Old Man - Two Questions

[Bullitt]

1. I'm 50. My reading vision disappeared about eight years ago. I can't line up the sights, though I had no problem qualifying on the range for the CHL.

2. I am interested in taking up tactical shooting as a recreational sport now that I have the time to do so.

Help! Need vision recommendations from any other older folks here. I wear contacts and reading glasses some days, and on other days progressive (bifocal) eye glasses.

Thanks,

Mike

[seamusTX]

I'm in the same boat. I told my optometrist exactly what I wanted and he prescribed lenses where the dominant eye can focus at about three feet. He even made a note in my chart that the prescription was for handgun shooting.

What's the second question?

- Jim

[Bullitt]

I'm in the same boat. I told my optometrist exactly what I wanted and he prescribed lenses where the dominant eye can focus at about three feet. He even made a note in my chart that the prescription was for handgun shooting.

What's the second question?

- Jim

Jim,

Thanks for the reply. Great info, and I'll see the doc.

The second question is where can I learn about tactical shooting as a sport, and practice it. I am in Houston.

Mike

[seamusTX]

One answer to your second question is PSC: http://www.psc-range.com/.

There are other places around Houston where tactical shooting is practiced.

- Jim

[solaritx]

I have "old man" eyes as well, and to see my front sight in focus, I need to be looking through my bifocal's on my glasses.

I had a pair of "computer glasses" made, where the bifocal area is at the top of my glasses allowing me to focus on the sights when I shoot from the proper position. These glasses work great for working on the computer as well as shooting.

Just my 0.2 but it works for me.

Garry N

[Charles L. Cotton]

Bullitt: You're not alone, there are a lot of fuzzy front sights running around. I'm 58 and I have the same problem you have. I wear contacts (+2.25) and then I use reading cheaters if I'm reading anything in volume, or if the print is small. I'm sure my definition of "small print" differs from the kids' with young eyes!

I use the stick-on bifocals (+1.00) you can get from Hidalgo Supply. I cut them to fit on the right lense of my shooting glasses (my dominant eye) so that I'm only looking through it when I'm shooting with my head "ducked" slightly. This allows me to see a crisp front sight with my dominant eye, but the effect on the target (additional fuzziness) is minimal because the left eye is not looking through the additional magnification.

I actually learned about using only one stick-on bifocal by accident. I bought some new sunglasses and wanted to try them out before the new stick-on bifocals arrived. I took the bifocal off of the left lense and tried it on the new glasses. I was amazed how much better it worked. The best things about this approach is that you can put the stick-ons on any glasses and you only have the extra magnification on the dominant eye, which prevents the target from being significantly more blurred.

I hope this helps.
Chas.


[I think I'll post this in the "How To" sub-forum.]

[Bullitt]

Charles. Great info! Thank you.

[tomneal]

There are sights that even the far sighted can use.

I shoot USPSA / IPSC. Open Division allows the use of Red Dot scopes and Comps. I've noticed over the years that lots of older shooters gravitate to Open Division. I don't know if it's the sights or if they have the money for expensive toys.

The USPSA shooters will be out at PSC on the 3rd Saturday.

[BobCat]

Mike,

If you do not have astigmatism, the stick-on reader lenses sound like an ideal solution. If you have significant astigmatism you may wish to have prescription shooting glasses made, with astigmatism correction and just enough + to give you a clear front sight.

I'm 59 and noticed, years ago, that the front sight on my AR-15 looked bent (I shoot Highpower). That is the astigmatism working. My optometrist tried to write me a prescription, based on what I said I needed, but it wound up with too much + correction (aiming black "went away" although the front sight was perfect).

On my brother's recommendation, I checked with Decot - http://sportglasses.com/ - and, over the phone, the fellow asked me to read him the whole prescription for my bifocals. He explained that I needed the astigmatism and cylinder correction unchanged, but the near/far (amount of +) needed to be a compromise. I'm running on too long but the point is, you can get the right correction for pistol shooting - in your aiming eye only, if you wish - just poke around a little.

Not financially involved with Decot, just a satisfied customer. Other glasses people, who understand shooting, might be just as good. Oh - there is an article by an optometrist named Norman Wong at http://www.bullseyepistol.com that might be worth a read.

Regards,
Andrew

[thankGod]

Bullitt,

I'm in the same crowd as you. I'm 55, and wear progressive lenses, and I also have an astigmatism. I cannot see close up or far away without the cheaters on. However, my vision is okay at about three feet, or arms length is you will. I shoot without my glasses, so I can see the front sight. If I leave the glasses on, then I have to lean my head back to see out of bottom of the progressive lenses. It drives me nuts.

Maybe, you could try shooting without the glasses as I do. Just a thought.

[frankie_the_yankee]

I'm 57 and have worn progressive bifocals for years. I have three solutions for my different shooting applications.

1) For bullseye shooting I use a red dot sight (an Ultradot, though any kind will work more or less as well). I had my optician make a special pair of non-bifocal (i.e. simple lens) glasses with the strength dialed in precisely so that the red dot always appears to be a nice round point when I am in a one handed bullseye shooting stance.

How did I do this? I brought the gun in and assumed my stance while the optician tried various lenses until we got it just right. Of course I told her what I wanted to do beforehand and she assured me that she was perfectly OK with it.

2) For practical shooting (IDPA style) I had a similar pair of glasses made, again with simple lenses, only this time they were dialed in to give me a razor sharp view of the front sight when I am in my preferred two handed shooting stance. (In my case, I would describe it as a modified Weaver stance.)

3) For the street, I frequently carry a 1911 Commander model equipped with tritium night sights. I have found that the glowing sights are easy to line up at night even though they are not perfectly in focus.

During the day, I just trust to muscle memory. I also practice using my regular (progressive bifocal) glasses to help out with establishing correct muscle memory.

I would love to get TruGlo combination fiber optic + tritium sights for my carry guns, but they don't make them for either one of my main carry guns (the Gold Cup Commander and my newly-acquired Para Ordnance 6.45) and I can't bring myself to have the guns altered to accept one of the available models. The advantage of the TruGlos is that the fiber optic element captures available light and so presents a nice bright dot even in broad daylight.

Anyway, those are my solutions to this "problem".

[BobCat]

You may find that moving the "line" between near and far prescriptions up just a little, on your dominant side, brings enough of the "near" part up to enable you to see the front sight without tipping our head back. Maybe try putting a piece of foam earplug on the nose pad to elevate the frame, to see if it will work. If it works, next time you get new glasses, have them put the transition zone a little higher than they ordinarily would.

One day at the range I was worrying out loud about what might happen "on the street, for real", while switching my bifocals for shooting glasses. My friend (Marine-retired) told me to shoot one target at close range (7 yards) with my bifocals, not tipping my head back, just accepting the fuzzy sight. The group was not bad at all - I found it very reassuring.

I will not win any Bullseye competitions using my street glasses, but then again I would not win using the best prescription shooting glasses in the world. For "street - reality - in the pinch" accuracy, a fuzzy sight is ok, you can get good hits.

Regards,
Andrew