Adjustable Focus Eyeglasses

[1sgt]

I have always needed glasses to see the target clearly. As I have aged I have more trouble getting focused on the front sight and the blurred target. Has anyone tried the adjustable focus "Super Focus" glasses?

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have never heard of adjustable focus glasses. They may present a problem with use in competition under NMLRA rules. Just thinkin'. I really dunno. :idunno:
There are devices, like the Merit, disk that is attached to the glasses to help see the sights. They can be akward but do help. And, note, they are legal under NMLRA rules because they are a vision aid and not a sighting device.
Still, an interesting question since aging vision is a common issue these days.
We had 18 shooters at my club shoot last week. One was 68 years old, all others were over 70.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I have the Verilux type progressive lenses. I can see the target, the front sight OR the rear sight by tipping my head.

What you need is a small diopter to increase your depth of field so more is in focus at any given time. At the cost of less available light back to your eye . . . which causes your pupil to dilate . . . which reduces your depth of field . . .

Or shoot in really bright sunlight all the time.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[rafterob]

I can see the target, the front sight OR the rear sight by tipping my head.

Age seems to negate the ability to do all three at once. The best I can do is to focus on the front sight and center that blurry mass I am aiming at. Pretty amazing that once and awhile I hit the 10x. You begin to accept it after awhile, just like the fact you'll never get a 24 year old girl friend again. :shake:

 

1Sgt,
If you are talking about the glasses that have a sliding frame that changes the curvature of the lens, I looked into them. Talk about expensive!! I don't know if they work or not, couldn' decide between them or a new rifle.
Mark

 

[necchi]

I don't think they'll work for a universal focus.
All you get to do is adjust for a single focal plane like bi/tri-focals.
Sliding the focus from near to far won't get "both" in focus, it's either one or the other, :idunno:

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FWIW a piece of black electrical tape with a small hole in it and then positioned on the glasses at the right spot works tremendously! I use one of those leather punch tools with the rotating head of 6 or so different sizes and tend to use a size around 1/16" of an inch to 3/32".

Here's what I do. Get yourself into shooting position with a safe unloaded firearm and aim at a spot on an opposite wall. Have a friend take a grease pencil or sharpie marker and place a tiny dot on the glasses where the front sight is within your vision.

BEFORE you add the tape, make a template or tracing of your glasses (outline, I just use my left lens as I am a lefty with a left dominant eye)and transfer the dot to the template. Keep that template handy and you can quickly reapply one anytime you need! I experimented with different diameter pieces of tape until I got one that - for me - was a good combination of seeing the front sight clearly, as well as other things in my peripheral vision.

No, I can't drive in them, but I can at least walk around at the range in them without tripping over anything!

 

[don hepler]

Stumpkiller is right on. The progressive lenses made by Essilor(Verilux and Definity) are at the top of the line lenses. The Definity line was designed in Roanoke,Va. and sold to Johnson&Johnson. The Difinity beat the Verilux in side-by-side comparison but are probably close to being equal now. Johnson&Johnson sold the rights to Essilor. I worked at Johnson&Johnson, and for Essilor, when they were here. I still wear them today. They are my go-to shooting glasses. The Super Focus glasses are being developed by the same man who devdeloped the Definity. I don't know the cost, but should be fantastic.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Another option is to get a set of shooting glasses with the lens corrected to allow you to see the front sight. To get that you need the help of your eye doctor. knoblock shooting glasses allow you to change the lens until you find what works for you. A lot of NRA high power shooters use the Knoblock glasses. I just bought a bunch of the single lens for one eye and tried them all until I found the one I liked best. At the time I got mine I think the lens were only $10 each. Most likely more now.

 

[vietnam71]

According to the Super Focus website glasses start at $700.00.

$700.00 will buy you a bunch of muzzleloading gear....Powder Horn, Priming Horn, Possibles Bag,etc.

 

[Adui]

:hmm: I don't know, if those things are as slick as they sound I think it would be well worth the money! I do lots of other things besides shooting that these would help with.

According to the Super Focus website glasses start at $700.00.

$700.00 will buy you a bunch of muzzleloading gear....Powder Horn, Priming Horn, Possibles Bag,etc.

 

[rtrantin]

I looked into this a couple of years ago and stumbled upon this "field expedient" solution. This works if you need glasses for reading. Determine the power of magnification required for reading. It is usually something like 1.00 through 3.5. Divide that power by two and you should be in the ball park for the right magnification to clearly see the front sight post. For example, the power of my glasses for reading is 3.0. By dividing by two I come up with 1.5. I went to the local drug store, and, holding my hand out at max distance, I tried on the various reading glassess and voila! 1.5 allowed me to keep my furthest digit in focus. I took them to the range and I was amazed at how well it worked! I had tried the Brownells peep that adheres to glasses, I also tried the little paper sticky peeps on my glasses. They worked but I had trouble finding the perfect position for these when I changed my shooting positions. I have now been using inexpensive reading glasses and I am able to do quite well out to 100yds. I haven't shot any greater distance than that so I can't tell you how well it will work beyond 100yds. Now the target is definitely not in focus like it was when I was 40 yrs old but, for these 60 yr old eyeballs, having a clear, crisp front sight post has meant everything to me and has definitely brought back the enjoyment of the sport.

 

[outbackzack]

I just got progressive lens bifocals, and as a quick test, I broke out my grandson's Red Ryder, they help tremendously. Of course they are way stronger on the right eye, which is my sighting eye, because that slacker is the one losing vision quickest. I am hoping to get a bit of decent weather this weekend to punch some paper with a loaf pan of newly cast roundballs.

 

[George T.]

Are the progressive lenses like lineless tri folcals? I sure need to try something and I see our ages are close. I have pretty bad eyes and the right eye is the worst. My sighting eye of course. I have thought about the clip on deals with many sizes of holes. I am shooting by the brail system and still hit an ocassional x! Geo. T.

 

[necchi]

Yes

Progressive lenses; These are also called invisible bifocals, invisible trifocals, lineless bifocals, lineless trifocals, bifocals without the lines, trifocals without the lines, progressive bifocals, progressive trifocals, no-line bifocals, no-line trifocals.

And they suck!

Progressive lenses only have the full correction (the perscription),
in the center of the lense with the higher magnifications on the lower side as typical bi/tri focal.
There is no correction in the periferal (sides) at all!, it's all center, so if you want to look left or right you have to turn your head left or right.
For me that was very awkward and uncomfortable, I don't want to sit in a tree stand cranking my head back-n-forth just to see, or have to turn my head directly at the rearview mirror to see.

I tried'm for a month, I'm what you call a non-adapt to progressive lenses.
They'd work great if I had a desk job and did nothing but pistol target shooting.

 

[outbackzack]

Yes, the peripheral vision is a bit to get used to. I am a trucker by trade, and I am having a bit of trouble learning how far to turn my head to make stuff in my mirrors look where it really is, after years of just a quick move of the eyes, it is annoying, but very learnable. I have not hit anything yet :rotf:

 

[rtrantin]

I have been wearing progressives for years. In my experience they do not work for shooting. The focal area of the lenses are very much centered in the glass. It took me months just to get used to them. Mine have three focal points. Reading, close (say ten feet) and far ( I have astygmatism). When I shoot, based upon my stock weld, I need to have the top inside portion (area closest to the bridge of my nose) of the lens in focus. That just doesn't happen with typical progressives. This is why I went to straight reading glasses. More of the lenses have larger focal points.

 

[gl1200a]

"And they suck!"

This sums it up perfectly.
Hate mine.
Glad it's time for new ones.

 

[Poor Private]

I wear progressive lens also-- they suck big time. Try golfing in the damn things. Evertything swims. You look like a bobbble head after you hit a ball while trying to follow it (so you can find the ball in the brush, or tree, or shrub you hit into). I have a pair of civil war style frames that I had my opt. set for my far vision ( I am near sighted-I think, I see things close better). Those seem to help better.

 

[outbackzack]

I don't notice a swim effect at all with my progressive lenses---Maybe I am using them wrong. So far I have only shot an air rifle wearing them, and operated heavy equipment, I do know without them, I am for all intents and purposes unable to focus on anything at all with my right eye, maybe that is why the work for me. I will find out today, as it is supposed to be sunny with a bit of wind out, so I plan on shooting.