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Glasses for old eyes


tomneal

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I pulled out a limited gun for the first time in a while and I noticed that there is a black blur on top of my gun where the front sight used to be.

For one match, I put on some off the shelf reading glasses and discovered that I could see the front sight but the targets were a bit blurry.

Here is what I am thinking of doing:

Go to the eye doctor and get a perscription for a right bifocal and a left plain lense.

Has anyone tried that?

Did it work?

Did you take a gun to the eye exam?

I have seen some shooting glasses with changable outer lenses.

Any thoughts?

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I've spoken to my optometrist about this very thing, and he simply told me to bring a gun in (yes, a real one) and he'd see what he could do. I haven't done it as yet, but it's on my "to do" list before spring rolls around.

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I'm not really sure which route to take, as I already wear bifocals. Perhaps the inverted bifocal would work. I find if I wear my computer glasses I can see the sights quite well, although the target is blurry. Perhaps a "compromise" lens would help?

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I did a search and didn't find all the information I wanted.

Such as did you take your gun to the eye exam?

What correction did you get for your non-sighting eye?

I was also hoping to get some reviews from folks that had tried some of the prescription inserts.

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I have a 1.5 reading prescription in my right lens and plain in the left. It was a little difficult to get used to at first, but works for me. The Oakly lens for my M frame are the best but also the mose expensive. I also have a yellow wire rim set for indoors. They were a lot less money.

I had my wife measure from the tip of my nose to my front sight and worked with the doc for a prescription for that distance. To try this out, get some dime store reading glasses and see which ones work.

Regards,

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This is exactly the problem I had after hitting age 46 so I too searched for a solution.

I wear contac lens for nearsightedness and I tried the reading glasses a few times to clear up the front sight. As mentioned the problem was the left lens was also magnified and made the targets blurry.

I went to my eye dr and had a pair of tinted lens shooting glasses made. I chose a light wire frame that only went across the top of the lens. This kept me from being distracted by a frame on the sides and bottom of the lens.

I had already decided on the Oakley Persimmon lens color as I felt it offered the widest range for most shooting situations, be it indoors, cloudy/rainy, or bright sunlight.

The right lens came down to a .50 -.75 power magnification. I actually preferred the sight picture with the .75 but for me, it was just a tad much for my non-magnified left eye to compensate for. It caused just a bit of strain and focus issues that I felt would lead to headaches or depth perception problems. So I went with the .50. I also can still see well at a distance with the .50.

My entire right lens in the .50, not just a portion of it like a bifocal. So there is no worrying about looking through the right part of the lens, even when shooting in awkward postions.

When I first put the glasses on, it takes maybe 10 minutes for my eyes to adjust to the difference in the lenses but after that, I don't even know they are on and can pick up the front sight much faster. They also don't cause problems when shooting 3 gun matches where you transition between pistol and long gun.

Wasn't cheap but worth every cent. It cost about $250.

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For those of us who wear contact lenses to correct near sightedness, try the newer soft bi-focal contacts. They allow me to see the front sight very well and still retain distance vision for the targets.

But Decot Hy Wyds work very well also. I wouldn't mind trying an inverted bi-focal on my shooting lense but just can't justify the expense since the bi-focal contacts work so well.

Bill

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I also suffer from old, nearsighted eyes, amongst other things I won't mention, and having tried soft contact lenses, and bifocal glasses made the plunge to Decot shooting glasses. The dominate eye lens is 50% of my bifocal strength and the other lens is my perscription distance. It does take some getting use to, as the other posters mentioned, but you will SEE the front sight, rear sight, and target. They're worth a look. Good luck with your search and good shooting.

Ian

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I called Lehman optical years ago, and told Allen what I needed, and sent my prescription. He sent me Hy-Wyd type glasses that were perfect. I had some other inserts made for My Bolles as well. I basically had my diopter cranked up one settting, makes the front sight crisp. I luckily have had the same prescription for years. Only problem is that if I wear them all day I get a headache, but I can see my front sight well! ;)

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I am near and far sighted as many 50+ folks are these days. I was tired of squinting at the front sight, and hoping that I could focus on it.

I bought as set of shooting glasses with the Rx insert, and had the Rx insert made with an upside down bifocal. I know my eye-doctor, so I took my full-sized carry gun in, and had him get me a measurement to see the front sight. I then asked him to make the bifocals upside down, so that the bifocal focus "spot" was on top instead of on the bottom, as it normally is set. The rest of the lense is setup for distance. So, when I am in the aiming position with head strraight, I am looking through the focus "spot", and I can see the front sight perfectly, while the target is slightly blurred. If I want to look at a distance, I just tip my head back, so I can see below the focal "spot".

The only time it's a pain, is when I have to read something. That's not that often when I am shooting, unless it is the range descripton, but I step back a bit to see those and listen closely to the R/O.

:)

Since most of the sports that I shoot [uSPSA/IDPA] have targets relatively close, I am aiming at the center of mass, and I'm fine. These glasses have improved my shooting.

I have the ESS ICE glasses that have the optional Rx inserts. There are also others on the market with a similar setup.

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Merlin,

Yes I do wear Decot's exclusively. I started wearing glasses when I was 7 and started shooting trap when I was 10. I wore prescription Decots until I was 30 when I had Lasik to correct my vision. I now wear non script Decot's and have continued to be extremely pleased with their product. In my experience Decot's customer service is second to none. They have been willing on more than one occasion been willing to contact my opthamologist in order to get the correct exam and prescription info that was needed.

My Dad has also shot with Decot's for several years and being a little older has utilized their custom scripts even more with 100% satisfaction.

All this and the bonus that Decot is a great shooting sports contributor, several other popular brands do not support the shooting sports at all.

Hope this helps, Craig

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  • 1 month later...

In my case I have a choice I can either see the gun sight good or the Target not both

Instead of bifocals try progresive lenses they dont fill the whole lense rather the center section...you would be able to see the tip of the gun to about 25 feet for close quarter type shooting like at the IPSC matches

LAkid.........wish I were a kid again...wooulda ate those DARN carrots!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Been struggling with same problem. First I tried the inverted bifocal, the whole top third of the lenses. Yes it works but was lousy for 3Gun and often had trouble finding the bifocal when shooting in odd positions. I could tell I was loosing time when I found myself head bobbing trying to get the front sight in focus. Next I went to the ESS with prescription insert. Had my dominate eye set for the front sight, the other for distance. Worked good for pistol, but found on Rifle if the sun was behind me I got a bad reflection between the two lenses. Finally I took an old set of Aviator glasses I had and had them put dominate eye at the bifocal strength for the whole lenses and the other eye at distance.

True it is a little odd wearing them for general use, and if you wear them all day a mild headache is achieved. But damn that steel just flew off the stands again. I could even see the dust on my front sight, close and far targets where engaged without any trouble. Work great on my AR 15 also, shotgun if fine also.

They were also the cheapest of three tries, I just order clear Poly plastice lenses, plus they are so light compared to Glass.

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  • 5 years later...

Heres what worked for me for shooting a variety of guns, long and short. Decot Hy=wide is great aviator style frame with bridge on the inside where it is supposed to be. Keeps the lenses from fogging in Florida heat/humidity. Lenses snap in an out so you can have a variety of colors or prescriptions. For Iron site pistols my dominant eye is focused on front site the other on infinity. When using scoped rifle dominant eye is focused on infinity. Don't get bifocal it is never in the right place. My favorite color is the lightest blue blocker. Looks Salmon colored, really helps on those days you would be squinting otherwise. Yet helps keep the contrast on targets that are in the shadows, it can be hard to find a tan target on clay berm. The lense case holds three extra pairs of lenses. I just show up and select my lenses and color.

Very large lenses and great field of view and good coverage.

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