These old eyes

[C7AR15]

Hello,
I'M sure that this topic has been covered ad nauseum, so apologies for that .
(the search box is not working.)

Trying to get some advice on getting some eyeglasses that will allow me to get that crisp outline of the front sight on my handguns. At age 68 distance vision and reading are lousy.

I'm going to remove the slide from a 1911 and take it into the optometrist, see if I can explain the problem. Anyone get some good results on this matter ?

Thanks, John

[DT Guy]

I have struggled with distance vision for decades, though at 61, my near-field remains pretty solid.

For a long time, 'computer' prescription glasses (AKA, 'intermediate' focal distance) did the trick, allowing me to see the front sight sharply and the target 'well enough.'

In the last few years, though, the far field has degraded to where I can't see the target (yes, I know we focus on the front sight; but we need to see the target somewhat, right?) well enough to shoot beyoned 10 yards or so. (To be clear; I could still pass my old LEO qualified without glasses, but couldn't get the old 2" groups at 50' I was used to freehand.)

Finally, and reluctantly, I'm switching to RDS on my carry guns, and it's essentially turned the clock back 15 years; night and day doesn't really do it justice. I can (in fact, have to, because of astigmatism) wear my distance lenses when shooting, and can thus clearly see the target. Put the dot where I want the hole to appear, and I'm back to shooting fairly well.

Not sure if this helps at all, but it's what I've gone through to be able to shoot.

Larry

[ballardw]

I had a pair of shooting glasses made by my optometrist. He understood what I was I was talking about and measured my shooting stance and added 6 inches from my hands for the approximate front sight location.

So they work reasonably well for pistol.

[jetinteriorguy]

I called and talked to my optometrist about this to see what we can do for this and he just had me bring a pistol with me and he measured the sight distance and built me some glasses that work phenomenally. I don’t use them much anymore since I seldom shoot for pinpoint accuracy these days. 95% of my shooting is rapid fire at distances out to ten yards for defensive purposes. I alternate between my regular glasses and no glasses since it’s the most likely scenario I’d encounter in a defensive situation. So basically I’ve adjusted to a fuzzy sight picture that will put me on target good enough for my purposes. I do occasionally pull out the Model 14 with some wadcutters and my shooting glasses when my ego needs the occasional boost.

[rock185]

Some years ago, I went to a local ophthalmologist and explained I wanted glasses to focus on my front sight. To my surprise he was familiar with what I was asking for, and had done it for shooters before. He had a pair made with the top of the right lens focused at front sight distance, and the left lens my current prescription at the time. Easy peasy.

I later had cataract surgery using multifocal lenses, and no longer needed the special glasses. But those special glasses did work when I needed them..

[jcj54]

For those who have this issue progressive lenses are problematic.
You can have trifocals made with the reading lens at the bottom and the mid length lens at the top.
These were commonly called the pharmacists lens because of the need to read labels on high shelves.
A focal distance of about 52 inches for this lens is good for seeing both front sight and target.

[Mike38]

At 64 years old, I have similar vision problems as the OP. After spending countless hours on the internet weighing all the options, I decided to try the cure on my own before a special visit to an eye doctor. I ended up with a very inexpensive fix. Over the top of my regular everyday eye glasses I put on what is called "Clip on flip up" readers with a diopter of +0.75. The web site I bought them from is https://designer-reading-glasses.com/ but at the moment of this writing, the site doesn't seem to work. Might be down temporarily, might be out of business? Ebay and Amazon sell them, but only go as low as +1.0, but that may be correct for some people. I'm sure there are other web sites that sell such a product. If you don't know what "Clip on flip up" readers are, imagine the old school clip on sun glasses that snap onto your prescription glasses, but clear with a +0.75 diopter. They are real handy. Flip them up out of the way for normal tasks like loading mags or scoring targets. Flip them down while shooting. Your diopter add may be more than mine, may be less, but I found through trial and error that +0.75 worked best for me. Best thing about it all, those clip on lenses cost less than $20 shipped and have lasted me about 5 years now.

[Aguila Blanca]

Since I get most of my medical care from the VA, I also get vision care from them. They have decided, in their infinite wisdom, that I need both reading glasses (for reading) and distance glasses (for driving). I don't wear glasses for driving, and since I can still see the road, other cars, and street signs, I don't think I need them.

However, I very quickly found that their idea of reading glasses don't work for using a computer. The focal length is so short that I would need to lean forward with my face about a foot from the screen. So they have set me up with what they call "intermediate" glasses. These work very well for using the computer, and they also seem to be about right for clearing up the front sight on handguns.

Ask your eye doctor about "intermediate" glasses.

[GeauxTide]

I have been using PCs since 1982 and worked in IT for over 30 years, so I had to start wearing glasses at age 40. In my 60s, I went to Tri-focals to cover all the bases. My glasses didn't need adjusting for shooting and now I'm 75. I have to take my glasses off when peering through my Vortex scopes and binocs, but fine as wine on pistols and revolvers.

[DaleA]

I'm heartened to see so many folks have had good luck with their eye doctors...even the VA, on the eye doctors listening, understanding and helping out. Thanks for posting.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by DaleA

I'm heartened to see so many folks have had good luck with their eye doctors...even the VA, on the eye doctors listening, understanding and helping out. Thanks for posting.

Just a note on the VA:

I did NOT mention guns or shooting to the VA. They are fairly strongly anti-gun, and I have no desire to have the VA report me to NICS as being medically disabled for firearms possession. My interchange with the VA eye doctors was strictly about being able to view a computer monitor at a comfortable distance. The fact that the "intermediate" prescription also seems to work well for shooting was a fringe benefit.

[ammo.crafter]

My uncle was an optometrist for many years and not a shooter at all.

He simply measured the distance from my shooting eye to the sights on my 1911.

He then asked what distance I usually shoot at and made the necessary adjustment.

Seemed a fairly simple and inexpensive fix.

Tell you eye doc to check your focal point of target vis-a-vis sights.