[Drrhein]

If you've had a chance to read my intro you probably noticed I only recently returned to shooting after a long break. One of the first things I noticed that was very different from my Army days was the eyesight differences and the need for glasses. This subject may have been covered and I did a search but either my search argument was too broad or it really hasn't been covered before.

I need glasses to see near and far. I remember years ago everything (sights and target) was in focus. Now (don't laugh too hard please ) I can either put on a pair of glasses to bring the sights into focus and get the proper sight picture, but then the target is blurry and somewhat indistinct. The other option is my other glasses (for driving or flying) where the target is clear but, as you've probably already guessed, the sights are so blurry as to be almost unusable. I use trifocals which for driving is fine because the top, when looking down the road, is for far and the mid is for the instruments, and the bottom is to read.

Shooting needs a straight line from the eye through the sights and on to the target so trifocals don't work.

I've been using the mids which puts the sights almost in focus and the target somewhat fuzzy.

Surely there has got to be a better way?? Has anyone solved this problem for them??

[Dillinger]

Lasik??

I hit this thread thinking it was going to be about shooting glasses and thought I could provide some help.

I am at a complete loss for your situation.

I know that Oakley makes prescription sun,snow and shooting style glasses. Is there an "inbetween" type of lense that would work for your application?

Or maybe a scope that can bring the target into focus, and then your glasses just have to focus on the front plane of the lens??

Sorry bro, I am no help here...

JD

[lonyaeger]

I got Lasik about twelve years ago. I was near-sighted, and my inability to see clear into the distance was playing hell with my golf game. I tried glasses and it fixed the distance vision, but then the ball on the tee looked like it was in a different place than it really was. In a game like golf, being off only a fraction of an inch can cause really bad results.

So I got Lasik. I could see distance objects like I was a newborn. The tradeoff was that I had to start using reading glasses for up-close things. The tradeoff was a no-brainer for me.

Now, the Lasik is wearing off a bit, and I'll probably have a "tune-up" in a year or two.

Sounds like Lasik could help you.

[Drrhein]

Maybe I need to get REALLY BIG sights and then use my far glasses. Kinda like the phone with the 1" numbers, then the problem becomes how do I get a holster big enough for the sights

[montveil]

I got new lenses for my eyes. They can implant plastic lenses so you will have 20=20 but you will still need reading glasses but if you get the more advanced lenses you will NOT need reading glasses. Talk to your doctor. I got mine 2 years ago and can read or shoot squirrels with open sites.

[Drrhein]

Do you get the depth of field needed for shooting? The sights and target are both in focus?

[montveil]

Yes , I see like at all ranges from reading to infinity. No more glasses excepting for safety and sun.

[kdog]

I am far sighted and have an optical cylinder in my lenses.
That means, if I don`t look trhough the center of the cylinder, I don`t have the straight line to the target.
For that reason, my target shooting was crap.

What did I do?

I have an optimatrist in the next town, who is specialized on sportsshooting.
So I went to him and had a long talk and we agreed to run a test on me.
So he gave me a pack of daily contactlenses, after checking my correction (it had changed in the last two years). I took my P226 to his shop and we tried the sight alignment in his shop, to see if I can get the sights focused. That worked.

So, I went to the range and my point of impact went from bottom left on the target (distance 25m) directly up into the vertical center of the target (50cm x 50cm). Not perfect yet, but one hell of a lot better than before...

Now came step two.
I gave him an ol pair of glasses of mine, that I didn`t need anymore. He took out the correctional lense and replaced it with a special plastic lense, that is normally used for making magnifying galsses for extreme bad eyes.
In this plastic lense, there is a hole, where he inserted a, adjustable iris diaphragm.
That way, I can see the target aswell as the sight in focus.
I gave that a test, combined with the contactlenses and from 25 rounds, 19 rounds came in pretty much, where they should have.

Attached is a picture of the shooting glasses and the target.
Of course, this it not adaptible for self defence shooting.

[Highpower]

Originally Posted by Drrhein

Do you get the depth of field needed for shooting? The sights and target are both in focus?

What it boils down to is this. It is impossible for your eyes to be focused on both the sights and your target at the same time. The difference between focusing on the two distances requires your body to use facial muscles to move and change the shape of your eyeballs in order to shift your focal point.

When you are young, and everything is still flexible these changes occur so rapidly it appears that you are focusing on both at the same time. As you get older you loose the flexibility in your eye tissues and muscles as well as the range of motion allowing your eyes to change shape they way they used to - thus the need for corrective lenses.

The universal rule for shooting is to focus on the front sight. The rear sight can be a bit blurry, and the target can be a bit blurry, but the key to shooting well is to have a clear sharp view of that front sight for accuracy.

My personal solution is to use a pair of Olympic style shooting frames, and I had different lenses made so that I can easily change them to suit my needs. Left eye gets a distance lens for the target, and I switch the right lens depending on whether I'm shooting rifle or pistol to get the correct focus on the front sight. Having a good eye doctor understands the needs of a shooter helps tremendously here.

Just my 2¢ worth...

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[Drrhein]

I was guessing that was the case, I've had the best luck with using glasses that bring the sights into focus and leave the target a bit blurry. I like the different lens idea. wally world sells cheap readers so I'll get a pair of 1.0 and a pair of 1.5 and swap the lenses for one side between them and give that a try. I'm left eye dominant so I'll set one pair up close left and far right and give that try.