Please help: aging eyes, prescription lens pistol shooting glasses

[K.C.]

OP, my wife is a nurse and a patient of her recently mentioned Ocuvite vitamins and how they worked for his eyesight. Here's a link for you to explore and see if it helps.

LINK:
https://www.ocuvite.com/

[GeorgeWInPA]

For USPSA the traditional "front sight focus" doesn't work very well at all. I of course don't know how much better or worse your vision is than my own, but I've been tilting at this windmill for two solid years lol. What I am running right now is a pair of ESS Crossbow glasses with two different Rx inserts. For optics, I have one that is my normal distance prescription, single focus, in both eyes. For irons I have a pair that has my distance prescription in my left (non-dominant) eye and my front-sight prescription (-2.00) in my right eye. For some people this is headache inducing but for me it is the best compromise. When running and gunning it makes target focused shooting possible, but I can kind of focus in when I need to get a really clear sight picture.

I've tried basically every combination and it all boils down to being able to see both the front sight and the target depending on where I am focusing. Either/or didn't cut it for various reasons, at least not for me. The worst option IMHO was front-sight focus in both eyes, too many targets that you just can't see at speed e.g. a stage with TWO Texas swingers at 15 yards or so.

Thanks, that sounds like good advice. I have heard others say the same thing. Thanks so much for your response.

[PeteG]

This has been a pretty long thread, much of it not really on point.

For aging eyes, get a pair of "Occupational Lenses" made, with a focal length equal to the distance from your eye to your thumb-nail on your extended shooting hand.

"Occupational lenses" are commonly used by electricians, painters, and other tradesmen who often have to work over their heads, and with their eyes close to their work. These are like bi-focals, but with the bi-focal "add" on the TOP of the lens. Any optician will know what you are talking about the moment you ask for them.

I have an "add" on my strong-side eye only. The focal length for that "add" is 28". It puts the front sight in clear focus when I drop my head slightly and look through the top of the lens, which most shooters do anyway.. This will work fine whether you are shooting one-eye-only or both eyes open. You can also get regular bi-focal "adds" put in the bottoms of the lenses, like regular bi-focals. This makes the lenses too busy for some folks, but then so are regular bi-focals.

You will hear people chirp about "you won't have those in an emergency" and "fight like you train" and "listen to me because I know what I'm doing and you don't" blah blah blah. They are right that in an emergency you won't have the advantage of the occupational lens. In fact, you might not have any glasses at all. But for precision shooting, dialing in sights, and getting your grip and stance right, you have to be able to see what you are doing. There is no point in practicing blind, or teaching yourself to lean back and raise you head to shoot (although you can practice that, too, if you want). I suppose the tactical teds will get eye transplants when they get older. The rest of us can make do with glasses.