Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Scope brands vs old eyes

I worked the gun counter part-time at the Fort Worth Cabela’s from 2014-2016. The full range of Swarovski and Leupold scopes were carried. I looked through them all the time. Since I don’t see well through them I don’t remember the Swarovski models well other than the low end was Z3 and it went up to Z5 or 6 if I remember correctly. I could see better with VX-2 and above than with any of the Swarovski’s. The image was always just a smidge blurry with Swarovski. As already stated I know Swarovski makes excellent scopes so I know it was my eyes.

I have no idea what my near vision prescription is. I can say I’m 61, wear trifocals and don’t need glasses to read. I also have severe astigmatism. Didn’t need corrective lens to pass the driver’s license test until I was in my late 30’s. I also learned by accident four or five years ago that I see better without my glasses when using a scope.

Lots of good info here so far...Hopefully it keeps going......Thanks to FTR for leading the pack .

Looks like I'm going to be trying some side focus or AO scopes, none of which I've tried in the past.

I'm semi-retired and started to get into shooting a whole lot more than I've been in the past, but now that I've got the time my eyes went to hell.....

Also looks like I'm going to have about 8-10 Leupold scopes up for sale.

Thanks for the clear explanation on focusing. I was doing it Bassackward and also doing a combination of focusing on the reticle and the target both.

AZmark - Some places will take trade ins but I prefer to deal with Camerland, but you might ask Doug anyway.

I am very impressed with the 6X Meopta Meostar with German #4 it is sharper than the Variable Meostar I also purchased recently. Worth a look but no AO until you go to the 14x. Some of the 10x Meopta's have side focus I believe.

Another item that comes with age is eye fatigue, I only wear the 0.5 or 1X reading glasses but when I have been shooting for awhile my visual acuity starts to fade to the point it is more difficult to focus a scope. If I am going to shoot several rifles I now do any adjustments first thing if I have new scopes along.

FTR
No, not that, anything but reading only Big Stick posts, though he sometimes does give some experience related info I'm able to filter.

AZmark
My 75 year old eyes are happy to enjoy the view through my Zeiss Conquest HD binocs. and rifle scopes. I'm also happy to be putting money toward hunting rather than buying any more disappointing optics.

@StrayDog, I think we can cut you some slack. The punishment was way too excessive.

Tejano brings up a good point, and you even allude to it a bit in your reply to AZmark. Let's talk old eyes and enjoying the view through some optics and how that can be managed.

As I explained oftentimes in the past, I am an F-class competitor and as such I spend an inordinate amount of time looking through optics during a match.
I (try to) read the conditions through a combination of my riflescope and my spotting scope. and eye fatigue is a real thing that you have to deal with.

The first step is of course, to get the very best optics you can afford. If you spend a lot of time looking through optics. any kind of optics, lousy optics will give you eyestrain, or eye fatigue. On the other hand, something with excellent IQ is a joy to look through, as AZmark is saying. This is where quality will make a difference.

Now, if you just use the riflescope to quickly aim and shoot, you don't experience eye fatigue or strain; there's just no time for that.

Even with top quality optics, there are things that you can do to further reduce eye fatigue, and here are a few tricks I use in competition where I will be looking through optics for up to 30 continuous minutes at a time.

1- Do not become fixated on the center of the reticle, let your eye roam around the image that the optics is bringing to your eye.
2- Only focus solidly on the reticle when you are going to take the shot.
3- Don't stay focused for more than a few seconds. If you don't take the shot, let your eye roam around the image.

With these little things, I can stay glued to me riflescope as long as needed. I use my spotting scope to get a wider view of the conditions but sometimes, I will eschew the use of the spotting scope and will just go with the riflescope.

+1on the Bushnell fast focus eye piece. I find my distance vision getting better but close up getting worse. Told my optometrist I either needed new glasses or longer arms.

I don't believe Leupold is operating their custom shop right now.

Every eye is different. Read the directions on how to adjust what ever brand you have. Some brands just don’t work for some eyes. For me the elite bushnells are as clear as anything else I’ve tried especially on higher power