Rifle Scopes Question - Aging Eyes - Vision Correction - Shooting With Glass vs Contacts

[Monk Medic]

Background
I've hit that magical age (50ish) where my vision, close in, has gotten blurry, and my contacts can't correct it.
Used to blame this on eye fatigue and dehydration, which might have been the cause, now I'm understanding it might be something else.
The medical term for this is "Presbyopia", and my eye doc tells me that I'm lucky to get to age 50ish as most folks have problems in their 40s.
Medical info here - https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/presbyopia.htm

It used to be that when I spent longer times on the scope, say half way through a day, the crosshairs blur out, and I couldn't see them clearly.
Now it seems to be the case much more quickly, and I'm even starting to wear eyeglass at work, not readers, but regular prescription, rather than contacts.
It's much more of a PIA, glasses get wet when it rains, fall off more easy doing dynamic things, but I see better, which is what matters.

Questions
Would love to hear your experiences, pro and con, on this matter, and what you have done to make it work for you!
I figure that I've got many decades left, and I'd like to come up with a solid solution.
I'm not a fan of wearing glass from a lifestyle and environmental standpoint, so leaning to another solution.

Sure that someone else has gone through this, and figured out the answer.
Fortunately, my dominant eye is my strongest eye, and I only need 1.75 correction.
Eye surgery to correct?
Wear glasses and suck it up?
Tough it out with contacts and tweak the ocular?
Wear no vision correction and tweak the ocular?

Thanks!

 

[lash]

Like it or not, laser surgery is not a viable long term solution for presbyopia. As you continue aging, your lense will continue its changing and you will once again find yourself with the same problem.

It was much easier for me to adjust, as I have been wearing glasses my whole life and as I passed the older milestones, it just meant that I ended up getting no-line tri-focals, as I use a computer a lot at work too.

The good news, at least from my perspective is that you can continue to shoot using glasses and really not worry too much about all of the perceived disadvantages of shooting with glasses. I am an active shooter in matches and throughout my life and the answer is to make sure that whatever glasses you choose are fit correctly to your head. Then, if you still have problems with glasses slipping down, you can use any number of good retention products out there. FWIW, my glasses do not slip around while I am running around and shooting from all kinds of weird positions.

The advantage of using proper glasses is being able to continue seeing everything else the way you need to in order to function on the end of a rifle. A few weeks ago, I saw an older gent shooting a match who had to have someone turn his dial during a match, because he refused to shoot with his glasses on and consequently could not see the dial while shooting.

Oh, and I see the optic just fine, even with regular no-line tri-focal glasses and even under timed stress events. Do yourself a favor and don’t handicap your future self just because you don’t like glasses. It ain’t worth it.

 

[wigwamitus]

I have issues, I'm 63, so a week or so ahead of you. But I still do not wear corrective lens when shooting usually. Getting diopter adjustment perfect is tough. RDS are tougher, I might give up on RDS as a primary sight and go with LPV like V/O 1-6x MRAD ... that one bright tiny dot works great for me. And the ELCAN 4x/1x works great for me also.
Worst case I would start wearing corrective lenses.

I get "tan out" in the scope sometimes, but I think this is glare and not me. It only happens when I'm shooting at certain angles to the sun.

I also get "fuzz out" as well in conjunction with the "tan out". But again, seems to be more correlated to sun angle, than my eyes. Never happens at night.

So sometimes the reticle splits, but I move my head a little and that usually fixes it.

The RDS dots "break up" and that can cause a miss at long distance or low power and that is scary, so that's why I'm thinking of only using RDS for offset sights, then 100yds would still work, maybe 200yds. A magnifier with a diopter helps reduce the "break up" of the RDS dots.

There will come a day, I expect, where I will wear corrective lenses, but if I do then I will get some outdoor/safety sorts of glasses (like MC glasses) I can wear when shooting.

 

[diverdon]

Older than you are and my eye can stay on a properly adjusted FFP reticle much longer than my neck can stay in prone.

 

[lash]

I have issues, I'm 63, so a week or so ahead of you. But I still do not wear corrective lens when shooting usually. Getting diopter adjustment perfect is tough. RDS are tougher, I might give up on RDS as a primary sight and go with LPV like V/O 1-6x MRAD ... that one bright tiny dot works great for me. And the ELCAN 4x/1x works great for me also.
Worst case I would start wearing corrective lenses.

I get "tan out" in the scope sometimes, but I think this is glare and not me. It only happens when I'm shooting at certain angles to the sun.

I also get "fuzz out" as well in conjunction with the "tan out". But again, seems to be more correlated to sun angle, than my eyes. Never happens at night.

So sometimes the reticle splits, but I move my head a little and that usually fixes it.

The RDS dots "break up" and that can cause a miss at long distance or low power and that is scary, so that's why I'm thinking of only using RDS for offset sights, then 100yds would still work, maybe 200yds. A magnifier with a diopter helps reduce the "break up" of the RDS dots.

There will come a day, I expect, where I will wear corrective lenses, but if I do then I will get some outdoor/safety sorts of glasses (like MC glasses) I can wear when shooting.

See my post above yours. I realize that the cool kids don’t wear glasses, but why handicap yourself unnecessarily if you don’t need to? Ben Franklin was right - glasses do work.

 

[wigwamitus]

... my eye can stay on a properly adjusted FFP reticle much longer than my neck can stay in prone ...

There's that too ... and probably another reason why I shoot more and more off tripods

 

[wigwamitus]

... See my post above yours. I realize that the cool kids don’t wear glasses, but why handicap yourself unnecessarily if you don’t need to? Ben Franklin was right - glasses do work ...

Sounds like sage advice ... I will have to cogitate upon this.

 

[CuTm]

problem that I’ve had with contacts is this: they often dry up for me when shooting, you always need backups because they can fall out in field, this means having the supplies to clean hands . When shooting a scoped rifle I find myself blinking less. This is when they become dry for me making everything appear blurry untill I blink a lot . Problems I’ve came across with glasses is this: glasses not properly protecting eyes. ( easy fix buy glasses with shooting in mind) glasses fogging up . I now prefer glasses when doing anything other then hunting . For the pure fact I can’t stand them fogging up.

 

[wigwamitus]

Yes, if I do start wearing glass when shooting, they will be a completely different set of glasses, purpose built for rough outdoor activities. I don't shoot at "ranges" ... I shoot on my land and the land of others around me. And I don't just "shoot" ... the "shooting" part is a small fraction of the practice. I climb up and down steep slopes ... and I fall down in the mud ... and when riding on the 4-wheeler branches bump into my head etc. My flimsy "regular" glasses wouldn't last more than a few hours outside.
Now I do wear eye pro, especially when rolling on the 4-wheeler and the tractor as mud and rocks get thrown up and hit me in the head all the time. So, I would have to have vented safety glasses and I would have to have lots of them, so they are always around when I need them. So it would be a major investment.

As to fogging up ... I've had to defeat that already ... use vented eye pro and use fog tech when needed ... and have lots of pairs of vented eye pro and lots of fog tech ... so it is always there when you need it. And I use it on all the lenses of my night optics as well.

 

[ForgeValley]

Most guys already wear glasses when shooting anyway, right? Either sunglasses or protective eyewear? Like CuTm, contacts dry up and bug the crap out of me, so I just went with some Oakley sunglasses with Rx lenses, progressive. Works great for me.

 

[CRT2]

How do you see to adjust elevation on your scope? I'm 71, didn't wear glasses till mid 50 - had 20/15 before that. Fought the glasses, hated wearing them - after 20 years not a problem anymore. Wear them all the time. With glasses vision still better than 20/20. Correction for near, far and astigmatism.

 

[wigwamitus]

... How do you see to adjust elevation on your scope?

I don't, for 2 reasons

01 - I shoot mostly at night, so I've trained myself to count clicks and not look.

02 - I now use "no dial" shooting, so I don't dial, and hence no need to adjust elevation on scope, except when zeroing.

 

[Monk Medic]

Thanks everyone for your replies, feedback, and sage advise!!!

Yes, I do not want to do eye surgery of any type that is not a lasting fix, any surgery carries risk, and perhaps it's best to keep that option open if really needed.

Yes, also experienced the contact lens drying out as well, wondering now if I should try a different brand?

Experiment
I did cut out of work early today, privilege of being a owner, and came home to experiment.
Here's what I tried.

Just for reference, the Nightforce glass is NF 5-25 ATACR, FFP.

Option 1 - With glasses, tried adjusting the ocular, found that my head angle sometimes brought the frames into the viewing area, either need bigger lens or shoot from one position. I have minimalist wire frame glasses right now, could use larger lens frames.

Option 2 - No vision correction, adjust ocular, this actually worked well, my correction on the right eye is that bad, so this is doable, but means as I don't have my contacts, need to have glasses at hand to view things at distance, and my situational awareness at distance is comprised as I'm working on near sight only.

Option 3 - Something my optometrist had suggestion as a means of correction. Since I am nearsighted, meaning I can see things close, but not at distance, I used one lens for close in work in one eye, and my regular prescription in the other. Only I didn't have the lens for my shooting eye, so I did it by removing the right contact, adjusting the ocular to that right eye, then using a contact lens in my left eye. Boom, close and distance vision, from right and left eyes. I could look up from the scope, and see things downrange well, not quite as well as two eyes, by my brain seemed to handle the blurry right eye, and could still work the scope crystal clear with right eye. Got dark before I could try this for much longer, but going to retry tomorrow and Wednesday, maybe go the day with a contact in the left eye so I have distance, and no contact in the right eye.


Of all three I liked option 3 the best.
I have a 3 day rifle class coming up this week and weekend, going to go with option 3.
I did note my ocular adjustment with the glasses as a fall back, just in case.

Thanks!

 

[lash]

It sounds like you are working through it okay. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Downtown]

I went with your option three. I ordered a nice pair of Rudy Project glasses and had lenses made to my prescription. I was dissapointed. The original uncorrected lenses were included in the box. I replaced the right lens with a uncorrected one and my brain seems to figure it out from there. Pistol front sights are crisp and ocular adjustment fixes the scope. Aimpoint still suffers somewhat from astigmatism, but that's usually short range fast shooting in games.

 

[samnev]

Had astigmatism problems since my early 30's then needed reading glasses since my 40's. I wear progressive poly carbonate glasses with appropriate corrections. However when I shoot a rifle I have to tilt my head to use the scope which could screw up the axis a spherical correction. So I have to be very careful to look thru the center of the lens. As I age I find I loose focus if I don't get the shot off fairly quickly. Still I say stick to glasses rather than contacts.

 

[Monk Medic]

I went with your option three. I ordered a nice pair of Rudy Project glasses and had lenses made to my prescription. I was dissapointed. The original uncorrected lenses were included in the box. I replaced the right lens with a uncorrected one and my brain seems to figure it out from there. Pistol front sights are crisp and ocular adjustment fixes the scope. Aimpoint still suffers somewhat from astigmatism, but that's usually short range fast shooting in games.

Yes, it was awkward at first, but the brain does seem to merge the two after a bit.
I wanted to try it with the optic, have 3 days of PSR training coming up, that is how I plan to run.
The only downside I discovered so far, is it seems you lose your sense, or some of your sense, of depth perception.

 

[ForgeValley]

Yes, it was awkward at first, but the brain does seem to merge the two after a bit.
I wanted to try it with the optic, have 3 days of PSR training coming up, that is how I plan to run.
The only downside I discovered so far, is it seems you lose your sense, or some of your sense, of depth perception.

I tried this as well, and my brain could just never make it work. As you said, depth perception is not good either, makes driving an adventure!

 

[Monk Medic]

Update - Saw my eye doc on Tuesday, graciously took me in and worked on my eyesight.

His solution was what he called “mono vision”, correct one eye for close in, and the other for distance, the brain sorts it out (for most people). Sort of like what I was doing by removing one contact, and leaving the other in, but much less crudely.

He made the correction with my contacts, not glasses, and gave me a trail pair of lenses to fit and test. Perfect as I have a 3 day rifle class Thursday - Saturday.

Usually the dominant eye is made for distance, but I explained to him that I need to see close with that eye, as it is the eye that I use for sights and optics. So my right eye is now corrected for vision, and astigmatism it’s pretty much crystal clear out to 2 feet, can still see at distance, but not as clear. The left eye is my distance eye, can see close, but not as clear. Took my brain about 5 minutes to sort it out, but called my doc once I got back to my office and sat in front of my computer, clearest I’ve seen it in years!

With a scope, my left eye can now stay open, can see the distance, and the right eye works the glass. Pretty darn cool!
Our eyes are dynamic, they change as we age, so this may not work forever, but right now, and hopefully for years to come, it’s a very elegant solution!

 

[lash]

Update - Saw my eye doc on Tuesday, graciously took me in and worked on my eyesight.

His solution was what he called “mono vision”, correct one eye for close in, and the other for distance, the brain sorts it out (for most people). Sort of like what I was doing by removing one contact, and leaving the other in, but much less crudely.

He made the correction with my contacts, not glasses, and gave me a trail pair of lenses to fit and test. Perfect as I have a 3 day rifle class Thursday - Saturday.

Usually the dominant eye is made for distance, but I explained to him that I need to see close with that eye, as it is the eye that I use for sights and optics. So my right eye is now corrected for vision, and astigmatism it’s pretty much crystal clear out to 2 feet, can still see at distance, but not as clear. The left eye is my distance eye, can see close, but not as clear. Took my brain about 5 minutes to sort it out, but called my doc once I got back to my office and sat in front of my computer, clearest I’ve seen it in years!

With a scope, my left eye can now stay open, can see the distance, and the right eye works the glass. Pretty darn cool!
Our eyes are dynamic, they change as we age, so this may not work forever, but right now, and hopefully for years to come, it’s a very elegant solution!

That sounds great! I’m glad that you were able to make that work out.

 

[palmettoman]

Monk, glad you got it worked out. I recently had cataract removal and toric lenses implanted in both eyes (in my early 50's). During the two weeks between getting the first eye and then the second eye done, I was miserable. The newly corrected eye was 20x20 at distance, but the other eye (dominant eye) was still needing correction. My depth perception was so messed up.

Now that both are done they're friends again and life is good. The downside is that my near focus has gone bye bye. It's just the nature of the lens. Readers are all I now need but am able to use the scope without them.

 

[Monk Medic]

Good info, and glad you got it worked out.

Nice thing about a scope, is that you can adjust the ocular to match your vision needs, and once done, it’s set until vision changes.

Thanks for sharing your story of scccess.

Monk, glad you got it worked out. I recently had cataract removal and toric lenses implanted in both eyes (in my early 50's). During the two weeks between getting the first eye and then the second eye done, I was miserable. The newly corrected eye was 20x20 at distance, but the other eye (dominant eye) was still needing correction. My depth perception was so messed up.

Now that both are done they're friends again and life is good. The downside is that my near focus has gone bye bye. It's just the nature of the lens. Readers are all I now need but am able to use the scope without them.

 

[Mute]

With scopes I don't have a problem because I just use the diopter adjustment to work with my prescription lenses which are on my shooting glasses. Iron sights though are another matter, especially with handguns. The front sight is too close for me to focus on. It's a complete blur. I may have to switch to progressive lenses.

If your eyesight is normal except for the in close focusing, you might try these:

SSP Top Focal

 

[AI Shooter]

Update - Saw my eye doc on Tuesday, graciously took me in and worked on my eyesight.

His solution was what he called “mono vision”, correct one eye for close in, and the other for distance, the brain sorts it out (for most people). Sort of like what I was doing by removing one contact, and leaving the other in, but much less crudely.

He made the correction with my contacts, not glasses, and gave me a trail pair of lenses to fit and test. Perfect as I have a 3 day rifle class Thursday - Saturday.

Usually the dominant eye is made for distance, but I explained to him that I need to see close with that eye, as it is the eye that I use for sights and optics. So my right eye is now corrected for vision, and astigmatism it’s pretty much crystal clear out to 2 feet, can still see at distance, but not as clear. The left eye is my distance eye, can see close, but not as clear. Took my brain about 5 minutes to sort it out, but called my doc once I got back to my office and sat in front of my computer, clearest I’ve seen it in years!

With a scope, my left eye can now stay open, can see the distance, and the right eye works the glass. Pretty darn cool!
Our eyes are dynamic, they change as we age, so this may not work forever, but right now, and hopefully for years to come, it’s a very elegant solution!

^^^^^
This worked for me and several other "old guys" that I shoot with in PRS, 3 Gun, USPSA, etc. who also have presbyopia. The only issue that comes up sometimes will be headaches for a short time as your eyes/brain get used to this lens combination.

 

[Neck Tension]

I've had to use readers for the past few years and it's a pita behind the scope, can't see the turret markings without them, can't use them when looking thru the scope. I talked to an optometrist about getting bifocal readers with the magnification on the top only, but figured that was gonna be big $$. Just came across SSP safety glasses by chance that are made for shooters with the magnified portion on top. They come with interchangeable lenses in smoked, amber and clear. They come with magnified lenses and non magnified, 12 lenses all together. I can use the cheater lens for my non-dominant eye to see the turret & acd up top and plain lens to look thru the scope. Really stoked I found these.