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Aging eyes and pistol sights.
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2023
- As we age, focusing on a pistol's front sight becomes a problem. I have researched potential solutions and discuss four ways to still get good practical accuracy from your sidearm.
Most underrated UA-cam channel ever.
Wow, thank you!
I agree 100% ! 🙏🥰
Word
Great info. Take note, young guns. You'll be here sooner than you think.
I'm 38 now with no need for correction; but lately i've been looking toward weak hands and degrading vision solutions to be proficient with before it becomes necessary. I'm convinced red dots are the solution for poor vision.
@@Puazy_7051 Thinking ahead Beautiful!
RDS w/o irons...agree 100%! I find I can shoot it well with or w/o bifocals on, and I don't need the near lens if wearing glasses. I have a Holosun 507C, which has solar backup in the unlikely circumstance the battery dies.
Totally agree.
I started needing glasses when I was 75. Several years later, the front sight was almost invisible, and I found out I had cataracts. I managed to qualify for my EDC license every year as required by
the retired Federal LEO rules by pointing my Sig 365. Two years ago, I had cataract surgery, and the Dr. corrected my vision until my left eye was normal and my right eye was just slightly off. Now I can see and shoot better with my left hand while using the sights. I have Crimson Trace green lasers on nearly all of my pistols and in dim light, I just use them. Now all I have to worry about is the old age shakes. Getting old is not for sissies!
PS: Lasers are the best training aid I have found. You can really tell what you are doing wrong by watching the laser while dry firing. PPS: Glock triggers are not very good, and I have been firing them since the late 1970s, but Glocks always go bang when you pull the trigger.
I really enjoy your videos!
Thanks for commenting. I have a red laser grip on my old Colt LW Commander, in addition to Heinie night sights. The green laser is much better but wasn't available when I got my red one. As to getting old, it ain't the years, it's the miles ... and I spent a lot of my patrol time on unpaved roads!
I understand the miles. I first started shooting revolvers a lot, in the USBP in 1965. After the academy we qualified four times a year. We didn't have ear protection and were told to stick empty .38 brass in our ears. That turns out to be about the worst thing you can do for your hearing, and I now have hearing aids turned up to "loud".
I was stationed at Presidio, Tx at that time and most of our time was spent sign cutting and tracking illegal aliens through the desert mountains. Just loved the job, but up until then I thought that if Texas every had an enema, they would insert it at Ft. Hood.
Tracking was like hunting and I have been hunting something or other since I was a kid. All my LE jobs were hunting, without the shooting, at least usually.
My first lasers were red, but the green ones are the only way to go now. BTW: I was a Firearms Instructor for U.S Customs and DEA in field offices where I was stationed. I shoot pistols and revolvers using the proper Weaver position you advocate. I also have some trail camera videos of cougars, bobcats, wolves, bears, coyotes, badgers, elk, deer, desert bighorn sheep, etc on UA-cam.
Keep the videos coming! They are like refresher courses.
@@lockloadwithdickfairburn-cr1jb
Aircraft mechanics often also need bifocals on the upper portion just like plumbers. I changed my handguns, both duty and personal to XS Sights Big Dot sights which helped quite a bit. Now I am working on switching to green dot sights.
Great video. Thank you. Just turned 66. I'm nearsighted and needed glasses since high school, bifocals came in my 50's. Have shot pistols relatively well for about 40 years. But now, like you, I can't easily see the front sight anymore, including high quality night sights.
Didn't want to go with special glasses for the same reasons that you have. Looking for a solution, I've decided to transition to red dots, but am installing fiber optic front sights as a interim solution. The sight is still fuzzy, but way easier to pick up than ones that are blued, have colored paint or plastic inserts, or tritium in a colored bezel, plus my accuracy has improved. Only having the FO on the front with blacked out rears seem to work best for me.
For self-defense purposes, we can live with a front sight that is a little fuzzy ... it just takes some getting used to.
@@lockloadwithdickfairburn-cr1jb Your right, plus it sure beats not seeing the sight at all. And it's nice finding something that works good enough while converting over to red dots.
That works for me too, with a wider blacked out rear sight with green fiber optic sights.
As far as the sweet spot in the lenses, I think it has a little to do with the manufacturing of the lenses. It might have to do with other factors such as astigmatism. It is fairly complicated to make no-line lenses for 2 different prescriptions, it is more difficult when you throw an astigmatism in there too. If you have 2 different companies make lenses for you with the same prescription, you might end up with one lens that works better than the other.
For range use you can easily get a set of glasses for the exact focus that you need. You can even buy safety glasses in appropriate diopters if you search hard enough online. But I see your point, you won't be wearing those on a daily basis.
Watched this with interest D I'm 70 and nearsighted . I've been using the lightweight polycarbonate lenses ( think they called them high index lenses) in progressive grind. Yes they are $$_. Works well for me. Funny you mentioned that some friends had LASIK where one eye was near vision and one distance....my eyes are normally that way. My right eye I can see distance ,my left close up . My brain i guess adjusts for that because very often I forget my glasses and dont notice . Other times I'll be looking all over for them only to finally realize I've been wearing them all along. I carry either my Glock 19 with red dot and suppressor co-witness night sights and it works very well for me , during the day though I often carry my 1911 government model with plain sights and that also works well. Love your channel....
Old eyes are just a factor we all have to live with. Some things can be fixed and some things we just have to live with.
Possible idea for your channel: When I was stationed in Corpus Christi with DEA we responded to drug seizures by the USBP at their checkpoints near Kingsville and Falfurrias Texas. One case involved a BP Agent stopping a drug smuggler and being shot in his right arm by a .44 magnum revolver that almost removed his bicep. He couldn't use his right arm/hand and couldn't draw his pistol as he couldn't reach it around his body with his left hand. That reduced him to running for his life, jumping a barb wire fence and only being grazed once more because the three-time loser smuggler was a bad shot. After the shooting, the incident turned into a hostage situation, long chase, no more shooting, arrest, and conviction of the shooter. I have thought about this shooting for YEARS. The Agent was a friend of mine and his injury led to his retirement.
I have experimented trying to draw my right- hand pistol with my left hand and after some belt adjustment and time can usually get it out without dropping it or my pants. Nowadays I don't worry too much about two legged predators but have some concern about the four-legged variety. A G20 stuck down the trousers in front doesn't work very well, two pistols either. I have watched your videos on this subject and think there are more options that could be covered. As a fellow Fudd, keep up the good work.
I don't hunt bears but have had to shoot two of them. The first was when the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I was walking down a trail deer hunting with my .243 Ruger No. 1. I looked behind me and a black bear was following me about 30 yards away. I shot him immediately. Another, I had to shoot in hunting camp as he wouldn't leave after warning shots were fired in the ground in front of him from about ten feet away. PS: I always purchase bear, cougar, and now wolf tags, every year even though all the hunting I do is with a trail camera.
Don't believe the common F&G explanation for a cougar following you! He doesn't care where you are going or what you are doing! He is just trying to figure out how to kill and eat you without harming himself. I think bicycle riders in California have become natural prey for cougars.
Drawing with the weak hand from a duty holster IS a real problem, not sure it is one we can fix. In Illinois, troopers often carry their duty holsters forward, kind of at the 2 o'clock position because they are trained this helps them better trap the pistol during a gun grab. The holsters are designed for further back, so they have to use an unnatural wrist angle to draw. I always thought it a bad idea, but someone at ISP years ago said it was a great idea, so it stuck. The only redeeming value is making the pistol a bit easier to draw with the off hand. I'll think this one through ...
I sometimes carry with a vertical holster in the crossdraw position, and I find that makes it easier to draw with the off hand.
Love red dot sights on a rifle but not on a pistol. I figure my pistol use is going to be close and personal thus I might not ever use the sights. If I need a 25yrd shot my eyes are still good enough to make that shot.
Great video…
I'm not completely sold on pistol optics, either, but I keep trying different combinations.
@@lockloadwithdickfairburn-cr1jb My pistol has the old school laser light on it and while it might not win any competitions, it is close enough for center mass imo. Is that an obsolete system now? For home defense I figure I will never need more than 14 feet of distance to the target.
Love this. I was just saying this to my father after I got my own RX glasses. Glad to know it can be done for my next pair. Thank you.
Oh - i know what you´re talking about
Not such a gret or trained shooter, but I´m 46 and always was shooting over "irons" - lately a guy at the Range gave me his gun ...co-witnessed Red Dot / Iron sights - I didn´t know where to focus and really had troubles...shot somewhere
A neighbour let me shoot his pistol carabine glock ...with a Red Circle-Dot from "Holosun" and it was great - i was fast on the target...and sure did some nice shots...thats the kind of red dot sight i like and will go for!
If I´m upgrading my gun(s) after your video, I´ll not be sad anymore to not have co witnessing sights on it - thank you for your opinion ! - I can work with that!
Glad it helped.
I'm glad I found this channel. Glasses are fine as are lasers if that's your thing. One still needs to train w/o either in the case that you are caught flat footed and have neither.
Trained on nothing but metal sights. I do have a laser on my pistol, but the sights are a wide blacked out set with a green fiber optic front.
Yep, I feel your pain, lol.
Have wore glasses since 4th grade and am 55 now. Basically the same story as you. I was in the Air Force and shot on our bases pistol team and did very well and, like you, noticed the older guys readjusting their sighting.
Fast forward to my mid 40’s and got bifocals and trying to focus on the front sight just wasn’t happening.
Went to contacts (eye doc was a shooter) with one side near vision and the the other one far vision. While it helped and I adjusted well, I lost some depth perception, which I didn’t like.
Thank you for the wisdom and advice
Getting old sucks.
@@lockloadwithdickfairburn-cr1jb lol, yes it does! However, within 15 yards, like you had mentioned, I’m good enough.
Wish his book “Building A Better Gunfighter “ was still available. As a last resort I checked eBay…. Bid starts at $150 😳
Thank you Dick, great information. I have been near sighted most of my life and worn bifocals since 3rd grade. I do have polycarbonate lenses, but the front sight is perfect between my “bifocal” section and distance section. I am not enamored with the “red dot” solution (like most old timers) and sought a different approach. Recently acquired a Walther PDP and installed an Ameriglo “Ghost Ring” set of sights. So far just doing dry fire exercises it appears to be a great solution. But only actual range time will tell.
I made shooting glasses with a non-corrective lens in my left eye and a 2.50 reader lens for the right (dominant) eye. Works great.
Great content. As far as carbines, red dots are awesome. I always liked cowitness in the lower 1/3 or just flip. Especially of you use the Eotech style dots.
As a 50yo regular guy I wear contacts in the “mono-vision” configuration. At this time it works really well in conjunction with red dots. Because you keep both eyes open when using a dot, I find for me everything works out perfectly but as I continue to age I fear I’m going to have to go back to wearing glasses to be able to focus on the dot and target
I adapted myself to the use of RDS for pistol and carbine, having struggled increasingly over the last ten years into my seventies with bifocals. Its been a rebirth for me in accuracy and speed.
Getting old is not for the weak at heart.
Great subject
Thank you for this.
My pleasure!
I'm 56. I don't have the issue with handguns, but 20+ inch rifles gave me fits. I talked to the optometrist and he recommended Nikon brand lenses for my new glasses. Whole world of difference. They are the most expensive Rx glasses I've ever owned, but what's your vision worth? The Nikon lenses are also polarized, so they're great for fishing! Totally eliminate surface glare on the water.
Nice presentation with great information.
Thanks for the information. I always heard that Nikon lenses were superior, but I didn't really buy into it because they are so expensive, but you're absolutely right, my vision at this age is worth the money. New glasses are on the horizon for me, I'll take your advice. Thanks again.
Before I retired I epoxied tiny roll pins into the rear sight holes in our AR's for the older guys. BOOM! The font sight became crystal clear. A 25 cent fix.
@@jtdundee how badly did that impact accuracy?
Can't see irons through most dots, Dick, unless they're suppressor height. Thanks for posting.
I have heard them referred to as “machinist cut” where they flip close vision to the upper part of the glasses
Thank you sir! This has been a problem for me!
Another great job sir !
I have used a laser sight on various pistols. With a lot of practice, it became easy to get on target and stay on target. But I wondered what it would be like if I were to lose my glasses in a struggle, but then still need to use the pistol for self defense. So I did some practice without my glasses. With my glasses I see one red dot that is relatively easy to keep on target. Without my glasses, I see a cluster of five fuzzy red dots. However, I found the if I center the cluster over the target, I still hit the center of the target fairly well at seven yards.
I imagine the degree of fuzziness you see with the laser depends on your type and degree of visual impairment. I go fuzzy from nearsightedness without my glasses, but I only see one big fuzzy laser dot on the target. I have a laser on several pistols and consider them valuable, especially for low-light situations. Try a green laser and see how that works for you. The human eye is several times more sensitive to the green end of the spectrum, they seem MUCH more visible to me.
SSPeyewear makes top bifocal safety glasses.
Most eyewear makers make top bifocals, sometimes referred to as "plumbers glasses."
Dick Fairburn, my Sgt at Lewis would use his middle finger as his trigger finger. have you ever seen this and does it help with accuracy?????
I had a cowboy buddy who used his middle finger because he had cut off the first joint of his trigger finger on a table saw ... he shot just fine. I don't think using the middle finger would be an advantage unless, like my buddy, you have a physical problem with your trigger finger.
It sounds like you are far sighted rather than near sighted. I'm far sighted these days, meaning objects further away are in focus while those close to me are not. It's not bad enough for prescription glasses so I use 3.0 reading glasses. This means I can look at the pistol sights in focus or I can peer over them and see the target in focus, but I can't do both at the same time.
Nope, nearsighted all my life. With my native vision the rear sight is in perfect focus, everything further away is progressively fuzzy.
@@lockloadwithdickfairburn-cr1jb Okay, I must have misunderstood you. It it sounded like you said everything up close was fuzzy.
That a given for aging .
What is the Leupold red dot for Glocks is that?
leupold has a couple of red dot sights that will fit on a glock.
@@lockloadwithdickfairburn-cr1jb Thanks. I just purchased the XS SIGHTS DXT2 Standard Dot Night Sight for Glock Pistols as they seem like a good home defense compromise.
Self defense at seven to ten yards I'm comfortable without my glasses
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What about progressives