Wearing glasses and shooting straight

[Hendo]

I wear glasses for reading only. So - if I don't wear glasses I can see the target but the sights on my XD are blurry. If I wear the glasses the sights are clear but the target is blurry.
I know I am not the first to have this issue - what have any of you done?
Half Blind hendo

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[NK777]

Huh? Whether you wear glasses or not if your focusing on the front site as you should be the target will be blurry...

I don't wear glasses because I don't need them. Even people with 20/20 vision such as myself only get to focus on one thing at a time and for accuracy that one thing is of course the front site. Everything else is blurry just like you see it.

 

[greenLED]

Huh? Whether you wear glasses or not if your focusing on the front site as you should be the target will be blurry...

Yes and no.

Sure, our eyes can only focus on a single distance (so only one of the sights or the target will be in focus).

However, depending on the eye condition Hendo is dealing with, he might be able to focus on nearby objects but not on far away ones, and viceversa.

Bifocals, Hendo?

 

[Hendo]

NK - My words may have been as blurry as my eyesight.
I am 57 and the days of not needing reading glasses are past. Be thankful you don't need glasses. As greeeLED points out - I can not focus on the target at all if I wear glasses. Without glasses I can not focus on the sights at all but my farsight is fine.
Bi-focals? I wondered about that. What I wonder is if I wear them, I think I have to move my head a bit to use the other part of the glasses and won't that throw off my aim?
Anybody else wear bi-focals or progressive lens?
Thanks
Hendo

 

[NK777]

NK - My words may have been as blurry as my eyesight.
I am 57 and the days of not needing reading glasses are past. Be thankful you don't need glasses. As greeeLED points out - I can not focus on the target at all if I wear glasses. Without glasses I can not focus on the sights at all but my farsight is fine.
Bi-focals? I wondered about that. What I wonder is if I wear them, I think I have to move my head a bit to use the other part of the glasses and won't that throw off my aim?
Anybody else wear bi-focals or progressive lens?
Thanks
Hendo

I am very thankful I got my mothers eyes. My father is part Bat I swear. He's never been able to see well yet he can shoot very very well with Bifocals or are they Trifocals now I'm not sure. He's got the line-less kind so I can't tell.

The next time I see him I'll asked him if he has any tricks but I doubt he does anything special. He's eyes have been a wreck since birth and I personally think he's just adapted. FWIW he'll be 60 in February but like I said he's always had terrible eyes. I'll be 36 in March and I will eventually need glasses because as I get older I seem to be able to see farther and farther away It's up close that's becoming a strain for me.

 

[Stevie]

Hendo....it is just the way it is. Younger eyes can focus near and far simultaneously to some degree, older eyes not so. you still have to do what you have to do - which is focus on the front sight. so wear your glasses, but if you like, maybe you could get another pair of reading glasses that lets you see the front sight but aren't so strong as to throw the target completely out of focus. The gun is further from your eyes than a book would be, you don't need them that strong...

 

[NK777]

Hendo....it is just the way it is. Younger eyes can focus near and far simultaneously to some degree, older eyes not so. you still have to do what you have to do - which is focus on the front sight. so wear your glasses, but if you like, maybe you could get another pair of reading glasses that lets you see the front sight but aren't so strong as to throw the target completely out of focus. The gun is further from your eyes than a book would be, you don't need them that strong...

Very good idea and I agree.

 

[Hendo]

NK - sounds like your father has progressive lens. I would be interested to hear how those work for him.
Hmm, interesting idea Stevie, re: the in between power glasses. To have both sights and target just out of focus "somewhat" rather than just the target being in focus.
Up to now I have not been using glasses as I seem to do better being able to see the target clearly and have my front sight/dot be blurry in the rear sight.
Hendo

 

[Randini]

I wear progressives but you will not get any without a doctors prscription, now if you need them you'll get them, you may be able to ask for a type of progressive with your reading prescription and a plano this is what my wife wears, its a mild "far" vistion + , I dont know much more than that about them just ask your optometrist, how progressives work are like this the bottom is reading and as you look up to the top they get to your far vision as you go, so you get an intermediate zone in the middle.
But hey as long as what your shooting at is big you should hit it..

 

[Hendo]

Randini - sounds like you have a trick or two up your sleeve (any relation?)
I will follow up with an optometrist - and yes - I don't mind if the little ones get away - it's the big ones that matter.

 

[isher]

I've been wearing progressive trifocals for a few years now.

My eye doc, when I got them, said a lot of people just couldn't

Get used to them.

For whatever reason, I just loved 'em right off the bat.

For shooting it is an instinctive gradation thing that happens.

Boy, that's a mouthfull.

What I mean is, trifocals have three zones.

The lower portion of the lenses are for close range work,

Like reading or seeing your sights.

The mid portion is midrange, and the upper portion is long range.

I've found that I automatically adjust my head/glasses angle for

The best sight picture. At this point it is completely reflexive.

At the beginning I had to think about it and fuss with it.

It slowed my target acquisition down, and was frustrating.

But practice, practice, practice.

Then one day I was rapid firing a semiauto pistol and realized that

It had been drilled into my subconscious.

And, yeah, I'm one of those who was astigmatic to begin with

And now suffering the insults of middle aged eyes.

isher

 

[Hawaiian]

I am old and wear progressive bifocals. You can not get a really clear picture of both the target and the front sight. You have to tilt you head way up to get a crisp picture of the front sight and it hurts my neck and I can't see the target for sh*t. Talking paper target here. Not so much a problem on a man sized target, you can see center mass. So, you learn to compromise and find the right angle for your head to be to get a semi clear picture of both the front sight and your target.

It is worse with a rifle with iron sights trying to line up the front and rear sight. Now is when I really like the holographic sights like my Eotech's. They work pretty well for me. Just look at the target and put that red dot on where you want the bullet to go.

 

[Hendo]

Much thanks especially from the "old timers". I figured some of you have marked the trail for me.
Again - much appreciated. Will report on my new specs and how my aim is doing.
Hendo
PS I just want to salvage some self respect and have my aim be as good as my 62 yr old girlfriend who I just re-introduced to shooting last month! She rocks!

 

[laktrash]

Glad to know I'm not the only one that has to cock his head back because of progressive lens. Shooting glasses were another issue with me I found a pair that has sig across the nose piece that really work well for me. They fit over the top of my regular glasses and don't rub anywhere.