Author Topic: sights for old eyes (Read 3302 times)

W · « **on:** September 19, 2007, 07:09:04 AM »

Please forgive me if this has been asked before;

As I have gotten older (55) I can't focus on the open sights and the target at the same time. Years ago I went to a scope but that just became too cumbersome and took away from my enjoyment of handgun hunting.

I've tried painting the sights, but that only helped when my eyes were younger.
Does anyone know of a type of open sight that I could put on my Ruger Blackhawk .357 that will help me line up the sights with the target more clearly?

warrior1 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 19, 2007, 07:42:11 AM »

try wearing a baseball cap bring the bill down to just the top of your glasses and see if this does'nt help you see your sights better. it helped me. or perhaps a red dot sight will definitely help. hardware may carry floresent paint or try some finger polish to paint the front sight. good luck dan

warrior1 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 19, 2007, 07:44:27 AM »

forget painting the sight. i didn't read your post right the first time. sorry,dan

Castaway · « **Reply #3 on:** September 19, 2007, 07:58:38 AM »

Try a "One Ragged Hole" sight. Cost around $28

moxgrove · « **Reply #4 on:** September 19, 2007, 08:00:19 AM »

A dot sight might be the ticket. Or maybe a ONe Ragged Hole sight. I have used the ORH for short range and it works pretty well, not great for longer ranges. It is basically just a ghost ring aperature. Sometimes it makes it easier as you don't have to align the front and rear, just focus on the front sight.

W · « **Reply #5 on:** September 19, 2007, 04:30:35 PM »

Thank you all for the reference to "One Ragged Hole".
I'm ordering one tonight and I'll give it a try.

Thanks again.
Warren

kennisondan · « **Reply #6 on:** September 19, 2007, 06:02:12 PM »

please advise the other older eyed young men like me how that works out... I am having a bit of trouble seeing them well my self for some unexplainable reason.
dk

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #7 on:** September 19, 2007, 11:50:36 PM »

I too am suffering from the same fate as of lately. My guns that used to shoot one inch groups are opened up to two now and its a rare time that my eyes can see good enough to shoot real well. As to sights the best i can come up with is a good bowen rear and a post front thinned to .10. It gives the most crisp sight picture ive found. as to other options i detest scopes on handguns other then contenders and i guess if it came down to it id use a contender scoped or a lever action before id put a scope on a sixgun. I also cant abide by peep sights on sixguns and cant see how they would help your problem anyway. For the most part you consentrate on the front sight anyway and thats no differnt whether you have a standard rear or an apature rear. I guess a guys best bet is to bring a toy gun to the eye doctor and have him set you up with a pair of glasses specificaly for shooting. I now have a pair of tri focal glasses but trying to switch from one part of the glasses to the other just doesnt work. My distance vision is fine but my close up just doesnt work anymore. Somehow the eyedoctor should be able to set me up with something that will work.

Mikey · « **Reply #8 on:** September 20, 2007, 12:30:52 AM »

Warren: sorry buddy but I don't think a different type of sight is going to help you. You will have to go to the doctor for a set of glasses.

When that happens, make certain you get a prescription for a set that allows you to see your sights as well as your target. I wear bifocals and the ones I have, which are termed progressive, are a royal pain to focus with because the 'reading' part of the glasses are so small I have to continually move my head or my eyes to get a focus on the sights, hold the sight picture steady, and move then that to bear on the target, and recheck it nad etc. I had a pair of bifocals once that were 'melded' - the entire bottom half was one focus and the entire top another and that worked a lot better. I'm going back to the eye doctor for another set. IABTGO. JMTCW. Mikey.

fatercat · « **Reply #9 on:** September 20, 2007, 01:38:42 AM »

get the lazer operation on your shooting eye.

MePlat · « **Reply #10 on:** September 20, 2007, 01:42:31 AM »

First off you can't focus on the target and the sights irregardless what vision you have. If someone told you you can they are blowing smoke up your pants leg.

Glanceblamm · « **Reply #11 on:** September 20, 2007, 02:39:20 AM »

I will go with Mikey on this one.

My own was a problem with an increasing blur in my right eye at a distance. This had not been a problem for the last two to three years because I focus on the sites and let the target blur anyway.
The problem was that it got to where I could hardly see the target and my new in April prescription glasses solved this problem.
I told the Doctor that I needed to be able to see clearly up close through the non-bifocal lens and specified a distance with my hands held out in front of me. This guy must have been used to that question as he guessed gunsights correctly. He also recommended the Non-Glare lens which I went with.
I am now good to go but I do worry about light glaring off the lens from the game's perspective. I think a long billed hat worn low will take care of this though.

TGFOGAL · « **Reply #12 on:** September 20, 2007, 02:44:58 AM »

Hi All
I have Tri focal glasses and I can see the sights with the center lens but lens is only good for about 18 inches, so I can't see
the target. After wounding a deer I but a EOTech Holo sight on the RB 454. The Holo is perfect, I can keep
both eyes open for full field of view and use the top lens of my glasses to see the target. There is no problem
finding a deer in poor lighting or moving.

W · « **Reply #13 on:** September 20, 2007, 06:28:56 AM »

I appreciate all your replies unfortunately it looks like there is no magic answer.
Shelling out $25 for a rear sight won't break the bank and I may give it a try, but getting a $300 to $400 hologram sight seems a little on the extreme side to me. Also I don't know if the hologram sight is legal to use for deer in N.Y.
There is also no way I will let a doctor touch my eye just so I can hunt with a pistol.
I just got a pair of progressive lenses and hated them and returned them for bifocals, so that option is also out.
Looks like I will be using the scoped 270 this season, at least I know I can hit with that.

Warren

BIG Dog454 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 20, 2007, 06:35:30 AM »

I have the same problem as you, gettin old is a b**ch, but it beats the alternative (dieing). I tried the paint, glo sights, scope etc. I found that the scope was great for targets that don't move, or will stand still and let you find them in the scope. So I tried a red dot scope with no magnification, I think that it's great. just put the dot where you want the bullet to go, and squeeze the trigger. Killin deer is as easy as it was when I was 22.

jhalcott · « **Reply #15 on:** September 20, 2007, 08:12:20 AM »

after TRYING to hit the target with a scoped rifle. I decided to see the laser eye doc. he told me it was cataracts that were MY problem. Now 2 months after the surgery, I can shoot quite a lot better. I'm 6'4" tall with long arms. I CAN shoot open sights now. I would NOT win any bulls eye contests,but would not miss the paper either.

Gun Runner · « **Reply #16 on:** September 20, 2007, 10:52:28 AM »

Warren, I've got 67 yr. old eyes and wear bi-focals. I put the ORH sight on my 44mag red hawk and it opened up ability to hit something. Just about all my shooting is under 100yds and I can fairly well hold my own with the younger shooters.

Gun Runner

Blackhawk44 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 20, 2007, 12:39:29 PM »

I see you just got your bifocals. That's what my doc called for several years ago. I had fits with sights so went back to the shop and had them redone as tri-focals. I set the top lens for distance as usual then the center I had adjusted for the back of my thumb on my outstretched arm. I also had the lens line set fairly high so I barely have to move my head to access the center. Of course the bottom lens is for reading. Really helped with both pistol and rifle sights. Another big bonus is how it helped at work since our computer screens and work counters are farther away than most standard workstations. They're just about an outstretched arm away.

Since you just got your glasses, it would only be the price of an extra pair of lenses.

44 Man · « **Reply #18 on:** September 21, 2007, 07:52:05 AM »

Well guys, I did the glasses trick a few years ago. I took a toy gun to the optometrist and told him my problem. He said he had another shooter and what he did for him was set one lense at the distance to the front sight (24") and the other eye at distance. So I went for it and it worked, sort of. I have a nice, crisp sight picture on the front sight of handguns and carbines. However the target is now fuzzy. And on the rifles, the rear sight is really bad. I have found as I have gotten older that my handguns have developed shorter barrels and that has helped me keep the rear sight in a little better focus as I concentrated on the front sight. I do use the glasses although they do not work as well as expected, they are ok on the range. I can't use them in the woods however as I walk funny when wearing them! 44 Man

The Old Redneck · « **Reply #19 on:** September 21, 2007, 12:28:24 PM »

I shoot with both scopes and open sights. For the open sights I have one of the dove tail fiber optic front sights and have opened up the back sight to get plenty of air space on each side of the front sight. I tried several different sizes of the fiber, and different colors. The smaller size in orange works best for me. For regular sights I use reading glasses of .50 to .75 power, the target will be out of focus but the sights will be clear. On tri focals the top half of the lense will be 1/2 the power of the bottom.

Van/TX · « **Reply #20 on:** September 23, 2007, 05:34:48 AM »

I bit the bullet several years ago and went to a red dot. Best thing I ever did. Good luck...Van

hoggunner · « **Reply #21 on:** October 07, 2007, 03:44:09 AM »

I also have the 50 year old eye problem. I put the bushnell holo site on the rb 44 mag and now can hit bowling pins at 100 yrds. I would shoot at a deer at 100 and never look back. I would go this route b-4 giving up on handgunning and going back to a rifle.

Sverre A. · « **Reply #22 on:** October 07, 2007, 03:49:04 AM »

I have never tried a ghost-ring on a handgun.
Any of you who have tried? Something to go for?

palgeno · « **Reply #23 on:** October 07, 2007, 06:23:23 AM »

I put a "One Ragged Hole" on my .44 Mag Super Blackhawk Hunter and find it works better for me than Express Sights. Can't use Bomars at all anymore. I keep trying to use open sights, but it gets worse each year. Red dots and scopes are the only way I can shoot very well anymore. Gene

Sverre A. · « **Reply #24 on:** October 07, 2007, 06:52:41 AM »

How far out can you shoot ok with the One Ragged Hole?

millwright · « **Reply #25 on:** October 07, 2007, 10:18:56 AM »

Hoggunner, I have tried the one ragged hole on my sbh 44 and was not happy. I went to a burris 2x and can shoot pretty good but I have not tried the bushnell holosight because I was afraid of the warrenty versus recoil. Can you give me any info? Heavy loads? Hand loads? How long have you used it. Thank you for any and all info.

poncaguy · « **Reply #26 on:** October 07, 2007, 02:56:36 PM »

I put One Ragged Hole on my 6" GP100 and bright green front sight. I'm 66, works good for me.............

TGFOGAL · « **Reply #27 on:** October 08, 2007, 02:43:35 AM »

I have been using the Holo on a RB 454 for about 5yr with great results. 300gr near max loads of 296.
The Holo is about $250 plus base if needed.

barber · « **Reply #28 on:** October 08, 2007, 06:01:00 AM »

I also tried the ORH sight and wasn't satisfied. I'm nearsighted, had a pair of bi-focals made looking at my fingers extended at arms length, works really well for me. Have a Holosight on my SRH .44, have shot a lot of heavy 280 gr loads with no problems.

warrior1 · « **Reply #29 on:** October 08, 2007, 03:36:31 PM »

i watched at the time an older gentleman proceed to blow the bullseye apart at 100 yards with his 454 and the bushnell holo sight.