Shooting glasses for newbie

[Steevyg]

Hey everyone, I’ve been shooting 10m ap since September last year with my Gamo Compact: my scores are getting better! I wear variofocals to read and do computer work. I have to wear them for shooting too otherwise I wouldn’t be able to focus on the foresight. It does leave the black area of the target EXTREMELY fuzzy, likely more than is helpful. I understand it is supposed to be out of focus, but it I think it would help if it wasn’t quite so when I’m using a sub 6 o’clock hold. If I buy a pair of shooting glasses (are Varda any good as they are more purchasable), do I then take them to an optician/optometrist to get prescribed a lens for them to suit me: would an optician/optometrist know how to do this? Is this expensive? Any advice would be most welcome.

[PirateJohn]

I did this, but I was a little lucky that I got a new job that reset my number of optometrists appointments so I got the appointment for free.

But yes, measure the distance between your eye and the front sight of the pistol, then have the optometrist fit you with a prescription optimized for that distance. Then get a lens fit to that prescription. My optometrist had me leave the frames with him to send to the lab.

[Gwhite]

This has been hashed to death in multiple threads. Your best option is to read this article:

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/8/1 ... -revisited

Dr. Wong has published numerous articles on the subject, but this one is the latest. Here's a collection of his earlier stuff:

https://starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongarts.html

[Hamster]

As a bifocal user, with myopia and astigmatism, for shooting I'm happy to have a spare pair ground solely in my distance prescription (same as the top half of my bifocals), in ordinary frames. They let me focus on the front sight, or the target. With a pair of yellowish plastic clip on flip ups, plus a strip of scotch tape on the lens for my non-dominant eye. Tho I do have to put my bifocals back on to dial the combinations on my trigger locks. I definitely don't score as well when I try with the bifocals on. One hint, don't have both pairs in identical frames, as I do. No fancy competition cyborg frames for me. I really don't want to be the guy with the fancy new gear and a mediocre score. This setup goes perfectly with my DES 69 and TOZ 35.

[Steevyg]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your advice as well as the further reading links. I’m hoping when I get this sorted, it’ll give me a few more points!

[Gwhite]

Many beginning shooters have no difficult focusing on the front sight without any additional correction, but they are in the minority. The college team I help coach has seen major improvements in beginners' scores since we started issuing them clip-on lenses & corrected safety glasses. It enforces focusing on the front sight, and their scores jump accordingly.

Knowing you are supposed to focus on the front sight and doing it EVERY shot are two very different things, especially if you are new to the sport. Over the course of a 60 shot match, proper correctio can also reduce eye fatigue.

[Steevyg]

Thank you for those useful insights, they really are a great encouragement, especially from a shooting coach.

[GaryN]

I ditched the vari-focal glasses for shooting.
To "focus" on the front sight, required me to tilt my head UP, like looking at the ceiling, and that hurts my neck when done for any length of time.

So I had a set of bifocals made.
- Left (non aiming eye) = distant
- Right (aiming eye) = compromise so I can focus on the front sight and see the target (at 10 meters). Based on article by Warren Potter, and validated in my eye doc's office. In fact I selected her, because she let me bring my AP into her office.
- Bifocal = about 18 inches, so that I can read stuff on the bench.

[David M]

I ditched the vari-focal glasses for shooting.
To "focus" on the front sight, required me to tilt my head UP, like looking at the ceiling, and that hurts my neck when done for any length of time.

So I had a set of bifocals made.
- Left (non aiming eye) = distant
- Right (aiming eye) = compromise so I can focus on the front sight and see the target (at 10 meters). Based on article by Warren Potter, and validated in my eye doc's office. In fact I selected her, because she let me bring my AP into her office.
- Bifocal = about 18 inches, so that I can read stuff on the bench.

You have made things very difficult for yourself with different lens powers on each eye.
Simply, get a eye test and determine what your distance script is including any astigmatism correction.
A pistol shooter needs a de-focus of +0.5 to +0.75 diopter on top of your distance script.
Try +0.5 for 10m and +0.75 for 25m and 50m (personal preference you need to try).
Keep both eyes open and use Scotch Magic tape as a occluder on the no shooting eye inside edge (30mm max).
Print and take a copy of Dr Wongs article to your Optomitrist.
https://starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongm ... guide.html

If your eyes need lots of correction, then one pair of glasses for shooting on the line only and a second pair for any bench work.
Try and keep your eye fatigue to a minimum, 60 shots can be tiring on the eyes.

[Steevyg]

Thanks Gary & David for your detailed and helpful responses, you’ve given me plenty to think about.