Author Topic: For Eyeglass Wearers  (Read 8391 times)

Offline Fatman

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For Eyeglass Wearers
« on: August 10, 2009, 10:09:00 AM »
Hi:

Eyeglasses can complicate shooting, especially target shooting.  I wear bi-focals and shooting with them is less than ideal.  The conventional solutions, optically corrected diopters such as the Ghemem etc. are way too expensive.  The eyeglass add on lenses are also quite expensive as are custom ground prescription lenses.

Here's a very inexpensive solution that works for me and may work for you.  It's not perfect, but its pretty darn good and the price is right.

Measure the distance from your eye to the front sight with the rifle held normally.  Take this measurement to your favorite Dollar Store.  You do have a favorite Dollar Store don't you?  Go to the reading glasses rack and find a pair of glasses that gives a good clear focus at that distance.
You want the pair with the lowest magnification that works- that is the one with the lowest number on the lens stickerthat will focus without eyestrain.  Look away and back again several times.  If you focus for any length of time your eyes can compensate and you may wind up with a pair that will cause eye strain.  Check your distance vision (10 meters) with them as well.  It shouldn't be so out of focus that you have trouble seeing, a bit of bluring is ok.

The glasse you want are the Aviator style, the large triangular oval style worn by pilots.

It's pretty well documented that focusing on the front sight is critical to good shooting, and it's especially true of target shooting.  However, if the glasses you got provide too much magnification and focus very sharply on the front sight but excessively blurr the target, you arn't going to hit much.  You will need to try a pair with a lower magnification.  The right compromise of front sight focus and target visiblilty is what you are aiming for.  Try on several pair around the same magnification.  I don't think the lenses are ground to very exacting specs.  No pun intended.

Go on, give it a try, its only the price of a couple of Senior Coffees at Mickey D's, and all that caffine will give you the jitters when you' re trying for that perfec group.

If you shoot with a notched rear sight, you can place a small circle of electrical tape with a tiny hole in the center on the lense where you look when you shoot.  About 1/2" to 3/4" should work. Typically it's near the top of the lense near the inner corner.  It varies from person to person, so see what works for you.  The "Pin Hole" effect will sharpen up your vision quite a bit.  Experiment with the size of the hole, the placenent and the size of the patch.  What the heck it's only electrical tape.  You can try this on your existing glasses, save a buck in the process and hit the dollar menu.

Bend the ear loops for a firm fit.  You don't want the glasses slipping down on your nose, shifting and changing the focus while your are trying to shoot.

If you shoot outdoors, wear a ball cap or a booney hat.  The visor/brim will not only shade your eyes but prevent glare from you glasses.

Another aid is to obscure the opposite lense with opaque or translucent tape.  This helps some shooters who prefer to shoot with both eyes open but find that it causes problems with the focus in their sighting eye. The opaque tape can be dark or light, usually black or white, which ever works best for you.  


Hope this is of some use.

Cheers,
Fatman
 




Offline Gene_SC

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Re: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2009, 03:01:54 PM »


Great post Thomas and thanks for sharing with us who are eye sight impaired..:)



Just have one question. We have member here named TCups and he shoots left handed and can only see outa his right eye. Please help him with a fix...:)



I am sure he will appreciate that....:)

THE ONES I SLEEP WITH: BSA Lightning XL, AA TX-200, AA ProSport, BSA Ultra, HW-97K, Crosman NPSS .177, FX Cyclone, HW-30 Nicle Plated, AA-S200, Crosman Marauder, CZ-634, R-9 DG, Webley/Scott UK Tomahawk, Benji Kantana, Benji Marauder, Benji Discovery.....
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Offline TCups

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RE: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2009, 03:24:04 PM »
Here's a better albeit more expensive solution:

http://www.championshooters.com/store/product.php?productid=59&cat=0&page=1

http://www.champchoice.com/prod-GEHMANN_IRIS___DISC_FOR_REGULAR_GLASSES-1088.aspx

As your eyes age, you lose the ability to accommodate -- to focus at near and far distances -- because the lens material of your eyes becomes less pliable and the muscle that actually changes the shape of the eye's lens can no longer sufficiently change the shape of the lens.

Reading glasses will give you the ability to focus on the front sight in the near field, yes, but also at the expense of now having the target out of focus in the far field.

Instead, if you use an adjustable iris, this, in effect, puts a peep sight on your eye glasses.  A peep sight, in simple terms, eliminates depth of field and makes everything, near or far, stay in focus.  I think these are also referred to as "Knoblochs".  I have one.  Put it over you eye glass lens and the front sight, rear sight and target pop into sharp focus.  But since light is also restricted, you will need good light on the target to get the best results.  If you want to shoot open target sights seriously, this or a similar iris eyepiece is a good investment.

Offline TCups

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Re: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2009, 03:53:16 PM »
Gene --
you got it bass-ackwards.  I am right handed but see best with a dominant left eye.  So I now shoot left handed, and muddle through.  
I wear a Gheman iris on my od left eye when I shoot my pistol.  And my non-scoped target rifles have diopter sights.

Offline Gene_SC

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Re: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2009, 11:05:58 PM »
You know I was just funnin wiff you Tommy...:) Could not help myself,,,,,
THE ONES I SLEEP WITH: BSA Lightning XL, AA TX-200, AA ProSport, BSA Ultra, HW-97K, Crosman NPSS .177, FX Cyclone, HW-30 Nicle Plated, AA-S200, Crosman Marauder, CZ-634, R-9 DG, Webley/Scott UK Tomahawk, Benji Kantana, Benji Marauder, Benji Discovery.....
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Gene\'s Tunz n Toyz
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Offline TCups

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Re: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2009, 11:25:25 PM »
Love ya, mean it, Big Guy!

Offline Fatman

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Re: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2009, 04:54:44 AM »
Hi:

Thanks for all the responses.  

Not to be argumentitive and meaning no disrespect, but that post was directed at my fellow bottom feeders with limited funds who wish to improve but don't have the bucks to go first class.  I'm talking here about B-2,  B-3 and Daisy 953 funds, not Gamo and above funds.

I fully agree that an adjustable iris is an excellent choice, especially with the right corrective lense.  The downsides are the cost and whether you have a decent sight to put it on.

I shoot with the Daisy 853 rear sight (about 15 bucks) and find that the right pair of inexpensive readers improve the resolution of both the front sight and the target.  I have also found that Dollar Store readers do not exhibit that characteristic of high end precision optics where they snap into sharp focus at just the right distance, but provide a noticable improvement over a broad range of distances.  This lack of precisoin, or soft fcous, works as an advantage in this case.  

The low buck electrical tape trick provides an adjustable iris of sorts - just make another patch with a larger or smaller hole. That patch on the right pair of low buck readers becomes a budget adjustable iris with corrective lense.  Certainly not ideal but still a noticable improvment.   I find them very handy when shooting with notched rear sights.

I seem to recall that the dominant eye can be reversed by blanking that eye for a period of time, forcing the weaker eye to become dominant.  Remember that kid in school with the patch over one lense of his eyeglasses. I suspect the older you get the tougher it becomes.  I would certainly consult an eye doctor before attempting anything.

 Becoming a lefty should work.  It may take a while, but barring physical disabilites, it will work with time and practice.  The only downside I can see is the lack of availability of left hand stocks.

I'm retired on a limited budget and my heroes are those who take the prize with skill, dedication and the ability to excell in spite of limited funds.  The Gold Medalist with an AR2078, the Silver Medalist with a Daisy 717 etc.

Have fun, shoot the best you can with what ever you can afford.  Heck you may suprise yourself.

Cheers,
Fatman

Offline Gene_SC

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Re: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2009, 06:09:14 AM »


Thomas, I think your contribution in this post was excellent. Most all of us own B-3's and other Chinese springers. Why? Because we learned on them..:) I tried the one eye and the tape on my glasses when I first started shooting springers. It does work but is limited. Finally I bought my first scope and from then on I scoped everything I bought.



But your point is well taken, that many of us cannot afford the luxury of a scopes or other gizmo'sand your methodsare a great solution. Thanks again.

THE ONES I SLEEP WITH: BSA Lightning XL, AA TX-200, AA ProSport, BSA Ultra, HW-97K, Crosman NPSS .177, FX Cyclone, HW-30 Nicle Plated, AA-S200, Crosman Marauder, CZ-634, R-9 DG, Webley/Scott UK Tomahawk, Benji Kantana, Benji Marauder, Benji Discovery.....
....

Gene\'s Tunz n Toyz
Springer Tunin

Offline Fritz

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Re: For Eyeglass Wearers
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2009, 11:24:22 PM »
What about a pair of "cheater's glasses"? I saw them in a Duluth Trading catalog, they go from like .2-2x and are certified safety glasses also. Best of both worlds.
\"I never set out to be weird, it was always everyone else who called me it.\" -Frank Zappa

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