Glasses & Front Site

[scowens]

I use 2.0 readers for reading, duh..  My front site is blurry.  With readers they are sharp.  I am wondering what folks think about getting the appropriate safety glasses made with this magnification, for pistol shooting?  What are your thoughts/comments?

 

Thanks 

[robport]

Go to Amazon.com and order a couple of different strength full lens reader safety glasses.  I think I have Elvex or something like that.  They are only about $12 a pair and you can try them before you spend the money to have glasses made.  I have been using the cheap ones for a couple of years now.

[TaterHead]

I have used readers for shooting for some time now. They are a full size, not half glasses. The front site is sharp, targets are a little blurred, but overall, it works quite well for me. Paper and steel both at usual uspsa distances are really not an issue due to blurring. Longer targets, say 30 yards, are a challenge, but I don't run into them often. The sharp front sight makes a big difference. 

[RangerTrace]

SSP makes some inexpensive top focul glasses for shooting.  There is just a small  piece of correction at the top of the lens so you can focus on your front sight when you are in an aggressive shooting position.  

[B585]

If you can teach your brain to shift which eye it uses, a better option is getting a +2.00 contact lens for the right eye.  Contacts won’t cause everything to appear to shift when you aren’t looking through the center of the lens like glasses do.  FYI +2.00 is not magnification, that is the prescription.

[Ken6PPC]

You can usually use a lower diopter to focus on the front sight than you use for readers. 

 

In other words, if the best readers for you are +2.00, you may be able to use a +1.00 to focus on the front sight.  The advantage to this is the targets aren't quite as blurry as they would be with a +2.00.  The targets aren't as crisp as they would be without additional correction for focusing up close, but aging eyes have to compromise...  

 

My prescription calls for glasses with +2.00 reading bifocals.  I have another pair with +1.00 in the upper portion of the lens that I use for shooting.  This combination has been my best solution for me and my eyes so far.  

 

But everyone's eyes are different!  Experimentation is the best way to find out what will work best for you!  If you explain to your optometrist what you are trying to accomplish, he or she can help.  If he or she is also a shooter, and needs additional correction for reading, they can REALLY help!  

[Jeff_Alan]

I use 2.0 to read and did some experimenting and found out that the 1.50 was all I needed for seeing my front sight. ESS make a frame that clips inside the glasses so I had the 1.50 on the right eye and just a clear lens on the left works pretty well. Like someone else said when target is 25-30yards it’s a little difficult. Or even closer head shots can be blurry. But have started trying Carry Optics and don’t need the magnification. 

[PatJones]

I'm nearsighted. My optician, a shooter, made me prescription lenses a quarter diopter weaker than my distance prescription. It's perfect, sight is crisp and targets not to fuzzy.

I think it's similar to what people get for computer glasses.

[xdr]

I wear 2.0 readers and my eye doc made me a pair of shooting glasses that have a very weak reader in the right eye only. It's a .75 which allows me to see the targets as well all though I have to have both eyes open. Works really well just takes a few minutes to get oriented to them. 

[touji]

10 hours ago, PatJones said:

I'm nearsighted. My optician, a shooter, made me prescription lenses a quarter diopter weaker than my distance prescription. It's perfect, sight is crisp and targets not to fuzzy.

I think it's similar to what people get for computer glasses.

 

For services like this, does it usually get covered under vision insurance? I am also near sighted with astigmatisms, and I've been contemplating getting a pair of shooting glasses specifically made. I've also considered going with a prescription sunglass route, but I'm not sure I'm willing to shell out a lot of money out of my own pocket for these kinds of services. 

[enzo357]

My dominant eye has a 1.5. Clear in the other. Works great to shoot, but do not try to drive with those things on............................

[jerryz]

After 50 years enjoying 20/15 vision, the day finally came for me to get glasses.  After my third pair of glasses, it took me a full year to get used to shooting with them.  Here is what I did on my version 3.0:

 

I can "see" the front sight without correction, but, just not well.  It's too fuzzy.

 

I can see the targets perfectly, uncorrected.

 

I am right handed.

 

What I found that worked best for me was to get a style with very large glass area.  My first couple pairs had smaller lenses and it was like looking through a peep hole.  My current style is like an aviator, with wrap around bows (which I just happen to like).  My glasses were custom made by a local eye doc, to my specs, after trying to make my own, and then having others custom made, but, not to these current specs.

 

The top half of the right lens is prescription to my reading glass requirement (I don't remember the numbers).  Basically, it's a bifocal on the top, but, it's the entire top half of a large lens. I found smaller glass or "normal" sized bifocals were fine if you're just out at the range sighting in a gun or something.  But the reason the top bifocal is large, and the lens is large, is so when you're stuck shooting through a barrel, or bending under a wall, or in some goofy contorted position, you have plenty of prescription area to work with. 

 

The bottom of the right lens is just clear safety glass -- no prescription.  The reason the bottom is clear is so I can easily see my feet and obstructions clearly as I'm running around.  It also allows me to tip my head back to see far away (farther than a front sight), clearly, if needed.

 

My left lens is also just clear glass.  I can see the targets just fine without correction. 

 

The reason for the clear glass is that as your pupils constrict, your vision and depth of focus, gets clearer.  I'm sure the other 60+ in the audience will confirm that low light vision gets tough.  If you use tinted glass, like sunglasses, your pupils will dilate, and your visual acuity suffers.  On bright days,  I wear regular sunglasses when I'm not shooting and swap to my clear shooting glasses when I'm on deck.

 

Now, here's the tricky part, you have to get used to keeping both eyes open,  (which I always did anyway) and superimposing the corrected right image of the front sight on the non corrected, but still clear, left image of the target.  As I said, it took a while.  But, I have to say, it works like a champ.

[Bullet56A]

Age has diminished my ability to see irons. 

Had a pair of glasses made.  

Right lens is 2.0

left is not corrected 

Shooting both eyes open works well for me. 

I do have to put the glasses on 15 or so minutes prior to shooting to let my eyes adjust. 

Sight is clear as are the targets at any Range.