As a shooter what ?'s should i ask my Optometrist?

[Shawnba67]

Havent been to the eye doc in a decade, fearful this I will end up bespectacled!
What questions should I ask? Any types of glass's that dont play nice with rifle optics? ( like polarized glass and a smart phone screen).
Any other advice?

 

[Mtstalker]

I wear antiglare, antifog, auto darkening lenses. They work great. Dont go with a small lens. My first pair were small lenses and when shooting i would have to push them up to see through them when looking in the scope.

 

[SSL]

With early stage cataracts and bifocals, I have had no problems with scope use. Remember that focus on scopes are of benefit even with glasses. Talk to your optometrist and choose hardened polycarbonate lens so that they offer additional eye protection. "Transition" or "Photogray" lenses are up to you. I use the first with no problem.

 

[jds holler]

They put me in progressive bifocal type lenses, but the focus around the perimeter of the lens was really crappy for shooting my bow and open sights.

I spent pretty big money for a high index single vision lens for my shooting eye, and it's much better. jd

 

[Texas10]

^^^^^^ +1 What JDS said.

I had 20-15 vision for the first 30 years of my life, but now at 65 have tri-focal progressives. I seriously believe these were invented to get customers to adjust to having poor vision as they have a very small window of sharp focus and everything else is a soft blur. Very annoying!

I'd recommend a large single lens for shooting so that you always have the sharpest focus available for your scope work. Now, I just need to get me a pair

 

[jds holler]

tri-focal progressives. I seriously believe these were invented to get customers to adjust to having poor vision as they have a very small window of sharp focus and everything else is a soft blur.

I think you nailed it there. jd

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

Try some soft contacts. If you can get used to them, IMO they are much better than glasses for most people that are very active outdoors. Glasses get dirty fast and sometimes make your ears or nose hurt. If the glasses fit well on the bench or standing, it can be tough to get them in the right position for shooting prone or vice versa. Also it’s nice that you can use different tinted lenses with your non-prescription eye protection, impact resistance etc., none of which interferes with your vision. I wear my glasses a few hours a week at most, but never during any outdoor activities.

 

[Dans40X]

Bifocal Contact lenses focused at 12" for 1 eye & 18" for the other.
Rotate or pair to the situation as needed.

For open sight work, you'll have a "hair" issue visible in the rear sight aperture.

Prescription shooting glasses will need the prescription at the TOP of the lens not centered in the lens as per ordinary/everyday prescription glasses.

 

[SEGARE]

I'm lucky, my optometrist is a fellow shooter!! Fortunately, I still have 20/20 at 56. 1.25 readers, but I can get by without them if needed. I have to get retinal scans bc I had a melanoma removed a couple of years ago...who knew, you can get melanoma in the retina. He said he had a friend of his come in for a regular check and he found a melanoma. She was dead a few months later from brain cancer than began in her retina.

 

[drano38]

I bought progressives a few years ago, and hated them. Like said above, "trifocal" portion is small and narrow. So looking at a computer screen, the center 1/3 was in focus, but the rest was blurry (because that part of the lens is for a longer focal distance). So I had to always rotate my head to see side to side, even reading a sheet of paper. Those now collect dust in the drawer.

 

[Forum Boss]

Get soft contacts. They are inexpensive now if you shop around. You can get a different Rx for each eye if necessary.

Some people, impatient, say they can't tolerate them. Yes there is a little irritation for the first couple of minutes for some people. But after that I can wear lenses a long, long time with no irritation whatsoever.

The only issue is most contacts cannot correct for astigmatism.

I think I paid about $44 for 12 Acuvue Oasis contacts, and I've seen them cheaper. See 24 for $64.00 here:

https://www.coastal.com/contact-lenses/acuvue/acuvue-oasys-24

Also during work days when I'm at the computer, I wear ONLY ONE CONTACT. I am naturally nearsighted, so this preserves my close vision.

 

[Old Navy]

What is best will have to be determined after your exam. If you have cataracts that need to be removed I can tell you what I did to get 20-20 back in my right eye.

 

[rkittine]

I recently bought new Decot HyWide Shooting Glasses with RX lenses. Got the frames that are adjustable. One position for Shotgun Shooting and one for Rifle. Also got their largest frames to make sure I have my eyes fully covered.

Bob

 

[bsekf]

Look for a Ranger dealer. Ranger has several styles and most Ranger dealers are shooters or cater to shooters. Most Ranger frames have a movable nose piece to raise the glasses on your face. I have one pair that has removable lens and one pair with clear lens and I use clip-on colored lens. IMHO you will want single vision lens, I can't imagine trying to look around bi-focals or progressives.

Bill

 

[wwbrown]

I would strongly encourage everyone to not go 10 years between eye exams. There is no history of glaucoma in my family and about 4 years ago I am at the eye doctors and find out that I have early stage glaucoma. The tech measured my eye pressure and it was good, I think awe no glaucoma, the doc comes in looks in the eye and I find out there is a thing as normal pressure glaucoma.

Glaucoma, if treated is a chronic disease that usually does not result in blindness but if untreated glaucoma will oftentimes lead to blindness. My vision remains 20-20, I do need cheaters to read but that has been the case for the last 15 years.

 

[rkittine]

Although I wear progressive lenses for regular glasses, Mike at Post4 who was (died last year) an optometrist and a shooter as well as a shooting glass supplier, plus my personal eye doctor and the people at Decot, all suggested NOT TO GET Progressive or BiFocals for Shooting.

Bob

 

[mikehotel]

I've been wearing progressive lenses for years and have no problem finding a good focus through the scope. At times, I may have to tilt my head a little, or readjust my glasses, but I'm OK with that.

 

[338 dude]

I wear trifocals but I like the lines it gives me a definite point of reference

 

[tygranch]

I've been a ABO certified optician for over 40 years. I've made many pairs of shooting glasses, including several for myself. There have been some good recommendations here. That being said, there is no one answer for all shooting disciplines. I'm a high power shooter. I use single vision with a little extra plus power to see the front sight clearly and the target clear enough. When shooting pistols, my progressives work fine. The majority of the local club's members are shotgun shooters and even among them what works best differs. I will say, I'm partial to Randolph Engineering's Ranger series of shooting frames and Trivex lenses, better optics than polycarbonate.

 

[mikehotel]

Hey tygranch.... please tell me you are within 50 miles of Petaluma CA.

Just kidding, .... please say yes.