Ageing Eyes

[drycreek]

How many of you have had your trifocal cut into the top of your lenses in order to see your handgun sights without cocking your head back like a rattler ready to strike ? And if so, did you do this in your everyday glasses or just glasses for shooting ? I’m at the point that I can’t focus on the sights and my accuracy has suffered because of it. I don’t mind a scope on my main hunting gun, or red dots on my semi-autos, but I have several sixguns that I can no longer shoot well because of my eyesight. 

[foxtrapper]

Just got back from the range with new SSP eyewear where the bifocal is on the upper part of the lense! Work wonderfully! 80 bucks or so with clear,yellow and smoke lenses. sspeyewear.com/collections/bifocal-tactical

[theoldredneck]

Where was this company 20 plus years ago when I was having glasses made with the lense upside down? Their prices are much cheaper than it was costing me.

[drycreek]

I’m wanting mine in my regular glasses as I have to have a prism in the left lens. I don’t even know if it will work with a prism but I have an appointment next month to see. I’m mainly wondering if it would be an aggravation to have an additional focal point. If it won’t work, I’ll definitely look into the glasses that foxtrapper posted about. 

[bigbore5]

I did in my shooting glasses. My normal wear ones a the regular layout

[rjtodd]

I hope you solve this problem, because we are all headed there if we last long enough!

Prescription glasses ordered online can save a ton compared to having them made at a traditional brick and mortar. Not trying to starve out your local guy, but if you are experimenting it might save you enough to try a handful of combinations versus one $500 pair of glasses.

Good luck and keep them in the center

Randy

[drycreek]

Sept 9, 2024 19:25:14 GMT -5 rjtodd said:

I hope you solve this problem, because we are all headed there if we last long enough!

Prescription glasses ordered online can save a ton compared to having them made at a traditional brick and mortar. Not trying to starve out your local guy, but if you are experimenting it might save you enough to try a handful of combinations versus one $500 pair of glasses.

Good luck and keep them in the center

Randy

My local guy ain’t starving, trust me. I called day before yesterday and the earliest appointment was December !  My glasses are aviator style and kinda hard to find lenses for. I’m thinking it might behoove me to try those $80 shooting glasses to see if I really want to do this. 

Thanks for the link foxtrapper !

[brant]

So. It looks like there is no prescription to the main part of the glass , just the top or bottom reader portion, correct?

[jeffh]

I can still shoot iron sights at fifty yards (sort of) with a revolver IF I turn my "blended bifocals" upside down.

I have an old neck injury which causes me a lot of pain for several weeks if I do something wrong. Trying to see the sights through the right part of the bifocals is "something wrong." Causes pain in my head, neck and right arm for weeks when I have to crank my head like that. CANNOT shoot prone any more.

My optometrist is a gem - a great lady, but not tuned in to shooting, so can't really help. Need to try something else and will look at this link.

Last time I saw her, she told me my eyes have IMPROVED, yet again! THIS is why my previous prescription had started to fail me.

Remember I said she was a "gem?" She followed that assertion with "but you won't live long enough to ever NOT need glasses."

I could fall in love with a lady like that - no BS, straight to the point, no holding punches - straight-shooter all the way.

[gnappi]

Sept 9, 2024 19:52:16 GMT -5 brant said:

So. It looks like there is no prescription to the main part of the glass , just the top or bottom reader portion, correct?

 I can't say globally what's possible or not to make glasses as I don't wear glasses, but a friend had aging eyes had glasses made with one prescription just for shooting and it solved all of his problems. 

[eisenhower]

This is precisely why I finally gave into the red dot craze. I thought they were ridiculous for years, but after returning to the US from several years overseas (i.e., not shooting), I realized my eyesight had gone to crap. With handguns, I can either go glasses off, see the target clearly but have totally fuzzy sights, or go glasses on, see the sights sharply, but have a fuzzy target. Even the shooting glasses with the bifocal at the top of the lens are only allowing me to see my sights clearly - the target is still fuzzy. It works out to about 20 yards, but is not ideal, and not practical for "real world" (i.e., not on a gun range) use.

So, I popped a red dot on top of a Glock and, oh my god ... it's like I have my 20-year old eyes again. I'm doing head shots at 25 yards that were never gonna happen with iron sights.

The problem of course is the anachronism of mounting a red dot on something like a Colt SAA, Ruger Blackhawk, etc. If you can get past the weird factor, the red dot really is the optimal (optical) solution. I haven't quite gotten to mounting them on six-guns yet, but my semi-autos all sport dots now, and those are my accuracy guns.

DeWayne

[jgt]

My eye doctor is also a rancher and hunter. I like him, but I haven't had much luck with his prescription glassed over the years. The last time I went to him, I had him make me a pair of prescription shooting glasses with upper and lower bifocals. It was very expensive and they don't work worth a flip. I gave up after that. I would be willing to try the above mentioned shooting glasses also. So far my walmart prescription computer glasses are the longest lasting and best used I have. They don't work well for anything else but are great for what they were made to do. If I ever find shooting glasses that work this well I will get down on my knees and thank the good Lord for sure.

[K9TXS]

Most of my handguns are scoped. I wear bifocals and had a pair of glasses made up for distance only. These have worked out much better than expected. I shoot with both eyes open and haven't had any issues focusing on the cross hairs in the scope. I have one revolver that has the Ultradot and the glasses works very will with it.

[domino300]

I use the SSP eyewear glasses also. You can change the lenses for a different shade or bifocal placement easily. I have a pinched nerve in my neck that makes it painful to raise my head, so I have the bifocal on top. I shoot handguns righthanded with my left eye due to right eye surgery for a macular hole, as the front sight is half visible from scar tissue. I need a scope for rifles righthanded, but the reticle is a bit wavy.

[needsmostuff]

Think I'm gonna try some upside-down bifocals. So, a question for them that likes um.
Do you prefer a hard bifocal line or the blended transition of a variable lenses?