TargetTalk

I need some help here guys. I have a match on friday.
I'm practiceing Air rifle in my basement and i'm shooting prone and right away my eye just did not wound not focus on the bull I take some deep breaths and blink a few times and that made no difference. I had my eyes check out this summer after camp perry and got some new contact lens and that help for a couple weeks then it got a little fuzzy but not this bad. Should I go to an eye doctor. I am using a 3.6 insert for prone could that be the problem is it too small? Any help would be great.

---Brian---

Is there any possibility that your blood sugar is elevated? Been feeling tired lately? Thirsty? Craving sweets? Losing weight?
These along with changing eye sight could be signaling diabetes. The eye-sight was my first clue.

R.M.

R.M. wrote:Is there any possibility that your blood sugar is elevated? Been feeling tired lately? Thirsty? Craving sweets? Losing weight?
These along with changing eye sight could be signaling diabetes. The eye-sight was my first clue.

R.M.

Lets not make rash diagnosis over the internet. There's a million and one other things that might cause such a 'problem'.

To answer the question, yes get your eyesight checked. It could be nothing but it does no harm to check.

Rob.

Yes, a 3.6 aperture is probably too small. Try a 4.2 or 4.0 for all positions and see if it helps.

You shoot with contacts? Both eyes the same perscription, did you get them mixed? Are they dry, they may not be floating and this would be most notable when shooting prone. How are the sights when standing that will tell you if it's your eyes or contacts.

Rob
Did you not read the words "posibility", and "could be". I certainly was not making a diagnosis as you call it. I was suggesting something that we all need to consider.

R.M.

Brian,

Probably easiest to try and eliminate the hardware (rifle, sights etc.) before starting on the software (you!) I fully support Pat's suggestion that you try a larger foresight element and possibly think about the type of foresight you use, i.e. metallic, plastic or the newer glass variety. Bear in mind also that it's not just the aperture that is important, it's teh ring thickness that you find best. This leads neatly to the next bit:

my eye just did not wound not focus on the bull

Concentrate on focussing on the foresight, the optimum aperture/ring thickness will help achieve a crisp foresight picture.

Check the rearsight thoroughly and make sure that the aperture is completely clear of any debris, hairs, spiders etc. Even a very fine hair can cause havoc with the sight picture. If necessary get one of those compressed air cans that photographers use to clean their equipment. Note that the use of a garage air line is not recommended!

Try varying the rear aperture size. Whilst the usual range is .9-1.2mm, at the end of the day it's what gives you the best picture, just the same as for the foresight. The preceding assumes that your eye relief is correct in the first place. If it is too large you will not get proper benefit from the rear aperture.

Experiment with coloured filters, yellow is best for improving contrast and does cut down slightly on any glare.

Do you use a blinder for the non-aiming eye? If you don't then try one and consciously shoot with both eyes WIDE open.

Think about what you do between shots. I have seen shooters who place a piece of coloured paper on the firing point or bench and use it to relax the eye before aiming, a mid pink shade seemed to be the favoured colour.

Contact lenses and shooting is an area on which I profess complete ignorance. However any lens must be fit for purpose and what you are trying to achieve is a good foresight picture, best discuss with an optician who has a knowledge of target shooting what what you require. For most people this turns out to be +0.5 to +1.0 dioptre above their normal correction, so I have been told.

Lastly, try and get hold of a copy of "The New Position Rifle Shooting" by Pullum and Hanenkrat. It does have a very good chapter on vision in shooting sports.

Hope that at least some of the above might be helpful.

Rutty

If you have a system that works and then stops working, we look and both hardware and sofrware to try and determin what has changed. we then fix or replace the change. - Eliminate the constants and evaluate the rest.

With respect to medical heath; It is a sad but true statistic that on average, a given complaint is diagnosed later in men than women. Never be afraid of a consultation, no matter what the cause. Better to be called "a fool" than "too late" . Lets face it I coule give you a wire guided missile but if you cant see the target you would miss!

I bet it will be something simple like stress or differnt lighting or... when you know you will be able to fix it. But look after your self first - without you who will pull the tigger ?

Best of luck


SD

I whould like to thank everyone for there advice I think the problem was
that I got dehydrated. I should not have let that happen.

thanks
---Brian---

You mention basement. Is the sufficient ventilation??

Shooting indoors runs the downside of not having sufficient fresh air. After all, our eyes are very important and the blood supply to our eyes is not that good. Other posts have discussed the cumulative impact of reduced O2 from insufficient breathing during non-elite shooting and other posts have discussed the issues surrounding focusing on images. Head position could also contribute to less effective O2 through constricting blood supply; for example, shooting with head at 90 degrees to axis of body. Totally agree on the hydration posts BTW, just wanted to explore other alternatives.

Re the hydration, several of us cut-down the sports drinks to 25% product and 75% water. We have found that this is sufficient to stay hydrated without need to contact comfort breaks! The sports drinks are treated by the body as food. We also sip normal water as well. Finally the notice “NO FOOD OR DRINK” on the entrance to our ranges at the National Shooting Centre is thankfully ignored by most!

I shoot next to a door with a fan right by it so that should not be the problem. And for the most part I drink water when I shoot.

---Brian---