Eye sight and getting older

[E.Marquez]

It is with heavy heart.. I type the words that confirm my fears for many a year... My eyesight is finally effecting my shooting...only a little, but it will only get worse.

From 3 feet and out I have 20/20 vision.. literally, on all standard yearly eye test I register as having perfect vising uncorrected. It was not till i had a night time red light vision issue reading a map, I discovered I was having problems. Arms length and less, my vision is a bit blurry.. That of course includes weapon sights.

I can still shoot well on rifles with optics, XM110 to or standard M4 at work and all my rifles at home. The trouble is handguns.

Sights are just at that blurry range, I can still point shoot at close in ranges no issue, I can still use weapon sights on my hand guns to decent ability.. BUT it will get worse.

What have others done to compensate? Site types? Brands? Models?
My wife suggest longer arms,, but Im thinking that elective surgery may not be covered by TRICARE
So what say you... What has worked for you?

[Texas Dan Mosby]

How about some glasses?

My vision took a hit once I turned 40. Literally. It was like I jumped across a "your vision will now suck" line around my birthday. Such is life. I got the inserts that work with issued eye pro / shades, so you don't lose any cool points when the sun is up at least.

After all the wear and tear I've managed to survive, I figure I've earned the right to start falling apart.

[OldCannon]

It is with heavy heart.. I type the words that confirm my fears for many a year... My eyesight is finally effecting my shooting...only a little, but it will only get worse.
...
So what say you... What has worked for you?

Oh, man, I am SO with you on this.

A few things I've learned to accept:
1) Yes, it gets worse. Time goes on.
2) Reading glasses are cheap (yay!), but don't help for shooting (at least not for me, since it really blurs my distance target too much). I wouldn't recommend surgery for what is called presbyopia, neither would any ethical eye doctor. You're fighting a natural degradation, and eye surgery ain't like a botox shot
3) Unless you're doing serious marksmanship shooting with a pistol (not IDPA/USPSA stuff), there's not a lot you can do for sights, other than try for high contrast post-and-notch setups (black rear sights and tritium/fiber-optic fronts). There are places that will sell all sorts of newfangled stuff, but in the end, I know I need to depend on a carry weapon I can quickly bring to bear and hit a dinner plate-sized target at up to 15 yards. I've tried a few gimmicks and none make me feel comfortable. The XS Big Dot system might be your best option. For me, I'm happy enough with my TruGlos. Some people carry their pistols with red-dot style sights (Docter, Burris FastFire, etc.). Those are fine, but I'm uncomfortable carrying a weapon where I need to depend on battery life, even if it is in the range of "thousands of hours" (cuz sure enough, when you need it, it will be "thousands of hours" plus 1 ).

[stroguy]

I do wear low power readers when shooting. I have become a both eyes open shooter. Should have done it earlier. I would recommend a $10 experiment. Stop by the drug store readers stand and pick up the fugliest $10 pair of 1.00 or 1.25s and have a day of both eye open shooting at the range.

[Seabear]

I just lost a huge reply post so I will try this again and make it a shorter response this time.

Long story short, I had my optometrist give me a prescription for "shooting glasses" . I had her focus my domninant eye at the distance of my front sight, and my non-dominant eye for distance. It works great! I love them, and they even work at the computer and driving , you'd be suprised.

The reading glasses idea will work, but you have to remove the lense from your non-dominant side or your target will be too blury and it will make you dizzy.

Now as mentioned already, this works best for shooting with both eyes opened, but it will work with one eye closed as long as you are closing the non-dominant eye.

[E.Marquez]

How about some glasses?

My vision took a hit once I turned 40. Literally. It was like I jumped across a "your vision will now suck" line around my birthday. Such is life. I got the inserts that work with issued eye pro / shades, so you don't lose any cool points when the sun is up at least.

After all the wear and tear I've managed to survive, I figure I've earned the right to start falling apart.

Have um, wear um for finger tip and less distances. But cant see a darn thing with them on past 10 FT.

I can do bi focals Im sure, glass on top, corrected on bottom. May have to try that

[PappaGun]

At some point I will seriously consider some type of lasik.

The price has really gotten (I hate that word. It always seems out of place ) reasonable.

My vision isn't too fuzzy yet to require anything corrective to shoot with but I do a lot of squinting.

I tried progressive no line bifocals a few years ago and that did not work at all. Halos around everything, which might work for target acquisition now that I think about it! I could't focus on anything.

I've gone without since then. Guess I've just gotten (there's that word again) used to it.

[Keith B]

I wore glasses when I was younger to correct astigmatism, but had 20/15 or better vision. When I got my glasses in 5th grade, my optometrist said 'You will probably wear glasses for this up until you are about 30, then you will not need them. However, at 40 you will start needing reading glasses and around 50 start needing a little help with distance vision.' Well, he was dead on for all three.

So, to answer the question, I use stick-on bifocals on my shooting glasses. Charles has a thread on them here viewtopic.php?f=82&t=14335" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I originally found them at Walgreen's, but they quit carrying them. Walmart has had them the last time I looked in the reading glass area. And they come in strengths from +1 to +3 magnification.

The advantage to them is you can cut them to size and place them at any location you want on the lens. I only use one on my right eye (dominant) placed just below mid-point in the vision line. With both eyes open can keep the front sight and target in proper view.

This is a cheap alternative and works well for me as my arms seem to get shorter all the time.

[RPB]

I have Presbyopia, Myopia, Astigmatism and cataracts (Months ago I got the happy cataract news oh boy ... I told the eye Dr. I didn't think I could afford gas for a Cadirrac, I'd have to take a Toyota ...)

Daily EDC XD45 or Glock

My Glock has the internal guide rod laser (may get one for the XD45) and both have the big easy to see, even without putting on my Trifocals ... ADVANTAGE TACTICAL SIGHTS

I really don't use the internal laser at all, but it came in handy sighting in the Advantage Tactical Sights

They also make sights for Springer and Kimber 1911s and other things now

http://www.advantagetactical.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(edited to add Kimber 1911s)

[Crossfire]

It was not till i had a night time red light vision issue reading a map, I discovered I was having problems.

Night vision loss and color loss are not a normal part of the process. For me, that was one of the first signs of early onset cataracts. It took about a year of constantly changing prescriptions, as I became more and more near-sighted, before I finally had the surgery. Now I wish I had done it sooner. I have worn glasses all my life, literally, since kindergarten. Now, I have a pair of glasses, but I seldom put them on. I finally know what it is like to wake up and be able to see without fumbling for my glasses first!

While this may not be your problem, you should know the possibilities. BTW, I had my cataract surgery at 50.

Oh, and the Advantage Tactical Sights - can't beat 'em! They are great!

[E.Marquez]

It was not till i had a night time red light vision issue reading a map, I discovered I was having problems.

Night vision loss and color loss are not a normal part of the process. For me, that was one of the first signs of early onset cataracts. It took about a year of constantly changing prescriptions, as I became more and more near-sighted, before I finally had the surgery. Now I wish I had done it sooner. I have worn glasses all my life, literally, since kindergarten. Now, I have a pair of glasses, but I seldom put them on. I finally know what it is like to wake up and be able to see without fumbling for my glasses first!

While this may not be your problem, you should know the possibilities. BTW, I had my cataract surgery at 50.

Oh, and the Advantage Tactical Sights - can't beat 'em! They are great!

Thanks, I guess told the story in part only.

3 years of teaching collage at University of OR, had no need to read a map, or a FBCB2 display in a M1151 HMMWV.
PCS to FT Hood, the command Sergeant major asks me to go check on training that night at the gunner range.
0100 I hope in, get down the road, driver asks me which way at the upcoming road split.

I look at the FBCB2 display that in a M1151 is all of 18 or so inches away from your face.. And everything is blurry, the heater is blasting me in the face, I look over at the GPS, and it is blurry as well. What the heck... Pull my map from a cargo pocket, turn on my red light.. and,,, It's blurry as well, I'm sweating bullets now (forgot about the heater) had no known issue with vision, so it never came to mind, Im hot, sweating and have blurry vision. For a sec, I was waiting for the the pain in my left arm, and the rest of the signs of a heart attack to kick in. I actually thought i was really down for the count.. then i realized... as I looked at my driver, I could read the small safety sticker, pasted above his head on the left side of the truck.. PERFECTLY, talking a 3 x 2 " decal,, with size 10 font or so. No light other then form the dash Humm, ok, so Im not dying and can only not see up close

hence, I discovered I could not see up close one night while trying to read a map under red light, and a back light FBCB2 screen, or GPS.

The right eye corrected , left eye not is a thought. doc did that with my wives contacts.. she hates it, but I might try it with shooting glasses.

[E.Marquez]

Oh, and the Advantage Tactical Sights - can't beat 'em! They are great!

I use Trijicon Night Sights right on my EDC XD, but will order a set of the Advantage when i get home for my other XD and see how I like it.

Right now I can still hit a target at handgun common fighting distances... But I'd prefer to not wait till i cant, to find a course of action.

[rwg3]

Ah the joys of getting older! I am in my mid-fifties and have used glasses for several years, primarily for distance vision. I first noticed that I was losing track of my drives when golfing and it wasn't because I was hitting them so far. Then I noticed that at night the lights from oncoming cars was fuzzy and then street signs were hard to read. I have tried many different combinations from no line bifocals to progressives to single focus lenses. Currently what works best for me is single correction lenses for driving and sports and bifocals for work/home use. Whem shooting I use the distance lenses and focus
on the front sight. The target is fuzzy but still discernable. It allows me the best outcome of the different combinations I have tried. This I believe is due to the different, areas on the lenses of multi-focus glasses having gradiations in the corrected area. For example, the progressive lenses have the corrective field ground into an hour-glass patteren with the widest corrective fields at the top and the bottom. I had terrible problems driving with them as I could never get the hang of turning my head to look at the side mirrors instead of moving my eyes only. When you tip your head in any direction the field of vision gets skewed and it drives me crazy. The single focus correction is uniform across the lens and gives me the most uniform vision.
Just one of the challenges that maturing brings, but I wake up every day happy that the I can tackle the challenge.

[RoyGBiv]

Getting older sucks. But, it beats the alternative.
Minor astigmatism cost me my front-seat shot at Navy flight school. 20/25 in one eye, in 1986.
Just ordered my first set of "progressive" lenses last week. I asked the Doc to please call them something other than "progressive"

[RPB]

Getting older sucks. But, it beats the alternative.
Minor astigmatism cost me my front-seat shot at Navy flight school. 20/25 in one eye, in 1986.
Just ordered my first set of "progressive" lenses last week. I asked the Doc to please call them something other than "progressive"

Gradient sounds better doesn't it, although that refers to tinting usually

I just say trifocals with no lines

I used to say bifocals with no lines ....