As I am now nearer 50 than 40 (if one rounds up )I am having increasing difficulty keeping focus on the cross hairs of my scope when shooting groups for load development etc. Hunting reticles blur and target reticles dissapear.

I am short sighted (myopic)and wear glasses or contacts to correct that. I can read with my short sighted glasses but detailed work finds me looking under glasses or extending my arms which are at present long enough.

Does the image in a scope have depth etc, in short do I need to switch to long sighted glasses or is it just a function of age that is not correctable. If that is the case I presume BR champions are all under 50? Knowing a few successful competitors I would have thought I could get some correction?

I have worn glasses to shoot with for more than 50 years and have always been able to focus the crosshairs in my scopes.

I was terribly near sighted for a hell of a long time and simply adjusted the occular lens so that the crosshairs were sharp.

Recently I had cataract surgery and lens replacement. Now I have great distance vision, but need reading glasses. When I first looked through a scope I thought I had really screwed up, I could not see a thing! However, simple adjustment of the rear eyepiece solved the problem quickly.

If you got an instruction book with any of your scopes get it out and read how to adjust the scope to your eye so that the crosshairs are sharp.

Lad,

I'm currently speeding north of 60 and have been wearing glasses since I was in my 20's.

Some thoughts:

1. Wearing your glasses creates "new" eyes. So focusing things like binocs, rifle scopes, electron microscope eyepieces, etc. now has to be done ONLY w/your new eyes.

2. Rifle scopes need to be focused, glasses or not. Loosen the retaining ring and look toward infinity (sorry... getting a little Zen here), an overcast sky is best, clear blue ok as well. Twist the focus bell until the crosshairs are crystal clear (oh, yeah... use the highest power).

3. Since most centerfire rifle scopes are parallax adjusted for 100+ yds, images at that range should now be as clear as the crosshairs. Objects nearer will be out of focus at higher mags. Dial back in power and it should clear up - if not, then you've probably gone closer than parallax permits (image will "wander").

4. Now... take off your glasses and sight on something 100yds away - are object and crosshairs both clear?? If so, you're in luck. If not, then you must choose between shooting w/glasses on, or off... choose wisely!! Tweak the focus and see if it helps.

5. If you have seperate glasses for other activities (Rx shooting, sunglasses, etc.) you will want to check each pair. My "trap" glasses focus at 40yds, my "readers" focus at 18".

6. When your arms get too short to read with, you will get some form of multifocal lense. Hint: use the upper half of both bifocal and progressive focus lense - both are used for distance focus. Recheck w/every new prescription.

It takes less time to do this, than to read it. But it pays off in clarity and accuracy.

BTW, I sighted in a rifle w/my handloads for a friend - shot MOA at 100yds w/my eyes and focus. Shot 2" low and 3 MOA for him because the "hairs were fuzzy".

Choose wisely,

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
As I am now nearer 50 than 40 (if one rounds up )I am having increasing difficulty keeping focus on the cross hairs of my scope when shooting groups for load development etc. Hunting reticles blur and target reticles dissapear.

I am short sighted (myopic)and wear glasses or contacts to correct that. I can read with my short sighted glasses but detailed work finds me looking under glasses or extending my arms which are at present long enough.

Does the image in a scope have depth etc, in short do I need to switch to long sighted glasses or is it just a function of age that is not correctable. If that is the case I presume BR champions are all under 50? Knowing a few successful competitors I would have thought I could get some correction?

Try refocusing the ocular ring with your glasses off...

The ocular is focussed with glasses on and I shoot with glasses. I can try without but it will mean some fairly major adjustment.

Anyone know what shortsighted bench rest shooters do.

Sorry, i was in a hurry when I wrote that...what I meant was to focussing your scope and then shooting without your glasses..I know someobody who shoots that way, but he is a target shooter..I'm not sure taking glasses on and off would be very practical for a stalker, but it would at least point you in the right direction as far as finding a solution..

Regards,

Peter