Texas Hunting Forum

First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help

Posted By: Kevin1

First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 01:15 PM

I got my first pair of eyeglasses and I need some advice.
I have a light myopia and a very slight astigmatism.
My left eye is 20/20 and my shooting eye (right) is 20/40.

I just got a pair of eyeglasses for the first time (single vision lenses).

Looking through my red dot: AWSOME….the dot used to look like a starburst. Now it’s very crisp.

Pistol: Here’s the biggest problem….There is no way I can focus on the front sight. I can see the target much better, but the front sight is now fuzzy. And I’m talking about a Glock 35 with a long sight radius. I’ve always heard that the focus should be on the front sight and it’s ok to have a blurry target. But for me it’s the other around

Scoped rifle: I haven’t tried it out yet. But I’m thinking of shooting them without my eyeglasses and and not to mess with the focus ring. On the other hand my shooting eye has a 0.25 astigmatism as well….So maybe the overall image would improve if I shoot with my eyeglasses.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 01:27 PM

Pistol: Me thinks you are stuck with a clear target and fuzzy front sight. I don't think bifocals would help. Even with those you may get a clean front sight but the target would become unclear.

Scoped rifle: Wear your glasses. I have an astigmatism and wear contacts to correct that as well as near sightedness. Turn the scope magnification as high as it will go, get comfortable behind the rifle on a bench or prone with your eyes closed. Open you eyes, if you have any blackness around the perimeter of the scope and it forces you to move your head toward or away from the scope to get rid of the balckness, stop! Move the scop to correct the blackness. This sets eye relief to your natural point of aim. A scoped rifle should be set to gain a sight picture as quickly as you can gain a shotgun bead. Once eye relief is set, level the scope and torque down the ring screws. Now point the scope at the sky and adjust the diopter (rear focus) until the reticle is perfectly clear, leave it there. Once you have that set move onto a distant target and adjust focus of the target until it is clear and realize you may have to continually adjust target focus depending on the distance of the target.
Posted By: redchevy

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 01:57 PM

I would ask where you got your glasses?

Did you go to the eye express in front of walmart or to a optometrist?

I have always gone to an optometrist that runs a private practice my wife always went to the walmart type places. I believe you get a much better service at a private office than at the walmart type places, my wife now agrees also.
Posted By: Texan Til I Die

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 02:08 PM

I have basically the same problem, but I don't wear glasses. I've learned to shoot handguns right handed, but use my left eye. It didn't take much practice to shift over to the other eye and now it comes quite naturally (for me anyway). It did change my point of impact slightly, so on handguns with adjustable sights I did some minor tweaking.
Posted By: Big Daddy K

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 03:05 PM

I have to raise my glasses up to shoot with my scope. No problem for me focusing on open sights, its seeing the target clearly that gets me.
Posted By: Big Daddy K

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 03:05 PM

I have to raise my glasses up to shoot with my scope. No problem for me focusing on open sights, its seeing the target clearly that gets me.
Posted By: Csports

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 04:27 PM

Good Morning gang

I am new to the Board, I hope I am not breaking any rules,
however I am very well versed in shooting glasses.
a couple of my customers emailed me and called me about this post.

When you wear bifocals, and the bifocal add power is +1.75 or above, these powers are set for about 15 inches, Most all people have problems with items that are 20 to 28 inches away-

Example if a shooter has a bifocal add power of a +2.50 and is 6 foot tall and is shooting a full size 1911 carriage handgun- the front sights are usually 24 inches out to 27 inches-

so they are over corrected AND the bifocal is not in the right sport- a shooter with normal bifocals is now raising their chin and either standing straight up or leaning backwards- this make 2nd and 3rd follow up shots terrible

What I have done, is to install a High quality presson on bifocal on the top of the dominant eye- this pushes the shooter back into proper shooting stance-

a slight lean into the recoil

chin slightly tucked

this make follow up shots, so much quicker and more accurate. One of my shooter in East Texas area ( I almost gave away his home town) went from 6 to 8 seconds between shots to all 3 in about 4 seconds.

We have too many older shooters, quitting shooting, not because they lose the heart of the shooter, they loose the ability to see what they are shooting at!

One of my guys, a WW2 and Korean sergeant. told the range guys to make him an offer on his guns, he couldn't hit squat and he was going to quit.

The guys that own the range, bought glasses from me after they saw a number of my guys win their divisions at Camp Perry. They told old Joe to call me and if it didn't help, they would include the price of the glasses, in the price of the guns, if he still wanted to sell the guns.

Well "old Joe" is still shooting and has that snap to his walk again.

I need to say, there are aa lot of great Optometrists, Ophthalmologists and Opticians out there, the HOWEVER is they do not shoot and they do not understand, what we do as shooters and hunters. Some try to make wild concoctions of your prescription- this might be great for bench rest shooting, but wearing them everyday sucks!
One of my law Enforcement guys was made a pair of glasses, that had distance and near- they were great at the range, but at work on patrol, he could not see his computer properly, he could see very well out the passengers side of the car- could not look down alleys on the passengers side of the car to look down alleys

This guys, is a policeman, on the east coast- he called one Monday morning and was just a nervous mess- He wanted to say thank you! I had to ask for what? He told me he had a call to say thanks and get part of this feeling?
he was so hyper I had to ask what happened- he was called out for crowd control on a shooting- his friends were the paramedics- he bowls with them- Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something- the shooter was back and had raised the gun to shoot over the crowd to finish the victim off! He was able to see the gun and grab it and stop the shooting- His friends the paramedics were ok- when he got back to the station, he had people hold the gun up and he put his " bench rest shooting glasses" on- He determined , he would not have seen the gun, and a lot of people would have been hurt.

I am a shooter, I am a hunter, I fish, I do what I am speaking about- the reason I got this "Shooting system" going, is because I could not see my front sights and I started playing with what worked for me.

Other shooters at the ranges, began to ask me "How the Hell are you seeing that, and how the hell are you hitting it- If you can see it, you can hit it- If you can't see it, you will never hit it

I started making glasses for others

I want to make a big point- I only do the inverted bifocal on the DOMINANT eye, the off eye is used to see the target- it is more simple than you can imagine

I want to make another point- the inverted bifocal is a High quality lens, not like the cheap ones you see at walmart.

These are removable and upgradable- I have one customer, that shoots many different types of competitions- everything from IDPA, Cowboy action, PPC, to match service rifles, to an original muzzle loader from 1670,
he moves the lens to accommodate his shooting needs.

I also have another man, that first want 4 pairs of glasses and he was a handfull trying to get him to understand, he did not need to buy four pairs of glasses, he just needed 3 different power removable bifocals! he can shoot his collection of pocket pistols ( derringers, 25 automatics) 20 inches to his standard 1911 collection 26 inches, to his sharp 45/70 and his British Endfield 303- out about 39 inches

I hope no one gets mad about me saying this stuff, its so simple, to do. I make a ton of glasses for Military, Law Enforcement Officers, competitors, and casual shooters. again you got to be able to see it to hit it

I use a lot of Ballistic grade frames, that are approved for combat-

the other point is, with the bifocal on top on the dominant eye, you can walk, drive, work, because the lens sits right above your pupil. When you want to aim, you drop your chin 3/8's to 1/2 inch and wham- no searching, no readjusting, you have almost immediate sight acquisition

Sorry for the ramble, but it is not you, its the glasses you were sold

thanks
Chris Vogler
Posted By: Cast

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 04:32 PM

Great info, thanks.
Posted By: OkieDokie

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 05:13 PM

Great post and welcome to the forum.
Posted By: Kevin1

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 05:14 PM

I got my prescription from an ophthalmologist (MD) and got the eyeglasses at Target (their most expensive lenses).

If I understand correctly the inverted bifocal eyeglasses approach, it implies shooting your pistol with both eyes open (dominant eye on the front sight, the other eye on the target).

If that’s the case, I don’t think I need eyeglasses to shoot pistol. I think I just need to practice shooting my pistol with both my eyes open. My dominant eye is near sighted (20/40) and can easily see the front sight. My other eye is 20/20 and can see the target.

I would only use my eyeglasses when shooting with a red dot or a scope.
Posted By: Csports

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 05:16 PM

Thank You guys
Hey Mr Cast, so do I, played one too many rugby games, with no helmet and when through to many windshields and tended a little too much bar in college

if I am not having fun, pleased don't tell me, let me thrive in ignorance
Posted By: Csports

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 08:00 PM

Good afternoon folks

I need to say everybody, needs eye protection! I have been an Optician for nearly 30 years and the accidents I have seen are way too many.

Not every one shoots with both eyes open, or has both eyes. then you will do a rocking position, inhale- see the front sight, exhale see the target, inhale see the front sight, exhale squeeze of the round- I think I have about 30 or so one eyed shooters

I also help produce a radio show on talkstl.com with Ray Eye eyes on the outdoors
and
I do the news, I get way to many injury reports, bad loads, bad guns- you only got one set of eyes
I have seen way too many permanent eye injuries being an optician and then doing the news I get too many range reports on eye damamge
Posted By: Buzzsaw

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/15/15 11:52 PM

Originally Posted By: FiremanJG
Pistol: Me thinks you are stuck with a clear target and fuzzy front sight. I don't think bifocals would help. Even with those you may get a clean front sight but the target would become unclear.

Scoped rifle: Wear your glasses. I have an astigmatism and wear contacts to correct that as well as near sightedness. Turn the scope magnification as high as it will go, get comfortable behind the rifle on a bench or prone with your eyes closed. Open you eyes, if you have any blackness around the perimeter of the scope and it forces you to move your head toward or away from the scope to get rid of the balckness, stop! Move the scop to correct the blackness. This sets eye relief to your natural point of aim. A scoped rifle should be set to gain a sight picture as quickly as you can gain a shotgun bead. Once eye relief is set, level the scope and torque down the ring screws. Now point the scope at the sky and adjust the diopter (rear focus) until the reticle is perfectly clear, leave it there. Once you have that set move onto a distant target and adjust focus of the target until it is clear and realize you may have to continually adjust target focus depending on the distance of the target.


Jason is spot on about the pistol. i' have same problem, You can take your pistol to your optician and he can build you a pair of PISTOL ONLY glasses. Only good for range shooting. Other than that, I have a Crimson Trace green rail master on both my big guns, the small guns are just close range, point and shoot guns.
Posted By: Csports

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/16/15 04:31 PM

Is it proper to give my contact information?

not all, not many opticians let you bring your gun into their stores
Posted By: jeffbird

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/16/15 08:58 PM

Originally Posted By: Csports
Good afternoon folks

I need to say everybody, needs eye protection! I have been an Optician for nearly 30 years and the accidents I have seen are way too many.

Not every one shoots with both eyes open, or has both eyes. then you will do a rocking position, inhale- see the front sight, exhale see the target, inhale see the front sight, exhale squeeze of the round- I think I have about 30 or so one eyed shooters

I also help produce a radio show on talkstl.com with Ray Eye eyes on the outdoors
and
I do the news, I get way to many injury reports, bad loads, bad guns- you only got one set of eyes
I have seen way too many permanent eye injuries being an optician and then doing the news I get too many range reports on eye damamge


Where are you located? I'd love to come in for a pair of glasses.
Posted By: rentzington

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/18/15 03:17 PM

good to know im not the only person who has issues with glasses and focusing on the front sight. it's a real challenge at longer distances as well so i probably need to get some dedicated shooting glasses
Posted By: Csports

Re: First pair of eyeglasses and shooting: need help - 09/23/15 11:33 PM

I am in St. louis, MO- however, I have figured a way to make it easy for out of town Orders

This last five days, I have taken orders from lake Charles LA. Two in Iowa, Phoenix and central california
if I can talk to you, I can make it simple and you get to try the frames on! before you buy.
I can put any prescription in any frame, however will you be able to see? My job is to match the face, frame and prescription
314 406 6166 chris.completesafety@gmail.com
© 2024 Texas Hunting Forum