Shot my Model 10 yesterday and was very impressed. The single action trigger pull is fantastic!
My 53 year old eyes did have a lot of trouble with the sights. For those of you who have painted a mark on the front sight, which color seems to work the best for you? I am partially color blind (especially certain shades of red). Most of my shooting is at black bullseye targets and black metal silhoutte targets.

As is, I was able to keep my shots in the black at 25 yards with a standard 25 yard target after getting used to the fixed sights. This is using handloads with a lead 158 gr swc ahead of 3.1 grs of bullseye powder, and shooting from a bench. I'm sure the gun is more accurate than I'll ever be!

"Jeweler's spot" appropriately placed in the lens of master eye. It's only worked for me for 20 years.

I am far sighted and like a white dot on the front sight, fiber optics front and rear also works great all of this in good usually outdoor light. Indoor ranges poorly lighted I use reading glasses to see the front sight.

Len

Fiber optics work well for me. Most are red or orange, but they come in green also. A wider rear notch is helpful. Where possible, I have switched to a shallow V rear. The three dot arrangements work pretty well also, but they need to be fairly large.

The jewelers spot works very well. Someone even makes one in a cling plastic that adheres to your shooting glasses.
I also think that you will need to go from using 4" guns to 6" then eventually
8".

I've been acused of being rather "Old School" at age 36 I'm ok with that.
However, my custom Colt 1911 bears a 14kt Gold Bead. And will be making a similar move on my 586 with a Gold Bar. A little on the spendy side but the visual is unreal.

Dutch1911
1/*

Testors brand "Jewelers Gold" model paint with a pin applicator works for me on fixed sight models. I also use flourescent orange but the gold just seems to jump out at me.

I just splurged and got "reading" shooting glasses as well but that helps not with everday carry.

Hope this helps but surely you know you are NOT alone in this issue .

Age...what a bummer huh?

Though they can be hard to find, an optometrist (non-physician, but can write prescriptions for corrective lenses), or an opthamologist (a physician that specializes in surgery and/or treatment of the eye) that is a shooter can be a God send, and they don't freak out when you talk about "sight picture" and "K-zone" hits, etc. I've always taken the time to find one whenever I needed new glasses and I inevitably had a pair of glasses for everyday use, and a pair of "shooting glasses" with a slightly different prescription that made it easier for me to find, and focus on the front sight. Unfortunately, I'm at the age now where not so much can be done to help anymore from a prescription standpoint, and I have to rely on fiber optic front sights and laser grips to get hits in the K-zone at 7-15 yards.

Best of luck,

Dave

if you do decide to paint your front sight...........first put on a base coat of "white out" correction fluid and let it dry over night.

next paint over the "white out" with a fluorescent color of your choice.

the "white out" seems to make the painted top coat brighter.

good luck

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There's nowt so queer as folk

I do not know how bad your eye sight is but I will tell you what I did.I bought some reading glasses and found some that would let me focus on the front sight/rear sight.This forced me to look at an out-of-focus target bull and actually improved my shooting.I do not know if it will work for you and granted it is somewhat limited but it is worth trying.

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I think I will try the gold paint (over a basecoat of white) and see how that goes. I also like the reading glasses idea which I will try. My eyes are quite bad (have been since the third grade) and I find that I have lost the ability to change focus anymore. It sure is tough getting older! Whoever coined the phrase "golden years" was full of it.

I have a M39-2 beater for a truck gun. Functions perfectly, a bit finish challenged, and I couldn't see the front sight as fast as I wanted to with a gun that has a higher likelihood of being used for defense than most I own.

A jeweler friend of mine inlaid a 10 carat gold ramp into the front sight, and it seems to show up in all kinds of light, including low light. He has also done a couple of gold beads on some target fronts for me. Not as bright as light pipes during the day, but much better at night.


Buck

Maybe the gold beads/inlays/paint is where "golden years" comes from. ;-)

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NRA Life Member

Good ideas here. I can use all the help I can get.

I have the same problem, and found the same solution. My optometrist suggested using the same 1.25 power reading glasses to shoot with. It works great, but I still practice without them on a regular basis. Can't see myself saying "Um, excuse me, but could we take a time out from this mugging while I put on my reading glasses?"

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Rough waters ahead.

I think that was coined by the medical profession and drug companies! It's not "our" golden years, but theirs!

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Misty

Check out Hansen's Eagle Eye Combat Pistol glasses. They put the bifocal on top of the lens. I got a set for my near 60 eyes and it makes a world of difference bringing the front sight into focus. Here is what the manucacturer says: "The Combat Pistol Shooters Model is intended for user by the tactical pistol shooter requiring near vision correction to obtain a focused front sight bead while staying squared up to the target. The bifocal is provided at the top of the rim starting at the nose bridge and arcing across just above the pupil of the aiming eye. This allows for its easy use in the normal setup and posture used by the combat pistol shooter while not impeding distance viewing." The work great for me. Good luck with it

I have had a pair of Randolph Ranger shooting glasses made with an extra removable lens which allows me to see the sight with the right eye and the target with the left eye - somehow the brain puts it together . It really works well for me and another fellow shooter.

I am an optometrist. My suggestion would be to get an eye examination first if you haven't had one in recent months. I have had many patients come in because they have been having problems hunting or target shooting. Often times it turned out that they had some underlying eye disorder, usually glaucoma or cataracts. One had a tumor. Once your optometrist has determined your eye health is good, then he or she can help you with an optical solution. Usually a +0.25 overcorrection in the dominant eye is enough, but there are many options. There are very very few people who can achieve success with OTC reading glasses.

Great information... thanks again!

Try shooting at a target with a white back ground.
I had the same problem you did. Having so much
black does not let in the light like a mostly white
target does. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"