Corrective lenses for shooters

[E. Bryant]

The topic of corrective lenses for shooting purposes has come up multiple times on this site, and it's apparent that a substantial portion of firearm users struggle with getting this right. Here are a few articles that I stumbled upon via an aging shooter on Twitter that will provide some guidance:

Vision and Shooting…and Aging (Part 1)

As you age, vision and shooting can become an issue. There is hope! Check out this amazing article and learn how to see what you're shooting at as you age.

www.chrissajnog.com

Shooting Vision and Aging: Expert Advice that You Need to Know (Part 2)

As you get older, it gets harder to focus and this can effect your shooting vision. Learn what you can do about it from a firearms vision specialist.

www.chrissajnog.com

Shooting Vision: Essential Eye Care Tips For Firearm Shooters

Enhance shooting vision and safety with expert eye care tips for firearm enthusiasts. Elevate your aim and protect your eyes.

www.chrissajnog.com

The Eyes Have It – the True Meaning of Focus [Podcast]

A lot of people have a hard time realizing how important front sight focus is. Listen to the podcast if you want to learn more about vision and shooting.

www.chrissajnog.com

Hopefully this proves useful in future visits with your eye care professionals. If you shoot multiple disciplines, keep in mind the author's analogy of shoes - you may need several sets of corrective lenses to optimize performance.

 

[atepointer]

I have 3 sets: close in readers, mid range for computer work and then pure 20/20 distance. I wear the mid range to shoot so I can still see the reticle crystal clear, but am forced to do that b/c I can't have both crystal clear reticle AND target. At -8.5Rx, astigmatisms, 3 huge vitreous floaters in right eye and cataracts it's a real party but I push forward!

I tried bifocals b/f I needed trifocals drove me nuts. Would love to hear from anyone who had success making that change to trifocals as I'd dearly love to get 20/20 down range.

 

[E. Bryant]

You should be able to get useable performance with magnified optics and your 20/20 lenses. If not, I would think that perhaps your head and scope position are such that you're forced to look through the inside upper "corner" of the lens. Been there, done that, wondered why I couldn't get fancy optics to work right. Accordingly, I've had to abandon the whole slam-it-low philosophy of scope mounting due to this exact reason. Raising the scope means raising my head which means looking through a point closer to the optical center of my lens.

It'd be possible to get special lenses ground that would put the optical center of the lens in a mechanical position that works with a low scope, but then I'd be walking around the range or woods with glasses that didn't work correctly, and that doesn't work for my purposes. But if someone was, say, a dedicated high-power or silhouette shooter (or really any discipline with rigidly fixed shooting positions), dedicated lenses might be the way to go. Or run contacts, but I find them uncomfortable during a full day outdoors.

For pistol shooting with iron sights, my mid-range lenses are definitely the way to go. The front sight is fairly close to the distance of a computer monitor, so that works out nicely. I can take my distance glasses and scoot them about half-way down my nose to get the front sight in rough focus, but then my astigmatism correction is a bit off, and I'm back to that problem of not looking through the optical center of the lens.

 

[missed]

Thanks for the links we are trying to figure out a solution for my 9y/o for archery. His regular glasses work good with there scoped 22 and shooting iron sights. He does battle some issues with the glasses and shooting his compound bow. I think part of it is not being able to look through the center of the glasses.

 

[GenericBadGuy]

I have trouble with them sliding and fogging in the heat or cold.

Also when looking through a rifle scope and keep centered in the eyebox and focus range (with glasses) is always fun.

I know one guy who shoots PRS without his glasses and just adjusts his scope to correct for his vision. Keeps the magnification low initially.

 

[Nik H]

I have trouble with them sliding and fogging in the heat or cold.

Also when looking through a rifle scope and keep centered in the eyebox and focus range (with glasses) is always fun.

I know one guy who shoots PRS without his glasses and just adjusts his scope to correct for his vision. Keeps the magnification low initially.

^^^This

I never wear glasses when I shoot for the reasons mentioned above. I am thankful that my vision is not that bad compared to most and that the riflescope can compensate without issue.

 

[Baron23]

I have trouble with them sliding and fogging in the heat or cold.

Also when looking through a rifle scope and keep centered in the eyebox and focus range (with glasses) is always fun.

I know one guy who shoots PRS without his glasses and just adjusts his scope to correct for his vision. Keeps the magnification low initially.

Though I don’t compete, like you and @Nik H , the diopter adjustment on the ocular was just sufficient to correct my right eye so I did so and wore Plano lenses.

But just had cataract surgery three weeks ago and I’m back to 20/20 and no yellow tint!!

I just adjusted my oculars again now that I can see well.

 

[Nik H]

Though I don’t compete, like you and @Nik H , the diopter adjustment on the ocular was just sufficient to correct my right eye so I did so and wore Plano lenses.

But just had cataract surgery three weeks ago and I’m back to 20/20 and no yellow tint!!

I just adjusted my oculars again now that I can see well.

That is great...now if you can fix your hearing so we didn't have to lie there and talk about it, the world would be good

 

[Baron23]

That is great...now if you can fix your hearing so we didn't have to lie there and talk about it, the world would be good

Haha…wanna buy me a set of high end EAR electronic custom plugs? Only $2,900 plus audiologist! Lol

Come on Niki, I know you love me! Haha

 

[E. Bryant]

I have trouble with them sliding and fogging in the heat or cold.

Also when looking through a rifle scope and keep centered in the eyebox and focus range (with glasses) is always fun.

I know one guy who shoots PRS without his glasses and just adjusts his scope to correct for his vision. Keeps the magnification low initially.

Shooting is easy compared to other outdoor activities that people do in glasses. There are excellent sports frames available that help with sliding and fogging - both Oakley and Roka are solid choices, and I've also got an unbranded set of frames from my local store that have been good. The only time I now encounter serious issues are when running goggles over eyeglasses, which is probably a situation better-addressed via contacts.

Those with low amounts of correction can indeed correct this with the scope diopter - there is usually at least +/- 3 steps of adjustment available in quality scopes. But if you also have astigmatism, this may not be sufficient. It's going to come down to individual needs.

 

[UIUCPPQ]

While we're talking about eyes, I'll just add a little personal blurb about eye-health and shooting that may help a few people:

Red dot looking like a squiggled line? Lights at night obscuring your sight and affecting your concentration?

I thought I had astigmatism because lights had squiggly, blurry auras around them and I could never see a red dot clearly; I mean, everyone says that is astigmatism, so it seemed to fit. Admittedly, this didn't affect my shooting all that much, but it was annoying not being able to see as intended and clearer is better. So, I visited the eye doc and he tells me "no astigmatism." In fact, he wasn't exactly sure why I saw squiggles when I look at a red dot, my vision was excellent. He suggested it may be dry eyes, which seemed crazy. My eyes had never felt dry. Nonetheless, he advised I try daily Fish Oil and Lutein. The fish oil supposedly makes your natural eye lubrication more robust and helps your eye maintain an even coating for better focus. The Lutein/Zeaxanthin is supposed to be good for various eye functions, but especially color contrast.

So, I started taking both in the morning every day and, wouldn't you know it, after a month or so, red dots and lights in general are much clearer. Not perfect, but the difference is pretty significant; definitely worth the 2 extra pills in the morning to me.

Hope someone gets value from it as well.

 

[GenericBadGuy]

Shooting is easy compared to other outdoor activities that people do in glasses. There are excellent sports frames available that help with sliding and fogging - both Oakley and Roka are solid choices, and I've also got an unbranded set of frames from my local store that have been good. The only time I now encounter serious issues are when running goggles over eyeglasses, which is probably a situation better-addressed via contacts.

Those with low amounts of correction can indeed correct this with the scope diopter - there is usually at least +/- 3 steps of adjustment available in quality scopes. But if you also have astigmatism, this may not be sufficient. It's going to come down to individual needs.

Got a link to the Oakley or Roka models?

 

[Baron23]

Now wrt to glasses sliding down your nose, fogging, and optical clarity I use a pair of Randolph Rangers and have for a very long time as a clay target shooter.

Yeah, they are expensive but are real shooting glasses and it shows, IMO. They can be made in prescription and you can have the focal center adjusted to your shooting sport.

Shooting Glasses - LM Lenses

shooting glasses, all american shooting glasses, pilla shooting glasses, decot shooting glasses, post 4 shooting glasses, randolph shooting glasses.

lmlenses.com

 

[Nik H]

Haha…wanna buy me a set of high end EAR electronic custom plugs? Only $2,900 plus audiologist! Lol

Come on Niki, I know you love me! Haha

If I win the lottery, they are yours

 

[powerspc]

I have 3 sets: close in readers, mid range for computer work and then pure 20/20 distance. I wear the mid range to shoot so I can still see the reticle crystal clear, but am forced to do that b/c I can't have both crystal clear reticle AND target. At -8.5Rx, astigmatisms, 3 huge vitreous floaters in right eye and cataracts it's a real party but I push forward!

I tried bifocals b/f I needed trifocals drove me nuts. Would love to hear from anyone who had success making that change to trifocals as I'd dearly love to get 20/20 down range.

I've been in Trifocals for a while; what I found worked for me were what they used to call Executive Style or Franklin Style Trifocals. You can see that each segment of glass goes all the way across the lens. There are several advantages to this; 1) You don't lose your peripheral vision the way you would with a progressive lens, 2) You don't have to move your head back and forth you can just move your eyes. It took me forever to track down a lab that is still making these (they fell out of favor years ago I believe because they are more difficult to manufacture).

Eyeglasses.com who has their lab in Mass. can make these for you. These are sitting in an On-Guard Frame with a CR39 lens that has a TD2 coating. Typically they would use Polycarbonate but the Executive style is only available in the CR39, however, in direct discussion with lab they agreed that the CR39 lens with the TD2 coating would give me a "polycarbonate like" protection. I shoot just about every discipline from pistol to benchrest 22 to big bore long range rifle and these are all I need. Good luck!

P.s. If you're worried about the lines your brain doesn't see them.

 

[Mute]

I've tried a number of solutions and have yet to find the perfect one. Nowadays, I just use the ocular adjustment on scopes that have them and for handguns have consigned myself to installing RDS for those that will be used for serious business.

 

[E. Bryant]

Got a link to the Oakley or Roka models?

I've got a pair of the Oakley Airdrops:

https://www.oakley.com/en-us/search?text=airdrop&cid=PM-SGA_000000-1.US-Oakley-EN-B-Eyeglasses-TopModels-Exact_Airdrop_oakley+airdrop&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1293048&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsBAQHJjgwN0v7KvPuG_iP9naggUH8qRMWTxyUkhnWQLQLywffczMUQaAg_fEALw_wcB

... as well as another pair of Oakley Servos. Oh, and there is an Oakley model called the Spindrift - might want to pick those based upon the name alone

For Roka, a lot of people like the Rory as a do-all option:

Rory 2.0 Prescription Sunglasses - ROKA

ROKA prescription sunglasses built to maximize clarity, comfort, and capability. Featuring new upgrades and innovations.

www.roka.com

... or the Barton:

Barton Prescription Sunglasses - ROKA

They're lightweight, comfortable and sweat resistant. Polycarbonate and trivex lens options available.

www.roka.com

You'll want to try out the various frames for fit to for face, and proper adjustment is critical.

Note that none of these are ANSI safety glasses, so be a big boy and make good decisions about your own face.

 

[carbonbased]

Thank you for this, @E. Bryant