I hope I’m posting this in the right section of the forum.

I’m 43 years old and my eyes are starting to go. About 2 years ago, I noticed it was getting hard to read the date on my watch. Today, I can’t see it without glasses!

For years, I’ve used scopes but have recently gotten into shooting bench rest with optics and feel like my vision is affecting my ability to shoot to the best of my ability. I was hoping for some advice to help take a lot of the guess work and experimentation out of what I’m about to go through in the very near future. My main concern is this: I’m about due for a new pair of glasses and want to make sure I tell the optometrist exactly what I’m looking for. As it is, all I need are reading glasses but, do notice a slight weakness in my long range sight.

I live in the New Orleans area and was wondering if anyone knows of any optometrists who may be shooters in my area and would know exactly what I’m looking for in glasses. At this point, I have no clue what to expect and would like some suggestions in helping me with my fading vision.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I have been wearing contacts for years, and find them much more "sight friendly" than glasses. That said, a lot would depend on your eyes. Are you near sighted, far sighted, or just getting to the point you have to have glasses to read? If the latter, you might just adjust the scope for your unaided vision.

Don't live in your area, so not sure who you might talk to, but finding an opthamologist who is a shooter would be a good idea.

2 things worked for me. the gradient lenses let me focus on the front sight yet allow me to see the target anyway, and getting a elcheapo pair of reading glasses that will let me see the front sight clear (everything else is a bit fuzzy)

Im there also. I had to readjust the focus on all of my scopes. I also use reading, cheater glasses. Ditto on finding an optometrist that shoots, was the best thing.We still have 30 plus years to shoot.

Years ago your only choice was bifocals--like a switch they are on or off--no in between. Now you have progressive. If you went bifocal first,switching took a couple weeks to adjust to them. Go progressive from the start and no problem. You are there.

I found that I could shoot long range silhouettes better by not wearing my glasses and making the needed optical adjustment with the scope I tend to look through the top of my glaases lens when shooting from a bench and my groups are not as good as naked eye with a scope correction. I'm sure this will be scoffed at but it works for me.

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
I found that I could shoot long range silhouettes better by not wearing my glasses and making the needed optical adjustment with the scope I tend to look through the top of my glaases lens when shooting from a bench and my groups are not as good as naked eye with a scope correction. I'm sure this will be scoffed at but it works for me.

+1

Get the best and brightest optic you can afford and adjust it to your naked eye. Good scopes can be focus adjusted to meet this need but it all depends upon your level of impairment.

Each person is different, as is their eyesight. I'm sure we are all well meaning in our advice, but a lot of it will contradict each other.

Case in point,

I tried the "progressive" lenses once. In my opinion they are the absolute RIP OFF of the century. My recommendation is DO NOT buy them. You will have one, very small point in the direct center of your viewing area that will mostly be in focus, and the rest of the lense will be blurry. The farther out from the center you try to look, the more out of focus the lense will be. What you have to "get used to", is not being able to see clearly. Forget them and just get regular bi-focals. I hated my progressives, but they were so damn expensive, I was too cheap to throw them away (like I should have).

The pair I just bought are back to normal bi-focals, and I couldn't be happier.

I have worn glasses my entire life. No choice, can't see without them. I wear them when shooting with either open sights or scopes, pistols, rifles and shotguns. Like I said, no choice. With either type of sights, when you're shooting, you're looking through the upper portion of the glasses anyway, so the bi-focal is like a "normal" single vision lense.

Go get your vision checked, and if you need bi-focals, get them. You'll get used to them easier than you think.

About the only thing that gives me trouble is spotting scopes and binoculars. I finally found a pair of binoculars with enough eye relief to be able to use them (Stieners) a few years ago, but am still looking for the "right" spotting scope. You'll need at least 20 mm of eye relief to be able to use them with your glasses on. rifle and pistol scopes are no issue. They both have enough eye relief in them (unless you buy some REALLY CRAPPY scopes) that the eyeglass frame will not interfere.