Contact lens or shooting glassses

[Dev]

Hello,

Since I wear bifocal/multi-focal glasses, I also find it difficult to keep the sights sharp during a full match. I was wondering if it would be simpler and pocket friendly to just slip on my contact lenses and then add a + powered lens via a headband.

My problem is that a shooting coach, okay not my coach, the legendary Jaspal Rana, whom I have the good fortune to get tips from;advised me to get the shooting glasses. Now the cost of importing a set will be around $450 to $500.

So I would like to be very sure about my purchase. I am sure a lot of you (talented marksmen, the best of the best) shoot with contact lenses. Could you please share your experience and advise.


Right now I am looking at the expense of buying a scuba tank, shooting shoes and a host of other worldly expenses.

Warm Regards,

Dev

[Brian M]

I'd put shooting shoes WAY down the list, well beyond a SCUBA/SCBA and shooting glasses. When it comes to potential gain, the glasses offer a larger potential than the shoes.

I don't have corrected vision (yet, 36 and I'm sure it's coming) so I had a simple pair of glasses made up with a +.63 diopter. I was fortunate enough to have an optometrist who was willing to work with me (even allowing me to bring my pistol into his office), and we spent a good bit of time moving between several options while I decided what made the biggest impact. It's similarly possible for you to have a set of glasses made where the non-dominate eye has a "normal" grind, including your bifocal, and your dominate eye has a grind that would give you the effective +.50 (or slightly more if you're like me). I'm willing to bet this will be the Cheapest option out there. Second choice would be to use contacts and then a custom set of "reading" glasses like mine (I say custom because I could not find one single set of +.50 reading glasses, I had to have them ground for me), but the issue is that you're adding additional layers of lens into the equation. Each lens causes a minor bit of distortion, I'm of the opinion that having the least distortion possible is the best possible solution.

So if you go the normal glasses w/ custom lens route, you'll likely be under $100 (mine were $75) so long as you're choosing cheap frames. I'm shooting ~570/9.5 shot average at home, and 560's in competition with normal street shoes and normal glasses, and the limitation is ME, not my gear.

Maybe money is of less concern to you and you want the best available, then, by all means, give yourself the best. I would if I could afford to, but it's not strictly necessary.

Brian

[Richard H]

Glasses are way better than contacts. You can go with shooting style glasses which do allow you to do more adjustments, but even a normal pair of glasses with the lens cut correctly for the correct focal length (that being your front sight) will be better than contacts.

[paulo]

Don't you need eye protection at all times when shooting.
I second the idea of cheap frames with specific prescription, believe it is called the mid range prescription, in case you use glasses at all.

[Dev]

Thank you Brian, Richard and Paulo.
You have cleared a lot of debris.
Okay one quick question, would you buy a used set of shooting glasses from ebay? One auction is on and he is asking for $34 and $8 for shipping. Knobloch Brand.

The price is really good but I wonder if one should. By the Brian you are international level shooter, I have yet to shoot 550 consistently. I was shooting 540 some months ago but not every time. Should get there by the month's end.

Warm Regards,

Dev

[Brian M]

....would you buy a used set of shooting glasses from ebay? One auction is on and he is asking for $34 and $8 for shipping. Knobloch Brand.

Well, assuming they aren't a tangled mess, all bent into a pretzel, and come with the standard +.50, then they are worth some money. How much depends on how badly you want them ~ I'd set the level right about what it would cost to have an eye exam and get a set of new glasses. The last 2 that sold on ebay went for $48 and $100 (plus shipping).

With those, in the future, you could have a custom lens ground so you wouldn't need your normal glasses or contact for your dominant eye.

Brian

[Fred Mannis]

Just to add my 2 pennies -

I have used both shooting glasses (Varga, MEC) and conventional glasses with a prescription for shooting. I have found little difference, except for the much higher cost of the shooting glasses. In addition to the cost of good quality shooting frames, the cost of a good 37mm lens ground to your prescription and coated is not trivial - $50 to $75 every time your prescription changes. For me that is perhaps every other year.

Another consideration is that I feel that a 37mm lens does not provide adequate eye protection when shooting a cartridge pistol.

Some argue that the adjustments available in good shooting glasses allow you to look through the center of the lens and achieve greater clarity/less distortion. I have not found this to be the case, and I have found it a PIA to get the shooting glass lens adjusted properly, especially if you decide to change the lens to a different color or diopter (my eyes can vary +/- 0.25 D day to day).

I currently use a set of standard glasses that I purchased on line on sale for $10 plus shipping - this includes a standard prescription lens for my left eye, a shooting prescription lens for my right eye, in reasonable frames with a case. Lenses are anti scratch and UV coated. The price was so low that I bought two sets - one with +0.5D, the other with +0.75 D. Tape on the left lens takes care of the need for a blinder.

[Dev]

Thanks tou you Brian and Fred the lightbulb moment actually happened. I heard a 'ch...chang', kinda sound and realised, "here is my solution." Luckily, the labour of having the lens made isn't great just the cost of the lens and the frame. But this way I can make a dedicated shooting pair. As one of the great tips about keeping the non shooting eye to be regular prescription, seem very workable.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Keep tearing the tens up. :-)

Dev

[gatorpan]

Brian:

Shooting shoes? They are pretty cheap compared to my LP10E. I made them top priority after shooting in my New Balance Running shoes one day. I could feel myself rocking back and forth. My Sauer easy shoes solved that problem. Why think about it? BTW: They should last for a decade or more since I only wear them shooting and standing still.

Back to glasses: I’m turning 64 … the frames were expensive but the single focus lens not so expensive, about $ 60 including the exam. (I brought my pistol to the exam.)

I don’t worry about eye protection with an air pistol.

[Spencer]

...I don’t worry about eye protection with an air pistol.

A brave move.

Over the years I have witnessed numerous pellets 'come back' at head level.

[gatorpan]

Interesting point.
My shooting glasses cover my dominant left eye but I don’t protect my right eye. I don’t need or like a blinder … I have never seen another solution. Is there something?

What do you do for .22 Free Pistol?

Open to suggestions.

[David Levene]

I don’t need or like a blinder … I have never seen another solution. Is there something?

Fit another lens holder with a plain shatterproof "lens".

[Brian M]

Brian:

Shooting shoes? They are pretty cheap compared to my LP10E. I made them top priority after shooting in my New Balance Running shoes one day. I could feel myself rocking back and forth. My Sauer easy shoes solved that problem. Why think about it?

Why think about it? Because the $250 that it would cost me to buy those shoes would cover my food bill for a bit over a month, my utilities for 2 months (in the winter, 3 in the summer) or my health insurance for 4 months. And I *MUST* think about spending money that way, like a very large number of people in this world.

Dedicated shoes are a luxury that May account for a couple points, but I doubt it's the weakest link for any pistol shooter in the world. Meaning, the potential gain from shoes is smaller than the potential gain from a number of other things ~ most of them "free" (mental training). I do enjoy beating guys who have all the "newest, latest and greatest" though ~ what kinds of competition scores do you shoot? My last was a 561. :D

Brian

[Spencer]

Back to Dev's original question:
- contact lenses have a tendency to not locate on the front of the eyeball consistently
- moreso if they incorporate astigmatism correction: these are weighted to have them align radially. This is a bummer for rifle shooters who might incline their head, less so for pistol shooters who (should) have their head properly aligned.

Glasses are the way to go.

[John Marchant]

Most shooters tend to blink less when focusing on the sights, this can cause a problem with contact lenses as they are then not irrigated enough and can become uncomfortable. As has been mentioned earlier, a shooting lens in whatever your choice of frame is the way to go. Just make sure that the centre of the lens is correctly aligned with the sights.

[Dev]

Thank you Spencer and John, I see more clearly now :-).

[philip_T]

I have read and now own a pair of skateboard shoes. Considerably
flatter and more stable than normal running shoes with curved soles.
Pretty good selection at wally world. $ 25. or so.

[paulo]

I second the skate shoes option.

Fred can you share the site where you buy the inexpensive prescription glasses?

[Brian M]

The flat soles are only half the equation, the other half is the insole, and skate shoes tend to have Lots of cushion. Try the Converse/Chuck Taylor knock-offs, $15 at K-mart. ~ flat sole, minimal/non-existent insole and cheap.

[RobStubbs]

Dont forget the shooting shoes have more than just a flat sole, they are also much stiffer. That said skate type shoes are certainly worth getting, and as mentioned are dramatically cheaper than proper shooting shoes.

Rob.