Eye Sight Issues

[seniorxj]

I hope this is the right section for my delema. I'm having a hard time focusing on both sights & target. I know ur supposed to shoot with both eyes open, but with as hard as I try, my focus will be on only the front sight/sights or the target which leads to the obvious.

Yes I've tried glasses, but they either make my sights more visible & less blurry or the target so I'm back to square one. Fyi, I'm type 2 diabetic & have no eye care insurance.

Any suggestions will help so I thank u in advance!

 

[Jim Puke]

You want the front sight to be clear and the rear can be a little blurry.

Your problem seems to just be age...not really diabetic. There are a lot of us in the same boat as you.

 

[powder smoke]

Jim is right, imo I have the same issue and have adapted. Focus on the front sight- target
you'll be fine. Your problem is actually quite common. ps

 

[blume357]

It's hard to imagine, but the proper way to shoot is for the front sight to be in focus and everything else including the target out of focus.

If you are like me and at that age where your eyes start to change.... that makes it a little harder..

 

[pisgah]

You eyes cannot, from the time you are born, focus on three objects at once. Although in youth it seems like they can, in fact the muscles of the eye are rapidly shifting focus constantly from rear sight to front to target, and as you get older the eye's ability to do this gradually deteriorates. Focus on the front sight, allowing the rear and the target to blur. As you get used to it, you will actually see your shooting performance improve, odd as that may seem.

 

[GunnyGene]

I hope this is the right section for my delema. I'm having a hard time focusing on both sights & target. I know ur supposed to shoot with both eyes open, but with as hard as I try, my focus will be on only the front sight/sights or the target which leads to the obvious.

Yes I've tried glasses, but they either make my sights more visible & less blurry or the target so I'm back to square one. Fyi, I'm type 2 diabetic & have no eye care insurance.

Any suggestions will help so I thank u in advance!

2 things:

For close up combat shooting - yes both eyes open, not for sighting but for situational awareness. But this also leads to parallax issues if trying to use the sights. Some people, with training, can focus one eye thru the sights with both eyes open, but it ain't easy. Typically this kind of shooting does not involve aiming, but rather point and shoot and your 2 eye focus is on the target. Think of how a pitcher throws a baseball - he doesn't aim, but still hits the target most of the time.

For normal bullseye target shooting - one eye only using the sights, with other eye closed or wearing a patch. Focus on Front sight.

 

[Chuckbuster II]

Do a search on "Merit Disk"

 

[Dan in MI]

You eyes cannot, from the time you are born, focus on three objects at once. Although in youth it seems like they can, in fact the muscles of the eye are rapidly shifting focus constantly from rear sight to front to target, and as you get older the eye's ability to do this gradually deteriorates. Focus on the front sight, allowing the rear and the target to blur. As you get used to it, you will actually see your shooting performance improve, odd as that may seem.

Chuckbuster got it while I was editing.

Try something like a Merit. Years ago you could get a similar device for much less. Basically you are putting a peep on your glasses. By forcing you to focus through a tiny hole it increases your eye's ability to see clearer.

I epoxied mine (the low cost version, not a Merit) to a set of flip on lenses. Tis should give you a better idea of what I am talking about. While it looks like Swiss cheese you can only see through one so you adjust it for the one that works for you. (location and diameter)







http://www.eabco.net/Merit-Eyeglass-Shooting-Aperture_p_13347.html

More info; also shows the Farrsight I have pre modifications (no longer available)

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=407192

 

[JFB]

I have been severe near sighted since a kid (glasses to see far away). as I got older (~50), besides gun sights, I found I could not focus on the dash/speedometer. I tried bifocals, but never liked them.

I got my glasses made where my left eye can see clear far away and my right eye closeup. My eye doctor even stated such a setup was not unsual. I did have to make a slight adjustment to the setting to loose a little clarity in the left at distance. It is not the best as I would like to be able to read closeup with glasses on (safety glasses for work), but I need to remove them for precision reading.

intersting coincidence with your post. I haven't had the oppurtunity to visit the eye doctor for many years now and noticed yesterday when I closed the left eye, the speedometer is now fuzzy. So I need to have a correction sometime

 

[vito]

As we age the likelihood of having cataracts increases, and this causes significant deterioration in our vision. The good thing is that surgery to remove the cataract is simple and painless. About the worst of it is having the operated eye completely covered for 24 hours and then using drops for about a week. The surgery includes implanting of a lens in the eye, and nearsightedness or far sightedness can be mostly or totally corrected with the implanted lens. I know many folks who had terrible vision and needed thick glasses 24/7 who now do not need glasses at all after cataract surgery. The newer lenses that surgeons are using are better than the old ones like I have. My lenses cannot bend and so while I used to be able to read without glasses but needed them for distance, I now need my glasses for everything from reading to distance. But the glasses are not nearly as severe as they used to be, and in fact, I can manage fairly well without glasses at all.

Despite the above surgeries, and two other surgeries to replace parts of my corneas, shooting is tougher than it used to be for me. Not a big deal for me, I just shoot at closer targets, at self defense distances (no more than 10 yards) with my handguns. In fact, much of my range time is spent shooting at targets 5 yards away, since I believe that if I ever need to defend myself with a handgun it is highly probable that I will be within 5 yards of my target.

My advice to any of you with vision issues is to see a good optometrist first, who will be able to measure your vision and prescribe corrective lenses or contacts, and who will refer you to an eye surgeon (an ophthalmologist) if you have a correctable medical problem with your eyes. Eye surgery has come a long way in recent years and some conditions that used to be untreatable are not completely curable (like the Fuch's Dystrophy that I had, an inherited condition of the cornea which is now totally gone).

 

[Poprivit]

Good optometrist first, then red dot sights. I've got 'em on my #1 and S&W 500. I'm 70, just came back from Africa where I took a lion and zebra. Without the red dot, I probably couldn't have hit either one, to say nothing about even seeing them.

If I could post photos easily, I'd show a photo of both.

BTW: this was my 5th safari. I plan on going at least every three years until I can't walk. Covered about 4 miles per day by foot. No, I'm not tough and lean. I weigh 234 and stand 5'10" Walked at least ½ inch of sole off my boots.

Getting' old ain't for the weak of heart!

 

[Jimbo357mag]

If you are having trouble focusing on the front sight you will need glasses to bring that into focus. You can get a pair that allows you to focus on the distant target and the front sight. I have prescription progressive shooting/safety glasses. They allow me to focus on either the front sight or the target by just nodding my head a little. They also allow me to focus on close objects like small screws and printing.

Glasses take time to get used to but look at it this way, you have the rest of your life to get used to them. Get your eyes checked and tell the optometrist exactly what you need.

 

[jack]

What works for me is (shooting sp-101's with fixed sights): Paint the front sight fluorescent orange with nail polish .... paint the rear sight (groove) black with nail polish. I use 1.75X reading glasses (under goggles), and focus on the front sight. As said above, the target may be a bit out of focus, but one gets used to it. FWIW ..... jack

 

[FastEd]

I'll take a shot at that.

Nobody can focus on the front and rear sights perfectly, at the same time.
If you are target shooting the target is big enough to see even if its a little fuzzy, so don't worry about that.

When you shoot, focus back and forth on both sights until you get lined up properly. Then ease back to the front sight and squeeze.

If you want to be consistently accurate buy an iris diaphragm attachment and attach it to your glasses.
It really works for me. It does enable you to see both sights at the same time.

 

[seniorxj]

Btw,I'm shooting a Ruger SR9 with Truglo TFX sights.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

When seeking an eye care professional, it helps to find out what their familiarity with the shooting sports is. Over the years, my eye docs have been an old trapshooting buddy (serious shotgun, casual rifle and pistol shooter), a former Army optometrist (pistol shooter), and a retired Marine optometrist (rifle shooter.) Each prescribed according to their own experiences which was interesting. If I could afford three pairs of shooting glasess, one from each, I'd have shotguns, pistols and rifles all covered quite nicely!

Add that the Marine and my trapshooting buddy are about my age, so they experience some of the same daily "degenerations" we all do. Biggest problem is the older two are retired now, and the younger one has moved out of state. Gotta find a new doc. Rats.

May have to get one of the Merit devices until then...

Rick C

 

[Dan in MI]

I used the optical device back when I was in my 20's. Really helped with 200m targets.

 

[Pat-inCO]

All you young whipper-snappers still have more to come. I had cataract
surgery and I now have a problem in the cornea which makes it so the
front sight will not stay in view. You look at it and it disappears. What
I've found is (and a friend and long time shooter has the same problem,
and came to the same solution) that if I focus on the target and let the
peripheral vision "work" the front sight, everything is fine.

Would this work for "new" shooters? I doubt it. But for those of us who
have been shooting for way more than six decades, it works fine.

 

[seniorxj]

A lot of great advice here & I can't thank you all enough for the support! It is a huge releaf to know that this is a common problem & that there are multiple solutions for different people as we are all different. Basically i have to chase my weak spot down & keep trying different solutions till I find it & fix it.

I've sent over 900 rounds down range indoors. I'm looking into outdoor ranges now as my overall goal is to shoot with accuracy indoors, then move it into sport outdoors. Basically I just wanna have fun & exercise my 2nd amendment,lol!

Thank You All Again!