20/20 vision.....would you use 1.0 glasses for clearer front sight?

[walsh]

Merry Christmas, fellow shooters!

 

I have a vision question that perhaps someone else has run into.

 

I had InterocularImplants 8 yrs ago to remove cataracts when I was 55 (family trait to get them early) and my 20/400 vision went to 20/20 vision, or sometimes better, in my cross dominant left eye. It's 20/25 in my right eye. I shoot right hand dominant with only the dominant left eye open.

 

For reading, I use 1.25 corrective cheaters at about 25 inches. When I extend to shoot I add 7 inches in length to where the front sight resides so it's at 32 inches and I need only 1.0 at that distance. It's possible that I could need a smidgen less correction but I'd need a new eye exam to be sure.

 

I know it's, front sight, front sight, front sight, etc. But if I wear the 1.0 glasses the clarity of the front sight is quite minuscule compared to not wearing any glasses, and I believe I can see the space on each side of the front post, as well as the height of the front post compared to the rear sights, almost as well without any glasses.

 

Has anyone else had to decide in a situation like this, and what did you decide on?

 

Just from my own experience you are likely not going to be dealing with the sights and you also won't have your shooting glasses with a corrective lens in an encounter with someone armed. So training without them will be the hand you are dealt in real life if you are preyed upon. I had an attempted armed robbery a few years ago and at 12-15 feet away I was looking down my barrel and focusing on the threat to see if he was still coming up with the gun that he was retrieving from a coat pocket. Seeing mine pointed at him already, which he had to see as he told me, "be cool" as he let his gun drop back into his jacket and held his hands up, helped me decided to not shoot. Also, encountering that time-slowing phenomenon is bizarre and it gave me more perceived time to think.

 

We have a seasoned criminal defense attorney in our gun club and he gave a seminar about what to do after a shooting (be quiet and say nothing to anyone without a lawyer is the short story) and he opened by saying that if you really don't need to shoot someone, even if you legally can, DON'T. He said he had represented many individuals in shootings in 30 years of practice and that your life changes in ways you never dreamed of when you start putting bullets into someone.  I think events of the last few years have made that pretty clear in some cases.

 

Thanks in advance,

Walsh

Edited December 23, 2017 by walsh
made subject clearer

[rowdyb]

which ever option lets you maintain absolutely clear focus on the front sight for 30 seconds every 45 minutes or so.

[9x45]

I just do 5 seconds at a time for 6 times......

[Jim Watson]

Empiricism.

Drugstore cheaters are cheap.  Get a set of 1.0 and shoot the gun.

[Jane]

As a REALLY mediocre 70-yr old who had cataract/IOLs two years ago, I've fooled around with this in the small amount of shooting I still do.

 

I tried shooting some stages with +1.0 computer glasses (full size lenses, versus the smaller reading glasses).  Jim's empiricism - to decide whether to have some eye protection made with a prescription right lens.

 

Wound up swapping the Warren sights on my Glock for Dawsons last summer, and found I can now see the sights well enough for my level of mediocrity - plate rack at 10-15 yards, etc.

 

Even renewing my Nevada CCW last month had no trouble with the (admittedly trivial) shooting qualification at an indoor range.

[dogtired]

I have experimented with this.  I had a pair of shooting glasses made with Right eye at 1x to see the front sight.  I shot with them for several years.  I was definately able to see a crisp front sight but targets were blurry.

 

I shot a 3 gun match and one of the stages was a 100 yd spinner.  Dropping to prone I shot a few times on a dusty field and my corrected right eye was only able to see dust, in fine focus of course.  After I decided to try something else.

 

I ordered a pair of readers from  readingglasses.com with a 1x left lens, 0x right for a trial.  They came out at about $40 with tinted lenses etc.  They have cheaper versions too, or more expensive frames.  In my first pistol match wearing them I won Limited which is not a usual feat for me (and the competition was not world class).

 

It has allowed me to shoot both eyes open and see enough of the front sight to make the correction worthwhile.  I am very right eye dominant.

[RickT]

I've had to shoot with my left eye this past six months due to cataracts in my dominant right eye.  Final had surgery on the right eye last Thursday and now have 20/20 in that eye.  I won't get tested for prescription for 3 weeks or so.  Shot today with a pair of my wife's readers, probably 1.5 and I felt reborn shooting-wise.  I think anything between 1.0 and 1.5 will probably work so I ordered  two pair of inexpensive full-lens safety glass readers.  I have a feeling 1.25 will be about right, but couldn't find that diopter off the shelf.  This is certainly a procedure you don't want to put off.  

 

 

[gigamortis]

Once I got into my mid to late 40's, my front sight got rather blurry right along with any reading within arms length.  I'm still at 20/20 in my right dominant eye at distance.  I took a chance on some full lens +1.0 diopter safety glasses found here:  https://www.amazon.com/Elvex-RX-500C-1-0-Magnifier-Black-Temple/dp/B00KSJNLO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514869345&sr=8-1&keywords=elvex+1.0+safety+glasses   They brought my front sight into focus without degrading my target distance focus and I can run through stages like I did in my younger years.  I use the same glasses with a +1.5 diopter on my reloading bench,  but target distances are blurry at this strength for me despite a very sharp front sight focus with these.

[CHA-LEE]

You need a lens correction that biases your focus to the front sight but also doesn't destroy your distance vision. In my testing a +1 or +1.5 diopter made the front sight very clear but also made the targets past 10 yards super blurry. I tested a bunch of different lens diopters and the best offset that worked overall was a +0.50 diopter in both eyes. This focal offset gently biases my focus to the sights without completely destroying my distance vision.

[jcc7x7]

9 hours ago, CHA-LEE said:

You need a lens correction that biases your focus to the front sight but also doesn't destroy your distance vision. In my testing a +1 or +1.5 diopter made the front sight very clear but also made the targets past 10 yards super blurry. I tested a bunch of different lens diopters and the best offset that worked overall was a +0.50 diopter in both eyes. This focal offset gently biases my focus to the sights without completely destroying my distance vision.

As above

and I had a set of glasses made with the correction on the top half (occupational bifocal) is what my eye doc calls it.

Seems to work great for both precision shots and hoser stages

[midnightson]

I'm a contact wearer, 54 years old. Three years ago I had my optometrist make me basically a reading lense for my dominat eye. What a game changer. I pop it in at the match and pop it out after.  But of course I don't wear it for edc. XS big dots are my friend. Anything you can do to help that focus is worth it, even if only at competitive events. 

[RickT]

This is a case of "different strokes".  0.5d brings the focus in to 3 meters, but many folks will have enough accommodation available to bring that focus in a bit when shifting to sight focus.  Others will need a bit more.  Prior to my surgery I'd ask the optometrist  for a front sight focus and he/she would bias my prescription by 1.5d.  My optician would move that out to 1.0d and I never had a problem with sight focus.  Now that I have a bionic right eye I'll try the 1.0d glasses on Saturday in live fire, but the sights look pretty shape aiming out the window at a cow.

[walsh]

Thanks for the replies. I am currently trying a .75 correction at a cheap price ($8.23) from Amazon to see how I like them as the front sight is sharp with that Rx:

Elvex RX-500C-0.75 Full Lens Magnifier, Black Frame /Grey Temple Tips

 

I have ESS glasses with a prescription that clips in but I had them made for bullseye shooting with a bifocal half-disk in the top. When shooting bullseye one isn't square to the target so when shooting non-bullseye I sometimes I catch the edge of the corrective lens and that makes them unworkable. If these work out fine I'll see my optometrist and get the entire left eye lens made to exactly what my eye exam shows at the front sight distance. He's a member of our gun club so he is fine with bringing in a cased gun with an empty chamber indicator in place and then doing an eye test at your front sight's distance to the eye.

 

Thanks for the replies,

Walsh

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2018 by walsh
Forgot to add price of glasses I'm trying

[tanks]

I have 20/20 distance vision, but need 1.75 readers. The front sight is blurry with no glasses. I had www.decot.com make me set of glasses  0.75 on shooting eye and clear on the other eye. It corrects enough for me to see the front sight, but still see the target.

[2MoreChains]

I wear contacts but need 1.5 readers for close.  Two years ago I thought I was just sucking after not shooting all summer but realized it was because my front sight was blurry.  A shooting buddy wears 0.75 diopter lenses to shoot so I tried them and it was like “hello front sight, I’ve missed you...”  But 0.75 was a little too strong and made the targets blurry, so I bought a pair of 0.5 safety glasses on Amazon.  That’s been working well for me.  

Edited January 18, 2018 by 2MoreChains