Getting new glasses have questions

[gdbleb]

I learned the hard way.
1) Find an eye doctor who services shooters in your area who will permit you to bring your guns to the office. Shotguns, pistols, open sights, scopes are all different focal points if you are struggling for absolute clarity of the front sight and a reasonable picture of the target. Some lenses may be able to do double duty.
2) Forget about progressives. They are wonderful except on the firing line. Get bifocals where the doctor locates the small reader lens exactly where your face needs it when you are in position.

 

[K22]

I have traditional bifocals which I have used for over 40 years with success. The key is mounting the scope for optimum cheek weld and eye relief with or without corrective lenses.

One of the advantages of a scope over open sights is that it places the target and reticle in the same plane. Still, I was taught to always focus on the reticle because if that is off, you have no chance of hitting the desire POI. It's the same principle as open sights, i.e. always focus on the front sight.

The American Rifleman many years ago did an extensive article of this issue. The bottom line: focus on the reticle.

Also, some scopes have small eye boxes and for me, it is difficult to obtain a clear view. This is why I stopped buying scopes on the internet. This is one piece of equipment I believe the shooter should check before purchasing. Most quality shops have a dummy stock with rubber rings that you can place the scope in and check it for clarity.

 

[Forum Boss]

Sometimes less is more. I am nearsighted (about 20/40), and wear glasses to drive.

But I got the best results when shooting with NO correction, just using the focus ring on the scope. I set the scope's focus to maximize target sharpness and the reticle was still plenty sharp.

I do always wear safety glasses but those are non-prescription.

Likewise, when using binoculars (with a separate focus ring for each lens), I can see best with no glasses, and no contact lenses.

 

[6.5 forever]

I always shoot without mine with a scope.
Never been able to do it with glasses on.

Same here. My prescription glasses don't work around the edges. I use quality yellow tinted shooting glasses that fit my eyes better for shooting. Easily adjust the scope to work with my eyes.

 

[Alexander-M]

I am 80 years young, have had cataract, YAG, and Lasik surgeries. I told the ophthalmologists how I preferred my vision to be, and the results were great. I take my glasses off to read, do not need them around the house, but need them to drive and outdoors. I always wear my glasses to shoot, and I would never consider shooting without wearing eye protection.

With my glasses I can focus on a pistol front sight and at the target at 25 yards, no problem seeing 9mm and .45 cal holes at 25 yards, or shooting a rifle with iron sights at any distance. I can also shoot trap and skeet.

However, my only problem was when I started shooting F-Class 12 years ago – the rim of my glasses interfered with the scope picture; the glasses would slide down my nose and the top part of the rim partially obstructed the sight picture. This happened only when shooting prone and not from a bench, or when hunting, etc.

Finally, just two years ago, I bought new glasses, same prescription, but larger frames, and this solved the problem when shooting prone – no more interference.

The picture below shows my everyday glasses on the left, and my shooting glasses on the right.



Alex