What Are the Best Pistol Sights for Old Eyes?
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
HayesGreener
Hellcat
Bear007
Custom
I bought my daughter a new gun with black sights. Not thinking, I went to the range on a nice beautiful day outside with targets that had a big ole black bullseye. I couldn't see a thing trying to align the sights on the target, black on black.
^ For some reason, this picture came up all pixelated for me when I first opened this thread this morning.
Now that it's become "standard resolution," it's not quite as funny.
Bassbob
Emissary
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PunchySunshine
Elite
Having gotten my first pair of readers at the eye doc this year I found this article and the following thread VERY relevant! I've been blind as a bat my whole life (20/480 nearsighted with astigmatism and nystagmus) and I've worn glasses since I was three but this old age BS is for the birds! Bifocals freak me out but I may have to suck it up and get a pair of those as well finally. I'm happy with my trijicon iron sights for now but is there a top shelf RDS that could mount on my TRP Operator and still keep the iron as backups?
Bassbob
Emissary
Honestly I am not that picky. I have never needed glasses and I don't now according to eye tests, but my arms are getting shorter if you know what I mean? My close up vision for reading is getting squirrely. I wear cheaters to read a lot these days. I have pistols with 3 white dots, pistols with Tru Glo TFX Pros, pistols with RDMS. I shoot them all equally well. I really like the TFX Pros on my VP9 and the FO sights that came stock on my PC .40 Shield, but my .45 M2.0 Shield has just 3 plain white dots and I drill the hell out of a bullseye with that gun.
HayesGreener
Hellcat
When you finally decide to wear bifocals, I suggest Progressive no-line bifocals.
I’m a RDS convert, but with iron sights, I’ve changed any of the plain metal sights I can to “I Dot” tritium night sights with the front sight dot colored orange/red.
Then I can quickly line the front sight post and the colored dot in the center of the rear sight during the day, or line the two glowing dots one on top of the other at night and press the trigger.
Then I can quickly line the front sight post and the colored dot in the center of the rear sight during the day, or line the two glowing dots one on top of the other at night and press the trigger.
I tried bifocal safety glasses and my experience was horrible. I could see the front sight better but everything else was a blurry mess.
HayesGreener
Hellcat
I have trifocal shooting glasses. The middle rx is calibrated to my front sight, the regular bifocal for reading and the rest of the lens for walking around. I took a plastic gun to the Optometrist and he dialed in the prescription. Another option is to have mechanic's glasses made, with the bifocal on top of the lens, it works especially well if you shoot a Weaver stance
@PunchySunshine - as @HayesGreener 's post illustrated, there's plenty of possibilities. Currently, offerings from Holosun, Trijicon, Aimpoint, as well as Leupold are all considered "top tier" micro-RDSs, and you should be able to find either over-the-counter or custom mounting solutions for any of them, with the gun of your choice. Similarly, placement of the rear iron sight as well as sourcing fronts and rears of different heights and configurations to suit your specific needs is something that's again readily available in the aftermarket/custom communities. To begin with, I would consult the better-known of your specific handgun's specialist gunsmiths.
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@neil0311 , were those safety glasses prescription-made and of high optical quality? or were they off-the-shelf items?
One thing that many folks, especially ones who only come to the need for corrective eyewear later in the game (i.e. did not have to deal with conditions affecting one's eyesight earlier in life), what they do not understand is just how much difference good optics (and "calibration" of those optics to that specific person, per-se), matters.
Think of it this way: look through a $80 scope, and then look through a $1,800 scope.
For everyone: This not only applies to vision-correcting eyewear, but also to general protective eyewear. The optical distortion and other subtle imperfections in el-cheapo over-the-counter eyepro can often cause you to perform at less than what you are actually capable of: if you can't "see" correctly to begin with, it follows logically that aimed shooting will suffer. It's always worth it to spend more for quality, where it comes to eyepro.
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@neil0311 , were those safety glasses prescription-made and of high optical quality? or were they off-the-shelf items?
One thing that many folks, especially ones who only come to the need for corrective eyewear later in the game (i.e. did not have to deal with conditions affecting one's eyesight earlier in life), what they do not understand is just how much difference good optics (and "calibration" of those optics to that specific person, per-se), matters.
Think of it this way: look through a $80 scope, and then look through a $1,800 scope.
For everyone: This not only applies to vision-correcting eyewear, but also to general protective eyewear. The optical distortion and other subtle imperfections in el-cheapo over-the-counter eyepro can often cause you to perform at less than what you are actually capable of: if you can't "see" correctly to begin with, it follows logically that aimed shooting will suffer. It's always worth it to spend more for quality, where it comes to eyepro.
Off the shelf by SSP Eyewear. They have the bifocal at the top of the lens.
I have prescription reading glasses and get the prescription checked/refined annually. I tried prescription progressive lenses and hated them. I don’t wear glasses except to read, so I didn’t want to wear them all the time, and when I tried them I got horrible headaches and they made the 80% of my vision that’s perfect…worse.
And for me, the red dot sights are the magic elixir. I can still (and do) shoot iron sights on Glocks and my M&P, and to keep in practice, but 90% of vision or focus issues for me disappear with red dot sights.
This was the first mag I shot yesterday with my Hellcat after just getting a Holosun sight added. Target was at 7 yards.
This was the first mag I shot yesterday with my Hellcat after just getting a Holosun sight added. Target was at 7 yards.
^ SSP is typically pretty good.
And yes, this is definitely one of those things where it's "personal preference," and there can be a lot of variability from person-to-person. We all "see" just a bit differently.
The idea is to find what works for you, and it looks like you've found your solution.
And yes, this is definitely one of those things where it's "personal preference," and there can be a lot of variability from person-to-person. We all "see" just a bit differently.
The idea is to find what works for you, and it looks like you've found your solution.
I too had headaches when I transitioned to Progressive lens. I even took the glasses back to the shop a week later asking for a refund. The doctor pleaded with me to wait another three days to one week with a guaranteed refund if things do not improve. He explained that my brain just needs time to adjust to the change. He was right, three days later I felt fine and the headaches were gone. Note. My wife now has the same lens with no adjustment period at all.
^ Yup - a significant change to one's prescription will do that, whether it's a single-vision prescription or otherwise.
Those who are perfect-visioned can simulate this for themselves if they wish....by placing their eyeball behind a scope whose diopter isn't properly adjusted. Shoot a full afternoon's worth of drills through that ill-adjusted scope, and I guaranty they'll have a headache on the drive home. 
Those who are perfect-visioned can simulate this for themselves if they wish....by placing their eyeball behind a scope whose diopter isn't properly adjusted. Shoot a full afternoon's worth of drills through that ill-adjusted scope, and I guaranty they'll have a headache on the drive home.