Some Help With Sighting In

[Concours]

Hoping for a little help/suggestions.

Just getting back into shooting .. 9 MM M&P Compact .. but having a problem with getting sighted in. I wear no-line bi-focals .. 15 ft or less I'm good with the sights on the gun, and usually have a pattern very close to where I aimed. But get to 20 ft or more, and when I use the gun sights I can't see the target and end up low and to the left; try to focus on the target I can't see the sights on the gun and end up high to the left.

Making it a little more difficult I shoot right handed but I'm left eye dominant ... using the right eye same basic of problem of seeing either the gun sights or target, but end up to the right instead of left. Tried today to focus with both eyes but still can't see the sights if looking at the target or vice versa.

I am generally close, I can get a tight pattern ... just want to be more accurate. Any suggestions for old man who can't see?

 

[g8rb8]

options:
1. Live with it. Be glad you made it this far and can still shoot.
2. Try a "pinhole" over your glasses lens. You can fashion a pinhole for a try with a piece of paper taped over your lens. Here's a link to a more in depth discussion:
Muzzle Blasts Online,Vol. 4, No. 5.; Pin-Hole Diopter Shooting Glasses
There are a number of manufacturers of diopter devices.
3. Ask your optometrist to make you a "special" pair of shooting glass. The glasses will be like reading glass but focused upon the front sight. You'll still have a blurry target but you won't be tilting your head to bring everything in focus. You can add a pinhole to this set up.
4. Start shooting with optics or lasers.
5. Practice. You will improve as you adapt to your current visual abilities.
John

 

[MichiganScott]

Have some one else shoot it. It's not the sights.

 

[ginzo]

I wear no line TRI-focals. I'm going to talk to my eye Dr. at my next appt. in January. I have to do something also. I may even have him put the close up (bottom of lens) on top. It's too hard to tip my head back if I have to work on things close if they are say under the sink etc.

 

[kcbet2]

I wear no line tri-focals and i don't have a problem...lucky me

 

[Concours]

Have some one else shoot it. It's not the sights.

I know it's me .. 3" inches off where I'm aiming still gets the job done

 

[OKFC05]

Get computer glasses, look at the front sight, and let the target go blurry. Works for me in IDPA matches

 

[Randyp1234]

options:
1. Live with it. Be glad you made it this far and can still shoot.
2. Try a "pinhole" over your glasses lens. You can fashion a pinhole for a try with a piece of paper taped over your lens. Here's a link to a more in depth discussion:
Muzzle Blasts Online,Vol. 4, No. 5.; Pin-Hole Diopter Shooting Glasses
There are a number of manufacturers of diopter devices.
3. Ask your optometrist to make you a "special" pair of shooting glass. The glasses will be like reading glass but focused upon the front sight. You'll still have a blurry target but you won't be tilting your head to bring everything in focus. You can add a pinhole to this set up.
4. Start shooting with optics or lasers.
5. Practice. You will improve as you adapt to your current visual abilities.
John

If the solution is going to translate from target shooting to concealed carry then the only real solution is number 4. Bad guys aren't going to wait for you to change glasses.

 

[Rastoff]

Low left is almost always a trigger control issue.

Your focus should be on the front sight and look something like this:

 

[scooter123]

I would suggest that you forget all that "focus on the front sight" nonsense. For two reasons.

1) Focusing on the front sight will cause you to "chase" the sight during recoil. This means that you'll have to visually re-acquire your target before you can make a follow up shot. This costs TIME and that can mean the difference between going home or to the hospital or morgue. In addition when you re-acquire the target it's quite probable that you won't pick up on the exact same point of aim on your target and that will widen your groups.

2) For us older folks, and even the younsters reading this will be older someday, we usually lose the ability to bring multiple plains of distance into focus. We also tend to become far sighted, probably a survival mechanism.

Taking this into account I would suggest that you drop the bifocals for shooting and get a pair of glasses specifically for a distance of 9-12 feet. This will allow some clarity for your handgun sights and should make it possible to focus on your target. Then you need to train yourself to use what I call "Weapon Guided Point Shooting" which is to use what you can see of your pistol or sights to assist in point shooting your pistol. BTW, when you are running rapid fire drills keep your focus on the target and when you see the gun return to target fire another round. With practice you can get your split time down to about 3/10 second while holding to a 5-6 inch group at 30 feet. Yeah, getting there does take practice but us old farts need to practice just so we can keep up with the kiddies.

 

[ageingstudent]

I have bi-focals also but got a pair of single vision lenses for shooting. The line less are too hard because you have to cock your head just right and it's damned uncomfortable when shooting. I am very near sighted with some weird focusing issue that only really manifests when I try to focus on a finite point like a front sight. This cannot be completely corrected. I close my left eye when I aim because otherwise I'm not sure which of the 2 targets I see is the one to shoot at, nor am I sure which set of rear sights to line up the front sight in haha.

I developed my one eyed shooting by playing a shooting game I like to call save the hostage. I place an old paint can or some suitable target (the hostage taker) slightly exposed but just behind behind a 4" round metal target. I only leave about 2-3 inches of the can exposed above the right side of the metal target at about 1-2 o'clock. If I ring the metal target I busted the hostage, but surprisingly I usually can pull it off and bust the paint can, even from 20 yards.

I believe this does two things for me. First, when we jerk the trigger the round goes left and low. Knowing that I must not jerk the trigger because I will ring the plate helps me to focus on a smooth pull. Second, I think the extra concentration necessary to focus on that small exposed spot that must be hit next to a larger target that must not be hit brings up some sort of compensating mechanism that helps me see better briefly. I feel like it is similar to picking one bird out of a flushed covey with a shotgun. All the other birds must be ignored if you want to be sure to get one.

Not at all scientific but just something that seems to help. I often warm up this way before trying to shoot accurate groups and it really seems to help my goofy eyesight and focus. It's also useful for regaining focus if I lost it somehow.

 

[MichiganScott]

Then you need to train yourself to use what I call "Weapon Guided Point Shooting" which is to use what you can see of your pistol or sights to assist in point shooting your pistol. BTW, when you are running rapid fire drills keep your focus on the target and when you see the gun return to target fire another round. With practice you can get your split time down to about 3/10 second while holding to a 5-6 inch group at 30 feet. Yeah, getting there does take practice but us old farts need to practice just so we can keep up with the kiddies.

I've given up on actually using my sights at common self defense distances. I've found that I can get groups that are actually smaller by using the technique Scooter describes at 15 yards or less.

It takes a lot of practice to become proficient, and even more to stay that way.

And yes, low left bullet impact with a M&P is almost always trigger/sight control.

 

[Ranger17]

I wear no line TRI-focals. I'm going to talk to my eye Dr. at my next appt. in January. I have to do something also. I may even have him put the close up (bottom of lens) on top. It's too hard to tip my head back if I have to work on things close if they are say under the sink etc.

at a recent range visit one of the instructors noticed me cocking my head back and suggested flipping my glasses (progressive bifocals) upside down as it seemed to work for him in the same situations. Didn't do much for me, could have been due to also having prisms in my glasses for eye muscle/double vision issues (i dont need to see 2 targets in the lane lol). I havent tried the pinhole yet though it could make some sense, no different then a peep when bowhunting.
I'm pretty solid with my 9c up to the 7-10 yd range, after that it's accuracy compared to my .22 (Buckmark) falls off. That could be due to a shorter barrel/site radius along with the fact i'm just not as consistent with my grip/trigger pull on the 9 yet. But with my vision, even the buckmark drops off when i get closer to 20 yards and i know its me and not that gun.

 

[smitret]

special glasses

I wear no line TRI-focals. I'm going to talk to my eye Dr. at my next appt. in January. I have to do something also. I may even have him put the close up (bottom of lens) on top. It's too hard to tip my head back if I have to work on things close if they are say under the sink etc.

I've read of mechanics having glasses made with the reading part at the top because they're looking up at the vehicle.

After catarac surgery in January my reading glasses were made so I focus at arm's length. Perfect for shooting and the computer screen.

Good Luck

 

[old&slow]

Hoping for a little help/suggestions.
. Any suggestions for old man who can't see?

Get a shotgun ,,
I'm getting old also,, all my front sights are fuzzy anymore, even on my rifles. I've tried glasses that focus on the front sight ,, gave me headaches & nausea.. Plus didn't seem to help much,, back to wearing my normal glasses and living with it..
A red dot works good for me for Bullseye shooting, but not so much for speed type shooting..

Usually a right handed shooter hitting low left is jerking the trigger. Practice your dry firing.

 

[ginzo]

Thanks for the update/info. My bottoms are for very close, my mid is for say computer screen/dashboard distance, and my uppers are for signs etc. while driving. My issue is finding the middle in a hurry and I'm left handed/right eye dominant so it's an uphill battle all the way. I've found that when I'm shooting strong handed I can make my dominant eye focus if I move the gun just to the right a little, but if I shoot off handed it is a little easier to use my dominant eye. I'm pretty accurate either way but not a bulls eye shooter. If I hit the 8" target out to 45', I count that as a victory.

May talk to the Doc about some kind of corrective surgery as you suggested.

Thanks,
Chuck

I've read of mechanics having glasses made with the reading part at the top because they're looking up at the vehicle.

After catarac surgery in January my reading glasses were made so I focus at arm's length. Perfect for shooting and the computer screen.

Good Luck