Shooting Eye Focus Issues

[Scott-ak]

If you didn't already know growing old is hard.

The problem is I can't hold focus with my right (my weak) eye and it's getting pretty annoying. The longer I look the harder it is to hold focus. 5-10 seconds after mounting the rifle is no problem. As the shooting day goes on holding for 5 is a stretch. I can often get it back for a second or two but holding on the target until then and timing breathing is no go. The result is I shoot alot with everything out of focus. I still have decent hit ratios but not as good as they could be. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Straightshooter1]

Yeah, dealing with old age sucks. I have issues with my eyes that way when I haven't kept myself well hydrated. So, the day before I go shooting I make sure I'm hydrated and that has helped a lot in keeping my eyes from having focus issues.

 

[CharlieNC]

I take a couple small vials of eye drops to the range, and use before every relay. Also close both eyes for a minute to rest them. Helps noticeably! Now how to keep the brain focused as well?

 

[SEM]

I take a couple small vials of eye drops to the range, and use before every relay. Also close both eyes for a minute to rest them. Helps noticeably! Now how to keep the brain focused as well?

Brain seems worse some days than my eyes, I do notice sinus pressure can cause blurry vision

 

[K22]

Have you had your eyes checked to rule out any medical issues?

 

[JMayo]

My right eye, shooting eye, isn't working with my left very well any more. I spend so much time making it focus close on x & Crosshair that it doesn't want to focus long. Looking away at a tree limb or cloud then back to scope works sometime.

I find myself using my left driving, walking, watching tv and my right just hangs out and keeps depth in line.

 

[jim1903a1]

What you're describing sounds like dry eyes. Happens when we get older but very treatable without drugs. Caused by the glands in your eyelids that produce lubrication, separate from tears that don't lubricate (meiobian glands). Lube gets waxy and plugs the gland ducts. There are heated masks you can use to get the lube flowing. Ten minutes a day and it feels good, too. Also use lubricating eye drops before you shoot (not drops for red eye!). I use Systane Ultra drops and at night, I use an eye cream, Refresh PM. Mine was bad enough to get me to an ophthalmologist who gave me this therapy. Lots of info on the internet, too. Can't say enough good about going to the ophthalmologist either. They can inspect your meiobian glands and look for other problems.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Take extra care setting the ocular for reticle focus. Close, open, adjust.
Then set parallax.
If the two are not properly adjusted your eye will FIGHT to focus.
You should not be able to tell the difference in reticle focus and target focus when properly adjusted.
You are shooting with your weak eye?
Also try blocking your other eye with a strip of electrical tape across the lens. Just enough to block view.
Sometimes what the other eye sees or the amount of light hitting your non-shooting eye can cause issues.

 

[Enosiophobia]

If you're not already, try using both eyes open. Worked for me.

 

[Twicepop]

Another thing is allergies, they will make everything appear fuzzy and out of focus. I mentioned this to my physician about during peak allergy season things were a bit out of focus. He said this is because the optic nerve goes through your sinus cavity. Any swelling due to allergies puts pressure on the optic nerve and distorts your vision to a degree in accordance with the severity of the allergic reaction. This year has been a killer mostly because of the rag weed pollen.

 

[6MMsteve]

How's your blood sugar if it's high it will cause this, I had this happen to me early in the summer, but an insulin change done the trick

 

[Scott-ak]

thanx for the feedback. The problem is holding focus. Some good things to consider. Chronic dehydration? yeah I live on coffee. dry eyes? maybe, cold weather, yes I'm in Alaska.

On the 'weak eye' statement. I am severely left eye dominant and right handed. It was great for hitting baseballs but not much else. As I got older I lean more and more on the left eye. For instance when reading for an extended period I will often close my right eye. That and aging my right eye vision is probably poor enough to warrant glasses but I have not done it yet because my left eye vision is good.

I've used the tape trick for shotgun sports for many years. I shoot a pistol right handed and left eye. The tape doesn't work well in that sport.

 

[Rocketvapor]

My wife is left eye dominant, has always shot right handed. She also has limited blink/squint abilitiy.
She wears glasses and gets tired when shooting extended periods, usually over an hour or so.
Tried left hand, nope, not coordinated enough
I even tried a left eye scope mount for right hand shooting. Nope, didn't work out.


Black tape seems to work for her.
So back to RIGHT eye, right hand and trying to get her to relax more when shooting. She's actually pretty good.
Almost as good as me

 

[Richard Jones]

To throw something else into the mix................ go see your eye doc and have him/her look at whether your eyes are too dry, too wet, etc. I have Fuchs' Dystrophy, which is basically edema of the cornea and I actually need to DRY my eyes instead of lubricating them. It causes most of the same symptoms, i.e., hard to focus for long, seems cloudy at times, etc. OTC drops will also help this, but the drops are salt water, not for "more tears." Worse in the morning for sure, and much better since I've lost 40 lbs...................click here for me info: Fuchs' Dystrophy

 

[PatMiles]

Following for obvious reasons.

 

[CA_Shooter]

I found that my glasses would slowly get dirty and I wouldn't noticed. Cleaning them with dish or hand soap works pretty well

 

[LHSmith]

Ditto on mastering shooting with both eyes open.

 

[dunraven]

As mentioned, your first step must be with an eye professional to rule out refractive error and pathology. After that, there are numerous ways to correct refractive errors, for distance and near. As an aside, I find that some shooters do not focus the scope's eyepiece correctly. (retired OD).

 

[nmkid]

As mentioned already...Hopefully just a case of dry eyes. Had it for years. Eye lubricant drops work great.

 

[M-61]

If you didn't already know growing old is hard.

What’s hard is it took 5 posts before anyone mentioned seeing a doctor. That’s hard to believe.
There’s nothing wrong with asking on this or any site for views on a medical condition.
I would hope that this was while waiting for results from your eye professional .
Personally I feel it’s far more harmful than posting political opinions.