Eye glasses training?

Xyas · April 5, 2010, 11:16 AM

Hey everyone. I wear glasses, and I was wondering...does anyone practice wearing both glasses and without. I never really thought about it, but glasses could easily get knocked off in certain situations and I was wondering if anyone trained with and without. Thanks!

pax · April 5, 2010, 11:25 AM

Yup. A few tips:

Always wear eye protection even if you are shooting "without glasses."
Always have a buddy there to keep an eye around you so you will stay safe. (Is anyone downrange? Are you sure...?)
Always check the chamber by both sight and feel to determine the firearm is unloaded before setting it down. When you have your glasses on, checking by feel is just an extra layer of safety. When you are running without glasses, it's absolutely mandatory.

I like to practice without my prescription lenses out to around seven to ten yards. That's around the distance across an ordinary room in the house. And at any further distance than that, I know that I personally would not be able to identify my target (visually) in real life anyway.

pax

Steviewonder1 · April 5, 2010, 11:46 AM

I only wear glasses for reading, however I use clear or tinted Safety Glasses which have no prescription sometimes when shooting and the Zero lens works just fine and still keeps me safe. My Competerion Shooting Prescription lenses are Right 2.0 diopter and the Left is 1.25. This gets the Front sight in clear sharp focus and the targets out to 25 or so yards in good clear focus. I also always keep both eyes open.

Trigger Finger · April 5, 2010, 03:39 PM

The easiest and best thing to do, without using a seeing eye dog, is to get LASIK eye surgery. It works great and my insurance covered it. But even if it did not the prices have gone down allot since I got it and it is deductible if you are a LEO.

old bear · April 5, 2010, 07:27 PM

No but I should, from time to time.

kraigwy · April 5, 2010, 07:47 PM

I use glasses for reading, but dont normally need corrective lenses for shooting.

My problem is, I can see to shoot, but I can see my sight tics or marks.

I get my reading glasses at the drug store. So what I do is get the cheap drugstore glasses for reading, pop out the Right glass of the specticals and put in a non-magnification lense, so I get the best of both worlds.

Now sometimes, depending on the conditions, and how tired I am, I still have trouble focusing on the front sight.

So I put the rifle to my shoulder, measure the distance from my eye, to the front sight. I go to the store, buy a pair of glasses that focus on the point I messured, and get the glasses accordingly, and use that lense for my shooting glasses.

An example, lets say I need the 2.75 mag. glasses for reading. After I get my messurments as above, I find out I need a 1.50 to propertly focus on the front sight. I just rebuild my glasses so I have the 2.75 for my left eye, and the 1.50 lense for my right or shooting eye.

Works for scopes too, only I use the non-mag. lense for my shooting eye when I'm using a scope.

Works good for pistols too, differant focal point so I have differant glasses for my pistol and rifle shooting.

Still using the reading lense (2.75) for my left, non-shooting eye.

Patchman · April 5, 2010, 08:41 PM

I'm severely near-sighted. If I don't wear my contacts or glasses I can't hit the broad side of a barn.

When I was in basic training all I had was my contact lenses. Well they took all of my contacts away from me and said they would give me my birth control glasses within a couple of days. Well it took three weeks to get my glasses and before I got them I had to qualify with the M16! I'm a pretty good shot and was hoping to shoot Expert and ended up just barely qualifying at all.

It worries me to be so reliant on corrective lenses. Seriously considering LASIK.

BlackFeather · April 6, 2010, 01:47 AM

I do from time to time. I prefer to shoot with them so I can see my hits better without moving up. I don't need them to shoot as I only have a problem with certain details. Mostly reading and minor details at a distance. I actually had this question the other day...

david58 · April 6, 2010, 07:59 PM

You certainly have gotten me thinking. I always use my glasses when I shoot, but I think I will start doing some training wearing straight out shooting glasses. Never stopped to think what would happen if I had no glasses and had to use my handgun. This should be educational. It'll be a couple of weeks before I can hit the range, but I certainly will report with the results (hopefully I can hit something...). With my poor near vision, reloading could be a chuckle...

bobelk99 · April 6, 2010, 08:15 PM

I shoot some without glasses, only to make sure I can fully function without them.

In the HD arena, most folks will jump up and grab hardware if a BG is in the house. It is nice to know you can handle your HD tool without the aid of your glasses.

April 5, 2010, 11:16 AM	#1
Xyas Member Join Date: July 2, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 87	Eye glasses training? Hey everyone. I wear glasses, and I was wondering...does anyone practice wearing both glasses and without. I never really thought about it, but glasses could easily get knocked off in certain situations and I was wondering if anyone trained with and without. Thanks!

April 5, 2010, 11:25 AM	#2
pax Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2000 Location: In a state of flux Posts: 7,520	Yup. A few tips: Always wear eye protection even if you are shooting "without glasses." Always have a buddy there to keep an eye around you so you will stay safe. (Is anyone downrange? Are you sure...?) Always check the chamber by both sight and feel to determine the firearm is unloaded before setting it down. When you have your glasses on, checking by feel is just an extra layer of safety. When you are running without glasses, it's absolutely mandatory. I like to practice without my prescription lenses out to around seven to ten yards. That's around the distance across an ordinary room in the house. And at any further distance than that, I know that I personally would not be able to identify my target (visually) in real life anyway. pax __________________ Kathy Jackson My personal website: Cornered Cat

April 5, 2010, 11:46 AM	#3
Steviewonder1 Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2009 Location: John's Creek, Georgia Posts: 328	Eye Glasses Training? I only wear glasses for reading, however I use clear or tinted Safety Glasses which have no prescription sometimes when shooting and the Zero lens works just fine and still keeps me safe. My Competerion Shooting Prescription lenses are Right 2.0 diopter and the Left is 1.25. This gets the Front sight in clear sharp focus and the targets out to 25 or so yards in good clear focus. I also always keep both eyes open.

April 5, 2010, 03:39 PM	#4
Trigger Finger Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2008 Location: Northern California Posts: 375	The easiest and best thing to do, without using a seeing eye dog, is to get LASIK eye surgery. It works great and my insurance covered it. But even if it did not the prices have gone down allot since I got it and it is deductible if you are a LEO. __________________ Land of the Free Because of the Brave!

April 5, 2010, 07:47 PM	#6
kraigwy Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 11,061	I use glasses for reading, but dont normally need corrective lenses for shooting. My problem is, I can see to shoot, but I can see my sight tics or marks. I get my reading glasses at the drug store. So what I do is get the cheap drugstore glasses for reading, pop out the Right glass of the specticals and put in a non-magnification lense, so I get the best of both worlds. Now sometimes, depending on the conditions, and how tired I am, I still have trouble focusing on the front sight. So I put the rifle to my shoulder, measure the distance from my eye, to the front sight. I go to the store, buy a pair of glasses that focus on the point I messured, and get the glasses accordingly, and use that lense for my shooting glasses. An example, lets say I need the 2.75 mag. glasses for reading. After I get my messurments as above, I find out I need a 1.50 to propertly focus on the front sight. I just rebuild my glasses so I have the 2.75 for my left eye, and the 1.50 lense for my right or shooting eye. Works for scopes too, only I use the non-mag. lense for my shooting eye when I'm using a scope. Works good for pistols too, differant focal point so I have differant glasses for my pistol and rifle shooting. Still using the reading lense (2.75) for my left, non-shooting eye. __________________ Kraig Stuart CPT USAR Ret USAMU Sniper School Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071

April 5, 2010, 07:27 PM	#5
old bear Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2009 Location: Not close enough to the beach Posts: 1,477	No but I should, from time to time.

April 5, 2010, 08:41 PM	#7
Patchman Member Join Date: March 28, 2010 Location: Galax, VA Posts: 73	I'm severely near-sighted. If I don't wear my contacts or glasses I can't hit the broad side of a barn. When I was in basic training all I had was my contact lenses. Well they took all of my contacts away from me and said they would give me my birth control glasses within a couple of days. Well it took three weeks to get my glasses and before I got them I had to qualify with the M16! I'm a pretty good shot and was hoping to shoot Expert and ended up just barely qualifying at all. It worries me to be so reliant on corrective lenses. Seriously considering LASIK.

April 6, 2010, 01:47 AM	#8
BlackFeather Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2009 Location: West Coast Posts: 450	I do from time to time. I prefer to shoot with them so I can see my hits better without moving up. I don't need them to shoot as I only have a problem with certain details. Mostly reading and minor details at a distance. I actually had this question the other day... __________________ "Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men." - Miyamoto Musashi [Insert random irrelevant religious quote here]

April 6, 2010, 07:59 PM	#9
david58 Member Join Date: March 29, 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 27	You certainly have gotten me thinking. I always use my glasses when I shoot, but I think I will start doing some training wearing straight out shooting glasses. Never stopped to think what would happen if I had no glasses and had to use my handgun. This should be educational. It'll be a couple of weeks before I can hit the range, but I certainly will report with the results (hopefully I can hit something...). With my poor near vision, reloading could be a chuckle... __________________ Kimber Custom Stainless II Smith and Wesson Model 59, Model 915, S&W Model 10 Snubby, Beretta Neos, Taurus 357, and a variety of 40 - 62 cal frontstuffers

April 6, 2010, 08:15 PM	#10
bobelk99 Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2005 Location: Central KY Posts: 220	I shoot some without glasses, only to make sure I can fully function without them. In the HD arena, most folks will jump up and grab hardware if a BG is in the house. It is nice to know you can handle your HD tool without the aid of your glasses.