Practicing without glasses.

SIGSHR · June 2, 2017, 01:56 PM

I broke a long shooting drought a year ago, and found I shoot a handgun better wearing just safety glasses. I am nearsighted, long over due for an eye exam, the optometrist tried to sell me on bifocals last time, I find it easier to take my glasses off for reading, close work, etc. No problem focusing on the front sight and my groups are getting tight again. And it seems in a tactical situation eyeglasses come off pretty quickly and in a home invasion they might not be handy. Any thoughts ?

TailGator · June 2, 2017, 04:10 PM

That thought crossed my mind, too, but I realized that I am so severely near-sighted that I can't count on recognizing the difference between bad guy and good guy without my specs. Low light, of course, would make me even more uncertain. I wear progressive bifocals, if that is the right term, and the right head tilt is kind of part of my shooting stance now, practiced along with other aspects of shooting.

Mannlicher · June 2, 2017, 04:48 PM

I am going to use the glasses. If I don't have 'em, its a chest to chest scenario for me.

g.willikers · June 2, 2017, 05:21 PM

I don't see very well up close.
The sights on handguns are a bit blurry.
At the range, I use my glasses if needed.
It depends on the distance and light conditions.
At home I would rely on point shooting rather than fumbling for glasses in the dark.
After identifying who or what made the bump in the night, of course.

T. O'Heir · June 3, 2017, 11:38 AM

"...in a home invasion..." It won't make any difference at all. You'll be aiming at the centre of the mass, not a wee tiny bullseye.
You'll note that some of us nearsighted types see differently at different distances too.
Those safety glasses seem to be distorted just right for you. Most of 'em badly distort everything. Once in a while you'll find a pair that don't. Got myself a pair of those for a buck.

Equin · June 3, 2017, 08:30 PM

Subscribed. I'm so badly nearsighted I'm considered legally blind without corrective lenses. Interested in hearing what others do as the thought has crossed my mind on what or how I'd be able to respond to an intruder waking me at night and not finding my eyeglasses on time.

K_Mac · June 4, 2017, 01:29 PM

SIGSHR if you can shoot better without corrective lenses you're better off than many of us. It is just one less thing to mess with. I see enough without mine to recognize faces at any distance inside my home, but given the time I would grab my glasses with my left hand and my pistol with my right while rolling out of bed or getting out of the shower. At all other times I have them on. I'm confident I would be fine without a clear sight picture at close range, and practice point and shoot at standard self-defense distances.

mete · June 4, 2017, 01:39 PM

I once had given some thought about loss of my glasses on a hunting trip.
It would be with 44mag with iron sights. So I tested it .With the glasses I had the front sight was not quite perfectly sharp while without glasses the front sight WAS perfectly sharp. Hadn't told my buddy -"you can't hunt without your glasses " I got my deer !

The problem was loss of sharpness at beyond normal shooting ranges.

JJE · July 5, 2017, 11:25 AM

I've been very nearsighted my whole life. I don't do anything without glasses on or contact lenses in. Around the house I wear "near vision" glasses that I can read with, cook with, etc. But if I go outside, or especially if I drive, I wear "distance glasses" that give me 20/20 vision, or I wear contacts + prescription cheaters over the contacts to get 20/20 - but I can't read with this combination of eyewear.

At the range, I shoot my self-defense handguns (S&W snubby, Glock 42, Glock 26, Glock 19) with my "near-distance" glasses or with contact lenses that give about the same correction - nowhere near 20/20, but I can see the front sight well enough to put all my rounds on a 9" plate at 21 feet, and almost all hits out to 30 feet. I don't shoot SD guns to get small groups - I just want to eliminate flyers and get everything on a 9" plate at a realistic, short distance. The S&W snubby has gutter sights, but I put Aro-Tek ghost ring rear sights (http://www.arotek.com/default.aspx?p...tView&Part=124) and XS tritium Big Dots on all the Glocks, so I don't have to even think about the rear sight.

I also shoot a 22 target pistol. With this gun I'm trying to shoot small groups, so I wear contacts plus Adlens glasses (https://www.amazon.com/Adlens-Adjust.../dp/B00HFGXJAA) that allow me to focus very clearly on the front sight or on a red dot. The adlens glasses are not safety glasses, so I wouldn't use them with centerfire cartridges, just rimfires. I know it's a safety compromise, but they do have 2 layers of plastic lens and they are the only thing I have found that allows me to see a front sight clearly. I shoot the 22 pistol out to 30 feet using target sights and out to 45 feet or farther with a red dot. Before I found the Adlens glasses, I had just about given up on target shooting.

briandg · July 5, 2017, 06:06 PM

I'm kinda screwed. A brain tumor damaged my vision centers. I will never shoot as well and nothing can help it.

So I don't shoot as well. I've never been interested in competition, I just enjoy doing it well.

Snyper · July 6, 2017, 03:33 AM

Quote:

the thought has crossed my mind on what or how I'd be able to respond to an intruder waking me at night and not finding my eyeglasses on time.

If it's crossed your mind, you should have a plan to make sure it never happens.
There are layers of security that begin long before an intruder can wake you so suddenly you can't find your glasses in time.

I'd have a spare pair or two located where I could find them in the dark if needed ASAP.

kraigwy · July 6, 2017, 07:38 AM

I'm going to drift off topic a bit.

Quote:

I'm kinda screwed. A brain tumor damaged my vision centers. I will never shoot as well and nothing can help it.

I don't mean to be cruel or argumentive but I don't by the "I will never shoot as well"

It's that you never found the coach that could address your situation.

I'm of the Gary Anderson belief "THERE ARE NO HOPELESS SHOOTERS".

I'm gonna beat my horn a little. I've been a firearms instructor for over 40 years. A bit longer but a bit over 40 years when I took my first formal instructor class (FBI's LE Firearms Instructor Course).

For some reason the department discovered I had a knack for identifying problems with shooters. An example one such officer couldn't qualify. He did when he hired on, but as time went on. He just couldn't qualify.

The Sargent sent both of us to the range. I had him shoot. I watched him. His movements, stance, follow through, everything, every move he made. I couldn't really detect anything wrong but I did discover some weird facial movements when he shoot.

I told him to go to the eye doctor and come see me after words. Yup it was an eye problem. He started, not just qualifying but maxing the course. He went on to attend my sniper school, retired as a Captain. He was also in the National Guard, Shot of their (my) NG Rifle teams, and retired from the NG as the state Adj. Gen.

When I first got married I took my wife hunting. She attempted to shoot a young buck at moderate range. Clean miss. I made the mistake of telling her that that's the first deer that Model 70 ever missed. She started crying saying she was always told she would never be able to shoot do to her eye sight.

Wrong. I took her and that rifle to my back yard range, adjusted everything for her and had her wacking a 6 inch gong consistently at 400 yards. Later sent her to a Long Range Shooting School and now she has no problems shooting steel at 1000.

I could go on and on, but I think I made my point. The Army Marksmanship Unit, (best shooters AND instructors in the world) Employees a full time Optometrist just to address eye problems.

Write the Army Marksmanship Unit. Ask for guidance and they will steer you where you want to be.

Longhorn1986 · July 6, 2017, 08:28 AM

I am in a similar situation as the OP in that I'm borderline bifocal, but really don't use them for close-up work.

Funny, I just noticed this thread. Went shooting July 4th at an indoor range and for the first time, I noticed the lower light conditions affected my sight picture. I was surprised by the change. Admittedly, I was trying out new pistols, so it wasn't the sight picture I was used to. I think that in a high stress situation, I probably wouldn't notice any blurring.

osbornk · July 6, 2017, 09:04 AM

I have progressive lenses (no line bi-focals) . It was a learning process that only took a little time but I shoot fine with them on. You get used to them and look though the part of the glasses that work and you don't even realize you are doing it. I thought it would be a problem but it was not.

AK103K · July 6, 2017, 11:03 AM

Im thinking a lot of the eyeglass thing is all BS, and by continuing to go, youre actually weakening your eyes, and not helping them.

About ten years ago, I had been wearing glasses for about 10+ years, and was wearing progressive trifocals. Went to the eye doc every couple of years and they just kept upping the script.

Changed jobs, and ended up breaking my glasses at work, and just wasnt able to get another pair right away. Started just wearing my safety glasses and "making do" with "cheaters" when needed. By the end of the summer, I found I really didnt miss my glasses at all, and actually found my eyes seemed to be getting better rather than worse. I was easily reading things I didnt seem to be able to without my gasses before.

Ive had two eye exams since, and told both docs about this, and they both blew me off, and didnt seem to want to hear about it. Both said my eyes couldnt be getting "better" and that I needed to get glasses.

Here it is, ten years later, and while I do have some trouble with the very fine print on some things, I havent missed the trifocals at all. For those very fine print things, a $3 pair of 1.5x Walmart cheaters work great.

Im not doubting in the least that some people need glasses, I know for many, that is the case, but I do have to question the whole system they have going, and to me, no matter what, they always tell you your eyes are getting worse, and you always need stronger and stronger scripts.

Funny how those glasses always seem to cost more and more $$ too. My last pair from the eye doc was well over $500. My last pair at Walmart, a 3 pack for $7. Naaaa, its not a racket.

osbornk · July 7, 2017, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Im not doubting in the least that some people need glasses, I know for many, that is the case, but I do have to question the whole system they have going, and to me, no matter what, they always tell you your eyes are getting worse, and you always need stronger and stronger scripts.

I don't know about others but the last 3 or 4 times I had my eyes examined, I was told that my eyes had not changed much and I didn't need new glasses unless I just wanted them. I got my last progressive lens glasses at Walmart and the clear lens with the cheapest frame was $88 and the ones with transition lens were under $150.

ShootistPRS · July 8, 2017, 02:56 PM

My eyes did get worse and I didn't need a doctor to tell me. I need to get new glasses and I have developed a problem with double images when not wearing glasses in both eyes. (I tried the right and left eye separately and see two lines on a paper when there is only one there). With my glasses it is not as defined but the double image is there - just closer to each other or almost on top of each other.
So, I will go get another exam and a couple of pairs of glasses. One for reading and the other so I can read street signs while driving. The reading glasses have to be used to read a micrometer and vernier calipers.

When I shoot my pistols I have to wear my reading glasses to see the front sight clearly. I do practice instinctive fire out to ten yards and I am reasonably accurate at that range.

Don Fischer · July 8, 2017, 08:11 PM

I would think in a self defense situation, the glass's wouldn't matter. I'm not a great shot with a handgun but don't do to bad if I have something other than my carry gun. I found when practicing with y carry gun and using the sight's I wasn't any better off than pointing and shooting. So I switched over to that and have been getting shot's off faster and actually more accurately. Problem I think is the almost non existence sight radius. I don't shoot at paper target's with it, I shoot at fair sized object's. Actually I've never shot at paper target's with any handgun that I recall. I've always shot at things! Knot on a tree, pine cone on the ground ect. Then to when practicing with my carry gun, I never shoot much beyond seven yards either.

June 2, 2017, 01:56 PM	#1
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	Practicing without glasses. I broke a long shooting drought a year ago, and found I shoot a handgun better wearing just safety glasses. I am nearsighted, long over due for an eye exam, the optometrist tried to sell me on bifocals last time, I find it easier to take my glasses off for reading, close work, etc. No problem focusing on the front sight and my groups are getting tight again. And it seems in a tactical situation eyeglasses come off pretty quickly and in a home invasion they might not be handy. Any thoughts ?

June 2, 2017, 04:48 PM	#3
Mannlicher Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2001 Location: North Central Florida & Miami Posts: 3,209	I am going to use the glasses. If I don't have 'em, its a chest to chest scenario for me. __________________ Nemo Me Impune Lacesset "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.".........Ronald Reagan

June 2, 2017, 05:21 PM	#4
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	I don't see very well up close. The sights on handguns are a bit blurry. At the range, I use my glasses if needed. It depends on the distance and light conditions. At home I would rely on point shooting rather than fumbling for glasses in the dark. After identifying who or what made the bump in the night, of course. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

June 3, 2017, 11:38 AM	#5
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...in a home invasion..." It won't make any difference at all. You'll be aiming at the centre of the mass, not a wee tiny bullseye. You'll note that some of us nearsighted types see differently at different distances too. Those safety glasses seem to be distorted just right for you. Most of 'em badly distort everything. Once in a while you'll find a pair that don't. Got myself a pair of those for a buck. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

June 4, 2017, 01:29 PM	#7
K_Mac Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2010 Posts: 1,850	SIGSHR if you can shoot better without corrective lenses you're better off than many of us. It is just one less thing to mess with. I see enough without mine to recognize faces at any distance inside my home, but given the time I would grab my glasses with my left hand and my pistol with my right while rolling out of bed or getting out of the shower. At all other times I have them on. I'm confident I would be fine without a clear sight picture at close range, and practice point and shoot at standard self-defense distances. __________________ "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Benjamin Franklin

June 2, 2017, 04:10 PM	#2
TailGator Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,787	That thought crossed my mind, too, but I realized that I am so severely near-sighted that I can't count on recognizing the difference between bad guy and good guy without my specs. Low light, of course, would make me even more uncertain. I wear progressive bifocals, if that is the right term, and the right head tilt is kind of part of my shooting stance now, practiced along with other aspects of shooting.

June 3, 2017, 08:30 PM	#6
Equin Junior Member Join Date: April 16, 2017 Location: Waxahachie, TX Posts: 14	Subscribed. I'm so badly nearsighted I'm considered legally blind without corrective lenses. Interested in hearing what others do as the thought has crossed my mind on what or how I'd be able to respond to an intruder waking me at night and not finding my eyeglasses on time.

June 4, 2017, 01:39 PM	#8
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	I once had given some thought about loss of my glasses on a hunting trip. It would be with 44mag with iron sights. So I tested it .With the glasses I had the front sight was not quite perfectly sharp while without glasses the front sight WAS perfectly sharp. Hadn't told my buddy -"you can't hunt without your glasses " I got my deer ! The problem was loss of sharpness at beyond normal shooting ranges. __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

July 5, 2017, 11:25 AM	#9
JJE Member Join Date: November 1, 2006 Location: Vancouver, WA, USA! Posts: 91	I've been very nearsighted my whole life. I don't do anything without glasses on or contact lenses in. Around the house I wear "near vision" glasses that I can read with, cook with, etc. But if I go outside, or especially if I drive, I wear "distance glasses" that give me 20/20 vision, or I wear contacts + prescription cheaters over the contacts to get 20/20 - but I can't read with this combination of eyewear. At the range, I shoot my self-defense handguns (S&W snubby, Glock 42, Glock 26, Glock 19) with my "near-distance" glasses or with contact lenses that give about the same correction - nowhere near 20/20, but I can see the front sight well enough to put all my rounds on a 9" plate at 21 feet, and almost all hits out to 30 feet. I don't shoot SD guns to get small groups - I just want to eliminate flyers and get everything on a 9" plate at a realistic, short distance. The S&W snubby has gutter sights, but I put Aro-Tek ghost ring rear sights (http://www.arotek.com/default.aspx?p...tView&Part=124) and XS tritium Big Dots on all the Glocks, so I don't have to even think about the rear sight. I also shoot a 22 target pistol. With this gun I'm trying to shoot small groups, so I wear contacts plus Adlens glasses (https://www.amazon.com/Adlens-Adjust.../dp/B00HFGXJAA) that allow me to focus very clearly on the front sight or on a red dot. The adlens glasses are not safety glasses, so I wouldn't use them with centerfire cartridges, just rimfires. I know it's a safety compromise, but they do have 2 layers of plastic lens and they are the only thing I have found that allows me to see a front sight clearly. I shoot the 22 pistol out to 30 feet using target sights and out to 45 feet or farther with a red dot. Before I found the Adlens glasses, I had just about given up on target shooting. __________________ Julian California Rifle & Pistol Association, SAF and NRA Life Member

July 5, 2017, 06:06 PM	#10
briandg Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2010 Posts: 5,468	I'm kinda screwed. A brain tumor damaged my vision centers. I will never shoot as well and nothing can help it. So I don't shoot as well. I've never been interested in competition, I just enjoy doing it well. __________________ None.

July 6, 2017, 08:28 AM	#13
Longhorn1986 Senior Member Join Date: July 12, 2016 Location: Fort Bend County, Texas Posts: 173	I am in a similar situation as the OP in that I'm borderline bifocal, but really don't use them for close-up work. Funny, I just noticed this thread. Went shooting July 4th at an indoor range and for the first time, I noticed the lower light conditions affected my sight picture. I was surprised by the change. Admittedly, I was trying out new pistols, so it wasn't the sight picture I was used to. I think that in a high stress situation, I probably wouldn't notice any blurring.

July 6, 2017, 09:04 AM	#14
osbornk Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2012 Location: Mountains of Appalachia Posts: 1,598	I have progressive lenses (no line bi-focals) . It was a learning process that only took a little time but I shoot fine with them on. You get used to them and look though the part of the glasses that work and you don't even realize you are doing it. I thought it would be a problem but it was not.

July 6, 2017, 11:03 AM	#15
AK103K Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2001 Posts: 10,223	Im thinking a lot of the eyeglass thing is all BS, and by continuing to go, youre actually weakening your eyes, and not helping them. About ten years ago, I had been wearing glasses for about 10+ years, and was wearing progressive trifocals. Went to the eye doc every couple of years and they just kept upping the script. Changed jobs, and ended up breaking my glasses at work, and just wasnt able to get another pair right away. Started just wearing my safety glasses and "making do" with "cheaters" when needed. By the end of the summer, I found I really didnt miss my glasses at all, and actually found my eyes seemed to be getting better rather than worse. I was easily reading things I didnt seem to be able to without my gasses before. Ive had two eye exams since, and told both docs about this, and they both blew me off, and didnt seem to want to hear about it. Both said my eyes couldnt be getting "better" and that I needed to get glasses. Here it is, ten years later, and while I do have some trouble with the very fine print on some things, I havent missed the trifocals at all. For those very fine print things, a $3 pair of 1.5x Walmart cheaters work great. Im not doubting in the least that some people need glasses, I know for many, that is the case, but I do have to question the whole system they have going, and to me, no matter what, they always tell you your eyes are getting worse, and you always need stronger and stronger scripts. Funny how those glasses always seem to cost more and more $$ too. My last pair from the eye doc was well over $500. My last pair at Walmart, a 3 pack for $7. Naaaa, its not a racket.

July 8, 2017, 02:56 PM	#17
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	My eyes did get worse and I didn't need a doctor to tell me. I need to get new glasses and I have developed a problem with double images when not wearing glasses in both eyes. (I tried the right and left eye separately and see two lines on a paper when there is only one there). With my glasses it is not as defined but the double image is there - just closer to each other or almost on top of each other. So, I will go get another exam and a couple of pairs of glasses. One for reading and the other so I can read street signs while driving. The reading glasses have to be used to read a micrometer and vernier calipers. When I shoot my pistols I have to wear my reading glasses to see the front sight clearly. I do practice instinctive fire out to ten yards and I am reasonably accurate at that range.

July 8, 2017, 08:11 PM	#18
Don Fischer Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2017 Posts: 1,868	I would think in a self defense situation, the glass's wouldn't matter. I'm not a great shot with a handgun but don't do to bad if I have something other than my carry gun. I found when practicing with y carry gun and using the sight's I wasn't any better off than pointing and shooting. So I switched over to that and have been getting shot's off faster and actually more accurately. Problem I think is the almost non existence sight radius. I don't shoot at paper target's with it, I shoot at fair sized object's. Actually I've never shot at paper target's with any handgun that I recall. I've always shot at things! Knot on a tree, pine cone on the ground ect. Then to when practicing with my carry gun, I never shoot much beyond seven yards either.