Possible remedy for shooting / eyesight problems with Bi-Focals

[roundball]

Here’s something that might be of interest to some folks who wear prescription bi-focals, and then have difficulty seeing the sights clearly when the head is down and you’re looking out through the upper part of the bi-focals…these are a reusable, stick-on / peel-off lens in different diopters…since they’re ‘soft’ I assume they could even be cut to fit the upper area of the dominate sighting eyeglass…no personal knowledge of them, just saw it and thought I’d post it.

http://www.eyesave.com/styles/p11721/Reading+Glasses-Optx+2020-HydroTac+Lenses/index.aspx

[billd]

Right up your alley Sonny,   Let's hear it.

[George Sutton]

A piece of tape with the right size hole will save you $15.99.

Centershot

[Ky-Flinter]

Here's something that works pretty well for me.  Cut a small square of black electricians tape and put a small hole in the center.  I use a 1/16 drill to get a nice clean hole.  Position the tape on your glasses lens so you're looking thru the hole when you line up your sights.  You will like it!

-Ron

Haha!  Centershot beat me to it!

[roundball]

Right...we kick around the peep approach, the merit approach, etc, all the time...but this is just an alternative I hadn't seen before, thought I'd post it in case somebody might be interested in it instead of the peep...

[ironsights1]

Thanks for the different suggestions. I'm one of those bifocal-wearing guys that has to keep lifting my head to find my front sight and make sure it's aligned with the deer I'm aiming at.  I'm going to try the hole in the electrical tape suggestion first to see how that works.  I love my Tennessee and Southern style flintlocks, but those thin blade front sights can disappear when shooting in the woods, hence the head bobbing.

[Daryl]

I guess it depends on your prescription in the bifocal.  My close sight is too poor to see anything past the muzzle. The long-range part of the lense gives me a sharp front sight, and sharp target.  Nice! - the rear is fuzzy of course, but if I streeeeetch things a bit and try the holed tape on the lense, the rear sight as well should be sharp.

 My first set of glasses had progressive lenses. They are an abomination for seeing anything your nose isn't pointed at - and since it isn't pointed at your sights you can't see DICK!  You normally sight through the top left part of the right lense (right handed) when aiming.  With long-range standard lenses or bifocals, this area is in focus for you - with progressives it's someone else's prescription, not yours.

 Yes - I am going to try the black tape procedure of sight correction. It works - I know it does - just one of those things I haven't tryed yet - but yes - I know it works without even trying it - yet - it has to - common sense says it will.

[Rich]

I usually wear progressives but for shooting I have a pair that is simply the long distance prescription. The rear sight is far enough away so I can see it and the front sight.

[Dphariss]

This will work.


http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=978528

[sonny]

ok here we go........there is no remedy for poor vision with progressive bifocals  when it comes to aiming with them.progressive lenses are (aspherick in shape///like a flying sauser shape).....different shape different power.....it's a fact.This is why unless you aim with your head upright looking through center in progerssive bifocal you will see slightly distorted an slightly unfocused.The old timers found that small round/oval lenses in slightly weakened lenses was as close to ok vision,(i said ok vision)as they could work with for hunting.Smoothbores worked good as no rear sight for focus problems existed with them.Once you put front an rear sights on the problem comes back....small round glasses have one strenght lense with very compressed light/image transfer giving the shooter a stretched focal lenght enabling better vision at ranges.The larger the lense the harder to see different ranges as the light entering the eye is huge an harder to focus ......the best for hunting is small/round/or oval with a tiny bifocal of standard type set low to help with loading/filling deer tags....stick on bifocals are a royal pain,an unless stuck in correct spot will cause eye strain.The old guys had it right again...............sonny

[Daryl]

Sonny - interesting observation. Small round lense with weaker prescription?  In the same line of thinking, I have found the drug-store el-cheapo magnifying reading glasses, in 1X or 3/4X gives a better focus on sigths, yet allows seeing targets fairly well. To read propelry, I need abotu 2 1/2X now, yet the low magnification allows better sighting.

[roundball]

The item I posted about is not a "stick-on bi-focal"

[LH]

Daryl,  from your comments I think your eyes are similarly as wore out as mine. 
I have tried reading glasses, diopters of every description,  everything under the sun.  Most recently though I have hit on something that is hands down far better than anything yet.  I bought a Knobloch frame and lense holder and an adjustable diopter.  I got the lense assortment and settled on the 1x lens after several shooting sessions and put up some of the best scores last summer that I had shot in a long time.  Then I went to see Dr. David Peed in Columbus Ga.(David has done the optometry for the US shooting team for a long time)  and got him to make me a couple of lenses for the Knobloch frames that are ground to correct the slight astigmatism in my right eye as well as provide the necessary magnification for me to see what I need to see.  Now I can clearly see the rear sight,  the front sight,  and the target.  Just like when I was 20!  Even if you just use the lenses that come with the Knoblochs,  you're looking through the center of the lense instead of looking through the corner at an angle as you would with reading glasses.  And the adjustable diopter is very useful too.  You're not locked into the same aperature all the time.   I'm really looking forward to the 2009 shooting season  because now all I have to do is figure out how to hold the rifle still and operate the trigger properly.   

[LH]

Forgot to mention that    "Champion's Choice"    is where I got the frames.  Also,  Dr. Peed only charged me $45 apiece for the lenses he made for me.  All in all,  I spent upwards of $300,   but for the serious shooter of iron sights,  its a bargain. 

[sonny]

being able to focus on all ranges with one lense is not actually possable but in weak corrections the difference in vision at different ranges is minimal over a broader focal lenght.Pick up your old weaker glasses an give them a try.You just might find out they are the best for hunting conditions.Target conditions are different....you need a correct RX for perfect focus at a given distance.........old small round glasses an slightly reduced distance prescription, will have you grinnin again like the cat that ate the cannary.......sonny

[Daryl]

You guys bring up some interesting options that are definitely worth looking at. Now all I have to do is figure out how I can get my wife to pay for them.

[BuffaloGun]

I had to deal with this when I went to bifocals some years back.
The single vision shooting glasses are the best way.  A budget priced pair from Wally-Worlds Optical dept are only a few bucks and  I have just updated the lenses on the same frames for the last 12 years.