Shooting and wearing glasses

[outside9]

I always had very good vision until I got older and have been fighting got to the eye doctor but using store bought readers etc. Well I finally went in and had them officially checked. Apparently I have one eye with poor vision and another eye is worse. I got a pair of the progressive ones (lens with various strength for certain distances).

Here is my question; I hunt with a rifle and scope, do you guys that hiunt wear glasses when shooting with scope?

How about when shooting a handgun?

 

[shootnstarz]

There is no need to wear glasses with a scope, just adjust the focus for your eye. This also goes for astronomy telescopes but for ease of observing I just have folks keep them on, otherwise we'd be constantly focusing.

Rick

 

[Scrooge]

O9, I'm 61yo and shoot scoped rifles and open sight handguns. Although I wear glasses all the time, I have found that I can shoot either just fine without them - I usually take them off because I prefer my eye-pro without them. Depends on your particular vision issues I suppose. Give it a try without them - if you can't focus well then you know you'll need them. As SS pointed out; they are not needed with scopes...

 

[Snow Bird]

I sure shoot with mine on because my eyes are so bad. Scope won't make up for the prescription in my glasses. Besides I can't see a damn thing without them.

 

[FrankT]

There you go...try with your various guns and see which one you need the glasses and the ones you don't. I am supposed to wear glasses but don't need them w scopes, they help with iron sights and red dots.

 

[LowRiderRed]

I'm 57 and wear progressive tri-focals. My vision is NOT good. I've found that I can shoot open sights and scopes with my glasses on, but for some reason the red-dot sights give me a lot of problems. I believe the situation has to do with finding the right "field" on the lens to look through.

I quit playing golf a couple of years ago due to a different issue, but I noticed that I had a hard time focusing on the golf ball as well. I had to find the right place in my glasses to look through and focus on the ball, and then as soon as I hit it, the damn thing was gone again because I couldn't keep a focus on it in flight. Of course sometimes I couldn't see it because it was in the woods or under the water, but you get the idea. <G>

 

[maxfold]

Hello , 56.5 now,wear bifocal.shot with brother in law and he had eye Dr make him a pair with right eye set for focus with pistol sight picture , left with regular bifocal, he has almost same prescription as mine . I don't have to tilt head when shooting with open sights ( learned to shoot with front sight and target ) he automatically focuses on which eye he needs . Cost is worth it , maxfold

 

[wildrider666]

Like the saying goes: Age waits for no man. Let me add a few tips.

Your normal state while hunting or on the range would be with your glasses on. To remove them before and put them on after the shot(s) is a waste of time and effort. You should shoot with your glasses on. Make sure you have adequate clearance so you do not get kabob eye. Check clearance in the prone position as I find that puts my eyebrow in the closest position to the scope.

It is always good to know your limitations too. Check to see if your scope focus adjustment has enough range to allow you to focus without classes. If the scope has a parallax adjustment, make sure it is set for the testing distance.

If you switch to contacts down the road be aware that you may get a contact for one eye that will help you read and the one for the other eye is for distance. they work together and the "eye" that focuses on what the brain wants becomes the dominant eye at that moment. One eye reads the dash and the other road signs. Not All contacts are like this but the trend is moving these to be the standard. I'm not a glasses guy. My Wife uses this type contacts. She is right handed, Right eye dominant and right eye contact is for her distance vision. She dings-em with scope or iron sights.

 

[JohnAL]

I cheated. I had to have cataract surgery over two years ago. I opted to pay $3000 extra for multi-focal lenses. At 63 I have 20/15 vision. My wife had the same surgery and lenses two years before I did. She doesn't wear glasses anymore either.

Glasses were a biatch, especially trying to hunt in the rain.

 

[Just Dave]

My near vision is my enemy. I've capitulated to using scopes on all my rifles. For my handguns....the sights are a little fuzzy. They wouldn't be if I could extend my arms another 6 inches, but then again, I'm not trying to punch dimes at 15 yards, center mass is good enough for me. I'm using store bought readers and the only thing that's a pain when I'm shooting, is trying to find them when I need to make sight adjustments or reading text messages while sitting in the stand. I have been able on occasion to slide them down my nose enough (schoolmarm style) for a quick shot hunting, when using a scope.

 

[outside9]

Yea, the doctor told me I had one eye a lot worse than the other and wanted to start me off with a weaker scrip and ease me into the stronger ones in about 6-8 months. At the end of deer season this year I was using store bought readers while sitting in the stand reading and when I would look up, over the glasses to scan for movement everything was really blurry.

 

[Khaot1c]

Interesting thread. I was acutally just thinking about this the other day. My vision isn't horrible (yet) and I've got a script for glasses that are setup progressive; the top field is for computer use and the bottom is for reading. I have some OTC readers that are about a 1.5 and I use those when doing stuff around the house like reloading, of course reading, and just about anything else that is within arms reach.
To make matters worse, i'm right handed, but left eye dominant. Pistol shooting is a PITA, which might explain why I've taken to my rifles more lately. I've considered getting some eye-pro that supports inserts that can be fitted with a script, like that 1.5 for handgun. I can make out the sights A LOT better with glasses, than without. There's going to be some cost involved, sure, but probably less than $200. Wiley-X makes quite a few sets of eye-pro that support their standard Rx insert.

 

[Zeus]

Simple answer from someone who is legally blind without corrective lenses:

It all depends on how bad your eyes are at this point.

I use a LR pistol scope on certain long guns... mounted with as long of a physical eye relief as possible on my serious use weapons. I can snap on target with both eyes open instantly and since it is both eyes open I never lose a moving / running target. But without my coke bottles on I can't even see a regular hunting scope is present and in it's proper position, Let alone see through it.

I have been practicing head shots for many many decades now, and as long as I have my Coke bottles on I am as good as I ever was..... but unfortunately I can now drop a target much farther away than I can walk anymore, let alone drag anything back if hunting edible game.

I can still use a regular scope as well as anyone with my glasses on, I just prefer LR scope set ups because for me it has been virtually instant target acquisition once I figure out the set up and style.

Anyway .... back on topic, Try it both ways and see what you think for yourself, but also ask your Eye Doc one simple question :

Will your eyes get progressively worse faster if you don't wear your prescription all the time ?

 

[wildrider666]

A last consideration. If you plan hunt in in bad weather (waterfoul, yotes in the snow or elk in the mountains): Contacts may be the way to go as drops on your glasses would be never ending while your scope is covered until the shot. You can get just one box and use them just for hunting if you can get use to them. take any old scope to the Doc's office and when you try on a temp set check it via the scope through a window. Is crosshairs crisp and field still clear?

As I have said I'm not a contact guy. I'm sure somebody out there is shooting rifle scopes with contacts.

 

[zydeco]

I have been wearing progressive lenses for years. For shooting I use the Decot Hy-Lo. The frames have an adjustable bridge that allows you to move the bridge up or down which means the lens is basically moving up or down to achieve the focus you want. The lenses are easily removed so you can have multiple sets of lenses. I get my lenses made by 20-20 Optical in Fort Walton and they have done an great job every time. The Decot frames are not all that cheap, but they have a lifetime warranty.

http://www.decot.com/

 

[statdoc]

Red dot optics are the best thing since sliced bread, on both rifles and pistols.

 

[JohnAL]

And for me these are the best thing since peanut butter.
20/15 vison at 63 years old. The only glasses I have now are cheap sunglasses.

http://www.alconsurgical.com/Acrysof-IQ-Restor-IOL.aspx

 

[Garpo]

And for me these are the best thing since peanut butter.
20/15 vison at 63 years old. The only glasses I have now are cheap sunglasses.

http://www.alconsurgical.com/Acrysof-IQ-Restor-IOL.aspx

View attachment 9332

Had the some procedure back in September and I now have 20/20. Not too shabby after wearing Coke bottle glasses for most of my life. Now I just wear a good pair of shooting glasses and have no problems using open sights. With the exception of doing very close work I rarely need reading glasses. Implants as the result of cataract surgery are one of the rare advantages of reaching the twilight years. So younger guy with bad eyesight, y'all have something to look forward to.

 

[JohnAL]

Actually a buddy of mine that does not have cataracts was so jealous he called his ophthalmologist to find out what the surgery would cost out of pocket. I think he quoted him $9000 cash but that was 2 years ago.

 

[Ben Ghazi]

See !!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you dont stop you will go blind or at least need glasses