Aging eyesight and gun sights

[jejb]

Man, when I was young, I had perfect vision. Then I hit low 40's, needed reading glasses. Low 50's brought on distance issues. I'm 59 now and wear contacts for distance, which also helps some with the reading part. But for shooting open sights, especially low light, it sucks! I can see the target fine, but the sights are fuzzy as heck.

I'm sure this is a familiar story for many here, so figured I'd ask what can be done about it? I've got a green Crimson Trace on my Shield, and it works great, and it may end up being the best solution for me on other guns. But I have an M&P 40C with the factory 3 white dot sights I'm struggling with. I'd like to not put a laser on it, if only for prides sake of still being able to shoot open sights! I've looked at all the various options for sights like TFO, TFX, TFX Pro, Trigicon, Ameriglo and Meprolight Bullseye. If I had to buy one of those today, I'm leaning toward the TFX Pro with it's large orange front sight. The Meprolight is interesting, but I'm not sure it's for me.

So the question is, for folks suffering from the same issues, do any of these sights really make a big difference in low light situations? I'm afraid the fiber optics won't work well in the dim light, but it'll still be too light for the tritium to help.

Lasik is not a consideration.

 

[Targets Guy]

I have the same problem and no solution. My cataracts continue to grow and I'm hoping the surgery to remove them will solve the problem but that is a few years away.

 

[bearfoot]

i'm sure the past 70+ all have the same occurrence, i still practice steel plates @ 15 yds., concentration on the front sight works. many misses, but 6" x 4" plates are still 6" x 4" plates. suggestion, still practice the the 5 yd. to 10 yd. targets. 5' to 10'.

 

[Arik]

Yes they do make a difference. How much of a difference and what kind of sights will depend on your specific vision problem.

Tritium works in low light as well. It's not an on/off switch. As it gets darker they get brighter. In low light they'll be less bright but still glow.

Try just focusing on the front sight. The rear sight and target should be blurry.

I have terrible vision too. In fact I can feel that I need to get a stronger prescription. At 25 yards I can see the target as a whole but not the specific details, like the center X. By knowing what my target looks like (you know where the center is) and focusing on the front sight I can keep my shots pretty close to where I aim. Someone with better vision will have tighter grouping but all my shots are still in the kill zone

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[ContinentalOp]

Have you tried shooting with fuzzy sights? I shoot using a target-focused approach, so the target is in focus but my sights are fuzzy. I can still see and align them and my accuracy doesn't seem to suffer (which may not be saying much... ). Grant Cunningham, a firearms instructor and writer, has recommended this approach for people who have difficulty getting the traditional front sight focus due to vision problems.

I can't really help with the low light sight issues, as I currently prefer plain black sights. I have used XS Big Dot sights, and while they were effective for their purpose (easily visible, day or night, for quick combat-style shooting) I had more difficulty getting good hits at farther distances, say past 10-15yds.

 

[5-Shot]

What works for me (at 74) and others in my age group is 1) go to Walmart or the drug store and get a cheap pair of reading glasses that focus exactly on your front sight. Now the target will be terribly fuzzy. To fix that 2) get an aperture that attaches to your glasses. It's like stopping down the lens on your camera to get a long depth of field. The aperture can be a Merit Eye Disc (expensive) or a cheap peel and stick pin hole.

This approach doesn't work for everyone but it works for enough that it makes it worth trying.

Ed

 

[misswired]

I asked my longtime, well respected eye Dr. this same question....He laughed and said: "It's a little too late now!"
I can either see front sight and very little target, or target and very little front sight.
I've learned to be satisfied with hearing the bang and feeling the recoil.....and every now and then scoring a lucky bullseye or two.
My pistol targets look like they were 'shotgunned'.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I use these exact sights from Ameriglo on my Glock 19.

I have accepted that my days of precision shooting are over unless I find a better solution.

These sights are excellent at quick target acquisition. Both front and rear are night sights. The front also has photo luminescent paint which gathers and retains light. The rear sight notch is extra wide at .180 which helps a great deal.

I can shoot this gun accurately if I slow down and concentrate. But otherwise the sights allow me to shoot combat accurate out to 15 yards or so.

There are other configurations on their website. Not cheap but worth it.

 

[Kodiakco]

I'm wondering if you can use a near contact in one eye and a far contact in the other eye. You could get a cheap pair of reading glasses, knock out one lens and see if it works before spending money on new contacts.

I use a mini red dot sight on my M&P CORE with very good result.

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[Florida Guy]

I find using a red dot eliminates the dual focus problem of sight and target.
I put them on all my 22's and really like them.
Of course, red dots do not fit on all caliber guns, but they may solve your problem.

 

[Hamster65]

Aging eyesight shouldn't be much of a problem with a proper prescription.
I unfortunately inherited bad eyesight so, I've been wearing glasses since I was 8 but, I've been shooting since age 12.

Now at the age of 52, I find myself needing bifocals. I've found that the no-line (progressive) type seem to work best when shooting because, that sudden change in focal view of standard bifocals, can be very distracting.

 

[jejb]

Have you tried shooting with fuzzy sights? I shoot using a target-focused approach, so the target is in focus but my sights are fuzzy. I can still see and align them and my accuracy doesn't seem to suffer (which may not be saying much... ).

That's kind of what I'm forced to do at the moment! And my accuracy is not terrible either. But it takes longer for me to pull the trigger between shots, to get it all lined up as best I can. Maybe I'm too used to the very tight groups the laser affords me.

 

[jejb]

Staggered contacts and special glasses are good ideas, but I don't look at them as solutions because I won't have time to change to those/put them on in a defensive situation.

Think I'll head over to the range and see if they have some guns on the wall with some of the bright sights, to see if makes any difference. I appreciate the input thus far!

 

[H Richard]

I still shoot rim fire bullseye in an indoor league every winter. The only thing that has kept me shooting is mounting a red dot sight on my gun. Wit iron sights I can hit somewhere near the middle most of the time, with my red dot, if I hold the gun steady I can hit the X ring as I can see the dot on it. For 50 feet indoor bullseye, a 3 to 4 minute dot works best for me. Currently the Burris FastFire II.

 

[johngalt]

A comment on eye surgery:

My parents were in Chicago on the same weekend that ophthalmologists were having a convention. The doctors took a lot of taxi rides. My parents were in a taxi, and got to talking to the cabbie, who had been driving doctors previously.

The cabbie's observations:
* They all wore glasses
* They all said eye surgery didn't work

 

[Arik]

A comment on eye surgery:

My parents were in Chicago on the same weekend that ophthalmologists were having a convention. The doctors took a lot of taxi rides. My parents were in a taxi, and got to talking to the cabbie, who had been driving doctors previously.

The cabbie's observations:
* They all wore glasses
* They all said eye surgery didn't work

Lol. So why do all those who got surgery stopped wearing glasses? I have co-workers who were practically blind and now don't wear glasses. Must have been a miracle.

Also depends on your eye problem. Not everyone can have laser eye surgery. I can't because of the way my eyes are shaped.

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[ContinentalOp]

Lol. So why do all those who got surgery stopped wearing glasses? I have co-workers who were practically blind and now don't wear glasses. Must have been a miracle.

Also depends on your eye problem. Not everyone can have laser eye surgery. I can't because of the way my eyes are shaped.

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Yup. I had Lasik surgery over 10 years ago, went from 20/400+ (I could barely make out the "E" on the eye chart without glasses or contact lenses) to 20/20. I still don't need glasses or lenses.

As Arik said, not everybody can get eye surgery, and not everybody will get the same amount of correction.

 

[okiegtrider]

I find using a red dot eliminates the dual focus problem of sight and target.
I put them on all my 22's and really like them.
Of course, red dots do not fit on all caliber guns, but they may solve your problem.

Red dot on my regular carry gun has been a huge improvement for me. I'm close to the same age as the OP and have much the same issues. Five months using an RMR has made shooting more fun because I'm being more accurate. Not for every gun or every shooter, so YMMV.

 

[jejb]

Red Dot's or another Crimson Trace are certainly possibilities. Maybe that is the best way for me to go, I was just trying to get happy with open sights on this gun. You bring up a great point about having more fun. Fighting the issue when there is a simple solution does not seem like fun.

 

[susieqz]

with a red dot, you can still shoot at 25 n 50 yards.
you can also hit a bunny at 50 yards.
i'm worthless without one.