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I’m honestly looking for information here. I’ve got scopes on all of my rifles except a couple of lever actions and my military pieces of history. I’ve been thinking about replacing the peep sights on the lever actions. So I’ve read opinions about that. (I think I am going to stick with the peep sights.)

In reading posts about the trade-offs, it is common to see opinions from folks who used to like peep sights but have gone to scopes because of their aging eyes. And I’ve seen suggestions that higher power scopes are needed for the same reason.

I’ve got old eyes (78) and they certainly aren’t what they used to be. But I wear glasses that correct my vision to 20/20 and feel that I can shoot peep sights as well now as when I learned as a youngster. When I started I was taught to look through the peep and focus on the front sight because you can’t simultaneously focus on the rear sight, front sight, and target.

Any optometrists or opticians out there? If your vision can be corrected by glasses, is there any scientific reason you can’t use peep sights as well as when you were younger?

I'm not an optometrist or anything of the like. I was taught and teach sighting as you describe with open or peep sights. My trouble with glasses that correct for distance leaves the rear sight blurry as heck with open and fibre optic sights. Maybe peeps are a little better. I have to qualify with open sights for work. It's getting tougher. I definitely find scopes to be preferable whenever I can use them. The eye only focuses on one point well it seems to me.

Old eyes suck, I have some!

If you feel you can and the targets say you can, why do you need confirmation from others?

Maybe because I am curious about the science?

Al,

If you can see the front sight clearly against a big game animals with an aperture rear, you're good to go on big game. Or at least that has been my experience.

However, if the front sight is a brass bead, I file it at a 45-degree angle away from my eye, which picks up more light, but doesn't result in a tiny "highlight" as round beads do. Instead it's more of an even glow, due to the tiny striations of filing.

Better yet, however, is a fiber-optic bead. It provides a very defined front sight in dimmer light than a filed bead.

Mule Deer,

Thanks! I filed that 45 degree angle on the front bead years ago after seeing that suggestion from you somewhere! I’ve learned a lot from you, and it is all appreciated.

I’m thinking about a fire-optic bead.

[quote]And I’ve seen suggestions that higher power scopes are needed for the same reason. /quote]an

In my experience a better quality scope is more important than more magnification as I age.

I'm 62 and at this point only wear readers. I have a somewhat unique problem though and pretty much gave up on iron sights except for close range handgun use years ago. My left eye is still 20/20. My right eye is somewhat less than 20/20, but as long as both eyes are being used my brain focuses on the sharper image of my left eye and everything looks clear and sharp to me. That is why I can still shoot a handgun with irons pretty well. I keep both eyes open and the gun is in the middle.

But with a rifle, shooting right handed, my vision is just enough distorted that I really struggle with irons. Even though I shoot with both eyes open it is only my right eye lining up behind the sights. With a scope I can focus the scope to match the less than perfect vision in the right eye. My eye doc says he can give me a prescription for glasses to correct the minor issue with my right eye, but doesn't recommend them yet.

You asked for a reason why you can’t, not if you can. You also didn’t ask how to do it better.

Mule Deer said if you can see the front sight you are good to go. While that makes sense, it is an obvious fact and something you already confirmed on your own. The science of it would be, why can someone your age with corrective vision still be able or not able to do so.

Some science:

https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/accommodation