2 glasses in one

frank · Post by **frank** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:03 am

I promised to report back on this. I took 2 pairs of reading glasses-one pair1.00 and the other 1.50. ...just cheapstuff, by the way... and combined the 1.5 right lens with the 1.0 left into one frame.

Now, I'm 60 and when I was younger had superior vision. Since I turned 40, my acuity has steadily decreased. I went to the doc a couple of years ago and could still read the bottom line unaided, but believe me, It drives me crazy not to see well. I KNOW what I'm missing!

This works surprisingly well. The 1.5 allows sharp focus on the sights, and the 1.0 brings in the target as well. ( I shoot indoor <50') If you're older and wear reading glasses, I'd give this a try. It makes shooting open sights quite enjoyable. ...Yea, I know, I could get an optic, but it's more fun to beat the optic guys with open sights!

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 2:03 am

Having turned the corner on fifty a while back, I found that progressive lenses work well for pistol shooting too. A shooter can adjust head position vertically to shift the optic lens for optimum focus on the sights. For downrange viewing, the lens can be lowered for distant vision clarity. Sometimes the optimum sight focus is slightly in between the near lens diopter and the far lens diopter value and progressive lenses allow for finding that sweet spot on the lens.

My optometrist was very surprised that I had gone so many years beyond 40 before I needed bifocal lenses, and attributed that nearly decade delay to my shooting regimen keeping my eye's internal lenses pliable longer, with all the near and far focusing that shooting demands.

R,
Bullseye

SKnight · Post by **SKnight** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:02 am

I've been nearsighted since I was a teenager. Now at 36 I can tell a noticeable difference from how far I could see unaided today compared to even a few years ago. I'll be suprised if I make 40 without bifocals.

Really sucks to see it coming, but I hate not seeing clearly even more.

greener · Post by **greener** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 7:57 am

I wonder if the two-lens idea would work for us folks with bifocals: one lens with the bifocal correction and one with the nearsighted correction.

The head-tilt works for seeing over the bifocals. I also found an optometrist who shot and we worked out a lower placement of the bifocal that helps some. Painting the front sights with a easier to see color also helps as do the Hi-Viz type front sights. I'm resisting going to total reliance on red dot sights or scopes, but that is coming.

You guys are really making me feel my age. I've been wearing nearsighted corrections for 50 years and bifocals for over 20. One of my main criteria in new firearms has been my ability to see the front sight. I didn't buy a Buck Mark Target model because I just couldn't see the front sight on that pistol.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:45 am

Tommy brought up another idea in the sight picture thread. Tommyhaka. He mentioned the Merit Optical Attachment aid for shooting. This is an adjustable iris type sighting device that sticks onto your glasses via a suction cup.

I've had one for over twenty years but didn't really use it all that much. Not because the Merit doesn't work, because back then I didn't need any sight picture assistance. This thing works like an additional peep sight attached to your shooting glasses. By rotating the outside of the attachment, the viewing hole changes aperture sizes, much like a camera lens. You can adjust the focus range to dial in your sight distance for optimum focus. These sell for around $60. Midway has them for $56 MOA

Maybe this is worth a try for those of us with "well used" eyes. Especially if you really want to keep working with iron sights on your target pistols. Another side benefit is this attachment forces you to use the same sighting position, as you have to peep through it to see the sights.

R,
Bullseye

frank · Post by **frank** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 1:00 pm

I sure hope yopu guys understand what I've done. I've taken 2 pairs of cheap Wally world reading glasses and used one lens from each in one pair.

Now, I don't have any vision correction to deal with, but you have to have glass in the left lens, and the 1.0 is the least mag you can buy. It does, in my case, help at the 50' distance.

The idea is the same as some are getting in lasik surgery. One eye for close up and the other for far away. Theirs cost thousands- mine is@ $15.

Note: You guys with 3 eyes are on your own!

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:37 pm

Thanks for the clarification Frank. I admit hadn't fully understood your optical creation, at least to the degree that you used dime store generic reading glasses as the source. But as you will find with many of the threads here they often take on a mind of their own. If your eyesight isn't bad enough yet to warrant formal prescription lenses or bifocals, wait a few years and that time will come. Sooner or later everyone gets there and needs some assistance with vision.

The idea is the same as some are getting in lasik surgery. One eye for close up and the other for far away. Theirs cost thousands- mine is@ $15.

You know, there was this other guy who had one eye set up for distant vision and one for regular vision, but I believe his cost 6 Million Dollars.

R,
Bullseye

OpsMgr · Post by **OpsMgr** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:27 pm

I've tried all kinds of glasses at different powers, etc with some success. The red dot sight is a blessing for me...

Dwight45 · Post by **Dwight45** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:28 pm

I used Frank's solution for years. I'd buy two pairs of Dean Edel's reading glasses, the stronger one for my right eye, soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes to make the frames a little more pliable, pop out a lens from each and make the swap. Another tip: everyone has one ear that's lower on the head than the other. But the good news is that one stem of a pair of drugstore reading glasses is always angled lower than the other. So look for at least one pair of specs who's stem is angled downward to meet that low-placed ear. That way the glasses will remain horizontal.

I can't use over-the-counter reading glasses anymore because the strongest available is no longer sufficient. So I found a design of prescription glasses that have large lenses, and asked my doctor to specify a larger-than-usual close-up area at the base of each progressve lens. They're great for shooting because I don't have to tilt my head too far back and strain my neck, and their size provides plenty of protection.

greener · Post by **greener** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:53 pm

Dwight45 wrote:I used Frank's solution for years. I'd buy two pairs of Dean Edel's reading glasses, the stronger one for my right eye, soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes to make the frames a little more pliable, pop out a lens from each and make the swap. Another tip: everyone has one ear that's lower on the head than the other. But the good news is that one stem of a pair of drugstore reading glasses is always angled lower than the other. So look for at least one pair of specs who's stem is angled downward to meet that low-placed ear. That way the glasses will remain horizontal.

I can't use over-the-counter reading glasses anymore because the strongest available is no longer sufficient. So I found a design of prescription glasses that have large lenses, and asked my doctor to specify a larger-than-usual close-up area at the base of each progressve lens. They're great for shooting because I don't have to tilt my head too far back and strain my neck, and their size provides plenty of protection.

My tilt has been down. Sounds like something to try. I'm due for a prescription change. If it doesn't work, buy red dot stock because sales will be going up.

Has anyone tried the amber lens glasses? Supposedly those lenses make it easier to see the sights and target.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:21 pm

greener wrote:
Has anyone tried the amber lens glasses? Supposedly those lenses make it easier to see the sights and target.

Used to us them on gray days shooting skeet, then switched to a light purple lens for shooting sporting clays in the Woods. They really worked great for enhancing the contrast of the orange target against the green leaves of the trees. That is now my normal sunny day driving and shooting and everything else glasses.

Bud33 · Post by **Bud33** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 11:09 pm

If you are replacing your prescription lenses, and you need bifocals, try the progressive lenses. Once you get use to them, you'll never be without them.

greener · Post by **greener** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 11:14 pm

I can't imagine using the standard bifocals after a couple of decades of progressives.

Just thought about the last few posts. Wonder if Bullseye could get an AARP sponsorship.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:57 am

greener wrote:I can't imagine using the standard bifocals after a couple of decades of progressives.

Just thought about the last few posts. Wonder if Bullseye could get an AARP sponsorship.

I am not a believer in AARP, there is no way I will give some organization money so they can use some of it to take my gun rights away.

Post by **Bullseye** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:17 am

Have no fear. I won't be soliciting any sponsorships from any organizations, especially that one. That alphabet organization is well known for its anti 2A stances. The AARP mention was just a tongue-in-cheek reference to the relative advancing age of the membership, based on this thread's discussion of vision and aging eyes.

R,
Bullseye