i was wondering if it worth the investment to buy shooting glasses, having never used them... I was looking specifically at the anschutz glasses on champion shooters supply, which i would have to add my -2.50 perscription to. Without the perscription on my left eye, im not sure if it would make me dizzy- also i would have to look through my spotting scope through my right (perscription) eye instead of the natural left eye.
any opinions/advice/experience?
shooting glasses...?....
Moderators: pilkguns, Marcus, m1963, David Levene, Spencer
Firstly, if you have a blinder over your non-sighting eye you shouldn't get any unpleasant conflict with your sighting eye. If seeing the wind flags clearly is an issue you could get a second lens for your non-sighting eye as Rob says.
Secondly, wouldn't you just adjust the focus of the spotting scope to suit your non-sighting eye?
KB.
Secondly, wouldn't you just adjust the focus of the spotting scope to suit your non-sighting eye?
KB.
i could adjust the focus on the scope, however i am not sure (with my not so great perscription) if that would work completely. Will def. give it a try.
And that is a pretty cool idea of putting the prescription on the scope! Neve thought of that.
And, yes, i do normally use a blinder of some sort. Will test and try al of my options.
And that is a pretty cool idea of putting the prescription on the scope! Neve thought of that.
And, yes, i do normally use a blinder of some sort. Will test and try al of my options.
I'm returning after many years off and for iron sights have to use glasses. I've grown nearsighted, opposite of what happens to most.
Where I'm finding difficulty is in the prone position, getting the lense lined up well.
It looks like best options are to get shooting specific glasses that ride very high on my nose that I use for Prone, or the mechanical/adjustable glasses (knobloch?) that have the wire frame and you dangle/adjust a circular lense. But then I'd think I'd have to make adjustments based on position.
Do shooters use different pairs of glasses, or make adjustments or ?
new territory for me!
Tim
Where I'm finding difficulty is in the prone position, getting the lense lined up well.
It looks like best options are to get shooting specific glasses that ride very high on my nose that I use for Prone, or the mechanical/adjustable glasses (knobloch?) that have the wire frame and you dangle/adjust a circular lense. But then I'd think I'd have to make adjustments based on position.
Do shooters use different pairs of glasses, or make adjustments or ?
new territory for me!
Tim
I found more on glasses and such with additional searches on this forum.......sorry. Looks like two sets are pretty much needed unless contacts are successful.
Do contacts work well with most 'normal' prescriptions for prone? Have never tried them.....
I think my default is shooting glasses but curious.
Tim
Do contacts work well with most 'normal' prescriptions for prone? Have never tried them.....
I think my default is shooting glasses but curious.
Tim
i have used contacts to shoot and for the first half or so of my match they worked pretty well. However as time passes my eyes tend to get dry and agitated. If your eyes aren't bothered as time progresses, they are worth a try.
i resorted to my regular prescription glasses and for prone i put an earplug on the bridge of my nose to elevate my glasses.
i resorted to my regular prescription glasses and for prone i put an earplug on the bridge of my nose to elevate my glasses.
Contacts are generally optically inferior than lenses. You also need to remember you don't shoot prone with your head upright - i.e. not in the same way you sit and read or watch tv. Generally speaking contacts aren't as good and they will probably give you eye strain. Remember also the prescription is more akin to reading glasses for shooting, so they will not be the same as a normal prescription so you'd need to switch for normal use.Redwagon wrote:I found more on glasses and such with additional searches on this forum.......sorry. Looks like two sets are pretty much needed unless contacts are successful.
Do contacts work well with most 'normal' prescriptions for prone? Have never tried them.....
I think my default is shooting glasses but curious.
Tim
Rob.
I have just gone thru the same thing as you. Twenty five years off and bad eyes when I started up last year. Two eye surgeries later and champion shooting glasses with the right perscription len, still couldn't shoot irons well. The latest change is to try contacts, RGP contacts, and I now I can shoot irons very well. The RGP contact fixed my astigmatisum which has made a MAJOR improvement in my sight picture. They are not perfect but it is the only way I can shoot competitive iron sight scores so I will have to deal with them. If you are serious about your shooting give them a try.Redwagon wrote:I'm returning after many years off and for iron sights have to use glasses. I've grown nearsighted, opposite of what happens to most.
Where I'm finding difficulty is in the prone position, getting the lense lined up well.
It looks like best options are to get shooting specific glasses that ride very high on my nose that I use for Prone, or the mechanical/adjustable glasses (knobloch?) that have the wire frame and you dangle/adjust a circular lense. But then I'd think I'd have to make adjustments based on position.
Do shooters use different pairs of glasses, or make adjustments or ?
new territory for me!
Tim
Ed
I too am near sighted and have spent quite a bit of time on the subject of shooting glasses. First of all, the safety factor of wearing glasses is not what I'm discussing. I'm strictly discussing vision. Safety is a whole different subject, and I will not go into that.
I've seen several top shooters use contacts with good results, but they didn't work for me. My sight picture seemed warped and I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough. But like I said, contacts worked well for others. Some found hard contacts worked better than soft.
I settled on using glasses. Normal glasses didn't work for me because they tended to fog up, I'd look through the frame (especially in the standing position), and I couldn't look directly through the middle of my prescription. There are several brands specifically designed for shooting in which you can move the lens piece to where you want. With some you can adjust many parts of the frame or change out nose pieces to better fit for all shooting positions (so no, you don't need one pair for prone and another for standing and kneeling). I ended up using Knobloch model K2 frames (the nose frame is bent out of the way, so this probably only works for right handed shooters) and used a tall nose piece for prone and a short nose piece for standing and kneeling.
One thing I observed when working on this is for near sighted prescriptions (mine was around -3.00 for both eyes at the time), the farther away the lens was from my eye, the smaller things looked. So I wanted a lens close to my eye. I had a lens holder that was bent so the lens was closer to my eye, but for this, the lens needs to be smaller. Knobloch might not make this holder any more (it's not listed on it's web site, but it looks like they have an equivalent adjustable one. There are some pictures of shooters on the web site using the bent one, though). I have seen it listed on some dealers sites as "K3166 lens holder bent" or something close to that. So they're probably still around.
Another thing I realized is if I only used the lens for my shooting eye I had no depth perception to read wind flags. I couldn't tell if they were pointing towards me or away from me. So I got another lens and holder for my non-shooting eye. That solved the wind flag issue. And I don't recall having any problems looking through my scope. Depending on what position I was in, I looked through my lens or around my lens on my non-shooting eye to see through the scope. You have to try it out for yourself. It was not an issue for me.
One final thought, if you get lenses, get anti-reflective coatings. I had problems with seeing reflections in my lens of people walking behind me or my eyelid twitching or some other distraction. Anti-reflective coatings eliminated those distractions. It costs about $40 extra, but well worth it. The coating is sort of delicate and scratches easily. So only clean with a special non-scratch cloth (the eyeglass store usually gives you one when you get the anti-reflective coating). Also, you might have trouble finding a place that will grind a lens small enough to fit your lens holder. Keep looking and you'll eventually find one.
Like I said at the start, I spent quite a bit of time on this very subject. I hope the tips help you out, and good shooting.
I've seen several top shooters use contacts with good results, but they didn't work for me. My sight picture seemed warped and I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough. But like I said, contacts worked well for others. Some found hard contacts worked better than soft.
I settled on using glasses. Normal glasses didn't work for me because they tended to fog up, I'd look through the frame (especially in the standing position), and I couldn't look directly through the middle of my prescription. There are several brands specifically designed for shooting in which you can move the lens piece to where you want. With some you can adjust many parts of the frame or change out nose pieces to better fit for all shooting positions (so no, you don't need one pair for prone and another for standing and kneeling). I ended up using Knobloch model K2 frames (the nose frame is bent out of the way, so this probably only works for right handed shooters) and used a tall nose piece for prone and a short nose piece for standing and kneeling.
One thing I observed when working on this is for near sighted prescriptions (mine was around -3.00 for both eyes at the time), the farther away the lens was from my eye, the smaller things looked. So I wanted a lens close to my eye. I had a lens holder that was bent so the lens was closer to my eye, but for this, the lens needs to be smaller. Knobloch might not make this holder any more (it's not listed on it's web site, but it looks like they have an equivalent adjustable one. There are some pictures of shooters on the web site using the bent one, though). I have seen it listed on some dealers sites as "K3166 lens holder bent" or something close to that. So they're probably still around.
Another thing I realized is if I only used the lens for my shooting eye I had no depth perception to read wind flags. I couldn't tell if they were pointing towards me or away from me. So I got another lens and holder for my non-shooting eye. That solved the wind flag issue. And I don't recall having any problems looking through my scope. Depending on what position I was in, I looked through my lens or around my lens on my non-shooting eye to see through the scope. You have to try it out for yourself. It was not an issue for me.
One final thought, if you get lenses, get anti-reflective coatings. I had problems with seeing reflections in my lens of people walking behind me or my eyelid twitching or some other distraction. Anti-reflective coatings eliminated those distractions. It costs about $40 extra, but well worth it. The coating is sort of delicate and scratches easily. So only clean with a special non-scratch cloth (the eyeglass store usually gives you one when you get the anti-reflective coating). Also, you might have trouble finding a place that will grind a lens small enough to fit your lens holder. Keep looking and you'll eventually find one.
Like I said at the start, I spent quite a bit of time on this very subject. I hope the tips help you out, and good shooting.
Glasses
I recommend shooting glasses. Some like the small lens, I favour the big ones. I suggest buying the basic Knobloch ones because they are plain wire. Not screw devices for raising and lowering stuff. Real basic. AND the wire can be bent to fit YOU. (Note: On all glasses periodically check the wee screws are not coming loose. A pain if they drop out!!)
I too use a bent lense holder to get the lense close to (both) eyes. I use a big one on the left as well so that I can see flags. The big lense on both means the right eye can glance to the side and see the flags as well. Bending the left lense close to the eye measn the scope can be viewed OK. Yes, you cannot get quite as close as without a lense but mirage and target numbers can be seen satisfactorily.
I concur with the antireflection coating. Both sides of the lense too!!
I also shoot fullbore and am always having to look at the windage setting. My eyes cannot see that close!!! I have mounted a small magnifying glass (10mm diameter) just to the right of the right eye at about 4-30. I welded a wire to it, and got hold of another lense mount and it fits on the glasses crosspiece. Works a treat. But I do have 3 lenses on the mount now and it can feel a bit heavy but I I have got used to it. Saves using a seperate magnifying glass.
As far as lining them up. Get someone to check the lense is right angles to the sight line. The bend in the lense holder will let you do this as well as keeping the lense close to your eye. Check both from above and the side.
A trick is to have a light shining from the front to illuminate your aiming eye. By looking carefully for the reflection of your pupil in the lense it is easy to align the lense so the the pupil reflection is in line with the aperture on the back sight.
I too use a bent lense holder to get the lense close to (both) eyes. I use a big one on the left as well so that I can see flags. The big lense on both means the right eye can glance to the side and see the flags as well. Bending the left lense close to the eye measn the scope can be viewed OK. Yes, you cannot get quite as close as without a lense but mirage and target numbers can be seen satisfactorily.
I concur with the antireflection coating. Both sides of the lense too!!
I also shoot fullbore and am always having to look at the windage setting. My eyes cannot see that close!!! I have mounted a small magnifying glass (10mm diameter) just to the right of the right eye at about 4-30. I welded a wire to it, and got hold of another lense mount and it fits on the glasses crosspiece. Works a treat. But I do have 3 lenses on the mount now and it can feel a bit heavy but I I have got used to it. Saves using a seperate magnifying glass.
As far as lining them up. Get someone to check the lense is right angles to the sight line. The bend in the lense holder will let you do this as well as keeping the lense close to your eye. Check both from above and the side.
A trick is to have a light shining from the front to illuminate your aiming eye. By looking carefully for the reflection of your pupil in the lense it is easy to align the lense so the the pupil reflection is in line with the aperture on the back sight.
Getting a good sight picture has been the bane of my shooting life.
I've tried spectacles, contact lens, shooting glasses, adjustable diopters and without - all with their drawbacks -daren't tot up how much I've spent.
Quite apart from deciding on a form of optical aid the major problem has been to fix upon precise optical prescriptions(correction and astigmatism) to cope with the necessary balanced clarity of rearsight/foresight and /25-50-100-300-600-1000yd target bulls.
At last I now think I am getting somewhere. An early experiment was to get a standard Anschutz rubber eyepiece and fix a lens of my normal distance prescription(short sight and astigmatism) within it. An acceptable practical solution curtailed due to expense trying multiple prescriptions.
Living in the UK I recently lost a spectacle lens and had it replaced(both lens) to prescription via the internet in 3 days at very reasonable cost. On speaking to the supplier I explained my problem(trying to focus on three objects with astigmatism and poor sight). He has now progressively provided three pairs of lens cut circular to required diameter and to slightly differing prescriptions and I am getting a better and better picture.
This has been a brilliant service, enabling me to refine my shooting prescription at a fraction of the cost of High Street opticians with a two/three day turnaround and someone who has been prepared to talk about the problem. The power of the internet.
In case you are wondering I have no connection with the supplier.
John
I've tried spectacles, contact lens, shooting glasses, adjustable diopters and without - all with their drawbacks -daren't tot up how much I've spent.
Quite apart from deciding on a form of optical aid the major problem has been to fix upon precise optical prescriptions(correction and astigmatism) to cope with the necessary balanced clarity of rearsight/foresight and /25-50-100-300-600-1000yd target bulls.
At last I now think I am getting somewhere. An early experiment was to get a standard Anschutz rubber eyepiece and fix a lens of my normal distance prescription(short sight and astigmatism) within it. An acceptable practical solution curtailed due to expense trying multiple prescriptions.
Living in the UK I recently lost a spectacle lens and had it replaced(both lens) to prescription via the internet in 3 days at very reasonable cost. On speaking to the supplier I explained my problem(trying to focus on three objects with astigmatism and poor sight). He has now progressively provided three pairs of lens cut circular to required diameter and to slightly differing prescriptions and I am getting a better and better picture.
This has been a brilliant service, enabling me to refine my shooting prescription at a fraction of the cost of High Street opticians with a two/three day turnaround and someone who has been prepared to talk about the problem. The power of the internet.
In case you are wondering I have no connection with the supplier.
John
John,Gnr527 wrote:Getting a good sight picture has been the bane of my shooting life.
I've tried spectacles, contact lens, shooting glasses, adjustable diopters and without - all with their drawbacks -daren't tot up how much I've spent.
Quite apart from deciding on a form of optical aid the major problem has been to fix upon precise optical prescriptions(correction and astigmatism) to cope with the necessary balanced clarity of rearsight/foresight and /25-50-100-300-600-1000yd target bulls.
At last I now think I am getting somewhere. An early experiment was to get a standard Anschutz rubber eyepiece and fix a lens of my normal distance prescription(short sight and astigmatism) within it. An acceptable practical solution curtailed due to expense trying multiple prescriptions.
Living in the UK I recently lost a spectacle lens and had it replaced(both lens) to prescription via the internet in 3 days at very reasonable cost. On speaking to the supplier I explained my problem(trying to focus on three objects with astigmatism and poor sight). He has now progressively provided three pairs of lens cut circular to required diameter and to slightly differing prescriptions and I am getting a better and better picture.
This has been a brilliant service, enabling me to refine my shooting prescription at a fraction of the cost of High Street opticians with a two/three day turnaround and someone who has been prepared to talk about the problem. The power of the internet.
In case you are wondering I have no connection with the supplier.
John
I to had simular problems and have spent 11 months trying to fit the eye sight problem. What I found out after two operations on my shooting eye is that an astigmatism was the MAJOR problem. The last option was to try a RGP contact lens and it fixed the problem.Now no astigmatism and a lens with 0.00 sphere correction and I am able to shoot irons again. The contacts are a pain but at least I can shoot again. You said that you tried contacts but did you try the RGP lens. Try it, it is the best solution for astigmatism problems.
Ed
Ed
Thanks for that. No I haven't tried GP lenses.
Having looked up info on them I can see how they have helped.
Trouble is each solution(glasses/contact lens/shooting glasses) is likely to require differing prescriptions.
In all of these alternatives one stumbling block has been to settle upon the best prescription, necessitating either a very savvy and helpful optician or a progression of refining prescriptions(can be b----y expensive).
The lens in eyepiece solution has several advantages and minimal disadvantage for me so, at least for now, this is where I am concentrating.
Regards
John
Thanks for that. No I haven't tried GP lenses.
Having looked up info on them I can see how they have helped.
Trouble is each solution(glasses/contact lens/shooting glasses) is likely to require differing prescriptions.
In all of these alternatives one stumbling block has been to settle upon the best prescription, necessitating either a very savvy and helpful optician or a progression of refining prescriptions(can be b----y expensive).
The lens in eyepiece solution has several advantages and minimal disadvantage for me so, at least for now, this is where I am concentrating.
Regards
John
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dontshootcritters
- Posts: 215
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:24 am
- Location: new zealand
I have good eyesight, but use a prescription lens for shooting only. I am slightly long sighted; without the lens I can aim and shoot fine (in fact I had one of my most succesful seasons just before getting the lens), but I had to consciously remember to focus on the foresight. The lens did away with that, I put the glasses on and have one less thing to think about.
My optician did allow a correction for my astigmatism into my current lens, but it's not strong.
My optician did allow a correction for my astigmatism into my current lens, but it's not strong.