MBFields Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I am wondering or looking for input on viewing front pistol sights. Currently am 60 and they look a tad fuzzier than when 55. Wear corrective lenses for nearsighted and bifocal. When shooting with correction on front sight is not very distinguishable so more point and shoot ie misses. When not wearing correction front sight is clear and target a little fuzzy but very easy to see but still easy to miss. I am shooting ss vaqueros with brass front sight and still tough to see with ss. Knowing that a lot of us deal with this wondering if anyone has had this setup and switched to blue pistols with brass front sight so they can see it better and did it help, or maybe makes no difference. I know some say do not even need front sight but does not work for me. Any help appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Rick Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I have tried blued pistols with brass sights and stainless with brass. I also wear bifocals. The only thing that works for me is to wear dedicated reading glasses while shooting. Yes, the targets are blurry. Otherwise, I can't distinguish the sight picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder SASS #13056 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Something to try on the cheap. Go to drug store or where they sell inexpensive reading glasses. Try out several pairs while standing a full arms length away from something to see clearly - text or whatever. This is abut the length of your front sights. Get the pari that you see clearest with at that distance - a little further than you would with reading glasses. Then use those for shooting glasses. Or have you optometrist give you a prescription for that focal distance and get dedicated glasses for that. Something else that I did was go with "monovision" which is my strong eye is set for the front sight as I just mentioned and the off-hand eye is set for distance. When I first put those on, it seems odd for a few minutes but then I adjust just fine and do well. But a minority of people cannot adjust to that system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I’m not so sure those reading glasses are the best choice for eye protection on a range with steel targets and lead fragments coming back at you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder SASS #13056 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Great point, Yul. Thanks for reminding us. You can then order safety glasses at that strength. An alternate that I sometimes have used to double up safety is I have some clear safety glasses that fit over the other prescription glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron "Ironhead" Smith Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I'm 59 and my eyes have sucked for years. The solution I found for this game is a dedicated pair of shooting glasses. My optometrist is a shotgun shooter so it was easy to work with her to get the prescription I needed. We set the hyperfocal distance (where the lens actually focuses) at 7" past the center of my fist held as if I was holding a pistol. Then she set up a try frame with lenses inserted to mimic my prescription and we went outside with one of my main match pistols and my main match rifle to double check. Farther rifle targets are a tad fuzzy and I have to pay close attention when spotting them but you should be paying close attention then anyway. With long range rifles and a rear peep I can see 12" to 16" plates well enough to usually hit at 200 yards. PS- these are single vision safety glasses with Trivex lens material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I have same problem. A common solution lots of older shooters use is shooting glasses having a carrier holding two single vision lenses. Their weak eye - uses a lens cut for sharpness at distance. Strong eye (sighting eye) - lens is cut for sharp focus at about 24" (pistol sight distance, and almost out to the rifle front sight). Keep both eyes open and learn to concentrate completely on the front sight. Several of the shooting and safety glasses makers offer this kind of protection. ESS is one popular make. The more you practice it, the less you depend upon seeing all the detail on the target itself. In fact, if you look at the target AT ALL after you have pulled the trigger, you are burning daylight! This works well for cowboy match. When you go to the long range rifle range, you may need to shift back to your bifocals, since getting a pretty good view of the target is so much more important there. But, I'm comfortable with a stick-on peep sight aperture on the shooting lens for long range shooting. Like: eyepal That allows your old eye to still focus on both the front sight and the target at same time. good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlesnake Slim Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Hey MB, how ya doin'? I too thought that the brass sights were going to be my key to breaking into the top 75% too. I was initially disappointed, but here's what I found. My current shooting glasses, which were kind of a rose color (supposed to increase contrast) were filtering out the red color that is inherent in brass and actually causing the brass sight to blend in with the SS gun! I started experimenting and found that a mild green was the best, at least for me. My advice is to experiment with a few different lens colors before you make any drastic gun changes. See you soon in AZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Howdy I have had terrible eyesight all my life. Not complaining, that's just the hand I was dealt. I wear my regular everyday glasses for shooting, they correct my vision to as close to 20/20 as possible and they are safety lenses. What with poor eyesight to begin with, and the beginning of cataracts, my eyesight is probably worse than just about anybody on this board. In our sport I can see the front sight of a revolver well enough to more or less center it in the rear sight and place that sight picture onto the targets. This is not precision shooting. Our targets are generally large and close. I just try to place that sight picture onto the target, I don't even notice if the target is blurry or not, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. And I don't shoot super fast. I take a second to make sure the sight picture is where I want it. I only had one miss yesterday, probably because with all the Black Powder smoke I couldn't see the targets very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBFields Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 1 hour ago, Rattlesnake Slim said: Hey MB, how ya doin'? I too thought that the brass sights were going to be my key to breaking into the top 75% too. I was initially disappointed, but here's what I found. My current shooting glasses, which were kind of a rose color (supposed to increase contrast) were filtering out the red color that is inherent in brass and actually causing the brass sight to blend in with the SS gun! I started experimenting and found that a mild green was the best, at least for me. My advice is to experiment with a few different lens colors before you make any drastic gun changes. See you soon in AZ. Looking forward to Az and seeing you guys. Will try that first. Thanks to all for the input, have tried to stay away from the prescription thing but may be headed that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I tried the bifocal shooting glasses from Dillon. Had a heck of a time trying to shoot with them. The bifocal is a small square at the top inside corner. If I line up my eye before the buzzer and bring the pistol to it, they worked great. However the long guns were a different story. Couldn't get my cheek down on the stock and still see and the shotgun seemed to disappear just beyond my fore hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Dimas Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 This is what I am currently using. https://sspeyewear.com/collections/top-focal-tactical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBFields Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 49 minutes ago, Doc Dimas said: This is what I am currently using. https://sspeyewear.com/collections/top-focal-tactical Saw those. Are they working well for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I was always taught the target should be a bit fuzzy and the sights should be sharp and clear. I've always shot that way. I my eyesight has gotten worse with advancing experience, I shoot with lenses that keep my sights nice and sharp. A slightly fuzzy 16 x 18 target is still quite visible. Really it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I just center the fuzzy front sight on the fuzzy target... Misses are just opportunities for more stories... I can still shoot the eyes outta the chickens at the Bar-3! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Dimas Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 They work pretty well. Haven't used them in but 1 match but was happy withthem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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