Aging eyesight issues

[dentkimterry]

I am not new to guns but I haven't owned any or shot for over 30 years. I am now interested again and have purchased a couple of handguns that I am now using. My issue is vision related. How is the best way to focus on things? On sights or on target? I can't focus on both at once. I seem to shoot best when focused on the sights and aiming them at the blurred target. What do people do? Is the some type of corrective eye wear you can get? I wear glasses with progressive lenses right now. I don't remember having these problems 30 years ago! I'm now 59.

[JohnS624]

Blurry rear sight, sharp front sight and blurry target.

[hopeitsfast]

Depending on what type of handgun you're using, you might want to look into installing a optic, like for instance a Trijicon RMR.

ETA: As to sight picture, i prefer blurry rear, blurry front, sharp focus on the target. But everyone is different.

[Troubleshooter]

If you want to keep conventional sights try a fiber optic front sight.

[usmcpaul]

It doesn't sound like you have a problem to me. Its called "sight picture"..."sight alignment". No one (that I know of) can focus on the sights (front and rear) and the target all at the same time. you have to continually switch back and forth, SLOWLY squeezing the trigger until it goes off.

I am like you, and generally try to be focusing on the front sight with the target blurred when it goes off.

If you have a proper "natural point of aim" you will have nothing to worry about. Keep in mind these terms and procedures are from my time shooting High Power matches and long range, but I have found these techniques pretty universal so far.

[wchancey]

I am 60 and wear the same type of lens that you do.

I put a laser on my main handgun and that really helps me with sighting.

[wishn-i-was-fishn]

Shooters with progressive lenses and bifocal lenses have a problem due to the area of the lens they are looking through when shooting. Other than tipping your head back to see the sight through the mid or close-up section of the lenses there are some things you can do with glasses.

1) you can have a lens made with a bifocal in the top of the lens set to the focal length to see your front sight sharp and clear. When you naturally tip your head forward when shooting your handgun you will be looking through the upper bifocal.

2) You could do what I have done. Have a pair of prescription shooting glasses made with a single vision lens for your dominant eye. Have this lens ground for the focal length needed to see your front sight sharp and clear. Now no matter how you hold your head the front sight will always be sharp and in focus. Leave the non-dominant eye in your regular progressive lens. Your brain figures it all out and it works flawlessly. Yes you can still shoot with both eyes open without problems.

I use ESS ICE shooting glasses with a prescription insert.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/ess-ice-sunglasses.html

Note the solution above is designed to work with handguns. Your regular glasses should work fine with a shotgun and for a rifle you will have to experiment if using iron sights.

[wurm]

What to focus on, the rear sight, front sight or the target? I'm going to give one of those annoying answers. It depends! It depends on what you prefer, what distance you are shooting at, how hard the shot is and what you are doing while shooting.

For me, I have a razor sharp focus on the front sight when I am shooting long distance or a pretty tight shot. When I'm shooting on the move at a target that isn't close I will also try and have a really good front sight focus. When shooting a target only a few feet away it is a waste of time to get that perfect sight picture and instead I focus more on the target and just make sure the front sight is in the picture. Anything in between those two extremes is on a sliding scale between front sight focus and target focus. I try and give just enough attention to the front sight to make whatever shot I need to make (to varying levels of success sometimes).

Some have already mentioned shooting with an optic (RMR, C-More, Aimpoint, etc). I sometimes hear of older competitive shooters switching to divisions that allow optics because their eyes can't change focus as fast anymore and the scopes allow the shooter to maintain a target focus the whole time. That and they are fun to shoot.

[Easyrider49]

My old eyes realy like Wiliams FireSites , my Grandson and I usually shoot in a State Forest with double canopy with limited light I have a very hard time picking out my front iron sight . I installed Wiliams FireSites and what a difference , now i pickup both front and rear with no problem . The FireSites are not good in really limited light though (almost dark to complete dark ) .
After installing the FireSites naturally I find the I think they call them TruGlo Tritium Fiber Optic Sight , they have a tritium vial infront of thr fiber optic to supply it with light in total darkness
TruGlo Tritium Fiber Optic Sight AR-15 TG131AR on sale and available from our online store. OpticsPlanet is an Authorized US Distributor for TruGlo Tritium & Fiber Optic Night Sights.

Combines Truglo fiber optics with the illuminating properties of Tritium. Always on and never off - perfect for all shooting conditions. No batteries required. Not affected by temperature extremes. All metal sight.

Specifications for TruGlo Tritium Fiber Optic Sight AR-15 TG131AR

[dentkimterry]

Thanks for all your help! I now have several ideas to try.

[Steve's Angels]

I seem to shoot best when focused on the sights and aiming them at the blurred target. What do people do? Is the some type of corrective eye wear you can get? I wear glasses with progressive lenses right now. I don't remember having these problems 30 years ago! I'm now 59.


Shooters with progressive lenses and bifocal lenses have a problem due to the area of the lens they are looking through when shooting. Other than tipping your head back to see the sight through the mid or close-up section of the lenses there are some things you can do with glasses.

The experience we are describing here is a condition called presbyopia. Everyone experiences presbyopia as they age, regardless of whether they have been near or farsighted in the past.

As presbyopia develops, the eye’s lenses become less flexible, making focusing on close objects difficult, and this causes the most frustration as shooters lose accuracy. There are tons of vision tricks to offset the impact of presbyopia, such as using custom-made, cantilevered stocks and scopes.

Shooting with the various solutions for presbyopia (such as reading glasses, bifocals, or progressives) can be difficult as one must focus through a small area of the lens to see close objects clearly, while more distant objects (such as the target) remain blurry. Many other shooters switch between lenses as they prepare to shoot, but I've tried it and have found it extremely frustrating. I would love to hear more about the solutions other older shooters have found!

Happy shooting!

[willforu1]

It doesn't sound like you have a problem to me. Its called "sight picture"..."sight alignment". No one (that I know of) can focus on the sights (front and rear) and the target all at the same time. you have to continually switch back and forth, SLOWLY squeezing the trigger until it goes off.

I am like you, and generally try to be focusing on the front sight with the target blurred when it goes off.

If you have a proper "natural point of aim" you will have nothing to worry about. Keep in mind these terms and procedures are from my time shooting High Power matches and long range, but I have found these techniques pretty universal so far.

This sounds like good ole Marine Corp marksmanship training with the M16 to me. Yes, it was stressed that with proper sight alignment, the front sight post should be centered both vertically and horizontally in the rear sight aperture. The sights should be in perfect focus. For proper sight picture (placing the front sight post on the aiming point of the target) the target can be blurry because your focus is on the sight alignment.

Problem is for me these days is, I cannot get anything in focus. So now I use a scope.

If these fire sight or hi Viz sights help I want to know because I used to love shooting my AR through iron sights and all my pistols have iron sights.

[seeker01]

Blurry rear sight, sharp front sight and blurry target.
...right! good sight picture

[Dave Edwards]

I put the progressives away and just use my shooting glasses when shooting. I had a pair made up that just use my distance prescription and not the progressive part. I can see the target and then focus on the front site and shoot. It works for me, and I use the same pair of glasses while bowhunting from a treestand. Otherwise, I can't see antlers when looking down!

If I have to adjust a scope or anything like that between shots while at the range, I'm out of luck, but at least I can shoot!

Good luck!

[MLG]

I wear progressive lenses and when my eyes get tired, nothing seems to be in focus and it gets frustrating but I try to shift my focus to something distant for a couple seconds then refocus on the front sight. Sometimes that helps me.

That being said, Red Dots and scopes are your friend, as your eyes age! :crosshai:

It cracks me up when I see the younger guys giving us older guys their solutions to problems they haven't encountered yet. Not trying to start any flame wars, just throwing in my .02 cents worth.

[dpgperftest]

My eyes are forcing me to optics on shoot gun and rifle . I only used open sights

[jimbos]

I shoot indoors and have a hell of a time seeing the sights. I wear my reading glasses under my safety goggles and that helps a bit. I've shot at a couple of different ranges and both a dark.

Are all ranges like that? Why does the shooting area have to be so dingy? Both Action Impact and the Firing Line are like that.