Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Glasses and shooting - again

Sorry this isn't about optics exclusively but didn't know where else to post it.

I haven't been doing much shooting for a couple of years for a lot of reasons including the cost of replacement ammo and the scarcity of reloading components. I am starting to shoot my rifles, pistols and compound bow a lot more lately. I had forgot I enjoyed it so much and how good it is for me mentally, etc. At almost 66 my eyes aren't great. I have come to understand the wisdom that someone wrote in these forums about "buying expensive optics and trying to see them with your Walmart $69 for 2 pairs glasses". I am guilty of the Walmart glasses part before but I got new, expensive glasses this February after losing my Walmart specials in a car crash.

The first thing I am noticing is needing to reposition my glass before every shot. This is unacceptable and it is obvious that my glasses don't fit properly. I will get that addressed but I was thinking about a glasses strap to keep them in the same spot every time. I have thought about some of those prescription sport googles and use them for hunting and shooting. Has anyone tried those?

The bigger problem is I just seem to have more trouble seeing through the scope, for lack of better description or to focus on the pin in my bow sight. The pistol sights are about the same... I still suck with pistols beyond 10 yards or so. Maybe, my eyesight is getting worse but my new post crash prescription was not much different than old one. My prescription is progressive tri-focal. I see an eye doctor for general eye health and according to her my eyes are fine for a man my age, etc. I have asked her and a few different eye doctors about glasses and shooting but none seem to have any information or be willing to talk about it. I would think old astronomers would have the same kinds of issues. No?

In short my "shooting" eyesight seems to be worse with my new, semi expensive glasses when my eyesight hasn't changed according to the eye doctor and I don't know why. For other things my vision with the new glasses seems to be OK. I am hoping there is an eye doctor or someone reading that can enlighten me about selecting the best glasses (lens coatings to get or avoid, lens materials, etc.) for geezers that want to keep hunting and shooting. There seem to be a lot of variables.

Perhaps single-vision glasses for each type of shooting you do might help. Most newer scopes have enough adjustment to allow me to shoot without glasses, but since my distance vision is no longer perfect, I usually wear +1 safety glasses and adjust the scope diopter for those. Handguns get a +2, or a red dot and the +1s. Another option for me is the See All sight, which I can use without glasses at all.

I struggled with a pair of small transition-type lenses some years ago. Each “zone” was so small it was hard to keep the right one in position for whatever I was doing. I ended up going back to cheap readers. Maybe you should go back to the doctor and explain the issues you’re having and ask for a different type.

Decot offers prescription lenses in their shooting glasses....if you go that route be sure and pic a color you can live with.
Lenses are not cheap.

Get the frame properly fitted 1st and foremost. All of the calculations that have gone into producing your lenses assume that the frame places the optical center (the dot the optician made on the demo lenses when you picked out your frame) of the lens directly over you pupil. If your frames are moving, its just like having your scope bases loose on your receiver, nothing is in alignment.

I have had better luck with lined bifocals and I have them put the bifocal low on the lens so I can see the ground easily. I can no longer use a bow peep sight and have switched them out to a holographic sight on the bow. Open sights on rifles are pretty much out but my MZL has the rear sight far down the barrel and I opened the notch in it so I can see the front sight better. Pistol is a bummer yet, I can wear mild readers and see the sights but the target and the rest of the world is very blurry, still working on this. I could go with a holo sight on this too but lose the simplicity of a handgun.

If you haven't done it already go to an ophthalmologist. They can check you for astigmatism and any other eye problem. I shoot with progressives and don't have a problem although most of my pistols have lasers. Rifles with irons (peep) or scopes are no problem.
I would be surprised if you can't find a shooting doctor in Colo Springs.

These folks are in Denver. I have 2 of their frames with RX lenses. one polarized brown on clear. Mine are single vision so I can't say much about bifocal or inverted bifocal lenses. At any rate, prescription shooting glasses are their focus so I'd think they might be able to help.

https://www.tacticalrx.com/