It helps to see the sights

R

Rex

Active Member
My shooting has gone to crap, I never was all that great. I had painted the back of the front sight white, S&W's red insert never did do anything for me. Today out of frustration I put my 1.5x reading glasses form the local hardware on and by golly the lead started hitting where I was looking!
I suppose it is getting close to quitting time for me as I turn 81 in November. I just hate to put the little 4" 686-4 in the dresser drawer, but with the price of reloading supplies it may be time anyway. The target sure gets fuzzy at 25 yards with glasses on but it works.
Rex
 
I shoot with readers on, huge difference.

I can either stroke my ego by telling myself that I don't need glasses to shoot, or I can stroke my ego by what the target looks like when I am done.
Targets have always been fuzzy, now days furry is a better description.

Even with reloading supplies getting up there, still less than most ammo that you can buy. Seen an empty 20 round Federal 308 Win box at the range the other day.... $29.99. Still saving 40% by loading, when cast comes in it's closer to 70%. The point is, you can usually still load and shoot for less than factory fodder.

Also... Sorry if I am overly candid, don't worry about being 81, so what, go out and do the things that you want to, are able to do, and enjoy them. I have worked in the health care arena periodically in my life and have met older people 80's and into their 90's that surely did not let age get in their way. At the same time I have met folks in their 60's-70's and it seemed like they thought they were circling the drain. Make the most of what you are able to do, forget about what you can't.
 
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Rex, stay in the game. My Dad turns 88 in a month and a half and the last time I took him shooting, he really can't handle a pistol anymore. Been meaning to get him on a range with some kind of heavy rifle from a bench and see if that helps, but he was still shooting up until recently pretty regular, way past 81.
 
I never though I would be in the "optic on a handgun" crowd, but old age sure has taken its toll on eyesight. Holosun 407 and 507 micro reflex sights don't add much bulk or weight, are available in red or my preferred green, and various dot sizes. The 6moa 407 green dot seems perfect on my 357.
 
What they need to do with revolver optics, is come up with something that simply clamps tot he barrel. Joe Average with a fixed sight Model 10 Smith isn't about to mount a rail on his gun., if you know what I mean. I'd love to see a simple clamp on that would do this and a sight that was built for the added distance that would involve.
 
Rex said:
...Today out of frustration I put my 1.5x reading glasses form the local hardware on and by golly the lead started hitting where I was looking!...
Click to expand...
A bunch of the bullseye shooters do this... I'm in my 50s and am looking to do this as well.
 
i think it was 48 or 49yo when i need prescription glasses, again. i used them till i was 16yo and my vision was perfect. until the day that let the doe go. she was about 40 yards broadside. i was using my Win m94 TE in 35/30-30 with open sights. i tried to line up a behind the shoulder shot but i couldn't see the deer, just a blob of brown fur behind the sights. i would back and forth using the sights and the doe for about 2 or 3 minutes. i said "that's enuff, i need eyeglasses, you dumb SOB."

i now have a Williams FP aperture sight on the m94, i got rid of the open sights.
 
After yesterday's Uberti 1866 and Pedersoli rolling block shoot, this is a timely topic.

Driving home from the range I was wondering if my iron sighted load developement was really a matter of powder selection and amount, or much more a matter of the 50-yard 7 3/4" bullseye that seems to get blurrier with each session.

Or it could be that balancing a 12" bullseye on top of the front sight bead would be better than the smaller one, especially when the smaller bullseye is the same size as the bead it sits atop of and making more margin for error.

Or it could be that the front sight bead is not always in exactly the same place inside the seemingly blurrier rear buckhorn.

Or it could be that a bullseye of a color that contrasts more from the rest of the target paper would help with the
6 o'clock hold, rather than the black and beige normally used. Fluorescent green and white? Bright blue and white?

Blurry sights and blurrier target . . . there may not be a solution, but the experiments and shooting fun will remain.
 
For handgun: if the light is good and the target has contrast, I have used full lens safety readers and a Merit suction cup aperture. The full lens readers eliminates head tilt needed with half lens readers. The aperture clears up the target a bit. A bit fiddley to get set up but good for deliberate target shooting. Aperture sights and a fairly thick blade front work well for rifle. I have also had good luck with red dots on rifles and handguns.
 
I may be down to a scoped BB-gun one day but I'm gonna keep shooting SOMETHING as long as I can. I already can hardly see the rear sights on a rifle and peeps don't work well with all the floaters unless the aperture is huge.
 
We have receiver sights on many of our rifles / carbines. I am near 73 and thankfully can still see distance well. Under 2 feet is another story.
But those rear mounted round holes to look through do eliminate one eye issue.
 
Been doing creditable work with Hoke and MVA rear tang sights on a couple of Sharps rifles. Both have adjustable eye pieces and I can dial in the amount of light until the front insert appears sharp against the target.
 
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