adjustable aperture. Give it a lick and stick it to your glasses. Focus on your front sight and adjust the aperture till the target in your sight picture isn't fuzzy or out of focus. Worked really good and you could look down around it in your glasses to tend ammo and the gun. Once you got used to placement on your glasses it was a breeze to setup and use.