Page 2 of 2

Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:17 pm
by blue68f100
Bullseye,

Thanks for the very informative articles and explanation.

Several years ago I started shooting combat guns (my wife wanted me to get CCL) which are mostly your center hold. After shooting most all my life with tangent hold. Now with my aging eyes, I can no longer see the gun sights without out corrective lens (bifocals). Since I carry I find it more important to beable to shoot with my normal distance vision, which means I do not get a clear sight picture. Surprisingly I shoot pretty good, out to 15 yrds. With my Sig229 and BHP I have been able to hold 2" groups at 15 yrds, or less. I have even done that good doing DA only too with my Sig. I seam to shoot a lot better with both eyes open. If I try to shoot with one eye I do not do well, thinking it's a depth preception thing. Any distance greater than 15 yrds I need optical help, need to see your sights at longer distances. This is where the dot and reflex scopes are a big advantage you don't need/use your close vision, just far.

Target shooting is not an easy task if you can not see the sights. I have been debating about getting a special pair of glasses with my dominiate eye set for close vision and week eye for far. Has any one had any experience with this setup. Knowing it will only be good when I shoot or go hunting.

Now with that said, what is the best way to teach a person with aging eyes which can not see the sights clearly? I'm suppose to teach my brother to shoot a pistol this summer.

Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:30 pm
by Bullseye
You may want to try a Merit Optical Disk. It is an adjustable iris that attaches to your shooting/prescription glasses. The iris is set up like an old style camera lens and it can be dialed in to help focus at near distances. Other than that you may have to find a "shooter friendly" optometrist who'll set up a special set of glasses for you.

R,
Bullseye

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:23 am
by gcp
Bullseye, great explanation!

To add to the dicussion, on my LMT AR15 the red dot is aligned to be visible at the very top of the front post. When I shoot I acquire the dot and the target picture through the 200 yard, and beyond, rear peep sight to help make the red dot crisper and more focused. It works well for the old, tirde eyes and can allow one to not have to wear glasses.

Re: Sight picture

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 11:41 pm
by 35bore
kardar wrote:Great thread Bullseye,

When I started shooting a few years ago, our coach made us shoot on blank white paper without any bull. I beleive it reinforced some good qualities in us, like proper stance, sight alignment & trigger release. In his words, Sight Alignment is more important than Sight picture.

Thanks for the post, I also have printed it for my refrence.

Regards,
Kardar
You brought up the blank paper, which is (in my mind a great idea)... When I started working for the sheriff's dept we had to supply our own sidearm. After 3 years there they went to the department issued glock. Orientation to the glock consisted of a big blank sheel of paper. Me and my shooting partner just kept shooting at his original bullet hole. Worked great, the old saying, aim small miss small. Just like big game hunting, or any other type of shooting, you pick a small "spot" and focus everything you have on that spot.

Re: Sight picture

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 8:53 am
by Bullseye
I used to use the blank paper technique to aid in teaching military police officers how to shoot effectively during qualifications. I was often tasked with instructing to those who failed to qualify on proper marksmanship techniques. Often they would not be successful due to target fixation so turning around the paper would eliminate the downrange focal point to reinforce their confidence that by concentrating on proper sighting techniques they could hit the center of the target's mass with highly effective results. A second bonus was they wouldn't jerk on the trigger because without an aiming point they didn't feel an impulse to make the pistol fire "Now" as their sights oscillated around the target center with their hold.

R,
Bullseye