Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Sight focus......

  1. #1

    Sight focus......

    I am new to the form and have started shooting much more but running into a delicate.
    I understand that focus should be on the front site. When wearing my glasses which I do all the time I can not focus on it and the sight is a blur. I even had some night sights put on today and all I get is an orange blur. If I take my glasses off I can see the front sight as a pin sharp dot but I don't want to have to make pulling my glasses off as part of my shooting process.
    I assume a Red Dot sight would not help since the focus point is at the rear sight.
    What is a shooter do to beat this situation.
    Thanks
    Dano

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Dayton, OH
    Using sights, there are 3 different points involved: rear sight, front sight, and target.

    Using a dot allows you to focus on the target. You do not need to focus on the dot in the same way you do a front sight. I think you should give a dot a try, at least look through one at arms length.

    If that doesn't work, something like bifocals you can wear everyday that allows the front sight to be clear when shooting may be a solution.

  3. #3
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Welcome Dano.

    There are a lot of great shooters here; I'm not one, just a random geezer trying to stay off YouTube.

    With regard to vision, I sympathize. I have corrected vision, starting with severe nearsightedness (20-1200 or worse) and astigmatism. I have only been shooting a few years, but in 2020 I started having issues focusing on the front sight.

    I opted to switch to dots, and have been extremely happy so far. With a dot, you are focusing on the image superimposed on the target. In other words, you worry about one focal plane. Not three (rear sight, front sight, target). This has had an observable effect on my accuracy.

    Plus, I see advantages in longer range shots, as well as in low light situations (I am no mall ninja however).

    I am not an optometrist, so I'm not 100% sure I understand your current vision situation. But if you have an opportunity to visit a local gun store, have them show you a Mini Red Dot Sight (MRDS), and you can get a sense of what they are about and whether it might make sense to investigate buying one.
    Last edited by RJ; 01-21-2022 at 01:56 PM.

  4. #4

    Thanks

    I will go check out a RD at the shop about an hour away.
    If the focus point is at the target like was said that should take care of the situation.

    It may be a question for a different post but is the RD more fragile being carried?

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2021
    Location
    Idaho
    Quote Originally Posted by Dano59 View Post
    I will go check out a RD at the shop about an hour away.
    If the focus point is at the target like was said that should take care of the situation.

    It may be a question for a different post but is the RD more fragile being carried?
    I think it depends on which red dot you buy. Trijicon RMR probably has the best reputation for being durable, followed by the Holosun models, then Leupold DPP, Trijicon SRO, etc. Other models (i.e. the cheaper ones) are probably not as durable. I’ve shot and carried a couple of guns with the RMR and Holosun 407K a fair amount over the last 4 years and so far so good, just battery changes once a year. I also have a couple of SROs on competition guns that have seen far more rounds through them and both have been problem free, but they don’t get banged around much other than at matches.

    There’s a guy named Aaron Cowan who posts review videos on Youtube. He’s kind of known for doing drop tests from shoulder height onto concrete in his review videos. Check him out if there’s a particular brand/model of red dot you’re interested in.

  6. #6
    Supporting Business NH Shooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    New Hampshire, U.S.A.
    I would suggest going to a local gun store and looking through a MRDS sight. For me (with eyesight similar to yours), the dot appears sharp with my corrective lenses, which are needed for distance viewing. Larger MOA dots may appear the sharpest (they do for me).

  7. #7
    Definitely look through some dot sights. 1- I can never remember which is which, but a quick search will bring up info on the two different ways dot sights are built. W/ astigmatism and possibly some other types of eye problems, I understand that one type will look much better than the other. 2- Look at different size dots. Some like small, some prefer larger. 3- look for a dot that is adjustable for brightness. Often when the dot looks more like a fuzzy star, dropping the brightness down will help. Because of this it may be that a 'self adjusting' brightness level may not be the best for you. OTOH, you may want to look at another pair of glasses. I use trifocals and it was quickly obvious that I could not be moving my head around to get the sight into the middle range part of the lens. For many years I used a home made version of this. It absolutely brought both sights and the target into focus at the same time.
    https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015167397
    And then maybe 10 yrs ago I got a new pair of glasses in October and my wife's employer changed to a new health insurance carrier Jan 1. So I got another new pair and I had the left (my dominant eye) lens made so the entire lens is focused at the front sight distance. I got a frame that is more the size of sunglasses than regular glasses and made sure the lenses were the impact resistant plastic. BTW your type of eye problem is actually a good one to have. If you ever need to use your gun for defense in the middle of the night, you can see the sights well w/o your glasses.

  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Living across the Golden Bridge , and through the Rainbow Tunnel, somewhere north of Fantasyland.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dano59 View Post
    I am new to the form and have started shooting much more but running into a delicate.
    I understand that focus should be on the front site. When wearing my glasses which I do all the time I can not focus on it and the sight is a blur. I even had some night sights put on today and all I get is an orange blur. If I take my glasses off I can see the front sight as a pin sharp dot but I don't want to have to make pulling my glasses off as part of my shooting process.
    I assume a Red Dot sight would not help since the focus point is at the rear sight.
    What is a shooter do to beat this situation.
    Thanks
    Dano
    First, welcome.

    A question to ask before you start down the dot rabbit hole is what is your reason for shooting? Pure recreation? Gun games (competition)? Or self defense/carry? That can impact your dot choice. There are Tons of dots suitable for recreation, fewer for competition, and fewer still really suitable for serious/defensive use.

    I have vision issues similar to yours. Corrected vision (not too bad....-1.00 and -1.50), and middle age presbyopia. I started needing reading glasses when wearing contacts at around 42. At 45 I started having some trouble seeing the front sight clearly. That only got worse as time went on.

    For the last few months I've been working with a PMO (pistol mounted optic....red dot) equipped pistol, trying to make the jump after 30 years shooting iron sight duty pistols. I've been working hard on the target focus and proper index to make it work....with only marginal success to my liking. But with my vision corrected, the dot is a crystal clear little round dot....while my front sights are just blobs of color (red or green depending on the pistol).

    The other day I noticed something that many other dot shooters comment on, including some experienced shooters here. I was teaching an in service block for our command staff folks, and demonstrating the exercises I wanted them to shoot. I started to notice that I was target focused throughout the shooting process, with my sights bracketing the 3" dot that was my target. The front sight was just an orange blur in my forevision. But I was easily hitting that dot no matter how fast I ran the trigger....with a hard target focus. This is often noted by experienced dot shooters....it improves your iron sight shooting, and your ability to shoot with a target focus.

    Long winded way of saying that the dot may indeed be the answer to your vision problems.....but equipment selection and proper training are key. Just putting a dot on your pistol and doing slow fire target shooting at the range will not give you the skills to run a dot effectively in a fight. My 2 cents.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter Erick Gelhaus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    The Wasatch Front
    Quote Originally Posted by Dano59 View Post
    I am new to the form and have started shooting much more but running into a delicate.
    ...
    If I take my glasses off I can see the front sight as a pin sharp dot but I don't want to have to make pulling my glasses off as part of my shooting process.
    I assume a Red Dot sight would not help since the focus point is at the rear sight.
    Greetings @Dano59

    Just to make sure we are calling the same things the same thing. With the handgun pointed at the target, the rear sight is closest to you, above where the hammer hits the firing pin or the slide plate cover is. The front sight is on top of the slide, just above the muzzle.

    Traditionally, you'd look through the notch in the rear sight at the front sight (and focus on it). Then you'd have that image on the target, where you would want the rounds to go.

    As you age, and it can be different for us, you begin having difficulty seeing the front sight in clear focus. One fix I picked in '10 or '11 was to put the near blur (front sight) in the center of the far blur (target) and pay attention to my trigger press. It can work. This is really close to the soft focus on the irons I now have after time on with pistol-mounted optics.

    Various things can be done with prescription lenses; unfortunately, traditional bifocals may cause you to raise your head up & back to see the front sight clearly which might affect your shooting platform (I see a number of people lean back, off-balance).

    A pistol-mounted optic has been a significant help. Not only with the shift in attention & focus, but more importantly with immediate feedback on what I'm doing trigger & grip-wise.

    While I won't discount iron sights, I do see a benefit to starting new shooters on a dot sight.

  10. #10

    You guys rock.

    The main purpose of the gun we are talking about is self /defense concealed carry.
    I have shot guns my whole life enough to be familiar with operation, aiming with iron sights and scopes but my interest and gun handling has increased. At the age of 62 my vision has changed as you know from my original post.

    I have the following to choose from:
    My favorite shooter is my Para Ordinance P12 45 but that one is a heavy carry.

    I just got a Taurus G3c and put a set of Night Fison Precison Tritium and I can see them much better but didn't fix the focus problem. Only problem I am having with the smaller guns is me finger drags on the bottom of the trugergaurd which is ok for protection but if I shoot a bunch of practice rounds down range put gets rather sore.

    I have a SCCY which I like for carry due to the capacity and the fact that having the extra round in the chamber safely because it's a double action gun with a heavy trigger. Sccy has come out with an RD model with a better trigger and red dot installed for under $500.

    Sorry for long post but trying to get my carry gun set up the best I can for my vision.

    Good point on middle of the night defense my near sighted condition would have my front sight focus perfect for the situation.

    Thanks guys

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •