Iron sights, aging eyes and options.

[Brick]

As you can tell from my little profile, I'm 64 y.o. Which tends to lead to the joke: If you knew you were going to live this long would you have taken better care of yourself?

I started using a red dot sight when my eyes started having trouble focusing on the front sight for bullseye pistol competition back in the late 1980s or very early 1990s so most of my dot sights are 20 or more years old.

But, here in my little corner of Susco, bullseye competition is really rare, and I no longer feel like driving a couple hundred miles to shoot a match, so lately I've been shooting IDPA and PPC at my own club. So now I'm back to shooting iron sights. But, my eyes haven't changed and it's still a problem to focus correctly on the front sight. To overcome that problem I have resorted to using an old pair of prescription reading glasses as my shooting glasses. They have a focal length that allows me to see the front sight OK and still distinguish my target.

So what do you guys do to compensate (especially the 40+ crowd)? What options are available to us?

[27hand]

As you can tell from my little profile, I'm 64 y.o. Which tends to lead to the joke: If you knew you were going to live this long would you have taken better care of yourself?

I started using a red dot sight when my eyes started having trouble focusing on the front sight for bullseye pistol competition back in the late 1980s or very early 1990s so most of my dot sights are 20 or more years old.

But, here in my little corner of Susco, bullseye competition is really rare, and I no longer feel like driving a couple hundred miles to shoot a match, so lately I've been shooting IDPA and PPC at my own club. So now I'm back to shooting iron sights. But, my eyes haven't changed and it's still a problem to focus correctly on the front sight. To overcome that problem I have resorted to using an old pair of prescription reading glasses as my shooting glasses. They have a focal length that allows me to see the front sight OK and still distinguish my target.

So what do you guys do to compensate (especially the 40+ crowd)? What options are available to us?

Brick, I'm a youngun (will be 61 next week) and am in much the same category as yourself. Aside from sticking a sawzall blade into my dominant eye cornea a couple years back, I was slowly having problems with the front sight.

I lost about 20/25% vision in that eye.

I use a pair of cheaters just strong enough to kind of see the front sight. It's not clear but really nothing is crystal with that eye.

I was going to relearn everything with my support side but haven't practiced enough to give that effort any good results.

I think the way you are approaching the problem is pretty much what most of us will end up doing short of any type of corrective surgery (if that's even a viable option).

Good luck.

[Brick]

Corrective surgery is an option but I know of people who've had lasik or whatever done and still have to use reading glasses for close work. Even though the surgery reshapes the lens it doesn't do anything for the muscles that control how the lens is stretched to focus.

Good luck with your retraining program! Just to offer a suggestion try using a blinder on the damaged eye so your support side eye does the aiming work, but shoot with both eyes open.

[PeteG]

I have had luck with what is called an "occupational lens." It is a bi-focal, but it is put at the TOP of the lens of the right eye. My optomitrist set the focal length at 28 inches, which is where my front sight is found when I shoot a hand gun.

This makes it possible to very clearly see the front sight by dipping my head just a little. (It is a lot better than having to raise my head to try and get the front sight in a regular bifocal.)

Of course, lots of people will point out that you will not be wearing your "occupational lens" shooting glasses on the street should a fight break out, blah blah. And they are right about that. Indeed, you might not have - or be able to hang on to - your glasses at all during a sudden emergency. Life is tough. But't that's no reason to stagger around blind all the time.

I use the occupational lens when I am trying to zero or do any precise work, or when I am just shooting to see how accurate I can be. It helps me a lot.

P.S. - They call it an "occupational lens" because it was invented for poeople like painters and electricians, whose occupation requires that they frequently focus on objects which are close and above thier heads.

[Azzy]

They make these stick on reading lenses that get you to the same place, and you can use your current shooting glasses. They stick with a drop of water, and remove just as easy, or so I am told.

http://www.amazon.com/Stick-on-Readi.../dp/B0008GQ1NG

[PennsyPlinker]

I borrowed some nail polish from my daughter and painted the back of the front sight of my Ruger Mk II orange. It seems to help with rapid acquisition, but since I just did this a couple of days ago, I haven't had it out to the range yet. I don't feel like treading water while shooting.

[Iron Sights]

I have had luck with what is called an "occupational lens." It is a bi-focal, but it is put at the TOP of the lens of the right eye. My optomitrist set the focal length at 28 inches, which is where my front sight is found when I shoot a hand gun.

This makes it possible to very clearly see the front sight by dipping my head just a little. (It is a lot better than having to raise my head to try and get the front sight in a regular bifocal.)

Of course, lots of people will point out that you will not be wearing your "occupational lens" shooting glasses on the street should a fight break out, blah blah. And they are right about that. Indeed, you might not have - or be able to hang on to - your glasses at all during a sudden emergency. Life is tough. But't that's no reason to stagger around blind all the time.

I use the occupational lens when I am trying to zero or do any precise work, or when I am just shooting to see how accurate I can be. It helps me a lot.

P.S. - They call it an "occupational lens" because it was invented for poeople like painters and electricians, whose occupation requires that they frequently focus on objects which are close and above thier heads.

Interesting idea. I myself have a hard time focusing on the front sight, as most over 40 do. I'll have to look into those, can you give us an idea of the cost?

[imashooter2]

Progressive lenses are the best thing that ever happened to me and my handgun shooting. When I first got them, I was disconsolate because I couldn't focus on anything quickly. After a month, it was an amazing transformation. The brain figures out just where to move your head to focus. I can draw and fire or follow a golf ball better than I have in many years.

[Rosco the Iroc]

I found that I'm having issues that when I look though my peep it seems fuzzy even tough it's not.

[Direct Action Tactical]

I can't speak about the vision correction issues but a Fiber Optic front sight may be a good option. They are heavily used by competitors of all ages and do an outstanding job of making the front sight pop.

http://warrentactical.com/

or

http://www.dawsonprecision.com/Categ...d+Front+Sights

or

http://www.truglo.com/IW_Products.m4...00?company=TGI