any tips/ideas/tricks you guys are using to deal with decreasing vision. as a kid I had 20/10 pilot eyes, but farsighted. ever since the big 40 (14 years ago) I needed glasses and my shooting has steadily declined to the point my open sighted shooting is less than 1/2 of when I was younger and now it's a choice of do you want to see the sights or what your shooting at. I've tried diff types of glasses, no glasses, one eye open, both eyes open, focusing on the sights and focusing on the target. glad I was never a long range shooter anyway, but 14 years dealing with it and it's bugging me more and more.
Ever tried pinhole glasses? Saw an article about using them for shooting because they sharpen for all distances not just correct for one. Can't find the article now that I want it, but search for "pinhole glasses" and you'll find places selling them and explaining how they work, and if they'll work for your eye condition.
Another option is a stick-on diopter: http://www.meritcorporation.com/products.html
they use the pinhole technique when checking for cataracts. I have 20/10 in my left eye-20/50 in my right eye. I wear a contact for distance in my right eye. different focal point glasses vs contacts. cheaters to read with. rifle and shotgun shoot are 2 different types of shooting. rifle one is squinting and usually creating a sharper focus. shotgun you point and shoot-never aim like a rifle. ah yes then there is the over 40 syndrom. It is called"cantseesheet". We all as we get older have some deminished capacities. we just have to grin asnd bear it sometimes.
Nacho,
I just hit 65 and haven't been able to see iron sights clearly for about 20 years. But unless there is something bad wrong with your eyes, nothing beats a good quality 'scope for restoring the confidence that we once had with iron sights and youthful eyes. As I have read your many posts and knowledgable comments concerning firearms, I'm sure you would agree with this old man about the many advantages of a good 'scope. First and foremost is the added safety factor we all need to consider. Many times I have been watching a deer through my scope and then seen movement beyond what I looking at and it be another deer. Could have just as easily been somebody slip hunting along, not aware of me and my location and had I not seen them........who knows? I wear bifocals so I can read and see up close and have some correction in the lens for distance, but quite often my glasses will be in my pocket as I use my binoculars or my rifle scope but it doesn't seem to matter one way or the other, I can just do better looking at ol' buck through a 3x9! Good luck with working out the old age kinks!! Treefarmer
thanks for the help guys. with pinholes I'm not willing to give up the peripheral vision. using a scope I now have to lift the glasses up and left with my left hand so I'm looking thru the lower bifocal lens to get the cross-hairs and target clear. shotgun is a whole different ball game. without the guys spotting and saying "to your left/right, 6 o'clock etc" I never would have seen several and wing shooting was awful I'd focus on the bird and not be able to see the bead at all and try to have good form and lead them ,switched to 12 ga to throw more lead and sprayed and prayed and managed a few. stationary doves not a problem (I know not as sporting). even without glasses and a scope it's fuzzy but I can manage baseball size groups at 100 yds and I would consider that acceptable but a far cry from my old coin sized groups. when you always used to be the one to spot game first it bites. luckily my shots have always been close and enjoyed good vision during most of my life. I feel sorry for you guys with crappy vision from birth. definitely not growing older gracefully. perhaps a trijicon red dot is the answer, haven't tried them yet but to look thru, but dam expensive.
