TargetTalk

My Anschutz 8002 and FWB 603 both have a fixed iris on the rear sight. I am thinking about replacing them with adjustable iris like Anschutz 9510. My 46 year-old eyes need every bit of help I can get.

However, I have a pair of Varga for air pistol already. I figure instead of buying an iris for each rifle, I can just buy one adjustable iris for the shooting glasses.

My question is: am I talking about the same thing? Does the adjustable iris on shooting glasses work the same as those on the rear sights?

I would appreciate any insight.

You're far better off getting the right optical lens for your rearsight or glasses and forget an adjustable iris. You want to get the focal length correct for the foresight not increase the whole depth of field.

Doing the latter makes you try and concentrate on 3 things at once which is impossible to do, to increase the depth of field you need to reduce the amount of light coming in, which will make matters worse and cause more eye strain.

Rob.

Thanks, Rob. I am actually doing both. I definitely need some kind of corrective lens and I am going to use the adjustable iris before it.

I have read a lot of pro's and con's about adjustable iris, but even the pro's warn the same think as you did. I am still willing to give it a try since I don't adjust it to the point that all three points become sharp. If I am not mistaking, shooter should focus on the foresight for pistol but on target for rifle. Am I correct?

Taking the "better instead" out of equation, do both types of adjustable iris work the same?

caltexel wrote:Thanks, Rob. I am actually doing both. I definitely need some kind of corrective lens and I am going to use the adjustable iris before it.

I have read a lot of pro's and con's about adjustable iris, but even the pro's warn the same think as you did. I am still willing to give it a try since I don't adjust it to the point that all three points become sharp. If I am not mistaking, shooter should focus on the foresight for pistol but on target for rifle. Am I correct?

Taking the "better instead" out of equation, do both types of adjustable iris work the same?

Nope, you should be focusing on the rifle foresight.
I've never seen anyone attempt to use a lens mounted iris while shooting rifle. If the iris is smaller than the aperture on the rearsight, you'd have no way of telling whether or not your head is aligned properly. And if the iris is larger than the rearsight aperture, it won't be making any difference to your sight picture.

For air rifle shooting and small bore for that matter, an adjustable iris fitted to the back sight is probably the most useful bit of kit you will ever buy.
Any prescription correction should be on shooting glasses.
There are however, some adjustable back sight irises that also incorporate a corrective lens so you can have both in one unit, but be careful as these are usually only 'diopter' increments and will probably not take into account any other eye problems such as astigmatism.
Keep in mind that any corrective lens under ISSF rules is not allowed on the rifle, it must be worn by you.
Peeps