Old eyes - what do I do?

pseudonymity · Oct 31, 2016

Low power diopter shooting glasses. A .5 diopter pair made a big difference in my ability to see the front post, but only blurs the target a small bit. The focal length of glasses gets smaller as the diopter number grows, so if you wear +2 to read a book a .5 or .75 may work for pistol shooting.

FLA45fan · Nov 1, 2016

Progressives. Sorry, but it will be easier now as your sight will continue to diminish as you age. Mine started when I was 48, just needed readers. Now at 57 I have had them long enough to be good with them. A quick nod will confirm your target, rear sight and finally, and most importantly, your front sight. This will help you for your defensive shooting. Using the diopter style glasses is great for target shooting, but not so much for defense.

Marine Cpl · Nov 1, 2016

If you are shooting semi autos, a bright front sight should remedy that. My dad was having issues seeing the front sight of his Glock. When I had my Springfield XDS, he was able to see the bright red fiber-optic sight and did a lot better.

Edit. They have them for revolvers but they look clunky.

Acer-m14 · Nov 1, 2016

I'm in the same boat ... need readers .. really mess's with my scopes .. clear radical and fuzzy target .. i need a few new scopes to fix that ..
for my open sight rifle ( i don't have a pistol ) .. i just shoot both eyes open like i do with a scope 99% of the time .. gives me fuzzys on both ,. but i'm on target just not a tight group .. bow hunting same problem clear pin with readers cant see nutten at the target .. with out clear target fuzzy pins .. it sucks ..
working still on shooting bow with both eyes open .. nail it at 10yrds messed up a few arrows .. 20 yrds .. i have a 4 inch group .. ..

dsdmmat · Nov 1, 2016

pseudonymity said:
Low power diopter shooting glasses. A .5 diopter pair made a big difference in my ability to see the front post, but only blurs the target a small bit. The focal length of glasses gets smaller as the diopter number grows, so if you wear +2 to read a book a .5 or .75 may work for pistol shooting.

For shooting iron sighted rifles you would bump that up to -.50 or -.75 from your prescription. It depends upon the barrel length and sight radius.

togmaster · Nov 1, 2016

Sound like you are in the same boat as me. I've tried using readers to shoot but even the low powered leaves the target too fuzzy for me. As my eyes get worse readers may be an option but for now I find a bright front sight works fine. I would try shooting with a fiber optic or similar and see how you do. My preference is the green colors. It just seems that I can pick up that color a little better.

FCG LLC · Nov 1, 2016

Hi Alistair.

What works for some shooters is to have a pair of eye glasses with the dominant eye set to focus on your front sight. The other glass for the non dominant eye is set for distance. If you are shooting with both eyes open your brain should resolve the images.

hmm...just saw that you don't need glasses other wise. Simple fix is to have a non script lens for your non dominant eye and whatever script for pistol front sight distance for your dominant eye.

Being the crazy OCD person I am, I picked up my "average" sized handgun (P226), measured that distance from my wrist with a stick, and took that stick to the eye doc - told em I wanted to be able to read prescription bottle disclaimers at that distance. My doc fortunately sees a fair amount of shooters so he got it right away.

Your next best (actually better) other option is to go to a pistol with a red dot - SIG P320 RX / Glock MOS / M&P 9L CORE / etc.

Calculon · Nov 1, 2016

I picked up a pair of these top focal shooting glasses and I think they work great. Just like bifocals but instead of tilting your head back (uncomfortable and I have to "hunt around" for the sweet spot on my lenses) to focus on front sight you just tilt down slightly.

Top Focal Assorted Interchangeable Kits – SSP Eyewear

Criticalt · Nov 1, 2016

Dang you guys are scarring me. Im almost to the age you buzzards are losing your sight.
Cant you lazer your eyes? Ive heard great things from people that had terrible vision. Like from blind as s bat to 20/20 vision from lazer surgery.

FCG LLC · Nov 1, 2016

Criticalt said:
Dang you guys are scarring me. Im almost to the age you buzzards are losing your sight.
Cant you lazer your eyes? Ive heard great things from people that had terrible vision. Like from blind as s bat to 20/20 vision from lazer surgery.

Lasik (and its variants) exacerbates the degradation of near field vision. It is one of the things they underscore to people of a certain age who consult about the surgery.

To further cheer you up, if you are male, as you get older you lose

- the eyes
- thinning hair or baldness
- the libido
- bladder control at nights
- short term memory

as you get older you get all that plus the extra bonuses

- aches and pains : great for predicting the weather. Every dumb thing you ever did on a skateboard or BMX moves back in permanently to remind you how brave but foolish you were
- accelerated hearing loss
- bone decay
- a surge in libido, nicely paired with erectile tissue that gets lazy
- inability to predict when you stopped pissing
- morphing into a grouchy old fart, just like the grouchy old farts you swore you would NEVER become

I'm sure I've forgotten dozens. Anyone please feel free to make additions and corrections.

And I hit all of that when I was 30.

Criticalt · Nov 1, 2016

FCG LLC said:
Lasik (and its variants) exacerbates the degradation of near field vision. It is one of the things they underscore to people of a certain age who consult about the surgery.

To further cheer you up, if you are male, as you get older you lose

- the eyes
- thinning hair or baldness
- the libido
- bladder control at nights
- short term memory

as you get older you get all that plus the extra bonuses

- aches and pains : great for predicting the weather. Every dumb thing you ever did on a skateboard or BMX moves back in permanently to remind you how brave but foolish you were
- accelerated hearing loss
- bone decay
- a surge in libido, nicely paired with erectile tissue that gets lazy
- inability to predict when you stopped pissing
- morphing into a grouchy old fart, just like the grouchy old farts you swore you would NEVER become

I'm sure I've forgotten dozens. Anyone please feel free to make additions and corrections.

And I hit all of that when I was 30.

Ok, now im feeling it all of a sudden!! Im just a baby at 45 years old. My hair is safe. I believe its thicker now than when I was 25.....grayer but hairline is firm and no thinning. The rest though, anyones guess.
So far no aches and pains.
However, yesterday I was pinned by a bull against the barn wall. He wasnt being aggressive, hes just dumb. In years past I would just kick him lightly behind his hind knee and push, he would step, I would escape.
But yesterday, it took my breath, my legs locked and pushing wasnt happening. I ended up tapping his shoulder until he payed attention and stepped off himself. Luckily no pain involved either then or now. But I do feel shorter of breath and not as agile as I once was.
Oh well, I guess this is the end.

fartgamer · Nov 1, 2016

FCG LLC said:
Lasik (and its variants) exacerbates the degradation of near field vision. It is one of the things they underscore to people of a certain age who consult about the surgery.

To further cheer you up, if you are male, as you get older you lose

- the eyes
- thinning hair or baldness
- the libido
- bladder control at nights
- short term memory

as you get older you get all that plus the extra bonuses

- aches and pains : great for predicting the weather. Every dumb thing you ever did on a skateboard or BMX moves back in permanently to remind you how brave but foolish you were
- accelerated hearing loss
- bone decay
- a surge in libido, nicely paired with erectile tissue that gets lazy
- inability to predict when you stopped pissing
- morphing into a grouchy old fart, just like the grouchy old farts you swore you would NEVER become

I'm sure I've forgotten dozens. Anyone please feel free to make additions and corrections.

And I hit all of that when I was 30.

That's cheerful.........but true.

FCG LLC · Nov 1, 2016

alistair said:
So I guess; first thing and cheapest thing to do is go buy a pair a cheap readers from Walmart/ Dollar Store that allow me to read/see my front sight clearly.
Secondly; if that works - transfer that prescription/diopter to safety/shooting glasses.

Hi Alistair,

When it's time for your next eye exam have the opticians make that determination (to script strength), it will be more precise than the off the shelf reading glasses. If you do choose to go this route (indicated above), make sure you can see the serrations on a front sight if you have a gun with a serrated front sight.

What I did was, instead of picking another set of glasses (I am allowed one every x number of years), I rolled that choice into wrap around sport/shooting glasses with poly-carbonate transition treated lens. I was $200 out of pocket for that stuff, but well worth it. I've changed my left glass once (I am left eye dominate. (which explains my horrible shooting - yes?

)

rsmitty · Nov 1, 2016

I use the Hydrotac stick on bifocal lenses. I cut them down and stick them on the upper portion of my shooting glasses.
They work great.

Calculon · Nov 1, 2016

The ssp eyewear is approx $40. Won't break you to try it.

BTW - I'm in Fishkill area. I think you're in the same general location. If you want to try my SSPs happy to let you give them a try.

Marine Cpl · Nov 1, 2016

Criticalt said:
Dang you guys are scarring me. Im almost to the age you buzzards are losing your sight.
Cant you lazer your eyes? Ive heard great things from people that had terrible vision. Like from blind as s bat to 20/20 vision from lazer surgery.

My vision used to be terrible at 20/100 on the left eye and 20/200 on the right. Without glasses or contacts, I couldn't see shit.

I got LASIK and now my vision is 20/15 in both eyes.

Calculon · Nov 1, 2016

I think I got +2 as it was all they had in stock at the time - they were on sale for $20 iirc. It makes the front sight crystal clear but the target way out of focus so I think it's too strong for me. Probably going by to try a 1.0 or 1.5 to balance things a bit better.

Using readers is tough as you can only focus on the one plane (i.e. front sight) and can't clearly see target without removing them or really tilting your head. The top focal lenses are not like traditional bifocals- the magnification is at the top but not across the entire lens just the middle. You have normal vision everywhere else like basic shooting glasses.

I have a pair of progressive eyeglasses that looks I got to replace the Walmart readers I had been using. Got tired of taking them on and off all the time. The progressive lenses work well but the magnification area at the bottom of the lens is very narrow and straight ahead only. I found I was tilting by my head back and side to side to get the sweet spot on my front sight. The ssp glasses just made it easier as I can more aggressively lean forward into the shot (slight tilt down) with a larger magnification area making front sight acquisition faster.

BTW I have no affiliation with ssp - I'm not hawking their wares. They just work for me until I'm able to find a optometrist to do it the right way.

rsmitty · Nov 1, 2016

^^^That's what I did with the stick ons. @$4 worth a try. They can be easily repositioned.

Robin · Nov 1, 2016

Punt!
Robin

Acer-m14 · Nov 2, 2016

Criticalt said:
Dang you guys are scarring me. Im almost to the age you buzzards are losing your sight.
Cant you lazer your eyes? Ive heard great things from people that had terrible vision. Like from blind as s bat to 20/20 vision from lazer surgery.

@Criticalt

few years ago i seen a tv show on eye surgery for us that had 20/20 and as we get old the muscles that focus the lens get messed up .. the surgury
was placing a tiny piece of plastic like a grain of rice into the muscle to get the lens back to focus .. and of coarse .. not available in the USA ..

pseudonymity · Nov 2, 2016

alistair said:
I'd like to try know if the glasses will help me without spending a lot of money first. Where do I find a pair of .5 or .75 diopter glasses cheap?

https://www.amazon.com/Elvex-RX-500...3&sr=1-1&keywords=Elvex+RX-500C-0.5+Full+Lens

Around $10 to see if you like the effect.

pseudonymity · Nov 2, 2016

dsdmmat said:
For shooting iron sighted rifles you would bump that up to -.50 or -.75 from your prescription. It depends upon the barrel length and sight radius.

I find that I cannot use these for shooting with aperture sights, but maybe they would work for buckhorn sights where the rear sight is 8-10" from your eye. With my nose right on the charging handle I just get one big blur from the aperture with the diopter safety glasses. Are you able to see the front sight through the aperture with diopters? Maybe I am doing something wrong.

Something like this is an option for AR shooters - the lens is inserted directly into the rear aperture.

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Old eyes - what do I do?

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