Do glasses effect iron site shooting.

[fourdollarbill]

I find myself needing glasses for up close and far. Old... Lol.
Has anyone shot iron sight revolver before and after glasses? How did it change or did it change the way you shoot.

 

[matrem]

As much as I've fought it, glasses now help me shooting any iron sighted handgun.
If I'd have accepted that a couple years ago, less ammo would have been wasted.

 

[PhilMc]

I wear progressive lenses so the last time I had my eyes checked I had the Doc' put in a area that could focus on the front sight. It has made a big difference in my shooting.

 

[Shimitup]

I still shoot pistols with exclusively iron sights and seem to be doing OK with cheap Walmart readers. I choose them to give the sharpest focus on the front sight and seem to do alright that way. My only metric for comparing then and now (30+years later) is that I could consistently clean all the chickens and pigs off the racks. With the same gun I can still come pretty close to it these days on a lot less practice. I do notice that low light is harder to deal with these days. With rifles an entirely different matter, the front and rear sights are just too far apart.

 

[bhk]

I wear progressives and find I can get the front sight in perfect focus just by adjusting my head position a little. Sharpest sight picture I have had in decades.

 

[Huskerguy]

I just had an eye check up and told the doc I was having problems keeping the front site in focus. He said not much he can do for that. I mainly need mine for up close stuff and have the progressives. I actually take them off and wear safety glasses to shoot. I am right handed and left dominate which really helps matters. I can't have both eyes open, the dominant thing messes me up. When I first start shooting I can focus just fine, but by around the 4th or 5th cylinder the front site starts to get fuzzy. I can blink it better but it only lasts so long.

In short, my glasses do not help me at all, at least not right now. I would like to find something that would help though. Man it is tough getting old, you young bucks just wait.

 

[Drail]

You must be able to resolve a sharp focus on the front sight and the light between it and the rear notch. If you can see that then you will be limited by your vision. I have a prescription Raybans with the focal length set for my front sight (which is a little farther than "reading distance"). The target is slightly blurred but I can see the sides and top of the front sight very clearly. Most optometrists can set the focal length where ever you want it on a bifocal or a single lens. Some will even let you bring your gun to their office to measure the focal length.

 

[22-rimfire]

Last time I got new glasses, I got a pair of glasses specifically for my computer which is at about arms length from my head. Works well for having the front sight in focus and the target blurred a bit. I keep these on my desk or carry them when I am shooting handguns.

 

[morcey2]

I have a little bit of astigmatism in both eyes, but nothing very serious. A couple of years ago, I finally got some contacts to correct what little needed to be corrected and it made a huge difference in my shooting with iron sights.

Matt

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

When you're younger, glasses don't have much, if any, effect at all. This is because your eyes can still perform the focussing act from the tip of your nose to whatever distance you're looking through your glasses.

However, as you age, presbyopia starts rearing it's ugly head. Even if you've never worn glasses at all, it'll gitcha. Around 40 or so, people start losing the ability to focus on objects close up.

This is the point where bifocals start entering your life, as you now need to correct your vision for close up as well as far away.

If you've entered this stage in your life, then talk to your eye doctor about it. Bifocals can be made to suit whatever need you have, including range time.

I wear progressive bifocals (you can't see the dividing line and they're "graduated" in strength depending on the angle I look through the lenses). Next visit I'm thinking about getting an extra pair of glasses to use at work for the computer.

 

[rcmodel]

Progressive bifocals are your friend, friend.

There is a handgun front sight in there somewhere.

You just have to find the way to tilt your head a little different then the way you used to.

rc

 

[TIMC]

Another vote for progressive lenses; they make irons doable for me!

 

[dagger dog]

I'm with posts 11 and 12.

At first I thought "lineless" bifocals were a vanity thing, I was using trifocals because of my work.

Progressive lenses open the whole focal distance, they even work for me with some iron sights on rifles.

 

[deadin]

I've found it best to get a special set of glasses for shooting. Needing to tilt my head "just so" to get my progressives to focus on the front sight just adds muscle stress, which is not good for accurate shooting.

 

[Browning Guy]

I am wearing old fashioned lined tri-focals and started learning to shoot pistol with them. I find no problem with handguns. The top part of lens is for distance so I can spot or identify my target (when hunting, range shooting is no problem). I can assume my shooting position then shift my head just slightly and front sight is sharp focus. Now shooting long guns...that is a problem I still haven't worked out short of scopes on everything. I can't see out of the proper part of lens to focus front sight and still maintain "cheek weld". Scopes are fine on most rifles but it just doesn't "look right" on a "hawkins style" muzzle loader!

 

[fourdollarbill]

I did not think this topic would have this much usefulness. There's a lot to think about. I'm working on changing my stance to face forward instead of the old weaver method. I'm guessing that will play a factor if I get a fixed focal length for shooting only. Yep getting old is a pooper in some ways.

 

[PRM]

Progressive lens are probably in my future. Tried them once and went back to bifocals. I am at the point now, that I have those annoying distances they don't compensate well for. I have my glasses made at a local optical shop and over the years have made good friends with the owner. I have literally sat in a chair and aimed an unloaded handgun at the wall while he adjusted my my prescription for shooting. Everything is a trade off. I read at a little greater distance, but so far I've still had good results shooting.

 

[25cschaefer]

The best thing to do is take your pistols to an optition and sit down with them to determine what you really want and need. With your pistols, you will be able to try things in the office and it should be better and cheaper than the technition guessing what you need.

 

[Canuck-IL]

Now shooting long guns...that is a problem I still haven't worked out short of scopes on everything.

Decot or Ranger (probably several other) brands of prescription glasses can be ordered with the sweet spot centered more toward the upper left of the lens (right eye dominant, right handed shooter). Another option provides a height adjustable nose piece. Lenses are replaceable as your prescription changes so the steep entry price is amortized over time.

I use Decot's with separate prescriptions for handgun and rifle on the dominant eye side and a more moderate script on the left for the spotting scope and target scoring. Everything with a Decot order is custom - they sent a sample frame so I could have someone mark my eye position on the lens in different positions (off hand, sitting, prone) and then centered the sweet spot in that marked center.

Still managing to enjoy everything iron-sighted from the short sight radius AR to the difficult mil sights on K-31s and Swedish Mausers.

/Bryan

 

[Sunray]

"...people start losing the ability to focus on objects close up..." Some people, not all. Mine are for distance. Still started around 40. Kids I work with don't understand when I tell 'em everything is downhill after 40. snicker.

 

[pokute]

I use a pair of glasses specially made to focus at the front sight of a 1911 for all my shooting. I usually also use a Merit orthoptic attachment, because it makes me more confident to be able to see the target clearly, but I found that shooting without the orthoptic (using the specially made glasses) is almost as good... Except that I can't tell where the shot went afterwards - Maybe that's a good thing.

I don't think much of bifocals and progressives for precision shooting, but they can be very good for rapid shooting.

 

[HighExpert]

I tried different glasses and found some relief. Finally solved it on my bullseye guns. RedDot. Great invention.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

I have progressive lenses and if they put the division between long and close where it works best for me in daily use (computer, reading etc) then I cannot get a decent focus on the sights without tilting my head back at an un natural and uncomfortable angle. If I have my glasses set up so that I can shoot in them they are no good for general use.

I rarely "target shoot" or shoot bulls eye and pretty much practice shooting from the point in "move-draw-shoot while moving" and use the silhouette of the back of the gun and point shooting self taught. At the indoor range if I use my shooting glasses I'll use proper sight picture and stuff just to verify things.

But at self defense ranges, which is all I'm really interested in, I get 2" - 4" groups without sights as properly defined. If I was bulls eye shooting as in competitive I don't know what I'd do....probably wear my shooting glasses with the special prescription that I hate. Sucks getting old but if I ever have to defend myself I'm not gonna have time to ask the BG to wait while I switch glasses.

VooDoo

 

[ohbythebay]

I went back and forth

I am near sighted. So if I wear my driving/distance glasses, I can see the target but the sights blur. If I wear shooting glasses, I can see the sights, but the target is quite a bit blurry (visible but not clear).

So I went back and forth - several weeks with, several without. Bottom line - determined for some reason I can deal with the blurred sights and more accurate with the glasses. Especially the iron sights on my AR-15 but handguns also.

I was told it should be the other way and I was getting pretty good, but as soon as I put on the prescription glasses, much better.

So I guess it depends ...

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

"...people start losing the ability to focus on objects close up..." Some people, not all. Mine are for distance. Still started around 40. Kids I work with don't understand when I tell 'em everything is downhill after 40. snicker.

So, one day I was hanging over my wife's shoulder helping her with something on the computer. My wife, who always had perfect vision and occasionally would chide me about my glasses.

She reached across the desk, pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on. It was REAL quiet between the two of us for a minute.

ME: "Are those....reading glasses?"

HER: (Tight-lipped while staring intently at the computer screen) "yes".

Another real quiet moment while I stared at her glasses.

ME: "Actually, that's kinda hot... "

HER: (Head hits desk.)