Can we talk about old guy eyes and sights and such???

[TGaryT]

Been suffering from the same problem, unable to get good focus on that front iron sight. Changed the sights to Trijion RMR green triangle on 460S&W 5". Had some problems initially keeping it clued to its mount. Applied some Permatex Blue to the Weigand rail screws and finally manage to nail 4 out of 4 soda cans, concentrating on the tip of triangle. This is not an expensive solution, but is something you may wish to consider.

 

[Redcoat3340]

Sixty eight year old eyes with progressive/no line trifocals. All my sights are painted fluorescent pink and my rear sights white, if there are no white dots (I'm secure enough in my manhood to have pink sights). I have no problems focusing on the front sight, thank heavens, and my scores are okay. I do think I have to practice more my "point shooting." Can anyone recommend a good youtube video or set of instructions on how to do it right?

 

[mgriffin]

I have the CT LG-405's on my 442 and XS big dots on my Glock 26. I'm 62, cant see like I use to but with these 2 combinations, I can shoot both pretty well!

 

[Dave Lively]

Red dots have solved the problem, but of course not for carry.

Red dots and astigmatism are a bod combination. At 56 I have glasses but can still get along pretty well without them. Without my glasses I can use both iron sights and regular scopes fine although I do have to adjust the eyepiece on the scopes to clearly see the reticule.

But without my glasses on red dots are a blurry mess due to my astigmatism. No idea why red dots are so much worse than everything else but they are.

 

[bigfatty]

I struggled with this for years. In the end, it boiled down to XS sights or a laser. Progressive trifocs. Works out the same if I'm wearing contacts, too. Target shooting days are over. You agonize over it for quite awhile, then you find what works, then you just begrudgingly accept it.

I can still see rifle sights decently enough to come close to a bullseye, but the 290 days ... nope. Should I ever go hunting again, I'm getting a red dot.

If you want to experiment, you could try the XS regular dot sights and see if they work for you. I would imagine they'd be more accurate at longer distances than the big dots. I wouldn't know; as bad as mine are, I knew better than to even bother trying, and went straight to the bigs.

 

[old&slow]

Along with my eyesight I'm losing my coordination, strength, agility, stamina, etc.

I have a faint suspicion I may be getting older.

My plan to whack everything within reach with my cane and take sound shots at everything out of reach.

+1 .. My eye sight started getting fuzzy at reading distance ,, then fuzzy handgun sights ,, now my rifle sights..

I've had shooting glasses made that focus on the front sight. It took about 15 mins. to adjust to them when I put them on.. Then I got headaches and upset stomach when I took them off.

As a friend use to say ,,' getting old ain't for sissies'

I'm back to using my regular prescription lens. Fiber optic front sights help on a handgun.. Scope on a rifle..

I've considered getting a seeing eye dog to take with me when I go shooting...
Either that or start shooting more shotgun.

 

[Bill Bates]

As another old guy who's arms have gotten to short. I struggle with front sight blur.

I added some Trijicon HD sights to my Glock 30SF house gun. The combination of a large dot and large U notch work well. The front blade is still blurry but there is enough light either side of the blade in that large U notch to tell the front dot/blade are centered even with the blur.

 

[Old TexMex]

Crimson Trace and lots of dry fire practice. Muscle memory.

 

[USARMYSPEC4]

ABPOS.... My wife wears contact lens's of two different prescription's. One for close up, the other for distance. Don't know if that would work for you ?

 

[ABPOS]

Lots of great replies here.

I think at minimum I may try to paint the front sight on my 442. I used gold testors on my HiPower a long time ago. I think I still have that.

I'm only 43. And it seems like the last 6 months is when it started being an issue. When I'm at the range I many times will shoot my pistols at 50 or 100 yards and have a lot of fun busting clays or whatever. But I think it will start to get worse with time. But it's more drastic with the smaller guns.

I guess I'm not alone.

The thing is it always seems like a good idea to be able to shoot at distance. You just never know. I may have to start carrying a bigger gun or one with a longer sight radius. And I was just getting used to this one. Maybe painting the front sight will help. Although I think the consensus is that the majority of sd scenarios are up close and personal.

Another thought on the subject is that is seems like the more light there is the better this situation is. Like there is a difference between shooting underneath the awnings or not. But here again, most SD scenarios are probably low light.

 

[one eye joe]

I have the CT LG-405's on my 442 and XS big dots on my Glock 26. I'm 62, cant see like I use to but with these 2 combinations, I can shoot both pretty well!

I HAVE THE SAME GRIPS ON MY 642, AND THEY WORK WELL FOR ME. I WAS INTRODUCED TO THE CT-LG BY MAS AYOOB, IN A 2 DAY TRAINING THAT I TOOK FROM HIM, ABOUT 25 YEARS AGO. HIS PERSONAL EDC, J FRAME WAS SO EQUIPPED. MY THOUGHT WAS, "IF ITS GOOD ENOUGH FOR MAS, ITS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME". I HAVE USED THEM EVER SINCE. BELOW IS MY 642, WEARING CT LG-405s. I FAVOR THAT MODEL BECAUSE IT HAS A MOLDED IN AIR CHAMBER ON THE BACK STRAP, THAT CUSHIONS RECOIL…..

 

[Pointblank2U]

About six months ago I still had "old guy eyes". I am nearly 67 now and I knew cataracts were slowly growing in my eyes. This past March I finally did something about it. I went to a local specialist who does laser surgery (LensX). First off, it's fast and painless. Also, I opted for not just replacement of the clouded lens with a clear one, but went with a lens with correction. I now have close to 20/20 vision and don't need reading glasses. Since they only did one eye at a time with a two week gap in between, I was amazed to see how much of a color shift my eyes had developed over the years. This was a life changer for me. I don't mind driving at night anymore and my shooting skills have gone back to the good old days.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Another thought on the subject is that is seems like the more light there is the better this situation is. Like there is a difference between shooting underneath the awnings or not.

That is to be expected. When there is plenty of light, your iris "stops down," to use photographers' terminology, and your optical system has greater "depth of field," which means greater tolerance for misfocus. The solution, aside from staying in bright light, is to have a readily available (probably via bifocals) prescription which will focus your eye on the front sight.

There IS another approach, which is a bit unorthodox and probably practical only for some people, and that is to focus on the target while paying plenty of attention to the front sight. After many years of focussing on the front sight and being fully aware of the importance of a proper sight picture and proper sight alignment, I find that I often shoot better with a target focus, but with full attention given to a slightly fuzzy front sight. I have repeatedly tested the classic (front sight focus) method versus the target focus method, and the results are split. Sometimes I get better groups one way, sometimes the other, with somewhat of an edge to the target focus method. YMMV. It bears testing. Obviously, broad daylight favors both methods. Using the lower segment of bifocals usually works only standing up.

I still believe in front sight focus, but there may be some practical exceptions.

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

I'm only 43. And it seems like the last 6 months is when it started being an issue. ....I think it will start to get worse with time. .....

There's hope. My father is 82 and has 20/20 vision. He was nearsighted from his 20's and had to wear glasses. Starting in his late 60's the older he got the sharper his vision got. Now he doesn't need glasses at all. Still drives a school bus and has his vision checked every year.

 

[ms]

Not quite right...

Laser grip.

With nearsightedness, as you get older your eyes lose the ability to look thru your prescription lenses (which are meant for seeing things at a distance) and simultaneously focus on things up close. When you were younger, your eyes could do it. Now they can't. Which is why you have to look over, under, or take off you glasses to clearly see things near to you.

This phenomena also makes it harder to focus on the rear sight, front sight, and target all at the same time.

Young or old, eyes can focus on only one distance at a time. Young eyes can focus on a greater range of distances, and switch focus faster.

 

[Oldshot]

Tons of good suggestions here. I'm 81 and shoot everything I own open sight, except M-41 with a Ultra dot. Sight radius varies from very short, .38 snubby,Walther PPK/s to medium 1911,Browning HP, to long 6" revolvers.
Suggest you get white dot or tritium dot on your front sight. The contrast to the target's fuzzy background will help you focus. Then practice like mad. You can "train" you brain to compensate and redirect your attention to grip and trigger control.
Good luck

 

[claudel]

I'm 65.

No glasses for me except for reading.

I like the Big Dot. I can easily see the Big Dot.

I still practice point shooting, but it's nice to see the sights...

 

[ABPOS]

Claudel, those are excellent pictures to show the difference.

ms: My Dad has said his further away vision has been getting better too. Weird. But I think he was saying up close wasn't. Or something. I'll have to ask him again. I was kind of blown away by what he said and now you're confirming it happen to someone else too. He was born in 43 so he's...... Going to be 72 in November.

Model520fan: That makes sense. I've done some photography in my time. With film cameras so I know exactly what you're talking about. I didn't even think of that with the eye though. LOL.

I think the next time I go to the range I'll try that target focus. I was doing a bit of it last night just dry firing and the only thing is that sometimes the gun can almost get lost from focusing on the target. It kind of goes up and down for me in waves. Meaning how much I can see the gun when focusing on the target. At closer ranges for self defense scenarios, I think focusing on the target is probably the best explanation or thing to do. But I have a feeling it would start to be a challange at anything past 10 yards to get good hits. I don't know. I'll have to test that theory.

 

[festus1]

I 2nd the "lens's of two different prescription's. One for close up, the other for distance" and CT laser grips. Another thing that has helped me is D&L sights on my J frames. Very Expensive, but so too is my life and my family's. I sighted them in with a file on the front sight for elevation and in the rear notch for windage. Then I had the notch widened with a mill and the tritium bar and white outline tritium front added. The increase in precision is amazing. "amerigunusa.com" did the work. I have widened the rear sights on my full size guns too - it has really helped me to shoot better.

 

[hera200]

old eyes

As my eyes aged and my reading glasses went from one and a half power up to two and a half, I found that going back to a dollar store old pair of reading glasses that were one and a half power and looking through them with both eyes like regular glasses, allowed me to see the iron sights pretty well and the target was still visible enough to shoot fairly well. Try it and see how it works for you.