For old guys - my eyes are shot...need help with sights, glasses, contacts - HELP!!!
- Thread starter Rorge Retson
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I fully agree with barstoolguru who suggests learning to point shoot! It improves any other shooting you do by instinctively knowing where you have the gun pointed in the first place.
For the last 20 years I've been using a prescription that old timer optometrists called 'piano glasses'. Instead of a reading Rx for a distance of 18" this is an Rx that focuses at about 36"-48", preferably the latter. Any decent OD knows what the grind is compared to your normal reading Rx.
This allows you to easily see the all important front sight with arms extended and also have some decent vision out to 50-75 yards to see the target. For anything beyond that you may have to guesstimate more but it's still useful. I can use these for driving but my eyes are bad enough it's better to use my bifocals for that. For target shooting and general tasks at moderate range these work great. OD's can rig up a trial set for you to try before committing.
For the last 20 years I've been using a prescription that old timer optometrists called 'piano glasses'. Instead of a reading Rx for a distance of 18" this is an Rx that focuses at about 36"-48", preferably the latter. Any decent OD knows what the grind is compared to your normal reading Rx.
This allows you to easily see the all important front sight with arms extended and also have some decent vision out to 50-75 yards to see the target. For anything beyond that you may have to guesstimate more but it's still useful. I can use these for driving but my eyes are bad enough it's better to use my bifocals for that. For target shooting and general tasks at moderate range these work great. OD's can rig up a trial set for you to try before committing.
One_Jackal
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I have to join the point shooting crowd. You can use a .22 until you work out the kinks.
I wear progressive bifocals. I find my self using the "transitional areas" of my bifocals when I am target shooting.
I wear progressive bifocals. I find my self using the "transitional areas" of my bifocals when I am target shooting.
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SEE IT LIKE A NATIVE
Member
I have been going through the same thing for the past few years ! I am 58 now and have made some adjustments to allow me top enjoy shooting ! First for defensive shooting I recommend learning use to Point Shooting or Sightless technique , for hunting with a handgun and target shooting i have installed red dot type sights on my Super Redhawk and swear by them . I also have a .22 cal Beretta Neos with 2 barrels ,one with a red dot on 4 1 l /2 inch barrel and 2-6 variable scope on the 6 inch barrel I also recently got my eyes checked and bought one pair of bifocals , then went back and bought a pair of single vision glasses that are supposed to be for the computer that have a minimum focus distance of about 2 ft . I have found that these gglasses let me see both my sights clearly and the target also to about 60 ft ! I hope this helps and i can not strongly enough advise the usefullness of learning the sightless technique , you find yourself making hits on targets quickly ! It is like a shortstop throwing the ball to first base , he doesnt need sights and the ball goes where he puts it ! so will your bullets ! Kevin
Pete D.
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Target
The best solutions depend on what kind of shooting that you are doing. The best solution overall - at least the simplest - is an aperture or "peep" sight. Adjustable apertures, which can be stopped down or up like a camera lense, are readily available for both rifles and for pistol shooting.
Gehmann makes an adjustable aperture that clips onto your glasses. The Merit Optical Disk uses a small suction cup to attach to you glasses. Both are very effective for range and target work.
The other idea has already been broached.....go to an optometrist and have a set of glasses made that will allow your shooting eye clear focus on the front sight of your gun; the other lense can be your normal Rx. I did this with contacts when I was flying. One eye could read the instruments and the other allowed long distance vision; since neither eye was occluded, I retained reasonable depth of field and could land safely. I use a set of shooting glasses made as described above.
Question: when you say that you cannot see the target if you can see the front sight, do you mean that it is very blurry or that you cannot see it at all? I ask because blurry is OK, as long as you can see the front sight clearly. (It is an optical impossibility for you to see both clearly at the same time; the eye cannot focus on two different distances at once.)
Pete
The best solutions depend on what kind of shooting that you are doing. The best solution overall - at least the simplest - is an aperture or "peep" sight. Adjustable apertures, which can be stopped down or up like a camera lense, are readily available for both rifles and for pistol shooting.
Gehmann makes an adjustable aperture that clips onto your glasses. The Merit Optical Disk uses a small suction cup to attach to you glasses. Both are very effective for range and target work.
The other idea has already been broached.....go to an optometrist and have a set of glasses made that will allow your shooting eye clear focus on the front sight of your gun; the other lense can be your normal Rx. I did this with contacts when I was flying. One eye could read the instruments and the other allowed long distance vision; since neither eye was occluded, I retained reasonable depth of field and could land safely. I use a set of shooting glasses made as described above.
Question: when you say that you cannot see the target if you can see the front sight, do you mean that it is very blurry or that you cannot see it at all? I ask because blurry is OK, as long as you can see the front sight clearly. (It is an optical impossibility for you to see both clearly at the same time; the eye cannot focus on two different distances at once.)
Pete
JohnM
Member
I found those Merit disks were excellent for me with iron sights.
My shooting has come to an end for now though.
A routine exam found a problem I was having was a plugged vein in one eye.
2 months later and I'm still doing the trips to the doctor while they try and figure out if it can be fixed.
I guess it's something that can happen to us older guys
My shooting has come to an end for now though.
A routine exam found a problem I was having was a plugged vein in one eye.
2 months later and I'm still doing the trips to the doctor while they try and figure out if it can be fixed.
I guess it's something that can happen to us older guys
Captain33036
Member
Question regarding peep sights:
I recently found a site that had a rear peep-type or ghost ring type rear sight for SIGs. Has anyone tried these and would they help you see the front sight without reading glasses??
I recently found a site that had a rear peep-type or ghost ring type rear sight for SIGs. Has anyone tried these and would they help you see the front sight without reading glasses??
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
If you are asking about a SIG pistol?
No they won't.
Peep sights on a handgun are way too far from your eye to work like a peep sight to sharpen focus.
rc
No they won't.
Peep sights on a handgun are way too far from your eye to work like a peep sight to sharpen focus.
rc
I have a friend who tries all the newest sights on his pistols...either his SIGs or 1911s...so I have actually tried the peep/ghost ring sights as well as the half-ghost ring.
They are both a horrible attempt to apply rifle technology to a handgun. What you lack are the same number and locations of anchor/pivot points.
Most folks who try using a ghost ring rear sight on a handgun improperly try to center the front sight in the ring. The whole advantage of that type of sight is that you don't need to consciously center the front sight in the rear. The half-ghost ring rear sights gave birth to the U-shaped rear notch, which are now quite popular when used in conjunction with a fiber optic rod in a front blade
On top of the old age stuff, I've had a number of eye issues, including retinal detachments and, now am developing cataracts. I don't typically wear glasses, having one eye that is near-sighted and one that is far-sighted. But I'd gotten so that the front sight was blurry. I did learn instinct shooting for close range stuff (<10 yds) and used a Laserlyte target system for fun.
I did some handgun silhouette shooting years ago, and found a Merit optical attachment to be really helpful. The suction cup sticks on your shooting glasses or other glasses. It pivots out of the way when you need it too. Of course, a piece of tape with a hole in it would work too, as other people have noted above. I recently put the Merit V.I.A on my AR-15 recently. It's a replacement for the standard AR rear sight in the carry handle.
All that being said, I did go to my optometrist with my pistol slide and had her give me a prescription for shooting. It works well in my ESS ICE Naro glasses, and I use it for general target shooting - pistol or rifle.
I did some handgun silhouette shooting years ago, and found a Merit optical attachment to be really helpful. The suction cup sticks on your shooting glasses or other glasses. It pivots out of the way when you need it too. Of course, a piece of tape with a hole in it would work too, as other people have noted above. I recently put the Merit V.I.A on my AR-15 recently. It's a replacement for the standard AR rear sight in the carry handle.
All that being said, I did go to my optometrist with my pistol slide and had her give me a prescription for shooting. It works well in my ESS ICE Naro glasses, and I use it for general target shooting - pistol or rifle.
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