Eyesight and pistol shooting

boss281 · Feb 27, 2018

I guess this is just more of a vent than anything, but my slowly failing eyesight (nearsightedness) is really getting in the way of enjoyment when shooting my pistols. Since I use either red dots or magnifying optics on my ARs, I don't have that problem bulleye shooting or run n gun, but the pistols are frustrating.

When shooting at 10 yards in an in door range:
With my distance prescription, I have a fuzzy sight alignment, although in general I can get it squared away enough. Takes some concentrating though. With clear lenses, I have great alignment but the sight picture is fuzzy and I can barely discern a bulleye area on the target. With my fancy dominant side eye clear/weak side eye distance prescription I get dizzy and can't yet make it work with both eyes open. I tried several types of ammo (all 124g) and shot about 80% in a 5" circle, with the strays all drifting to 8 o'clock.

At 15 to 25 yards, fuhgetaboutit.

One thing that occurred to me is that the inside of the range lighting isn't real bright (I mean, it's ok, but not BRIGHT). When I got home I set up a target outside, measure off 30 feet, and dry fired the targets with my three eyeglass setups. Clear and distance prescription seemed better, the fancy prescription a mind numbing head spin.

The pistol is a CZ 75 P-01 bone stock and my work carry pistol, so the DA and SA trigger have a bit more creep than I like and I jerked a couple of times for some reason. The sights on this thing are basic and need upgrading as well. I've got the Cajun Gun Works Defensive Carry Package (decocker version) that fixes some of the trigger issues, and look forward to pulling the gun apart and getting the new parts in. I still haven't decided on which sights to try yet.

Bullseye marksmanship aside, it will be interesting to see how well I can compete in USPSA this year, my first year to actually start getting scored. I may be 60, but I hear it's the new 40 so I'm not giving up until I can't crawl anymore...

iH8DemLibz · Feb 27, 2018

I wear 1.25 magnifiers when using open sights on rifles and pistols.

Corrects my vision just enough to make front and rear sights and target visible and clear.

boss281 · Feb 27, 2018

iH8DemLibz said:
I wear 1.25 magnifiers when using open sights on rifles and pistols.

Corrects my vision just enough to make front and rear sights and target visible and clear.

Hmmm. Now that's one thing I haven't tried yet. Have a lot of those around the house...

spclopr8tr · Feb 27, 2018

iH8DemLibz said:
I wear 1.25 magnifiers when using open sights on rifles and pistols.

Corrects my vision just enough to make front and rear sights and target visible and clear.

That works well if you wear magnifiers all the time (doubtful) or when just shooting paper targets. I don't normally wear glasses except for reading. And the main purpose of my target practice is to stay proficient with my carry guns. When in a self-defense situation I likely won't be wearing magnifiers or have time to put them on. Consequently, I have trained to shoot with semi-fuzzy front/rear sights but clear target. It makes little difference the distance of the target. It is a variation of the point and shoot but with more granularity. I've become pretty proficient using this method.

We all get more physical limitations as we "mature" and must find creative ways to compensate that works for our individual needs.

Laddertowr · Feb 27, 2018

Boss
IM with you on eye sight issues.... after retina reattachment then a cataract issue my sight is like looking through wax paper in my one eye… hopefully come March 8th that will be resolved… then it’s onto wearing glasses… can’t wait to see how all this works out… Im no marksman nor do i compete but I had plans to make my time shooting my pistols more productive by learning to get on the target...

davsco · Feb 27, 2018

since they work on your long guns, get a red dot for your handguns. uspsa has a carry optics division now and so does idpa though not sure if that is provisional or final. glock, sig, m&p, whatever, throw a dot on it. then if you really want to get carried away, buy a 2011 open pistol, whole different animal. hit some matches and surely most if not all guys shooting them will let you play with them (carry optics and open).

if you want to stick to iron sights, get something with a wide rear notch and fiber optic front, so that you have plenty of room on each side of the "dot." at least for me (also near sighted and not too far behind you agewise) that helps for faster sight/target acquisition. for me, warren/sevigny competitions do that on my glocks. dawson has similar. and def use a fiber optic front vs just metal or night sights, that thing really lights up.

hillbilly grandpa · Feb 27, 2018

I wear monovision contact lenses. Left eye set for distance, right eye set for nearer--not near--distance. I use prescription "readers" over them for close work.

They took some getting used to. Keep in mind the initial disorientation stems from the fact that your brain hasn't had time to recalebrate how it interprets the incoming data. Once the brain reprograms how it handles the information the dizziness, etc. abates. In my opinion you can't just use the setup at the range, then switch to something else when you leave. Try a monovision type setup for a while for everyday use, and see if yuor brain doesn't catch up with your visual input.

randyho · Feb 27, 2018

One of the reasons I'm switching over to red dots.

boss281 · Feb 27, 2018

davsco said:
since they work on your long guns, get a red dot for your handguns. uspsa has a carry optics division now and so does idpa though not sure if that is provisional or final. glock, sig, m&p, whatever, throw a dot on it. then if you really want to get carried away, buy a 2011 open pistol, whole different animal. hit some matches and surely most if not all guys shooting them will let you play with them (carry optics and open).

if you want to stick to iron sights, get something with a wide rear notch and fiber optic front, so that you have plenty of room on each side of the "dot." at least for me (also near sighted and not too far behind you agewise) that helps for faster sight/target acquisition. for me, warren/sevigny competitions do that on my glocks. dawson has similar. and def use a fiber optic front vs just metal or night sights, that thing really lights up.

I'm calling Cajun Gun Works now to talk about the fiber optic sight set. As to the red dot, I'm mulling buying another pistol to have the slide milled for a RD, or just buy a RD ready gun like the Performance Center S&W 9mm C.O.R.E...

randyho · Feb 27, 2018

I'm very happy with the slides and work done by suarez international, fwiw.

IronEye · Feb 27, 2018

Nobody will consider me a good shot but I have been experimenting with my single focus computer glasses at the pistol range. These are optimized for 18". I wear these all day at work and leave at the end of the day with much less eye fatigue.

These glasses are cheap! I think I ordered them online for less than $30. You will need to speak to your optometrist to get a prescription and inter ocular distance.

My regular glasses are progressive lenses. I have a very heavy duty prescription.

I haven't made up my mind yet but I think I am leaning toward going back to the progressive lenses for use at the pistol range (25 yards). The sights are blurry. But I figure that if I ever need to shoot defensively I will not have time to change glasses.

But I will definitely be switching back and forth until I figure out what works for me.

BTW: my eyes are over 60 years old.

Hope this helps.

photoracer · Feb 27, 2018

I am 70 and had cataract surgery in both eyes back in 2016. Strange being far-sighted instead of near-sighted now. I can shoot iron sights well enough for PD but always use my special near/far shooting glasses when competing with non-optical sights at matches. Takes about 10-15 minutes for my eyes to adjust to them and my brain to adapt. So I can't really use both types of guns in the same squad or even the same day sometimes. It is what it is.

BigDaddy · Feb 27, 2018

In poor lighting, your pupils are bigger, than in bright light. That gives you a less sharper image. If you remember when cameras had F stops, F 22 gave you the sharpest pictures. Same with eyes.

Routine eye exams are important, cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration all start to happen at or age. I too am looking forward to getting my cataract out in a couple weeks. I also had a secondary cataract which is a clouding of the membrane they leave behind after cataract surgery. It progressed rapidly over 8 months, but a simple laser procedure took care of it.

There are older threads that mention an optician in Damascus, and I think one in Kingsville, where the owner is a shooter or at least knowledgeable about shooting. I have no experience there.

dontpanic · Feb 27, 2018

boss281 said:
I'm calling Cajun Gun Works now to talk about the fiber optic sight set. As to the red dot, I'm mulling buying another pistol to have the slide milled for a RD, or just buy a RD ready gun like the Performance Center S&W 9mm C.O.R.E...

I wear trifocals and have a really hard time with iron sights on pistols. Most of my .22s have red dots.

My 9mms have the fiber optic tube in the front and stock sight in the back. This works great for me.

My P-01 is the exception, I have this on the front and stock on the back. Having the enhanced sights front and back just made it an orange or green blur.

https://shop.opticsplanet.com/triji...4jphsGlvG6Rzb068JlOvQuy_XFwzM6bBoCPNwQAvD_BwE

Aventus · Feb 27, 2018

boss281 said:
I guess this is just more of a vent than anything, but my slowly failing eyesight (nearsightedness) is really getting in the way of enjoyment when shooting my pistols. Since I use either red dots or magnifying optics on my ARs, I don't have that problem bulleye shooting or run n gun, but the pistols are frustrating.

When shooting at 10 yards in an in door range:
With my distance prescription, I have a fuzzy sight alignment, although in general I can get it squared away enough. Takes some concentrating though. With clear lenses, I have great alignment but the sight picture is fuzzy and I can barely discern a bulleye area on the target. With my fancy dominant side eye clear/weak side eye distance I get dizzy and can't yet make it work with both eyes open. I tried several types of ammo (all 124g) and shot about 80% in a 5" circle, with the strays all drifting to 8 o'clock.

At 15 to 25 yards, fuhgetaboutit.

One thing that occurred to me is that the inside of the range lighting isn't real bright (I mean, it's ok, but not BRIGHT). When I got home I set up a target outside, measure off 30 feet, and dry fired the targets with my three eyeglass setups. Clear and distance prescription seemed better, the fancy prescription a mind numbing head spin.

The pistol is a CZ 75 P-01 bone stock and my work carry pistol, so the DA and SA trigger have a bit more creep than I like and I jerked a couple of times for some reason. The sights on this thing are basic and need upgrading as well. I've got the Cajun Gun Works Defensive Carry Package (decocker version) that fixes some of the trigger issues, and look forward to pulling the gun apart and getting the new parts in. I still haven't decided on which sights to try yet.

Bullseye marksmanship aside, it will be interesting to see how well I can compete in USPSA this year, my first year to actually start getting scored. I may be 60, but I hear it's the new 40 so I'm not giving up until I can't crawl anymore...

I'm in the exact same boat, XS Big Dot sights seemed to help but I still need to wear 1.5's when I shoot. For carry is a different story and the compromise was a Streamlight TLR-6 laser. Not the best solution for crappy vision but it's far better then the alternative.

boss281 · Feb 27, 2018

I'm going to have to think this through a bit, as I think I need different solutions for different situations. I picked up a CZ SP-01 Tactical to try in my first USPSA match this year, and I might pick up a spare slide and have it milled for a red dot by Cajun Gun Works. When I'm moving I won't have time to think how bad my eyesight is, and I do just fine with a red dot on my pistol caliber carbine (a heavy Colt 6951 at that). More money I wanted to throw at it but I think ultimately that will work.

For bullseye just-concentrating-on-tiny-groups center circle, I will spend some time with the special prescription I had made with dominant eye for the front post and weak side eye for nearsightedness, and try a fiber optic front set on my P-01 carry pistol, or just get another pistol for those days I just want to take my time and strive for quarter size groups. We have a nice CZ-75BD sitting new in the shop right now, and I might snag it up before it gets sold. I have 5 rifles, each with a purpose, so what the hey. When practicing self defense shooting for open carry in the shop, silhouette type targets will work just fine, and I will have to live with the fact that center mass and a head shot are just good enough...

I hate getting old, but why complain. Life's good.

Flametamer · Feb 28, 2018

I've got clear and tinted Magshot Safety Glasses with full frame magnification removable inserts (available on fleabay). I remove the magnifying lens from the insert frame over my left eye so my 'normal' vision is preserved (I am right eye dominant). I like this arrangement since the entire right eye has corrected close vision; much better than having to tilt my head up and down with a bifocal lens. Got several different inserts to cover handgun, rifle, and probable future changes. At $25 a pair, this is much cheaper than prescription alternatives. Quality is acceptable, and durability seems to be typical.

montyw2 · Feb 28, 2018

Have you seen SSP Eyewear's bifocal shooting glasses? The magnifier is on the TOP of the lens instead of the traditional bottom placement AND you can get the bifocals for just the eye you need.
I'm also near sighted and got 1.0 power and the difference is remarkable. The front sight is crystal clear, head angle is in a natural shooting alignment, I have clear, smoke and shooter yellow lenses and they are around $45.00

www.sspeyewear.com is their website I believe.

Melnic · Feb 28, 2018

I don't know if this helps but I wear reading glasses. I have the best luck with pistols that have dot sights. 2 in the rear and one in the front. I don't have any with fiber optic sights, but when I shoot a rifle indoors with fiber sights, I'm fine.

I see far distance fine. So I can see the target. I find that aligning 3 fuzzy dots are not a problem. Needing reading glasses, I can not register the edges, but I can tell the center of a fuzzy circle just fine. 3 fuzzy circles all align is not a problem at all. Covering the bullseye with that middle fuzzy circle is not a problem either.

Blaster229 · Feb 28, 2018

I read a couple posts talking about the target being clear and sights fuzzy. Y'all got it backwards.

Eyesight and pistol shooting

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