Can't See my Handgun sights very well any more?

[cfullgraf]

At Amazon I bought Elvex RX500 Full Lens .75 Magnification Ballistic Rated Safety Glasses to help my 70-year-old eyes. The .75 is half of what I use for reading glasses (1.50 diopter).

They are full lens, not bi-focals. I can see the target well enough and the front sight clearly. Now these are my go-to shooting glasses for pistols.

I have also adopted full lens magnification safety glasses for shooting handguns and iron sighted rifles. (Also, for working in my shop although I have a stronger magnification level for the close work).

There are some companies out there that are making shooting glasses with the bifocal cut in the top of the lens instead of the bottom. I have not tried them yet.

If the OP has not done so recently, I'd get checked for cataracts. Until I had cataract surgery a few years ago, the sights were getting more and more difficult to see due to the clouding of the lenses in my eyes. The surgery replaced the clouded lenses with clear implants and I can see much better now, even distance vision without glasses. It does usher in a different set of needs for corrective glasses for near vision though.

 

[sbwaters]

Thnx, cfullgraf. I get checked for cataracts every year. Not time yet. When it is, it will be delicious to lose my contacts forever!

 

[Legionnaire]

The simple solution is to switch to a red dot sight.

Unfortunately, for those of us with astigmatism, a red dot is not a perfect solution. The dot diffuses and looks a bit more like a star, more's the pity.

 

[TUBBY1]

Cheap fix... Put them on six pistols with success.nitesiters.

 

[browningguy]

I shot 2 revolvers a model 63 and and 69 yesterday as well as my 1911 and my buckmark 22. very hard to see my sights. I use bifocals but took them off and it wasn't much better.

Anyone got any ideas to help sight paint ?? I have em painted glow green now!

Bull

I've switched a couple of pistols to the TFO (Tritium Fiber Optic) sights and really like them, I'd put them on all my carry guns if they made them to fit.

 

[doubleh]

Unfortunately, for those of us with astigmatism, a red dot is not a perfect solution. The dot diffuses and looks a bit more like a star, more's the pity.

Since I don't have astigmatism I never thought about it causing that effect. I have cataracts and one gives a star effect around lights but my glasses correct that for now. I would have thought the same thing could be done for astigmatism.

My daughter has astigmatism. I'm going to talk to her about it.

 

[Legionnaire]

My glasses correct the effect somewhat, but not completely. Same was true when I wore contact lenses. Even though my vision is corrected to 20/20, the effect remains. Unfortunately, it is my dominant eye that is astigmatic; I know what a nice crisp dot looks like, because my left eye can be corrected to perfect focus.

I should talk with him again about lasik. Perhaps lasik could fix the astigmatism. But I'm told it also increases or further exacerbates presbyopia, which is why I didn't pursue it a few years ago.

 

[entropy]

There are ways to correct astigmatism; glasses, obviously. Toric contacts, and there are IOL's (cataract implants) that correct astigmatism, though they are expensive.

Anti-reflective coatings on glasses help reduce the 'star' effect from light, as well as keeping one's glasses clean.

 

[1MoreFord]

My newest glasses are called occupational trifocals. Regular reading bifocal on the bottom with distance vision prescription above the bifocals with a gun sight appropriate trifocal at the top of the lenses. Works for me. YMMV

 

[JTHunter]

Being very near-sighted, I have worn glasses since the 1st grade. My eyes are so bad now that, to read standard size newsprint w/o my glasses, it has to be less than 7" from my eyes.
About 15 years ago, they tried bifocals on me but they were so low that I had to lift the glasses up to read through the bifocal portion. After two months, I had new single-vision lenses made BUT I had them move the "center of focus (CoF)" into the upper third of the lenses. These lenses are still using the same interpupillary distance as the previous bifocals but have the CoF about 1/4th of the way down from the top instead of halfway. I can easily tilt my head down slightly and, with my revolver extended in front of me, the front sight is slightly out of focus, rear sight even worse, but the target is sharp. I just center the front sight in the blur of the rear and bang away.

Works for me.