Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Progressive Lenses

I have to take off mine when shooting,especially when hand gunning.They throw me off big time,cause me to shoot low.

I've used the progressives ever since I started needing glasses over ten years ago. Never had any problem getting used to them, after a few minutes of wear my eyes always seek the clearest focus at whatever distance I'm looking at. I advise people to get whatever they're happy with though, whether progressives or fixed point bifocals, if you don't like them you'll never get used to wearing them. Got to get what's comfortable.

The only reason I went with progressives was because I couldn't get along with bi-focals anymore, and I was pretty sure I was going to hate tri-focals.

I have progressive lenses and have zero problems with daily use. Handgun shooting just requires tipping my head back a bit to focus on the front sight. Shooting a rifle with open sights was harder for me than getting used to the progressives and a handgun. The first clay bird at sporting clays with progressives was a disaster. I swear I saw three clays and couldn't figure out which one to shoot at. Went the rest of the day with old, non corrected shooting glasses and missed a few.

For shooting rifle and shotgun, I got glasses with only distance correction and they work fine. Sunglasses were purchased with the reading correction part lowered so the distance correction area is larger. They're great for driving and I can see the dash through the lower part. They're also passably good for shooting shotgun or rifle.

Three pair of glasses seems a lot but I only need a new prescription every two or three years and then I update my daily glasses and either the shooting glasses or sunglasses. This way I'm only getting two pair of glasses every two or three years and I can see to do the things I need to do and enjoy.

I've had them for probably 20 years. I hate the [bleep] as much now as I did the day I first wore them. Unfortunately, my eyesight is so crappy that there isn't much in the way of a non-surgical alternative.

You will find that you must turn your head to maintain focus and not roll your eyes. You will not like this but you will get used to it. If you try to do otherwise expect to spend a lot of time vomiting.

You cannot use a welding hood because you cannot tilt your head enough to see the bead clearly and in focus.

You view of the rear sight of an iron-sighted weapon will be fuzzy. The front bead and the target will be fine. Adapt.

You must tilt your head back almost as far as it will go to read a computer screen. Your neck will hurt for awhile but you will get used to that too. Practice resting your chin on your hand for support. This will save neck strain and possibly make you look intellectual or distinguished.

They are fine for being outside and I do see distant objects very clearly.

You also will find reading or watching tv while laying down is difficult. Find something else to do while you are laying down.....

Pretty much your only alternative is having the lenses of your eyes surgically replaced. It's really no different than cataract surgery but you will still need reading glasses.

Unlike many of the other respondents I have few issues with scoped rifles. Need to be careful about the proper eye relief to avoid parallax but other than that not a major issue.

I found the learning curve to be pretty shallow. You need leenses that are big enough for a reasonable transition. They don't have to be Elton John size just not tiny lenses.
Give yourself a week or so and you won't notice. They work pretty well for me when shooting handguns with iron sights.

Ernie

Got my first pair about 4 years ago.....the glasses shop convinced me to get the most expensive lenses they had.....I had them 3 years and never felt they had the prescription right. Took me almost a year to feel comfortable with them. Stairs took about 3 months. Went to Costco this past time and they were MUCH cheaper and seemed about the same, vision-wise. Went back to Costco after a year and told them my close vision in one eye didn't seem right. They put them on a machine and discovered that the precription wasn't cut correctly. They fixed them at no cost and it is better. The lesson being, if they don't seem right after giving it time, ask them to confirm the grind.

Give it time.

after wearing old fashioned trifocals for the last 3 years,after returning the progressives then for the lined ones,I just got a new pair last night.
being now used to using trifocals,the progressive were a no problem transisition at all.

I had progressives a number of years ago and liked them but switched back to lined bifocals for some reason I don't remember now. I now need trifocals so after my last exam I decided to try progressives again. I couldn't get used to them this time around. There was way too much distortion around the edges in my peripheral vision and it really messed me up. Walking down hallways and flights of stairs were the worst - walls and other flat surfaces/straight lines appeared bowed and got worse as I walked closer.

The optometrist explained to me that progressive lenses are shaped more like an hour glass around the edges (top, bottom and sides) and the sweet spot is much smaller in the center of the lense as compared to regular lenses. He said progressives will always have more distortion around the edges and to minimize this your frames need to fit your face so that your eye is as close to the center of the lense as possible, and larger lenses will have more distortion than smaller lenses.

I had him switch me to lined trifocals and they are much better for me - not near the distortion. My eyes are fairly close together - I have a heck of a time with binoculars getting them to close far enough to get a good view. With my current frames, I am looking through the inboard third of the lense so have more than normal distortion out the outer edges. I have some older frames with lined bifocals that are much smaller lenses than my current ones and I have literally no distortion with those. My problem with the small frames is shooting with a scope - I'm trying to look over the top of the frames unless I use a fairly high scope mount.

That's more than the OP asked about, but is a frustration I've been trying to sort out for a number of years.

At first I hated them and was sure they weren't going to work, as it was very disorienting. I suffered through wearing them for a few days, and next thing I knew I didn't even realize I had them on. Then I started to really like them.

Wearing no lines for better then 20 years I have learned first do not get thin lenses top to bottom tightens up the area of correct vision to much. Second is not to buy the cheaper lenses the correction area left to right is to small and causes you to turn your head every time to look at something to the side. With my current lenses I can turn my eyes from frame edge to frame edge and see just fine. My eyes are really bad only correctable to 20-40.

THE very worst thing about bifocals is when trying to read a label on the top shelf at the store. For some reason when the head goes back far enough to read thru the bottom parts of the lenses the mouth comes open. I get very frustrated working on vehicles trying to see thru the lower bifocal and there is not enough room, I finally wen to a pair of cheaters.

I tried the son's-a-bitches for a half hour.....

Been wearing progressives for ten years now. I about puked a couple of times the first couple days with the first pair, and I about fell on my face a couple time on stairs.

You might want to remove them before walking down stairs for a week or so. Falling up the stairs does not hurt so bad.

It took two or three weeks for me to get over the visual disorientation, after acquiring my first pair of progressives.

Today, the only time they bother me is when I am shooting off the bench with a scoped rifle. The progressive lens causes little swirls of distortion (much like strong heat mirage) all around the periphery of my field of view through the scope. In my experience, single vision lenses do not do that.

I didn't take time to get used to them. Then went back as soon as I could get some new "old fashion" glasses.

These things are rough.....

It is gonna be real tough to give them time. I want to throw them out the window and go back to single vision. Damn!!!

after having lined bifocals,then trifocals for a few years,I love em.course,I havent tried to do any shooting yet.