Eye Sight

[WANTASHOOT]

When shooting iron sights after about 5 shots I start loosing focus of the target. Does anyone else have the same problem?? It gets worse in low light conditions or difficult to see targets. If I try very hard I can get the focus back for one or two shots then its gone.

I know go see an eye doctor. The main reason I am asking the forum is "what if I am doing something to cause this" as I never have problems with sight any other time.

This happens to me when I am shooting with a scope also but not as quick.

Jim

 

[BoydAllen]

Not having needed correction can cause eye strain. Get your eyes checked and then,if you don't need glasses, there are some tricks that can help prevent eye fatigue, but go to the doctor first. Yes, as we age, our eyes loose some of their ability to accommodate and generally it has been my experience that I need more light to do close work. I think that this is a common occurrence. I am 62, and have worn glasses, for myopia (near sightedness), since I was in grade school. I started needing bifocals for close work when I was 44. When I wear glasses that have been ground to the correct prescription, I do not have problems with eyestrain. On the other hand, it has been a while since I did a lot of shooting with iron sights. Maybe I need to drag out my old model 1938 Swedish Mauser.

 

[whiskey08]

My eyes do the same, I suppose shooting will do that to you, especially if your not breathing right. after 6-8 seconds of holding your breath your eyes will be affected by the lack of oxygen. After repeated shots the strain will really show up. Try to squeeze your shot off in less than six seconds of holding your breath. I take deep breaths, relax, and focus on other objects, near and far then I settle back in for the next shot. I try to do this without changing my cheek weld. If Its still blurry i come off the gun and relax for a few.

 

[jr600yd]

yeah, a lot of us suffer from this as we get older. Here's some tricks I learned from some very good "OLDER" shooters. 1. your spending to much time on the sights. I keep both eyes open when getting on target. Your dominant eye will line everything up for you. Once on target I then close one eye, make final adjustments and break the shot. 2. Once the shot is fired look at something far away then something up close like on your shooting mat. Do this several times as it forces the eyes to adjust to the different distances and slows down eye fatigue. And by all means get your eyes checked to make sure their is no medical problem.

good shooting, Jim

 

[BoydAllen]

Based on what some top competition shooters have told me, these fellows have it exactly right.

 

[forsyth793]

Hopefully these will be available early 2011 for AR-15's
The "Microsight System" totally goes against everything we as shooters have ever understood about focusing on the Front Sight. Trying to focus on a blurry Front Sight fatigues my eye to a point where around shot # 11 slow prone there is no recovery. Now I can see the top of the Front Sight AND the Target clearly with this new rear sight. After You look through this and then back through a rifle that isn't equipped, it then becomes one of those necessity's that is very important.
The first time I shot it was at Riverbend @ 600 Yards and it's been along time since I have shot 13 X's but I did have a more than competent coach. Will have another opportunity to demo it again this coming weekend........


Spike
spike.shooter@gmail.com

 

[1000yardstare]

A trick I used in .22 Match rifle and .308 Palma when I had "young" eyes was to put a white blinder (not black) in front of the non-sighting eye. For a right handed shooter this would be in front of the left eye. This prevents squinting in the non-sighting eye which can tire out the sighting eye. Keep both eyes open when aiming and train to shoot quickly.

Unfortunately age catches up to everyone and iron sights become very difficult. I can remember Palma practises back in the 1980`s where old guys would be sitting in their cars crying because their eyes were gone and they couldn`t shoot anymore.

The advent of F class with scope sights has allowed shooters to compete well into their 70s. Haven`t used iron sights since the 1990s. Can`t make a Canadian Bisley Palma team anymore but I am having fun which is all that matters to me now.

 

[Dux-R-Us]

Can't see shit is the Precursor to can't remember shit.

I'm 50 and need to wear 2.0 reading glasses. I cannot see the front sight when shooting a pistol nor the rear pa'tridge sight on my muzzle loader, and I can barley see the front sight on my Lyman Great Plains rifle even though it has a 32" barrell.

I am also near sighted and wear contact lenses.

I had Decot make a lens with 1.0 correction for my dominant eye. This allows me to focus on the front sight of my pistol. The target is slightly distorted, but not enough that I can't focus on the front sight and see the target and hit it. Shooting with both eyes open helps using the corrected lens. This also helps with my muzzle loader shooting.

When shooting IPSC matches, I can wear the corrected lens all through the match, which usually runs about 5 hours at my club, without getting eye strain or a headache.

BTW, Decot recommended this solution and my eye Dr. confirmed it as a viable solution.

Talk to your eye Dr. about this problem and this solution. It might work for you.

I can probably get help my muzzle loader shooting situation by getting an aperture rear sight, or it's a great reason to get a fancy hand crafted Penn. rifle with a really long barrel. I'll just tell my wife it's a medical muzzle loader. Get my eye Dr to write a 'script for me.

Cheers,

Kevin

 

[spclark]

Shooters universally need to be able to focus their shooting eye on the front sight. There are a number of ways to achieve this in shooters whose age precludes their eye's keeping things in focus; the Microsight is probably the latest development in this area but it's not yet available to any but a select few doing development work.

If you can get your eye doc to give you a prescription for a shooting-eye lens that puts your primary focus at 2x the distance of your front sight when in position, the lens you have made to this focus will give you the best sight picture. Pistols shooters can't take advantage of the rifle shooters' adjustable rear aperture though - which helps to increase depth of field & brings the aiming black into better focus - unless they use a Merit-type aperture in front of their shooting eye.

That your focus seems to fade after a few seconds isn't uncommon as you get older. One thing you may want to pay attention to is staying properly hydrated. It's something many folks - not just shooters - tend to ignore but invariably manifests itself in sight-related issues (among other things) as your body dries out.

When you're outdoors (or indoors for that matter) and actively using your faculties you need to maintain hydration to keep your sensory inputs optimized. It'll also reduce blood pressure & consequently make your pulse less noticeable as your heart doesn't have to work as hard when pushing your blood around your innards. Refined sugar, caffein & alcohol ought to be avoided until the activities are over for the day too.

 

[davek]

Im a nmc and a lr shooter. This is a problem that ive had for most of my life, the older i get the worst it gets, so how do i live with this and still shoot iron sites? My shooting glasses are set to give me a clear front site, i use to have this focus some distance between the target and the front site and my eye would pull the focus in clear as you would when you were younger but as i got older the site focus had to be moved closer to the front site, the rear aperture on the rear site clears up the depth of field enought so i can see the number board but the bull its self will be a blur. Just center the black blur and you will get a good shot. As to tired eyes later in the string, pull off the site and look at the ground and be quick on the site, the first site picture is usally the best, and drink lots of water durring the day. I would like to see the nra use anysites at the nationals and not only irons for the trophys, maybe it would keep some more old timers in the game and get some new blood into the game too.

 

[whiskey08]

"Can't see shit is the Precursor to can't remember shit"

lol, how true

 

[spclark]

I had some issues this season when shooting optics. I don't use them much but decided it wasn't worth the handicap NOT using them gave me when they were permitted for some matches. Anyway, my allergies were giving me fits after about mid-July & I was taking one of the OTC meds you have to show your photo ID to obtain, contains pseudoephedrin. I'd taken them before but not while shooting so was kinda surprised one morning when my first optics relay started that a few seconds after I got on my rifle the aiming black would turn to a ball of fuzz.

Sometimes it'd sharpen up again but mostly it just stayed blurry, all the while the crosshairs were crisp & clear. Shifting the parallax (range focus) knob didn't help. I just had to get used to either breaking a shot within the first few seconds of being on the gun, or pulling my head up and off the cheek rest & giving my eye a chance to recover.

24 hours later the effect was completely gone though I kept a rag handy, the better to deal with my runny nose....

 

[WANTASHOOT]

Wow lots of good info. Sounds like I am just getting older and I suddenly realize I dont completely understand all the details of shooting Apeture sights. Not sure how to spell "Apeture" please don't crucify me if its wrong.

Question #2 Everyone said focus on the front sight. The front sight is in good focus still. However the target is such a blur I have a hard time centering it. If I change the front apature how will that effect my focus?

Question #3 When selecting the front Apeture size. What do I need to know?? Big, Small, Post, Circle, Etc....

Question #4 Would I gain anything from changing the rear Apature. What effect does diameter of the the rear apature have.

 

[jr600yd]

This is what works for me. I use an adjustable front aperture (circle) Focusing on the front sight the target will always appear fuzzie. Your eye can only focus on one distance at a time. Front sight aperture, I open mine up till it's twice the size of the aiming black. The reason for this is with the bigger aperture the eye will center the bullseye and if you are a little off the shot will be a wide 10. With a tight aperture if you are a little off you'll be out in the 7 ring. I find it also helps to reduce eye strain. If either one is done correctly you've got a X. Rear aperture: I use an adjustable one. Close it down all the way. You'll find the target appears "Dark", slowly open the rear aperture up untill the target and front sight is bright and clear. Do it a few times and you'll know when it's open enough. The sights will "Jump" into focus.

 

[spclark]

2) Whatever size aperture you use up front won't affect focus; that's (mostly) the function of the rear adjustable aperture.

3) Some folks like a lot of white around their aiming black, others prefer a "line of white". It just takes time and practice to determine which works for you. Depending on the yardages you want to shoot at, using a larger aperture will be somewhat easier to do depending on your rifle's sight radius - the separation between the front an rear sights. The farther away that front sight is, the smaller your chosen aperture will appear. Works the same with the aiming black, curiously! Sometimes you can't find an adjustable front aperture that will close down enough to work with a long sight radius at 1,000 yards if you like a line of white sight picture.

4) Outside or inside diameter? If outside, a larger diameter aperture (I use Merit Masters -http://www.meritcorporation.com/products.html) because I like how the large rubber disc shields my sighting eye. Most other types & brands are not as large a diameter. The idea of an adjustable is to close the aperture down until it's too dark to see well, then open it up a click or two until you get a "clear enough" aiming black to center up well in your front aperture. The smaller the rear opening the sharper the aiming black will be, but also darker. Less light makes your eye work too hard to maintain focus & you'll find your sighting eye doesn't like too small an aperture.

That aiming black doesn't need to be crisp & sharp for you to shoot good scores. Lots of folks new to the sport need to understand that as they get familiar with all the adjustments & things to remember about prone shooting.

 

[forsyth793]

"Update" on my earlier post about the Microsight. There were several Service Rifle Shooters that used them at a match this past Saturday and everyone saw sights and targets much clearer and brighter than in the past. I think it looks like High Definition Shooting...........A "High Def Sight"...............
Hopefully soon there will be some availability.

Spike
spike.shooter@gmail.com