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Can't see sights

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Good morning all I have a question that maybe some old timers can resolve for me I have shot shorter barrels with no problem as aging eyes occur I just built a kibler 43" barrel having a problem seeing the rear site front site and my target it has a thin blade in the front I widened backsite any ideas to stay somewhat traditional
 
As I aged, the rear sight became ever more out of focus. I have learned that keeping all the sights, rear, front and the target in focus are next to impossible. Peep sights or a diopter applied to your shooting glasses will increase the depth of field to keep the front sight and target focused while the hazy ring around the front sight aligns the barrel to the target.

Some find that widening the notch in the rear sight helps. The extra light on the sides of the front sight gets the barrel to align with the target.
 
Thanks all I tried different power glasses. Either I see rear sight and no front or black target is blurry.or front sight clear with target and rear sight blurry. What a mess.shortter barrels no problem.
 
Have you tried moving the rear sight to different distances along your barrel? Just put it on with a drop of an inoffensive adhesive to experiment with.
I am 75 with eye issues. I have found that a ghost ring rear can help. When using my Model 99 unmentionables I unscrew the small peep aperture from the tang sight leaving something like a ghost ring which works.
That ghost ring is blurred, but it does not matter. As long as you can determine that the front sight is centered in the rear you should be able to see it and your target.
 
I punched out a small disk of electrical tape with a hole punch, and then punched a tinier hole in the center of that as a peep hole. You can stick this to your safety glasses and it makes a poor-man's aperture sight. You get reduced field-of-view but gain sharpness of detail.

Lyman makes one you can buy for $25 but it's a rip-off for what you get. I actually like my electrical tape version better.

https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Products-EyePal-Master-Pack/dp/B01D1AJZ06
 
There is an old saying that you can tell a mans age by looking at how many times he has moved the rear sight on his rifle forward. As suggested, experiment with your rear sight at different distances forward from it's current location. Those diopters on glasses work for some. I never had luck with them. At may stage, a rear peeper works fine but is not acceptable at some clubs and competitions.
 
We can only focus on one distance at a time. Front sight is primary! Open up the rear notch with a jewelers file. More light around the front sight blade helps to center it in the rear notch. I just put taller sights on my .58 Colonial to fix elevation errors and opened up the rear and definitely helps me.
 
Good morning all I have a question that maybe some old timers can resolve for me I have shot shorter barrels with no problem as aging eyes occur I just built a kibler 43" barrel having a problem seeing the rear site front site and my target it has a thin blade in the front I widened backsite any ideas to stay somewhat traditional
Before my cataract surgery, my optometrist claimed he could make me some glasses specific for helping with the same issue you are having. Not going to say it will be 100% better, but talk to your eye Dr. ALSO.... Wider back sight slot, with wider blackened front, will also help. Moving the rear sight back or forward may also help. Take a broom handle and tape some sights on it. Arrange the back sight to different positions, to see what helps clarity. Nothing beats 20/20 vision, but you can help it some. Good luck!

Larry
 
I replaced the brass Kibler sight with an iron one I filed out. I made the blade thicker and widened the rear sight notch. Things aren't as clear and sharp as they were 30 years ago but it's serviceable.
Sounds good where did you get your new sights from?I was wondering if a thicker front blade would help.
 
Yes, the front sight is what you focus on but leave the target and rear sight blurry. An error with the front sight will cause a relatively small error on target. But focus on the rear and an error of the same amount as the front will cause an exponentially larger error on the target.
 
Sounds good where did you get your new sights from?I was wondering if a thicker front blade would help.
I got the front sight from a piece of 5/8" square stock I hacksawed and filed to fit the dovetail. I don't remember if I used Kiblier's rear sight or a spare I had. I did widen the notch with a needle file and flattened out the top. A flat top rear sight helps a lot in seeing the position of the front sight with fuzzy eyes.
 
Your eye can not focus on 3 things at 3 different distances at the same time, regardless of your age.

Can you focus on the front sight clearly?
Can you see the rear sight enough to put the front sight in the notch appropriately, even though it is blury?

If someone is seeing the rear sight or the target clearly at the time the shot is fired,,,, they are not focused on the front sight.
 
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