Glasses and Shooting

[shulatt]

Hi everyone!
A topic I have not seen addressed here is eye glasses and the shooting sports so I thought I'd pose a question to the rest of those here with less than perfect eyesight.
I've been wearing glasses for about 37yrs, give or take, and hadn't really given it much thought when I took up shooting, until this weekend when I picked up my new glasses at the optometrist. What brought it to the forefront of my mind is the fact that this is my first set of bifocals and I'm wondering how this is going to effect my shooting and what adjustments I'm going to have to make. I've already discovered that bifocals are going to take some getting used to just in day to day use (I look like a bobble-head doll on someone's dashboard trying to figure out which lens I'm actually looking through at any given time). I opted for the progressive (no line) bifocal and upgraded to polycarbonate lenses for safety since I absolutely hate wearing safety glasses over my prescription glasses and have had hot brass ping off my lenses on more than one occasion.

So how did making the transition from no glasses to glasses or single vision lens to bifocal (or trifocal) affect your shooting? What was the toughest adjustment to make for you?

Thanks for your input.

Shawn

[VBshooter]

It has made mine worse,I wear trifocals with the lines and it is a real PITA having to compromise which image to go with, a clear target pic or a clear site pic...,I have to tilt my head down and then lean back a bit,,,it does throw the sight picture off,, Let us know how the progressives work... One thing I thought about was gettin some of the single vision "cheaters"from the drig store and trying that,,The fly in the ointment with that is when practicing you want as close to actual conditions as possible so that means wearing my real specs that I use daily.

[SgtBill]

I wear bifocals and have for many years. They are made with the lines. I also have a pair of shooting glasses that are a little oversized and yellow. They were made to give me a clear front sight at about 30 to 36 inches, which is perfect. Yes I do have a blured target and a blured rear sight. This is as it should be any time you are shooting unless it is combat shooting and then I don't use any sight at all.
Bill

[WRW]

Practice focusing on the front site. Low light will make this hard, but you work with what you got.

[flashman]

I have progressives, but I'd have to tilt my head back to see the sight picture through the correction. I just put up with the fuzzy front sight.

[goodoleboy]

I myself wear regular glasses(non bifocal, etc...) and would probably be lost without them. Before I had glasses I still hunted and shot but my aim was almost always off depending on how close the target was....the glasses really helped on that part. As for safety glasses; if they're required then I wear them otherwise, because of the way I shoot, I really don't need them. I've never had a shell casing comeback and hit me in the eyes(although I have had the brass end of a hot shotgun shell tag me in the forehead, long story).

[gregj]

I've started going to IDPA matches, but I've got to do something about my glasses. I'm near sighted and wear progressive bifocals. When target practice, I can tilt my head and get a pretty good sight picture - both eyes open, front sight in or near focus.

Problem is, when I go to a match, the shooting positions are never conducive to tilting my head to get the front sight in focus. I talked to a fellow on my squad last night, and he has a single vision lens in the right with the focus point where the front sight normally is, and the left lense normal Rx incl bifocal. Says it's a little odd at first to get used to, but it helps him.

I'm thinking about doing this. Anyone done this with their eyeglasses? Or other options to suggest?

[MuShuGordon]

Ahh, a topic that hits home with me, very close. *Reaches up to push glasses back up on nose, then realizes they are no longer needed.*

I used to wear glasses and I had no problem shooting with them. I had 20/400 (or 200, depended on the day, but come on, its bad) left eye vision and 20/100 right eye vision. Then something miraculous happened, LASIK surgery. I have found out very quickly how nice the world is without glasses after wearing them for so many years.

I now need my first pair of sun glasses. Woo Hoo.

Back to eye shooting. I think that you will get used to the new glasses as I have gotten used to my new eyes, literally. And I think that in time, it will be very natural to you no matter how you shoot. Just give it time bud. No worries.

[gregj]

I went to the eye doc sat, to get a new Rx, one for regular glasses, and one for shooting. My shooting glasses will have a regular Rx in the left eye with progressive bifocal. The right eye will have a single vision lens focused 1.25" from the tip of my index finger. This is there the front sight of my XDm is when pointing normally. I've heard positive results from this setup from a guy I shot with at an IDPA match, and have read of positive results from others. Looking forward to trying out my new glasses when they come in.

[VBshooter]

Definitley let us know if that works . as an experiment I got a pair of those drug store cheaters and my shooting got better immediately with the front sight being clear again, My regular trifocals don;t focus the sight clearly unless you contort your neck all over the place into a very uncomfortable position. The drawback to the cheaters is the distorted distance picture does not allow for daily wear. So I am trying to find a compromise set up and that one you mention may just be it.